Inhul River Park is a

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

landscape park in Mykolaiv region of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Inhul River Park is an object of Nature Reserve Fund Of Ukraine. The park was established by the decision of the Mykolaiv regional council on the territory of 3'152.7 ha on December 17, 2002.

Location

Inhul River Park is located in the valley of

Inhul The Inhul ( uk, Інгул) is a left tributary of the Southern Bug (Boh) and is the 14th longest river of Ukraine. It flows through the Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions. It starts near the village of Rodnykivka, Oleksandriia Raion in Kirovohra ...

river on the territory of local councils of

Novyi Buh Novyi Buh ( uk, Нови́й Буг, ) is a city in Bashtanka Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast, Bashtanka Raion, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Novyi Buh urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: In 2001, population was 16,250 ...

town and Kamyanka, Sofiyivka, Rozanivka villages in Novy Buh area of Mykolaiv region, not far from

town in the direction of Sofiivka village. The nearest cities are

Kryvyi Rih Kryvyi Rih ( uk, Криви́й Ріг , lit. "Curved Bend" or "Crooked Horn"), also known as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог) is the largest city in central Ukraine, the 7th most populous city in Ukraine and the 2nd largest by area. Kr ...

– 80 km,

Kropyvnytskyi Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name ...

– 85 km,

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Southern Ukraine, the Administrative centre, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides U ...

– 95 km.

General information

Main purpose

The main purpose is preservation of the area of

river valley with its typical and unique natural complexes (fragments of virgin

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...

s and forest plantations).

Goals

The main goals are the following: *preservation and restoration of natural complexes and their

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

; *creation of favourable conditions for

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

; *scientific researching; *ecological educational work.

Structure

The territory of park includes hydrological nature reserve “Sofiyivsky storage pond” and botanical nature reserve “Pelaheyivsky”

Directorate

Special administration (directorate) of the park was founded in 2007, it is situated in Sofiyivka village of

area.

Ecosystem of the park

Relief

The park is located on the southern-eastern area of the Ingul block of the

Ukrainian crystalline shield In geology the Ukrainian Shield (or Ukrainian Crystalline Massif) is the southwest shield of the East European craton. The Ukrainian Shield and the Voronezh Massif consist of 3.2-3.8 Ga Archaean crust in the southwest and east, and 2.3-2.1 Ga ...

. Here

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

s and

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

s lie on

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

formations –

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

es and

s which

in some places along the valleys of the river

Ingul The Inhul ( uk, Інгул) is a left tributary of the Southern Bug (Boh) and is the 14th longest river of Ukraine. It flows through the Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions. It starts near the village of Rodnykivka, Oleksandriia Raion in Kirovohr ...

and its feeders the Sagaydak and the Berezivka creating unique attractive landscapes, the isotopic age of which is determined by geologists to be 1.8-2.2 billion of years. The most picturesque

s of the crystalline rocks have their own names. Several legends were composed about them e.g. about the rocks above the Ingul river - “Eagle-owl”, “Pillar” (or “Stone strongmen rock”), “Sleeping beauty”, “Wall” or simply “Ustia” (“estuary”) near the estuary of the Berezivka river where it inflows into the Ingul river. To the south from Rozanivka v. there is another one “Wall” or “Raven rock”, where a couple of ravens nests since olden times. There are also two “Eagle-owls” – “Old” and “Young” ones - here, as well as fantastically beautiful granite outcrops - “The coast of stone chimeras” and the granite plateau in the place of junction of the rivers Stovpova and Ingul, called “Devil’s bridge” etc. Papilio Machaon JPG1a

Flora

Flora of Inhul River Park numbers about 600 species of plants, including 20 species listed in the

Red Book of Ukraine The ''Red Data Book of Ukraine'', or literally the ''Red Book of Ukraine'' ( uk, Червона книга України, Chervona knyha Ukrayiny), is an official national red list of the threatened animals, plants and fungi that are protected by t ...

