Kazakhstan is a wonderful stateCentral Asia, which is the ninth in the world in its area with a small population density. Therefore, it is more famous for its nature, which they try to keep as much as possible. And that is why there are as many as 12 national parks and 10 reserves of Kazakhstan on the territory of the country. Each of them annually visit dozens, and even hundreds of thousands of tourists.
This article may be useful forpreparation of presentation about reserves of Kazakhstan. In the Kazakh language (as well as in Russian) the names of all the reserves of the country are listed here. And also brief descriptions of each of them are given.
Aksu-Zhabagly Reserve (Kazakh.- Aқsu-Zhabayly Memlekettik Tabiғi қoryғy) was founded in July of 1927 and is still open to all tourists. It is located on the territory of just three countries - Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and in Kazakhstan it is located at the intersection of Zhabaglin and South Kazakhstan oblasts and covers a vast territory of almost 132 thousand hectares. It is the Aksu-Zhabaglinsky protected area that is considered the oldest and most beautiful in the country. There are beautiful coniferous forests, unusual mountain vegetation, more than 23 fruit-bearing trees, and a lot of flowers grow here, so from spring to autumn this edge looks extremely colorful and surprising. There are also about 42 mammal species, of which 10 species are listed in the Red Book of the country, and snow leopard, subspecies of argali and marmots Menzbir are under close scrutiny, as they are threatened with extinction. But most importantly, it is in this reserve in the pit of Kaskabulak that one can see a stone gallery with rock paintings of the most ancient people.
Also, close scrutiny amongreserves of Kazakhstan is demanded by the Almaty protected area (Kazakhstan - Almaty memlekettik tabiғi қoryғy), which is also one of the oldest in the country, since it was founded in the distant 1931 in the territory of the Malo-Almaty forest district in the Almaty region. The territory of this reserve is 71,7 thousand hectares, among which a considerable part is occupied by the waters of the rivers Ili and Targara, as well as the lakes Issyk and Akkol, captivating with their picturesque landscape. Also here you can see the most beautiful alpine meadows, deciduous forests and amazing bare glaciers and rocks with the highest point - the Talgar Peak with a height of 4973 meters. And, of course, there is a huge number of the most diverse representatives of flora and fauna, many of which are listed in the Red Book.
How many reserves in Kazakhstan were discovered in1931? Two at a time. Indeed, in addition to the Almaty protected area, this year also opened the Naurzum Reserve (Kazakh - Nauryzm Memkettik Tabishi koryty). True, it is located in the opposite end of the country - in the Kostanay region, and covers a vast territory of 191.4 thousand hectares. The territory of this reserve is especially diverse. There are fresh and salt ponds, an unusual boron, which is located on hilly eolian sands, dry meadows, feather grass steppes, pine forest and many other amazing natural landscapes, from which breathtaking. Also, about 680 species of plants grow here, of which Kirghiz birch, Mugodzhar's mantle, Shrinc's tulip, sundew and tonkonog have been entered into the Red Book, and 44 species of animals and 290 species of birds live, among which 44 species of birds are included in the Red Book.
Particular attention should be paid toBarsakelmes Reserve in Kazakhstan (in the Kazakh language - Barsakelmes memlekettik Tabiғi қory). It is this protected area that is unique not only in Kazakhstan, but also in the whole of the CIS, where right now an ecological catastrophe of the most global scale is taking place before our eyes. This reserve is located in the Kyzylorda region and occupies about 161 thousand hectares. Here the warm period lasts about 210 days, so the landscapes here are mostly quite deserted and severe. However, scientists still consider this place a natural laboratory of incredible beauty. All the same, the flora and fauna are still thriving here, because in this reserve you can see as many as 278 species of vascular plants and a lot of rare animals and birds - the eared hedgehog, the swan-swan, the lapwing, the Turkmen kulan, the burial ground, the pygmy jerboa and many others .
No less famous reserve in Kazakhstanis the Korgalyzh Reserve Zone (Kazakh - Korolzhyn Memlekettik Tabishi Korory), established in 1968 in the Akmola and Karaganda regions. Its area covers as much as 543 thousand hectares, of which about 200 thousand hectares falls on water bodies - Lake Kurgaldzhin and Tengiz and the Nuru River. Actually, it is because of the protection of wetlands and their coastal territory that this reserve was created, which in 2008 became part of UNESCO's world heritage, and Lake Tengiz itself appeared in the international network "Living Lakes", which includes the most unique lakes from all over of the world. Which is not surprising, because in this reserve, a huge number of steppe and aquatic vegetation grows and there are about 250 species of birds and 36 species of mammals. And recently there is also a pink flamingo, which became an honorary symbol of the protected zone.
