Zabaykalsky National Park is one of the main natural attractions
of the Republic of Buryatia and a visiting card of
Lake Baikal. The
park combines pristine natural territories, diverse and picturesque
landscapes, as well as a rich fauna. All this splendor opens up
great opportunities for excellent recreation, recreational fishing,
sports and educational tourism.
The Zabaykalsky Natural Park
was founded in September 1986. The main purpose of its creation is
to preserve the natural complex of the Baikal basin. Until 1995, the
park was called the Transbaikal State Natural National Park in the
Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, later it was given its
present name - Transbaikal National Park. The total area of the
park is 269.1 thousand hectares. The territory of the national park
includes 37 thousand hectares of the water area of Lake Baikal.
The territory of the Zabaikalsky National Park belongs to the Central
Baikal eastern climatic region and is characterized by a continental
climate with long cold winters and warm, sometimes dry summers. Lake
Baikal has a moderating effect on the climate of the coastal part.
The average temperature in January is −18–19 °С, in July +12–14 °С.
In the mountains, the average January temperature drops to -23-25 °C,
and in places (in intermountain depressions) to -27 °C. The maximum
average July temperatures in intermountain depressions are up to + 18.5
°C. The absolute temperature maximum is +36 °C and the absolute minimum
is -50 °C.
The water in Baikal, even in the hottest time, rarely
warms up above +14 °C. The average annual precipitation ranges from 350
mm on the coast to 450 mm in the mountains. West and southwest winds
prevail.
The national park is located within a typical mountain-taiga region.
Within the boundaries of the park, large orographic units are
distinguished: the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula, the Barguzinsky Range, the
Chivyrkuisky Isthmus and the Ushkany Islands.
Two mountain ranges
extend across the territory of the park in the north-east direction:
Barguzinsky, gradually descending from the Barguzinsky Reserve to
Barmashev Lake (the highest elevation of the ridge within the park is
2376 meters above sea level) and the Sredinny Ridge of the Svyatoy Nos
Peninsula, gradually descending from the center of the peninsula to
north and south (the highest mark in the middle part is 1877 m).
The Chivyrkui Isthmus connects the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula with the
eastern shore of Lake Baikal. The Ushkany Islands are the peaks of the
underwater Academic Ridge, which divides the Baikal depression into two
basins - northern and southern.
The territory of the national
park is distributed according to the steepness of the slopes as follows:
26° and above (steep slopes) - 55%, from 16° to 25° - 28%, from 0 to 15°
- 17%.
The land border of the national park runs along the watershed of the
Barguzin river basin, which is outside the park. Many small rivers flow
in the park (Burtui, Maly Chivirkuy, etc.). All of them have closed
pools and carry their waters to Baikal. The most significant of them
are: Bolshaya Cheremshana, Malaya Cheremshana, Bolshoi Chivirkuy.
The largest lakes - Arangatui and Small Arangatui - are located on
the Chivyrkuisky Isthmus and are connected to the Chivyrkuisky Bay. The
next largest lake, Barmashovoe, is known for its mineral waters. In
addition, there are more than two dozen karst lakes.
On the
territory of the park there are outlets of thermal waters - springs
Zmeiny, Nechaevsky, Kulinoe.
The borders of the national park
included 37 thousand hectares of the water area of Lake Baikal (27
thousand hectares in the Chivyrkuisky Bay and 10 thousand hectares in
the Barguzinsky Bay). The bays are separated by the Chivyrkui Isthmus, a
bridge formed by sediments from the Barguzin and Maly Chivyrkui rivers.
Soil-forming rocks are diverse and are represented by eluvium of
bedrocks. Soils in the park are mostly small-profile, gravelly, easily
washed away by precipitation and blown by the wind in the absence of
vegetation.
The distribution of soils occurs according to the
altitudinal-zonal principle:
The main soil background of the
tundra-bald forest complex (1400–2600 m a.s.l.) is represented by
mountain tundra fragmentary, mountain tundra peaty and humus, and
mountain tundra gley permafrost soils.
In the soil cover of the
subalpine-subalpine forest complex (1300–2000 m a.s.l.), the main
background is formed by mountain-tundra humus, mountain-tundra
soddy-humus, mountain-taiga peaty-podzolic, and mountain-taiga
humus-peaty soils.
In the cedar-taiga (1000-1800 m above sea level)
and cedar-fir taiga complexes, the main background is formed by
mountain-taiga humus-peaty-podzolic, peaty-podzolic, humus-peaty soils.
In combination with them, mountain-taiga peaty-podzolic-gley and
soddy-humus soils are developed.
The main background of the light
coniferous larch-taiga forest complex (600–1500 m a.s.l.) is formed by
soddy forest and soddy-calcareous soils. Meadow permafrost soils are
widespread in the negative relief elements.
The soil cover of the
meadow-steppe (455–950 m a.s.l.) and subtaiga-forest-steppe (500–1200 m
a.s.l.) forest complexes is dominated by mountain soddy-frozen and
soddy-podzolic soils. Part of the area is occupied by boron sands. The
soil cover under the sedge-reed grass thickets is represented by frozen
marsh soils.