(according to the second edition of the

), four species listed in the European

Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

, five species included in the World

, one species included in the list of

Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats The Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, also known as the Bern Convention (or Berne Convention), is a binding international legal instrument in the field of Nature Conservation, it covers the natural h ...

, 12 species included in the Regional list of preservation of Mykolaiv region. Here, in addition to the typical

, meadow-steppe,

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and rock species there are many Southern Buh coast and Black Sea coast

endemics Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

such as Caragana Scythian (Caragana scythica), Greenweed Scythian (Genista scythica), Milk Vetch of Odessa (Astragalus odessana) as well as relict, rare and endangered species of unique phytogenofond. For example, several clumps of relict species Gymnospermium odessanum were found here in recent two years. In spring various landscape formations are wonderfully decorated with otentilla arenaria urinia saxatilis several species of violets,

Corydalis solida ''Corydalis solida'', fumewort or bird-in-a-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to moist, shady habitats in northern Europe and Asia. Growing to , it is a spring ephemeral, with foliage that appears in sprin ...

Scilla ''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine meadows, and sea ...

bifolia, Tulipa hypanica,

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

humilis and in summer – with the rainbow mosaic of the motley grass steppe. In autumn the slopes turn red with fruits of hawthorn (

Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...

) and dog rose (

Rosa canina ''Rosa canina'', commonly known as the dog rose, is a variable climbing, wild rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. Description The dog rose is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from , though sometimes it ...

), with leaves of gatten-tree (

Euonymus europaeus ''Euonymus europaeus'', the spindle, European spindle, or common spindle, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Celastraceae, native plant, native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gent ...

) and barberry (

Berberis vulgaris ''Berberis vulgaris'', also known as common barberry, European barberry or simply barberry, is a shrub in the genus ''Berberis'' native to the Old World. It produces edible but sharply acidic berries, which people in many countries eat as a ta ...

); they turn motley with apricot and ash tree colour gamma. Great amount of medicinal plants also attracts. Majestic stone scatterings are adorned with

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Fraxinus excelsior ''Fraxinus excelsior'', known as the ash, or European ash or common ash to distinguish it from other types of ash, is a flowering plant species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is native throughout mainland Europe east to the Caucasus and Albor ...

), elm trees (

Ulmus laevis ''Ulmus laevis'' Pall., variously known as the European white elm, fluttering elm, spreading elm, stately elm and, in the United States, the Russian elm, is a large deciduous tree native to Europe, from France northeast to southern Finland, east b ...

), black locusts (Gleditschia triacanthos) and embrace three together centennial black poplars (

Populus nigra ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

Fauna

Intensive

anthropogenic Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to: * Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity Counterintuitively, anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows: * Human im ...

activity has also impacted the fauna of Pryingulsky RLP. Cattle pasture, recreational loads, amateur fishery, poaching in the area of Sofiivske water reservoir, steppe and forest fire deplete the fauna of RLP, which, however, is much better preserved than in the bordering agrolandscapes. The list of rare and threatened species being under protection of the State includes Southern Festoon (

Zerynthia polyxena ''Zerynthia polyxena'', the southern festoon, is a butterfly belonging to the butterfly family Papilionidae. Subspecies and forms Under the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Article 1.3.4, names used only below the ...

), Old World Swallowtail (

Papilio machaon ''Papilio machaon'', the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail (a common name applied to all members of the family, but this speci ...

), Mammoth Wasp (Scolia maculata), Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa valga), Large Whip Snake (Coluber jugularis), Long-legged Buzzard (

Buteo rufinus The long-legged buzzard (''Buteo rufinus'') is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The long ...

), Stoat or Ermine (

Mustela erminea The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Conc ...

), Steppe Polecat ( Mustela eversmanii) etc.

Objects

The temple of St. Michael (Sviato-Myhailivsky temple) of the Convent of St. Michael (Sviato-Myhailivsky Convent) is situated here.

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inhul River Park Geography of Mykolaiv Oblast Parks in Ukraine Protected areas established in 2002 Tourist attractions in Mykolaiv Oblast 2002 establishments in Ukraine