What is World Heritage? The most protected UNESCO sites in Russia. UNESCO sites in Russia - photos

Surely you have at least once seen majestic mountains and peaceful valleys, winding rivers and endless forests that will take your breath away? There are many such places on Earth. Unique territories that are important to preserve in their original form are included in the list of the World Heritage Sites. natural heritage. Now it has 203 objects, 11 of which are in Russia. It just seems that this is quite a bit: among all countries, Russia ranks fourth in the number of objects after China, America and Australia.

To the territory world heritage include state nature reserves and national parks. Landscapes change from high-mountain lakes, glaciers, arctic tundras to alpine meadows, taiga, endless steppes and even volcanoes.

It's not only incredible Beautiful places, but also home to many species of animals and plants, rare and even endemic - those that are not found anywhere else in the world. One example is the Amur tiger and the Daurian crane. Some plants on the territory of natural monuments are hundreds of years old. The age of cedar in the Pritelets taiga is more than six centuries.

An object is included in the list if it meets at least one of the criteria:

    (VII) represents a natural phenomenon or area of ​​exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.

    (VIII) reflects the main stages of the history of the Earth, symbolizes geological processes in the development of relief or its features

    (IX) reflects ecological or biological processes in the evolution of animals, plants and other organisms

    (X) includes significant natural environment habitat to preserve its biological diversity and endangered species of exceptional global value

4 out of 11 objects in Russia were selected according to criterion VII: Komi forests, Lake Baikal, Kamchatka volcanoes and the Putorana plateau. Therefore, travelers all over the world strive to see them.

Read the mini-guide to all UNESCO natural heritage sites in Russia to see them in person someday.

1. Virgin Komi forests

The largest intact forests in Europe cover an area of ​​32,600 km². This is approximately 3 km² larger than the area of ​​Belgium. The Komi Forests are the first Russian site to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is home to brown bear, sable, elk, more than 200 species of birds, including those listed in the Red Book, and valuable fish species - palia char and Siberian grayling.

In the thicket of virgin forests and on the banks of rivers you can see stone sculptures weird shape, unusual remains and other forms of weathering, reminiscent of either castle ruins or mythical creatures.

The lush taiga reaches out to Ural mountains, flowing into the tundra, where there are almost no plants, and crystal rivers descend from the ridges and merge into Pechora, giving birth to amazing landscapes.

2. Lake Baikal

A slightly smaller area, 31,722 km², occupies the most deep lake on the planet. All of Malta, even enlarged 100 times, would fit on its surface. This is one of the largest World Heritage sites. The maximum depth of the lake is 1642 meters. This means that if the Eiffel Tower was installed at the bottom, and four more were placed on top, the last one would still not appear from the water.

The reservoir of Russia's largest lake contains almost 19% of the world's fresh water reserves. The water in Baikal is so clean that some stones at the bottom are visible even at a depth of 40 meters. In many ways, cleanliness is ensured by epishura, a unique crustacean that consumes organic matter. In general, about 2,600 animals live in Baikal, more than half of which are endemic. On the banks of the reservoir there are forests and swamps, glacial lakes, cirques and canyons. There are more than 800 species of higher plants here.

A special phenomenon and a real attraction of Lake Baikal is ice. At the end of winter in the bays its thickness reaches two meters. On different parts of the surface it freezes in different ways: sometimes it is covered with a web of cracks, sometimes it is dotted with bubbles, sometimes it looks like a mirror, sometimes like frosted glass. Ice splashes formed by frozen waves several meters high, and grottoes that cannot be reached in summer. You can ride around huge lake ice skating, rafting on an ice floe and filling your camera’s memory with cool shots.

Baikal is also interesting in summer: you can go around it natural monument or arrange it with rafting, jeeping and trekking.

3. Volcanoes of Kamchatka

Kamchatka resembles a cake with candles: there is so much here, and 28 out of 29 are in the eastern part. Klyuchevskoy - highest volcano not only Russia, but throughout Eurasia (4750 m), Mutnovsky is famous for its smoking fumarole fields, and in the Maly Semyachik crater there is a piercing lake, like a blue eye wide open into the sky. That is why six separate areas of Kamchatka were included in the UNESCO list.

Another unique place— Uzon caldera. 40,000 years ago, due to several eruptions in a row, a huge volcano collapsed, and in its place a caldera with a diameter of 10 km was formed. It is located on the territory of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve and combines rivers, hot springs, tundra, forests and lakes in one landscape.