The great diversity of the soil cover within the forest
complexes is created by the features of the micro- and mesorelief and
the diversity of soil-forming rocks.
The territory of the national park is included in the zone of
subtaiga forests of the southern taiga of Siberia. In the structure of
the vegetation cover, the vertical zonality characteristic of the
mountains of Transbaikalia is clearly traced.
Coniferous species
dominate in the composition of forest plantations: ordinary pine (Pinus
sylvestris) - 33.6%, dwarf pine (Pinus pumila) - 29.2%, Siberian cedar
(Pinus sibirica) - 13.5%, Gmelin larch (Larix gmelmii) - 9.1%, Siberian
fir (Abies sibirica) - 5.4%. Deciduous plantations occupy insignificant
areas: stone and broad-leaved birch (Betula ermanii, B. platyphylla) -
4.3%, aspen (Populus tremula) - 3.9%.
There are a number of
features in the distribution of the mountain taiga forests of the park.
In contrast to the continental mountains of Siberia, where larch (Larix
gmelmii) and cedar-larch (Pinus sibirica - Larix gmelmii) forests in
forest belts are predominantly developed, their areas in the national
park are small (about 14 thousand hectares). They are distributed in
islands along river terraces on moraines. In the north-west of the
Svyatoi Nos peninsula, larch plantations (Larix gmelinii) grow in
tongues up to the upper border of the forest. The rest of the territory
of the peninsula within the forest belt is occupied by pine (Pinus
sylvestris) forests. They also predominate on the western slope of the
Barguzin Ridge (from the Bolshoi Dry Stream to the mouth of the Barguzin
River).
The dark coniferous forests of the park (from Siberian
fir - Abies sibirica) occupy separate areas and for the most part
gravitate towards the most humid coast of Baikal, and are also found in
the northeast of the Svyatoy Nos peninsula. On the eastern shore of Lake
Baikal, Siberian dwarf pine (Pinus pumila) appears in the undergrowth.
In some parts of the coast, together with other coniferous species, it
forms a special type of community corresponding to the belt of wet
Baikal forests. On the Svyatoi Nos peninsula, it is represented only in
fragments.
The flora includes many endemic, rare and relict
plants. Various types of steppe phytocenoses have a relict origin, plant
communities of high-mountain complexes with alpine shrubs on the Ushkany
Islands and the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula are valuable. More than 10
thousand hectares of natural plantations of special value have been
identified in the national park, including forests of pine (Pinus
sylvestris), Gmelin larch (Larix gmelinii), Siberian cedar (Pinus
sibirica) and Siberian fir (Abies sibirica) aged 200 years and older.
The communities of Siberian dwarf pine (Pinus pumila) and dwarf dwarf
birch (Betula divaricata) are especially valuable. Chosenia (Chosenia
arbutifolia) is of particular interest as a rare species on the western
border of its range. According to preliminary estimates, the flora of
the park is more than 700 species of vascular plants. There are habitats
of many species listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, 19
endemic species, 9 species rare in Baikal, including Tiling's borodinia
(Borodinia tilingii).
300 species of terrestrial vertebrates have been registered on the
territory of the national park: 50 species of mammals, 250 species of
birds, 3 reptiles and 3 species of amphibians. The most common species
of mammals of medium and large sizes: mountain hare (Lepus timidus),
squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), muskrat (Ondatra zibethica), sable (Martes
zibellina), stoat (M. erminea), brown bear (Ursus arctos), noble deer
(Cervus elaphus), elk (Alces alces). The Ushkany Islands are the most
important rookery of the Baikal seal (Phoca sibirica) on Baikal. 49
species of terrestrial vertebrates found in the park are listed in the
Red Data Books of the Russian Federation and/or the Republic of
Buryatia.
The ichthyofauna of the Barguzinsky and Chivyrkuisky
bays, lakes and rivers of the park is represented by such fish species
as omul (Coregonus autum-nalis), whitefish (C. lavaretus), Siberian
grayling (Thymallus arcticus), burbot (Lota lota), pike (Esox lucius),
perch (Perca fluviatilis), dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), ide (Lidus),
common roach (Rutilus rutilus), etc. Chivyrkuisky Bay is one of the main
places where the lacustrine form of whitefish spawns.
There are many unique natural objects on the territory of the
national park. Of these, 17 were declared natural monuments even before
the creation of the park. These are landscape monuments of nature
(Ongokonsky Cape, Bolshoy Baklany Island, Ushkany Islands), geological
(Malocheremshanskaya Cave, Singing Sands, Big and Small Kyltygey
Islands, Kameshek-Bezymyanny Island), water (Snake Springs, Kuliny Bogs,
Nechaevsky, Lake Arangatui), botanical (tract Cheremshanskaya grove).
The historical and cultural complex of the park includes natural and
historical monuments (serifs Monakhovskaya, Nizhneizgolovskaya,
Zimoveynomysskaya, Shimaiskaya), many archaeological sites, including
Neolithic sites, slab graves of the 2nd century BC. BC e. and graves of
late nomads of the XIV-XV centuries, traces of an ancient irrigation
system, 35 settlements of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages.