Kivach Nature Reserve (russian: Кивач заповедник) (also Kivach) 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) established in 1931 to study and protect

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

of the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...

. The site includes the famous 10.4 meter

Kivach waterfall Kivach Falls (russian: Кивач, from Karelian ''kiivas'', "impetuous") is a 10.7-m-high cascade waterfall in Russia. It is located on the Suna River in the Kondopoga District, Republic of Karelia and gives its name to the Kivach Natural Res ...

on the

Suna River The Suna (, ) is a river in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. The length of the river is 280 km. The area of its basin is 7,670 km2.

. The reserve is situated about 20 km northwest of the town of

Kondopoga Kondopoga (russian: Ко́ндопога; krl, Kondupohju; fi, Kontupohja) is a town and the administrative center of Kondopozhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located by the northern tip of the Kondopoga Bay of Lake Onega, nea ...

in the

Kondopozhsky District Kondopozhsky District (russian: Кондопо́жский райо́н; krl, Kondupohjan piiri) is an administrative district (raion), one of fifteen in the Republic of Karelia, Russia.Constitution of the Republic of Karelia It is located in th ...

. It covers an area of .

Topography

The Kivach Reserve covers lake and forest territory just to the northwest of

Lake Onega Lake Onega (; also known as Onego, rus, Оне́жское о́зеро, r=Onezhskoe ozero, p=ɐˈnʲɛʂskəɪ ˈozʲɪrə; fi, Ääninen, Äänisjärvi; vep, Änine, Änižjärv) is a lake in northwestern Russia, on the territory of the Repu ...

, where the terrain is rockier and more rugged than along the main shores of the lake. The Suna River runs through the reserve, over a ridge of

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 ...

Diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-graine ...

to create the waterfall for which the reserve is best known. The waterfall is diminished from its former size due to the construction of a dam upstream. The reserve's terrain is found in three main types: rocky ridges (the highest point is 160 meters above sea leve), hilly glacial moraines, and Quaternary glacial-lake plains.

Climate and Ecoregion

Kivach is located in the ''

Scandinavian and Russian taiga The Scandinavian and Russian taiga is an ecoregion within the taiga and boreal forests biome as defined by the WWF classification (ecoregion PA0608). It is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in ...

'' ecoregion, which covers Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south. It is covers parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the northern part of European Russia, being the largest ecoregion in Europe. The ecoregion is characterized by coniferous forests dominated by Pinus sylvestris (in drier locations), often with an understory of Juniperus communis, Picea abies and Picea obovata and a significant admixture of Betula pubescens and Betula pendula. The climate of Kivach 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 ...

(Dfc)). This climate is characterized by long cold winters, and short, cool summers. :mean July temperature: 17°C :mean January temp: -10.7°C :mean annual precipitation: 619 mm :frost-free period: 104-153 days :mean snow cover by the end of winter: 83 cm (lasts for 143 days on average)

Flora and fauna

Vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

: 569 species, 239 genera, 85 families :

Mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

: 48 species :

Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

: 197 species :

Reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...

: 3 species : Amphibians: 5 species :

Fishes Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

: 18 species

Gallery

File:Prokudin-Gorsky.Suna River.jpg ,

Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky ( rus, Сергей Михайлович Прокудин-Горский, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪxəjɫəvʲɪtɕ prəkudʲin ˈɡorskʲɪj, a=ru-Prokudin-Gorskii.ogg; – September 27, 1944) was a Ru ...

in 1915 at the

File:Kivach-w-fall.JPG File:Kivach2 2008.JPG File:KivachMuseum.JPG

Ecoeducation and access

As a strict nature reserve, the Kivach Reserve is mostly closed to the general public. There is, however, a "public excursion zone" that is open year round to public tourists for visits to the waterfall, a nature museum, and a monument to fallen soldiers of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...

. Trails in the public zone have informational signs and basic facilities. The main office is in the town of Kivach.

References

External links

Map of Kivach Reserve, OpenStreetMap

Map of Kivach Reserve, ProtectedPlanet
{{Authority control Nature reserves in Russia Geography of the Republic of Karelia Protected areas established in 1931 Tourist attractions in the Republic of Karelia 1931 establishments in Russia Zapovednik