Yugyd Va National Park (
Komi, russian: Югыд ва) is a
national park
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
in the
Komi Republic
The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республика), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. The population of the ...
, a constituent republic of the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
. It is Europe's largest national park (ahead of
Vatnajökull National Park
Vatnajökull National Park ( is, Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður ) is one of three national parks in Iceland. It encompasses all of Vatnajökull glacier and extensive surrounding areas. These include the national parks previously existing at Skaftafe ...
in Iceland) and it was Russia's largest national park until the creation of
Beringia National Park in 2013.
History
The park was created by the
Russian Government
The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russi ...
on April 23, 1994, with the goals of
protection and recreational use of the
taiga forests of the Northern Urals.
In 1995, the forest area including the Yugyd Va National Park and the nearby
Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve
were recognized by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
as a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
,
Virgin Komi Forests
The Virgin Komi Forests ( kv, Комилӧн вӧрзьӧдлытӧм вӧръяс, russian: Де́вственные леса́ Ко́ми) is a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Northern Ural Mountains of the Komi Republic, Russia. At 3 ...
.
Geography
The Yugyd Va National Park is located on the western slopes of the Polar Ural and Northern Ural, on the border of
Europe and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. The rivers flowing from the western slope of the
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 ...
, such as the
Bolshaya Synya supply water to the
Pechora River
; Komi: Печӧра; Nenets: Санэроˮ яха
, name_etymology = The Russian name of the river is a combination of two words in an old local Nenets dialect, "pe" & "chora". Literally it means "forest dweller".
, image ...
, one of the largest rivers in Europe flowing into the
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...
.
The natural boundary of the park in the east is the main ridge of the Ural mountains, in the north - the
Kozhim River, in the west - the rivers Synja, Vangir and
Kosya, in the south - the
Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve. The territory of the park is part of the Prepolar-Ural physical-geographical area and is located in three zones - mountain, foothill and lowland, which were formed more than 200 million years ago.
It is here in the central part of the Yugid Va National Park that the highest peaks of the Ural Mountains are: the
Mount Narodnaya
Mount Narodnaya (also known as Naroda and Poenurr; russian: гора Народная, kv, Народа-Из ("People's Mountain"), Mansi: Поэнг-ур, Поэн-урр) is the highest peak of the Urals in Russia. Its elevation is . It is loc ...
(1894.5 m), as well as the
Mount Karpinsky (1878 m), Bell Tower (1724 m),
Manaraga (1662 m), Nioroika (1645 m).
Wildlife
More than half of the park is covered with the
taiga boreal forest
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 ...
; the rest is mostly
tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
, found at higher elevations. There are also some 20 km
2 of meadows, both alpine ones and those in the river valleys.
Some 180 bird species live in the park, some of them quite rare. Twenty fish species are known to inhabit the park's rivers and lakes. There are also five
amphibian
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arborea ...
species and one
reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchoce ...
species in the park.
Among the mammals common in the park are the
mountain hare
The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats.
Evolution
The mountai ...
,
flying squirrel
Flying squirrels (scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini) are a tribe of 50 species of squirrels in the family Sciuridae. Despite their name, they are not in fact capable of full flight in the same way as birds or bats, but they ar ...
,
reindeer,
ermine
Ermine may refer to three species of mustelid in the genus '' Mustela'':
* Stoat or Eurasian ermine, ''Mustela erminea'', found throughout Eurasia and northern North America
* American ermine, ''Mustela richardsonii'', found throughout North Ameri ...
,
otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes we ...
, ''Alces alces'' (known as the
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
in North American English and elk in British English),
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
,
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
,
wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
,
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nort ...
,
pine marten
The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List ...
,
weasel
Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bodi ...
,
Arctic fox
The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in co ...
.
Tourism
Recreational uses of the park include
rafting
Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
, boating, and
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histo ...
in the summer,
Nordic skiing
Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Rec ...
in winter. Limited
hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, e ...
is allowed too, but permits have to be applied for several months in advance.
Due to the remote location of the park, the amount of tourism there is still quite low. According to the park's management, it is currently visited by some 4,000 tourists every year, which is much less than the park's potential recreational capacity. The management was concerned with the fact that the user fees (some 2.4 million
rouble
The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union.
, currencies named ''rub ...
s (US$100,000) a year) did not cover park expenses (some 5 million roubles (US$200,000) a year).
["Clear future for the 'Clear Water', or how Yugyd Va National Park is to develop"]
''Krasnoye Znamya'' (a local newspaper), 15 March 2006, No. 40.
Footnotes
External links
Yugyd Va National Park(official site)
Park MapYugyd Va National Park(Russian Ministry of Natural Resources site)
{{authority control
National parks of Russia
Geography of the Komi Republic
Ural Mountains
Protected areas established in 1994
Tourist attractions in the Komi Republic