See also:

4. Golden Mountains of Altai

World Heritage Sites include the Altai Nature Reserve and the buffer zone of Lake Teletskoye, the Katunsky Nature Reserve and the buffer zone of Mount Belukha, as well as the Ukok Plateau. Their territory includes taiga, steppe, mountain tundra and glaciers, meadows and plateaus. If in one trip to Altai you want to see all the most scenic spots, then choose . Especially suitable for those who love comfort, because you will spend the night in hotels.

Altai is no less interesting in winter. Going to, you will see mountain lakes, snow-covered passes, tracts and cedar forests. After spending time here, recharge your batteries for many months to come. And having walked around this UNESCO natural site, you will photograph panoramas of the North Chuya Range and see a unique turquoise lake that does not freeze even at very low temperatures.

5. Western Caucasus

The Western Caucasus was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999. This definition includes Krasnodar region, Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia and part of the Main Caucasian Ridge from Mount Fisht to Elbrus. On the territory of the object there are “three-thousander” mountains, bizarre rocks, deep gorges, caves, glaciers and alpine lakes.

In Adygea, probably the most big number natural beauty per square meter. There are only two cities in the republic, and the rest of the territory is mountains and waterfalls, alpine meadows and untouched forests, deep canyons and raging rivers. This makes it possible to engage in different types of active rest, and even . Rock climbing and hiking, horseback riding - why not do it like this, for example?

6. Central Sikhote-Alin

Sikhote-Alin in eastern Russia is a mix of coniferous and broad-leaved trees, taiga and subtropics, southern and northern animal species. Here, for example, you can meet both Himalayan and brown bears. Primorye is a whole world of relics and endemics, where groves of relict yews grow, carpets of Red Book lotuses bloom and rhododendrons—the local sakura—bloom. Protected bays with white beaches hide starfish and schools of colorful fish. At high altitudes the tundra extends, while in the lowlands the grass grows up to 3.5 meters.

Sikhote-Alin is the homeland of Amur tigers. Over the past 100 years, their number in the world has decreased by 25 times. Moreover, 95% of the entire population lives in the Far East, and 5% in China. There, killing a tiger is a crime punishable by the death penalty. And the Far Eastern leopard remained only in Primorye.

V.K. traveled through the local taiga. Arsenyev - researcher Far East. On the expedition he was with his friend and guide Dersu Uzala, a local hunter. Today you can follow in their footsteps during

7. Ubsunur Basin

This object includes Lake Uvsu-Nur, which belongs simultaneously to Mongolia and Russia (Republic of Tuva). On the territory of Mongolia, this lake is the largest, and its Russian part is only 0.3% of the total area. There are contrasting landscapes here - highlands, mountain taiga massifs, forest-steppe, steppe and semi-desert areas. There is even a real sandy desert. The surrounding area of ​​the lake was inhabited several thousand years ago. This is evidenced by petroglyphs on the rocks, stones and mounds, of which there are about 40,000.

8. Wrangel and Herald Islands

In the very north of Russia, where the Chukchi Sea meets the Arctic Ocean, are the gloomy and mountainous Wrangel Islands (7.6 thousand km²) and Herald Islands (11 km²). In a harsh environment where thriving life seems impossible, there are hundreds of plant species - more than on any other Arctic island. Among the blackened rocks, walruses settled in the largest rookery in the Arctic, and thousands of birds set up nesting grounds. Gray whales swim through these waters during their migrations. Wragnel Island is called the “maternity hospital of polar bears” - there are so many of his ancestral dens here. And in Chukchi it’s called Umkilir, “the island of polar bears.”

It’s worth visiting here at least once to see truly rare animals. For example, musk oxen, which, like reindeer, survived the Late Pleistocene extinction. Their wool is eight times warmer than sheep's wool! , you can also try whale meat, learn an Eskimo dance and walk along the alley of whale bones.

Work is underway to submit the following natural objects to the List: Volga Delta, Lena Delta, Green Belt of Fennoscandia, Kurile Islands, Valdai - Great Divide, Western Sayan, Beringia and Solovetsky Islands.

