Mtirala National Park ( Georgian: მტირალას ეროვნული პარკი; meaning "to cry"; previously, Tsiskara Reserve) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a ...

region, Western

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

.Mtirala in Georgia
''Protected Planet '' Covering approximately in the municipalities of

Kobuleti Kobuleti ( ka, ქობულეთი, ) is a town in Adjara, western Georgia (country), Georgia, situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. It is the seat of Kobuleti Municipality and a seaside resort. It was known as ''Çürüksu'' durin ...

Khelvachauri Khelvachauri ( ka, ხელვაჩაური ) is a neighborhood of Batumi in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara in the southwest of Georgia, southeast of the regional capital Batumi and situated on the right bank of the Chorokhi River. Bet ...

and Keda in the western

Lesser Caucasus The Lesser Caucasus or Lesser Caucasus Mountains, also called Caucasus Minor, is the second of the two main ranges of the Caucasus Mountains, of length about . The western portion of the Lesser Caucasus overlaps and converges with east Turkey an ...

, it is situated between the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and the Adjara Mountains. It also adjoins the Kintrishi Protected Areas. Owing to its outstanding

relict A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Biology A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas. Geology and geomorphology In geology, a r ...

forests, diversity of wetland ecosystems, and biodiversity, the national park was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

as part of the

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands The Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands () is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Georgia (country), Georgia, which comprises parts of the Colchis Lowland along some of western Georgia's Black Sea coastline. It was List of World Heritage Sites by year of ...

in 2021.

Climate

Mtirala National Park is located within the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests ecoregion/ Because of the funnel-like orientation of the surrounding mountains (The

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains. It stretches for about from west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of t ...

and

), the national park is extremely humid, with rainfall in the area often exceeding per year. Mount Mtirala is one of the most humid areas in the country. The name Mtirala (meaning "to cry") is derived from the annual rainfall, making it one of the wettest areas of the former Soviet Union.

Fauna and flora

The high rainfall and topographic diversity of the national park has allowed for the persistence of a wide diversity of habitats and species. Habitats within the park range from lowland forests to mountain meadows, including

sweet chestnut The sweet chestnut (''Castanea sativa''), also known as the Spanish chestnut or European chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A ...

and

Oriental beech ''Fagus orientalis'', commonly known as the Oriental beech, is a deciduous tree in the beech family Fagaceae. It is native to Eurasia, in Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Description ''Fagus orientalis'' is a large tree, capable of reaching he ...

woods with pontic rhododendron, cherry laurel and Colchic box understories and a variety of

liana A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

s. Local fauna include the

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

, roe deer,

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

booted eagle The booted eagle (''Hieraaetus pennatus'', also classified as ''Aquila pennata'') is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a ...

eagle owl The American (North and South America) horned owls and the Old World eagle-owls make up the genus ''Bubo'', at least as traditionally described. The genus name ''Bubo'' is Latin for owl. This genus contains 10 species that are found in many pa ...

golden oriole The Eurasian golden oriole (''Oriolus oriolus''), also called the common golden oriole, is the only member of the Old World oriole family of passerine birds breeding in Northern Hemisphere temperate regions. It is a summer migrant in Europe and ...

, Caucasian salamander, Caucasian toad, Eurasian marsh frog, and Caucasian viper. In addition, Mtirala National Park is located along the "Batumi bottleneck", which is a convergence zone for migrating raptor species. In total, more than 1 million raptors of 35 different species migrate through the park in the autumn, including greater than 50% of the global populations of the

and European honey-buzzard. Mtirala National Park Main Route

References

External links

* * {{Protected areas of Georgia (country) National parks of Georgia (country) Geography of Adjara Tourist attractions in Adjara

Climate

Fauna and flora

See also

References

External links