Göygöl National Park () — is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. It was established in an area in

Goygol Rayon Goygol District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan, situated in the western part of the country within the Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region. The district is bordered by districts of Goranboy, Kalbajar, Dashkasan, Shamkir, Samukh, and ...

administrative district on April 1, 2008, on the basis of the former "Goy Gol State Reserve" that was established in 1925 and which it superseded, on a surface area of . It was enlarged from of the former state reserve to its current surface area as a national park. The park is the most visited in the country. The national park includes one of the most beautiful and cleanest lakes in Azerbaijan,

Lake Göygöl A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

. The reserve is intended to protect the natural

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

of the

subalpine zone Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

s of the northern slopes of the

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 ...

. During the

Soviet era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

, it had been deprived of its reserve status, but was restored later.Ministry of Ecology: Goy Gol State Reserve
/ref>

Flora and fauna

Flora

The area of Göygöl is almost entirely covered by forests and has a rich flora with over 420 plant species, including 20 which are endemic to the area. The major types of trees are chestnut-leaved oak (''

Quercus castaneifolia ''Quercus castaneifolia'', the chestnut-leaved oak, is a species of oak in the turkey oak section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is native to the Caucasus and Alborz mountains of Iran, and resembles the closely related Turkey Oak in appearanc ...

''), Caucasian oak ('' Quercus macranthera''), Caucasian ash (''

Fraxinus angustifolia ''Fraxinus angustifolia'', the narrow-leaved ash, is a species of ''Fraxinus'' native to Central Europe and Southern Europe, Northwest Africa, and Southwest Asia.Flora Europaea''Fraxinus angustifolia''/ref>Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britai ...

'' subsp. ''oxycarpa''), European ash (''

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 Alb ...

''), European hornbeam (''

Carpinus betulus Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

''), Oriental hornbeam (''

Carpinus orientalis ''Carpinus orientalis'', known as the Oriental hornbeam, is a species of hornbeam in the birch family Betulaceae, subfamily Coryloideae, native to southeastern Europe and Western Asia. It is quite tolerant of dry conditions, and usually occurs on ...

''), Oriental beech (''

Fagus orientalis ''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 ...

''), velvet maple ('' Acer velutinum''), Cappadocian maple (''

Acer cappadocicum ''Acer cappadocicum'', the Cappadocian maple, is a maple native to Asia, from central Turkey (ancient Cappadocia) east along the Caucasus, the Himalayas, to southwestern China.Mitchell, A. F. (1974). ''A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and No ...

''), Caucasian lime tree ('' Tilia dasystyla'' subsp. ''caucasica''), etc. Shrub species occurring in the area include the medlar (''

Crataegus azarolus ''Crataegus azarolus'' is a species of hawthorn known by the common names azarole, azerole (from ) and Mediterranean medlar. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin and is a common plant there, growing on sites comparable to those the European ...

'' subsp. ''pontica''), European 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 tar ...

''), European cornel (''

Cornus mas ''Cornus mas'', commonly known as cornel (also the Cornelian cherry, European cornel or Cornelian cherry dogwood), is a species of shrub or small tree in the dogwood family Cornaceae native to Western Europe, Southern Europe, and Southwestern Asi ...

''), European spindle (''

Euonymus europaeus ''Euonymus europaeus'', the spindle, European spindle, or common spindle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gentle slopes, tending to thrive on ...

''), blackberry (''

Rubus fruticosus ''Rubus fruticosus'' L. is the ambiguous name of a European blackberry species in the genus ''Rubus'' (part of the rose family). The name has been interpreted in several ways: *The species represented by the type specimen of ''Rubus fruticosu ...

''), etc.

Fauna

There are several endemic subspecies of birds, of which the bearded vulture (''

Gypaetus barbatus The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in the monotypic genus ''Gypaetus''. The bearded vulture is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of 70–90% bone. ...

''),

Egyptian vulture The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture in the monotypic genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa ...

(''

Neophron percnopterus The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture in the monotypic genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa ...

''), Eurasian eagle-owl (''

Bubo bubo The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl, a type of bird that resides in much of Eurasia. It is often just called the eagle-owl in Europe and Asia. It is one of the largest species of owl. Females can grow to a total l ...

''), black woodpecker ('' Dryocopus martius''), golden oriole ('' Oriolus oriolus''), mistle thrush (''

Turdus viscivorus The mistle thrush (''Turdus viscivorus'') is a bird common to much of Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa. It is a year-round resident in a large part of its range, but northern and eastern populations migrate south for the winter, often i ...

''), stock dove ('' Columba oenas''), Eurasian woodcock ('' Scolopax rusticola''), woodlark ('' Lullula arborea''), mute swan (''

Cygnus olor The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...

''), common quail (''

Coturnix coturnix The common quail (''Coturnix coturnix''), or European quail, is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the western Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India. With its ...

''), Caspian titmouse ('' Poecile hyrcanus'') subspecies of the

titmouse ''Baeolophus'' is a genus of birds in the family Paridae, commonly called tits. Its members are known as titmouses or titmice. All the species are native to North America. In the past, most authorities retained ''Baeolophus'' as a subgenus w ...

; the Caucasus pheasant ('' Phasianus colchicus colchicus'') subspecies of the

common pheasant The common pheasant (''Phasianus colchicus''), ring-necked pheasant, or blue-headed pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family (biology), family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin ''phasianus'' 'pheasant'. The species name ''colchic ...

are common. The Caspian tiger (''

Panthera tigris virgata The Caspian tiger was a ''Panthera tigris tigris'' population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the Middl ...

'') once roamed these mountains, but is now extinct. Other large mammals here are the lynx (''

Lynx lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus ''Lynx''. It is widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Him ...

''), brown bear (''

Ursus arctos 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 ...

''), wild boar (''

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

''), wolf (''

Canis lupus The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

''), golden jackal (''

Canis aureus The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called the common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eurasia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is smaller a ...

''), jungle cat ('' Felis chaus''), red fox (''

Vulpes vulpes The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

''), roe deer ('' Capreolus capreolus''), badger (''

Meles meles The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to Europe and West Asia and parts of Central Asia. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, as it has a w ...

''), etc. The Persian leopard ('' Panthera pardus saxicolor'') subspecies of the

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

, lives in the southern regions in Azerbaijan, primarily in the Talysh Mountains,

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

and Nakhichevan. Despite occasional sightings, it was not clear whether leopards had been extinct in Azerbaijan by the late 1990s until a species was caught on camera in March, 2007 in the Hirkan National Park. However it is still not clear if leopards live in the Göygöl National Park.

Filmography

A documentary film titled “Göygöl Milli Parkı” (Goygol National Park) was shot in 2015. The film was presented in the Nizami Cinema Center in Baku. Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the film screening.

References

External links