Great Arctic State Nature Reserve
Encyclopedia
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
in Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory. The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. With an area of 41692 square kilometres (16,097.4 sq mi), it is the largest reserve of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Eurasia, also one of the largest in the world.
History
The Great Arctic State Nature Reserve was founded on May 11, 1993 by Resolution No.431 of the Government of the Russian Federation. The Nature Reserves in Russia are known as zapovedniks.Sections
The Great Arctic State Nature Reserve is divided into nine sections:- Dikson - SibiryakovSibiryakov IslandSibiryakov Island or Sibiryakow Island , also known as Kuz'kin Island , is an island of 800 square kilometres. Its length is 38 km and its maximum width 27 km...
section. - The Kara SeaKara SeaThe Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....
Islands section, with a surface of 4000 square kilometres (1,544.4 sq mi). It includes the Sergei Kirov IslandsKirov IslandsThe Kirov Islands or Sergey Kirov Islands , also known as Kerova Islands, is an archipelago of small islands covered with tundra vegetation...
, the Voronina IslandVoronina IslandVoronina Island or Voronina Islands is an isolated two-island group composed of a larger island and a narrow island on its northern side separated by a 3 km wide sound.The main Voronina Island is about 9 km long and 6 km wide and is covered with tundra vegetation and ice...
, the Izvestiy TSIK IslandsIzvestiy TSIK IslandsThe Izvestiy TSIK Islands or Izvesti Tsik Islands , also known as Izvestia Islands, is an archipelago composed of two large and two small islands covered with tundra vegetation, shingle and ice...
, the Arkticheskiy Institut IslandsArkticheskiy Institut IslandsThe Arkticheskiy Institut Islands or Arctic Institute Islands is a compact archipelago of narrow islands covered with tundra vegetation. The islands are located in the Kara Sea, about north of the coast of Siberia, and just south of the nearest island group, the Izvesti Tsik Islands.The distance...
, the Sverdrup IslandSverdrup Island (Kara Sea)Sverdrup Island or Svordrup Island is an isolated island in the southern region of the Kara Sea. This island is covered with tundra vegetation. It is located 120 km North of Dikson in the coast of Siberia. The nearest land are the Arkticheskiy Institut Islands, about 90 km to the NE.This...
, the Uedineniya Island and a number of smaller islands. This section represents rather fully the natural and biological diversity of Arctic Sea islands of the eastern part of the Kara Sea. - The Pyasino section. Includes the Pyasino GulfPyasino GulfThe Pyasino Gulf, also known as Pyasina Bay, is a bay at the mouth of the Pyasina River in the Kara Sea. It is limited on its western side by the Kamennyye Islands and on its northeastern side by the Minina Skerries.The Bay of the Pyasina is surrounded by tundra coast...
and the Pyasina RiverPyasina RiverPyasina River is a river in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. The length of the river is . The area of its basin is 182,000 km². The Pyasina River originates in the Lake Pyasino and flows into the Pyasino Gulf of the Kara Sea. There are more than 60,000 lakes in the basin of the Pyasina covering...
basin. - The Middendorff BayMiddendorff BayThe Middendorff Bay, is a deeply indented bay in the shores of the Taymyr Peninsula. It is located southwest of the Nordenskiöld Archipelago in the Kara Sea and it is open towards the west. This bay is limited on its eastern side by the Zarya Peninsula, named after Baron Eduard von Toll's ship Zarya...
- The Nordenskiöld ArchipelagoNordenskiöld ArchipelagoThe Nordenskiöld Archipelago or Nordenskjold Archipelago is a very large and complex cluster of islands in the eastern region of the Kara Sea. Its eastern limit lies west of the Taymyr Peninsula....
- The Lower Taimyr section. Includes the basin of the Taimyr River (upper and lower), as well as Lake Taimyr.
- The Chelyuskin Peninsula. Includes the northern end of the Taimyr Peninsula
- The Northern Reserve (Североземельский).
- The Brekhovsky Islands Natural Reserve
Ecology
Many animals and plants are meant to thrive within the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve without human disturbance. Among the animals that are protected by this Zapovednik, some of the most important are the polar bearPolar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
, the arctic fox
Arctic fox
The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...
, the snowy owl
Snowy Owl
The Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. The bird is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl, Great...
, the reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
and the beluga.