Yelnya Swamp ( be, Балота Ельня) is the biggest

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

complex in Belarus. The swamps cover 253.01 square kilometers and considered to be more than 9000 years old. The Landscape Reserve "Yelnya" was founded in 1968.

History

Yelnya Swamp is one of the oldest swamps in Belarus and was formed 12821 – 13114 years ago.

Biodiversity

Yelnya swamp is a stopping point for birds that migrate from the north through Belarus for wintering in Israel and North Africa. About 50 pairs of cranes stay here for nesting. More than 405 species of plants grow in the bog, 13 of them are listed as an endangered species. Approximately 150 bird species live and nest here.

References

National parks of Belarus Protected areas established in 1968 Ramsar sites in Belarus Marshes of Belarus {{Belarus-geo-stub