Natural sites included in the World Heritage List
Square State
Virgin forests of Komi 3.279 million hectares Inscribed on the World Heritage List (1995)
Criteria - N ii, iii
1. State Biosphere Reserve "Pechora-Ilychsky" 721 322
2. Yugyd Va National Park 1 891 701
3. Protected zone of the reserve 666 000
Lake Baikal 8.8 million hectares Listed (1996)
Criteria - N i, ii, iii, iv
1. State Biosphere Reserve "Baikal" 165 724
2. State Biosphere Reserve "Barguzinsky" 374 322
3. State Nature Reserve "Baikalo-Lensky" 660 000
4. Pribaikalsky National Park 418 000
5. National Park "Zabaikalsky" 246 000
6. Reserve "Frolikhinsky" 910 200
7. Reserve "Kabansky" 18 000
8. National Park "Tunkinsky" (partially)
Volcanoes of Kamchatka 3.996 million hectares Included in the List (1996). Expanded in 2001
Criteria - N i, ii, iii, iv
1. State Biosphere Reserve "Kronotsky" 1 147 619,37
2. Natural Park"Bystrinsky" 1 368 592
3. Natural Park "Nalychevsky" 286 025
4. Natural Park "South Kamchatka" 500 511
5. Federal Nature Reserve "South Kamchatsky" 322 000
6. Natural Park "Klyuchevskoy" 371 022
Golden Mountains of Altai 1.509 million hectares Included in the List (1998)
Criterion - N iv
1. State Biosphere Reserve "Altai" 881 238
2. State Biosphere Reserve "Katunsky" 150 079
3. Natural Park "Mount Belukha" 131 337
4. Ukok Nature Park 252 904
5. Buffer zone "Teletskoye Lake" 93 753
Western Caucasus 0.301 million hectares Listed (1999)
Criteria - N ii, iv
1. State Biosphere Reserve "Caucasian" with a buffer zone 288 200
2. Natural Park "Bolshoy Thach" 3 700
3. Natural monument "Upper reaches of the rivers Pshekha and Pshekhashkha" 5 776
4. Natural monument "Upper reaches of the Tsitsa River" 1 913
5. Natural monument "Buiny Ridge" 1 480
Curonian Spit(shared with Lithuania) 0.031 million hectares Listed (2000)
Criterion - C v
1. Curonian Spit National Park (Russia) 6 600
2. National Park "Kursiu Nerijos" (Lithuania) 24 600
1.567 million hectares Included in the List (2001). Expanded in 2018
Criterion - N iv
1. State Biosphere Reserve "Sikhote-Alin" 401 600
2. Bikin National Park 1 160 469
3. Reserve "Goralovy" 4 749
Ubsunur Basin(shared with Mongolia) 0.883 million hectares Listed (2003)
Criteria - N ii, iv
1. State Biosphere Reserve "Ubsunurskaya Kotlovina" (Russia) 73 529
2. Biosphere Reserve "Uvs Nuur" (Mongolia) 810 233,5
Wrangel Island 2.226 million hectares Listed (2004)
Criteria - N ii, iv
State Nature Reserve "Wrangel Island"
Putorana Plateau 1.887 million hectares Listed (2010)
Criteria - vii, ix
State Nature Reserve "Putoransky"
Lena pillars 1.387 million hectares Included in the List (2012)
Criteria - viii
Natural Park of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) "Lena Pillars"
Landscapes of Dauria(shared with Mongolia) 0.913 million hectares Included in the List (2017) Criteria - (ix), (x)
1. State Natural Biosphere Reserve "Daursky" 49 765
2. Protected zone of the State Natural Biosphere Reserve "Daursky" 117 690
3. Federal reserve "Dzeren Valley" 111 568
Total area in the Russian Federation: 279 023
4. Strictly protected area “Mongol Daguur” 110 377
5. Buffer zone of the strictly protected area “Mongol Daguur” 477 064
6. Nature reserve"Ugtam" 46 160
Total area in Mongolia: 633 601

Natural sites included in the Tentative List
Objects and territories included in them Square State
Valaam archipelago 0.026 million hectares Included in Preliminary list RF 05/15/1996
Natural Park "Valaam Archipelago"
Magadan Nature Reserve 0.884 million hectares
Nomination has been prepared
State Nature Reserve "Magadansky"
Commander Islands 3.649 million hectares Included in the Preliminary List of the Russian Federation on 02/07/2005.
Nomination has been prepared
State Nature Reserve "Commander"
Great Vasyugan swamp 0.4 million hectares
State complex reserve of the Tyumen region "Vasyugansky"
Krasnoyarsk pillars 0.047 million hectares Included in the Preliminary List of the Russian Federation on March 6, 2007.
State Nature Reserve "Stolby"
Ilmen Mountains 0.034 million hectares

Included in the Preliminary List of the Russian Federation on August 11, 2008.

Nomination has been prepared
State Nature Reserve RAS "Ilmensky"
Bashkir Ural 0.045 million hectares Included in the Preliminary List of the Russian Federation on January 30, 2012.

