Põhja-Kõrvemaa Nature 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 ...

Harju County Harju County ( or ''Harjumaa''), is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla Count ...

, Northern

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, some 50 km east of

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. With an area of 130.9 km², it is the third largest

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

in Estonia. Dominated by forests and bogs, it aims to protect rare and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, their habitats, and valuable natural landscapes. Põhja-Kõrvemaa (meaning North Kõrvemaa) occupies the northern part of

Kõrvemaa Kõrvemaa (or ('Middle Estonian Lowland')) is a geographical region in Northern Estonia. Its area is , with length of and width of . The region is characterised by wetlands (37.7% of the region) and forests. Settlement is sparse. A high percen ...

, which itself forms the northern part of Transitional Estonia, a large forested and sparsely populated area spanning in northeast–southwest direction through Estonia, from Lahemaa through Soomaa to

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

History

Põhja-Kõrvemaa Nature Reserve was established towards the end of 1991, a few months after Estonia regained its independence. Throughout 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, ...

a large part of the nature reserve's current territory was used by

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

for military training and as such was closed to the public. The

proving ground A proving ground is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. The ...

s were established in 1947 and in 1953 expanded to 33,304 ha (333 km²), making it the biggest Soviet military polygon in Estonia. Still, the Soviet Army damaged only about 10% of the proving grounds' territory, leaving the rest intact. Due to unsuitability for agriculture (poor and/or badly drained

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

s) the whole region has always been very sparsely populated – in the beginning of the 1950s the

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was around 1 people per km² – but still a few hundred people were displaced together with the creation of proving ground. Põhja-Kõrvemaa nature reserve was formed in the western part of the former

Aegviidu Aegviidu is a borough in Anija Parish, Harju County, Estonia, most known for its picturesque surroundings and hiking trails. The borough is situated along the Tallinn-Narva railway and , housing both the Aegviidu TV Mast (107m) and the termi ...

polygon, which had been hidden behind the official name of Pavlov Forest District. In the 1990s,

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces () is the unified military force of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consists of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Estonian Defence Leagu ...

were interested to begin reusing some areas of the former polygon now situated on the nature reserve's territory. However, due to strong opposition by local people and conservationists, the idea was given up. In 2001, Estonian Defence Forces central proving ground was established in the eastern part of the former Soviet military polygon. The Valgejõgi River is the natural divide between the current proving ground and the nature reserve. From 1997 to 2007 the nature reserves official status was landscape protection area. In 2007 it was expanded from 12,890 to 13,086

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s and official status changed back to nature reserve. Since 2004 it is part of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

network.

Nature

The landscape in Põhja-Kõrvemaa took shape in the end of the last Ice Age, when the glacier retreated about 12,000 years ago and is as such a typical glacial landscape. It is characterized by ice marginal formations and glaciolacustrine plains, the latter of which are now mostly covered by extensive

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s and, to a much lesser extent,

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

s. Forests cover about 40% of the nature reserve's territory and man-made open areas only 10%. The region is richest in Estonia in ice marginal formations. The most remarkable relief forms of the region are

esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...

s, which form steep-sided ridges of very complex relief that extend to a number of kilometers and are up to 25 m high. Along with eskers there are several

kame A kame, or ''knob'', is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the g ...

fields — areas covered with hillocks consisting of sand and gravel. Jussi kame field is the best known in Põhja-Kõrvemaa. There are more than 30 lakes in Põhja-Kõrvemaa. Most of the lakes are small, situated either in bogs (Kivijärv, Koitjärv, Venejärv and others) or between kames. Jussi lakes is a group of 6 lakes (spanning from 2 to 20 hectares in area) situated in the eastern part of the Jussi kame field. In addition to the lakes, the three biggest bogs (Koitjärve, Kõnnu Suursoo and Võhma bogs), which cover about half of the territory, have developed extensive ridges of small bog ponds, which can be counted in hundreds.

Flora and fauna

A number of rare or endangered species can be found in Põhja-Kõrvemaa, which is one of the main reasons behind the area's status as a nature reserve. It is home to large predators such as

gray wolf 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 ...

