Denezhkin Kamen Nature Reserve (russian: Денежкин камень заповедник) (also Denezhkin Kamen) is a Russian '

zapovednik Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area whi ...

' (strict nature reserve), centered on Denezhkin Stone Mountain, on the eastern slope of the Central

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

. The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the Urals (altitude of ); and most of the reserve's terrain is West Siberian taiga and some tundra. Denezhkin Kamen is the only nature reserve in the Ural east-slope watershed, and protects relatively pristine forest. There are old-growth stands of trees, no settlements, and no logging roads on the site. The reserve is situated about 400 km north of

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

, in the

Severouralsk Severouralsk (russian: Североура́льск, lit. ''(a town) in the Northern Ural Mountains, Urals'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vagran River (Ob River, Ob's drainage ...

city district in the north of

Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg, formerly known as S ...

Topography

Denezhkin Kamen Mountain is about half bare stone (shale and syenite-gneiss); one fourth is forested and the other half scrub and bush. Visitors report a bleak and harsh environment. The mountain supports the headwaters of the Sosva River, which flows into the

Tavda River The Tavda () is a Siberian river that drains part of the central Ural mountains into the Tobol. It is north of the Tura and south of the Konda. It is located in Sverdlovsk Oblast and Tyumen Oblast. It is formed by the confluence of the rivers ...

, which flows into the

Ob River } The Ob ( rus, Обь, p=opʲ: Ob') is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia; and together with Irtysh forms the world's List of rivers by length, seventh-longest river system, at . It forms at the confluence of the Biya (river), Biya ...

and ultimately into the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...

to the north. The reserve is on the east slope of the Urals, and looks down to the east towards the

West Siberian Plain The West Siberian Plain (russian: За́падно-Сиби́рская равни́на ''Zapadno-Sibirskaya ravnina'') is a large plain that occupies the western portion of Siberia, between the Ural Mountains in the west and the Yenisei River ...

. The western border of the site runs north–south along the main ridge of the Urals, effectively marking the border between Europe to the west and Asia to the east.

Climate and Ecoregion

Denezhkin Kamen is located in the ''

West Siberian taiga West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

'' ecoregion, a region that covers the West Siberian Plain, from the Urals to the Central Siberian Plateau.. The entire region is one of extensive conifer boreal forests, and also extensive wetlands, including bogs and mires. The climate of Denezhkin Kamen is '' Humid continental climate, cool summer'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

Subartic climate(Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1–3 months above ) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below ). In the Denezhkin Kamen reserve, average temperates in January are −20.3 C degrees; in July 12.9 C degrees.

Flora and fauna

There are three altitude zone of floral communities in the reserve: northern taiga, subalpine (750–850 meters), and bald mountain (above 1,000–1,200 meters). Below the bare mountain areas, the forests are typical of the West Siberian northern taiga: 38% dark coniferous spruce-pine-fir forest, 12% pine forest (in the eastern and southern parts of the reserve), and 35% mixed forest. In the understory, bushes such as

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus ''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...

and raspberry are common. Because the reserve is on the border between the west and east side of the Urals, it supports animals from both communities. For example, both martens and sable are resident. Moose and elk were formerly common, but have been affected by poaching in the surrounding area. In 1994 beavers were recorded as having moved back into the territory. Scientists on the reserve have recorded 37 species of mammals. The area is a site of international importance for birds; 140 species have been recorded, with 111 nesting. 10 species of bird in the Red Book of Russia are found, including the vulnerable

Lesser white-fronted goose The lesser white-fronted goose (''Anser erythropus'') is a goose closely related to the larger white-fronted goose (''A. albifrons''). It breeds in the northernmost Palearctic, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe. There is a re-introduction sche ...

and the

Falco vespertinus The red-footed falcon (''Falco vespertinus''), formerly the western red-footed falcon, is a bird of prey. It belongs to the family Falconidae, the falcons. This bird is found in eastern Europe and Asia although its numbers are dwindling rapidly ...

Ecoeducation and access

As a strict nature reserve, the Denezhkin Kamen Reserve is mostly closed to the general public, although scientists and those with 'environmental education' purposes can make arrangements with park management for visits. There are two 'ecotourist' routes in the reserve, however, that are open to the public, but both require permits to be obtained in advance. One route is a rafting excursion on the Sosva River, the other is a 20 km hike to the top of the main ridge of the Urals. The reserve's management cautions that many published maps of the reserve's boundaries are inaccurate (official maps are posted on th
website
), and that tourists entering the site without proper escort will be fined. The main office is in the nearby town of Severouralsk.

References

External links