Natural objects promising for inclusion in the Preliminary List
Objects and territories included in them Square State
Beringia 2.911 million hectares Recommended by IUCN for inclusion in the List
1. Beringia National Park (RF) 1,819,154 ha
2. Bering Land Bridge National Wildlife Refuge (USA) 1,091,595 ha
Volga Delta 0.068 million hectares criterion N iv.
Nomination has been prepared
State Natural Biosphere Reserve "Astrakhan"
Lena Delta 1.433 million hectares Recommended by IUCN for inclusion in the List in accordance with criterion N iv.
Nomination has been prepared
State Nature Reserve "Ust-Lensky"
Kurile Islands 0.295 million hectares Nomination has been prepared
1. State Nature Reserve "Kurilsky" and its buffer zone 65,365 and 41,475
2. Biological reserve "Little Kuriles" 45 000
3. Reserve of regional significance "Urup Island" 143 000
Green Belt of Fennoscandia(shared with Finland and Norway) 0.541 million hectares The Russian part of the nomination has been prepared
1. State Biosphere Reserve "Lapland" 278 436
2. State Nature Reserve "Kostomuksha" 47 457
3. Pasvik State Nature Reserve 14 727
4. Paanajärvi National Park 104 354
5. National Park "Kalevalsky" 95 886
Valdai - Great Divide 0.183 million hectares Nomination has been prepared
1. Valdai National Park 158 500
2. State Natural Biosphere Reserve "Central Forest" 24 447

Natural objects not included in the List
Objects and territories included in them Square State
Vodlozersky National Park 0.58 million hectares
1. Vodlozersky National Park 404 700
2. Reserve "Kozhozersky" 178 600
Bashkir Ural 0.2 million hectares Not included in the List (1998)
1. State Biosphere Reserve "Shulgan-Tash" 22 531
2. State Nature Reserve "Bashkir" 49 609
3. National Park "Bashkiria" (strictly protected area) 32 740
4. Reserve "Altyn Solok" 93 580
Teberdinsky Reserve(extension of the "Western Caucasus" object) 0.085 million hectares Not included in the List (2004)
State Biosphere Reserve "Teberdinsky"

Russia, of course, is rich in unique and, very importantly, untouched economic activity natural complexes. According to rough estimates by scientists, there are about 20 territories in our country that are worthy of the status of a World Natural Heritage site. The list of the most promising territories was determined during a joint project of UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and natural resources(IUCN) on boreal forests.

Ecology of life: Especially for you, we have collected the 10 most beautiful monuments nature, which are among the specially protected...

The UN Specialized Agency for Education, Science and the Arts monitors the conservation of monuments cultural heritage Worldwide. This category includes both the most outstanding architectural structures created by man and natural reserves - in the second case, UNESCO specialists have to put a lot of effort into protecting unique phenomena nature from plunder and destruction by our freedom-loving race.

Especially for you, we have collected 10 of the most beautiful natural monuments, which are among the specially protected ones.

St Kilda

Scotland

This unique, isolated archipelago was inhabited by a small Gaelic population - all evacuated during the Second World War. Now home to a militarized base and several teams of scientists, St Kilda is home to rare species of birds and animals.

Wulingyuan Mountains

China

This mountain system is located in the north of Hunan Province. The mountains owe their appearance to the weathering of sandstones. It was here that Cameron filmed his “Avatar” - one of the peaks was subsequently renamed by the provincial authorities to “Hurray, Avatar!”

Wadden Sea

North Sea area

Wattom is the name given to the shallow sea area, of which there are dozens. Natural processes function here without the slightest human intervention; almost the entire territory of this unusual sea is covered by three national parks.

Giant's Causeway

Northern Ireland

The unique area consists of more than 40,000 basalt columns. They connected with each other as a result of a volcanic eruption, and the ancient tribes had already come up with a legend that trolls would follow these pillars to Ragnarok.

Rapa Nui National Park

Chile

The whole world knows this place thanks to the unique moai statues: Easter Island is considered almost the most mysterious place of our planet.

Galapagos Islands

Ecuador

It was here that Charles Darwin first thought about the theory of evolution: the abundance of flora and fauna still makes the Galapagos a place of pilgrimage for every self-respecting natural scientist.

Socotra Archipelago

Yemen

Four islands and a pair of rocks: one of the world's most isolated archipelagos, located near pirate Somalia, boasts an abundance of endemic fauna and flora found nowhere else in the world.

Yosemite National Park

USA

Three thousand square kilometers of unique mountain landscapes, granite rocks, waterfalls and sequoias: Yosemite is rightfully considered one of the best National parks countries.

In 1994, Greenpeace Russia began work on the World Heritage project, aimed at identifying and protecting unique natural complexes that are threatened by the serious negative impact of human activity. Giving natural areas the highest international conservation status to further guarantee their preservation is the main goal of the work carried out by Greenpeace.