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is one of the four wikt:extant, extant species within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. It is widely distributed from Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe to Cent ...

and

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 ...

. Small populations of

European mink The European mink (''Mustela lutreola''), also known as the Russian mink and Eurasian mink, is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to Europe. It is similar in colour to the American mink, but is slightly smaller and has a less specialize ...

endured until the beginning of the 1990s, but are now disappeared, as in most of Estonia. Protected bird species include

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, t ...

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

capercaillie ''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse. Feathers from the bird were used to create the characteristic hat of the bersaglieri, an Italian ace infantry formation. ...

and

common crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the crane (bird), cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') an ...

. Nineteen species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

s can be found in Põhja-Kõrvemaa (for example, ''

Goodyera repens ''Goodyera repens'', an orchid in the genus ''Goodyera'', is called by the common name creeping lady's-tresses in Anglophone Europe and dwarf rattlesnake plantain or lesser rattlesnake plantain in North America. It is a green underground creeper ...

'' and ''

Platanthera bifolia ''Platanthera bifolia'', commonly known as the lesser butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus ''Platanthera'', having certain relations with the genus ''Orchis'', where it was previously included and also with the genus '' Habenar ...

''), among other rare plants growing in the area are ''

Pulsatilla patens ''Pulsatilla patens'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe, Russia, Mongolia, and China. Common names include Eastern pasqueflower and cutleaf anemone. Taxonomy It was first formally named in 1753 as '' ...

'', '' Sparganium angustifolium'', ''

Isoetes ''Isoetes'', commonly known as the quillworts, is a genus of lycopod. It is the only living genus in the family Isoetaceae and order Isoetales. , there were about 200 recognized species, with a cosmopolitan distribution mostly in aquatic habitats ...

echinospora'' and '' Oxytropis sordida'' (the only place in Estonia where the plant is found). Carcasse of a moose, May 2010.jpg, Carcasse of a moose Palu-karukellad (Pulsatilla patens) Kõrvemaal.jpg, ''

'' in Kõrvemaa Kivisisalik.jpg,

Sand lizard #REDIRECT Sand lizard {{redirect category shell, {{R from alternative capitalisation{{R from move ...

in Jussi heat Rästik Rästik Põhja-Kõrvemaa looduskaitsealal.jpg, ''

Vipera berus ''Vipera berus'', also known as the common European adder Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . and the common European viper, ...

Recreation

Põhja-Kõrvemaa is one of the most visited protected areas in Estonia due to the closeness of

and general good accessibility - in the north the nature reserve is bordered by the Tallinn-Narva highway ( E20) and in the west by Jägala-Aegviidu-Käravete secondary road. The nature reserve itself has also a considerable amount of gravel and dirt roads.

, which is located less than 5 km southwest from the nature reserve and is the endpoint of Elron commuter railway line, can be reached in an hour from the center of Tallinn. There are several hiking trails, the longest being the 36 km long Liiapeksi-Aegviidu trail, which crosses the nature reserve from north to south, and also continues to the north in

Lahemaa National Park Lahemaa National Park is a park in northern Estonia, 70 kilometers east from the capital Tallinn. The Gulf of Finland is to the north of the park and the Tallinn-Narva highway (E20) to the south. Its area covers 747 km2 (including 274.9 ...

, which is separated from Põhja-Kõrvemaa by Tallinn-Narva highway. Shorter nature and hiking trails and half a dozen

campsite Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

s are also available, all managed by the State forest management centre (RMK). Despite the hiking facilities created in recent years, berry and mushroom picking are still the most popular activities among the visitors. On summer weekends, up to 700 people visit Põhja-Kõrvemaa daily, most of whom drive from Tallinn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pohja-Korvemaa Nature Reserve Nature reserves in Estonia Geography of Harju County Protected areas established in 1991 1991 establishments in Estonia Forests of Estonia Tourist attractions in Harju County Kuusalu Parish Anija Parish

History

Nature

Flora and fauna

Recreation

See also

References