Also it is necessary Markakolsky (Kazakh.- Marakal) is a nature reserve of Kazakhstan, symbol of which is uskuc - a fish that lives in Lake Markakol, located in the protected area. This reserve is located in the East Kazakhstan region and covers an area of 102 thousand hectares. The sights of this protected area are simply amazing. Here you can find a steep Zaisan depression, a picturesque Marble Pass, an apiary with delicious and aromatic Altaic honey, meadows, dark coniferous forests, stony tundra and many other landscapes from which breathtaking. In addition, here you can see a huge number of birds and mammals, among which there is even a snow leopard, listed in the Red Book.
If you carefully read the information aboutreserves of Kazakhstan, it is sure that the eye will catch on for information about the Ustyursky reserve zone (Kazakh - Үstirt memlekettik tabiғi қoryғy). It is located in the Mangustian region and covers an area of 223 thousand hectares. The original goal of creating this reserve was to preserve the plateau of northern deserts and numerous animals and plants that they inhabit. But in addition, it is also designed to preserve several archaeological sites that have been preserved here since the time when ancient caravans marched through these deserts. So, tourists here will see the Silk Road, the long road of Khorezmshahs, as well as numerous ancient cemeteries with mausoleums-mazars, where crowds of pilgrims constantly go.
The famous West-Altai stateReserve of Kazakhstan (Kazakh - Batys-Altai memlekettik tabiғi қoryғy) should also not be left without attention. It was created in July 1992 on the territory of the East Kazakhstan region with an area of 86 thousand hectares. This reserve is a representative of the mountain landscape, so tourists will have something to see. At an altitude of about 1500 meters, they will open the mountain taiga, at an altitude of about 2300 meters - mountain meadows, and at an altitude of 2800 meters - mountain tundra. And the whole area simply captivates the imagination by the diversity of flora and fauna, many of whose representatives are listed in the Red Book of the country. But most importantly, here is the famous valley of the Stone Fairy Tale, where, due to water erosion, a lot of amazing stone structures have formed, which must be seen by everyone who comes to the Altai.
Still very close attention as tourists, andscientists are turning to the Alakol Reserve of Kazakhstan (in the Kazakh - Alakol Memlekettik Tabiki koryty). It was established relatively recently, in April 1998, at the junction of the territories of Almaty and East Kazakhstan oblasts, and covers an area of 65,000 hectares. The reserve is remarkable because its landscapes were formed in one of the periods of the post-glacial epoch, because of which the relief of its four lakes is lake and sea salt deposits, which look extremely curious for unsophisticated tourists. And especially noteworthy here is Lake Alakol, in the center of which are located three small islands, which invariably become part of the route of migratory birds during their flights from the African and Indian islands. Especially since these are not simple birds, but those that are listed in the Red Book - the snakehead, the white-tailed eagle, the bustard, the swan-swan, the curly and pink pelicans, the crane-crane and some others.
Well, and finally, the last, the youngestThe reserve of Kazakhstan is the Karatau Reserve Zone, founded just over 10 years ago in 2004. This smallest, but extremely curious reserve with a territory of only 34,000 hectares is located in the South-Kazakhstan region in the very center of the Karatau range. Notable area is that the famous Polish scientist Thomas Sulay was able to discover on its territory artifacts, the age of which reached as much as 150 thousand years. In addition, in this protected area, about 400 plant species grow, which will be extremely curious for botanists, since many of them are a unique mixture of the oldest and newest species and forms, so 42 of them were listed in the Red Book. Representatives of the fauna here are just as impressive. In the reserve in addition to the usual for Kazakhstan species there are stone marten, mountain sheep, eagle-dwarf, balaban and some other inhabitants, which are also listed in the Red Book and are protected by the Committee of Hunting and Forestry.
But Kazakhstan is not only famous for preserves.As we have already said, besides them there are also 12 national parks in the country, which are also carefully protected, and 4 state parks are only planning to open later in East Kazakhstan, Zhambyl, South Kazakhstan and Karaganda regions.