The first attempts to include Russian protected natural areas on the UNESCO World Heritage List were made in the early 1990s. In 1994, an all-Russian meeting was held “Modern problems of creating a system of objects of global and Russian
natural heritage", which presented a list of promising territories. At the same time, in 1994, Greenpeace Russia experts prepared Required documents for inclusion in the UNESCO List of a natural complex called “Virgin Forests”
Komi". In December 1995, it was the first in Russia to receive the status of a World Natural Heritage Site.

At the end of 1996, “Lake Baikal” and “Volcanoes of Kamchatka” were included in the List. In 1998, another Russian natural complex, the “Golden Mountains of Altai”, was included in the List; in 1999, a decision was made to include the fifth Russian natural object- “Western Caucasus”.
At the end of 2000, the Curonian Spit became the first international site in Russia (together with Lithuania) to receive the status of a World Heritage Site according to the criterion “ cultural landscape" Later, the UNESCO List included “Central Sikhote-Alin” (2001), “Ubsunur Basin”
(2003, jointly with Mongolia), “Natural complex of the Wrangel Island reserve” (2004) and “Putorana Plateau” (2010).

Virgin forests of Komi
2.

Location: western slope of the Subpolar and Northern Urals, Komi Republic
Square: 3.28 million hectares

The virgin forests of Komi are a real taiga treasury. There are more than 40 species of mammals (including brown bear, sable, elk), 204 species of birds (including the white-tailed eagle and osprey listed in the Red Book of Russia), 16 species of fish, the most valuable of which are considered glacial relics - char palia and Siberian grayling.

3.

The territory extends in the meridional direction along the western slope of the Subpolar and Northern Urals for more than 300 km. The Ural mountain system has a significant influence on the climate. On the eastern slopes, the typically Siberian flora sharply replaces the European species and forms of plants characteristic of the wet western slopes of the Urals. Natural complexes in some places form a complex mosaic: along narrow river valleys, taiga vegetation rises high into the mountains.

4.

The main tree species - spruce and fir - are accompanied by Siberian cedar (cedar pine), which is located here at the northwestern limit of its distribution. The middle and northern taiga gives way to forest-tundra. Large areas occupy mountain tundra and are almost devoid of
vegetation of the kurum alpine zone. Here the crystal clear tributaries of the Pechora originate and receive.

5.

The territory consists of two protected areas (Pechero-Ilychsky Biosphere Reserve, national park“Yugyd Va” and their buffer zones), together constituting the largest remaining tracts of primary forests in Europe, the appearance of which is almost unchanged by human impact.

6. National Park "Yugyd Va"

One of the main activities of the park is the development of nature tourism. The most popular tourist routes: mountain, hiking, water, skiing.

7.

8. Animals of the Yugyd Va National Park

Objects of attention include herds of deer, quartz deposits, and the splendor of flowering tundras and meadows. Visitors to the park are offered ethnographic routes introducing them to the sacred places of the ancient Komi and Mansi and the cultural and economic traditions of hunters and fishermen, geological tours dedicated to the history of the development of the riches of the Ural Mountains.

9. Pechora-Ilychsky Biosphere Reserve

Since June 1, 1973, a nature museum has been opened in the Pechoro-Ilychsky Nature Reserve. The museum consists of two departments, one of which presents the fauna of the reserve, the other (local lore) reflects the history of the region, life local residents, history of the reserve.

10.

The reserve has 3 ecological routes in the flat and foothill landscape areas, each 10 km long.

11..

Natural and cultural heritage: Unya Cave, Paleolithic site, remains of old villages, traces of nomadic tribes of small nations, non-Christian religious monuments.

Lake Baikal
12.

Location: on South Eastern Siberia; Irkutsk region, The Republic of Buryatia.
Square: 8.8 million hectares

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996.
Baikal is one of the greatest lakes on the planet, the deepest (1637 m), the oldest (about 25 million years old), with the most diverse flora and fauna among fresh water bodies. The lake has a unique supply of fresh water in terms of volume and quality (23.6 thousand cubic km - more than 20% of the world's reserves).

13.

Of the more than 2,630 species and subspecies of animals and plants found so far at the lake, more than 80% are found nowhere else in the world. Who hasn't heard of the famous Baikal omul or Baikal sturgeon? Two unique species of viviparous fish, representatives of a family endemic to Lake Baikal - large and small golomyanka - are known to ichthyologists around the world. The pyramid of the lake ecosystem is crowned by a typically marine mammal of origin - the seal, or Baikal seal.

14. Baikal seal

Component objects: Barguzinsky and Baikalsky biosphere reserves; Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve; Transbaikalsky, Pribaikalsky, Tunkinsky (partially) national parks; Kabansky and Frolikhinsky federal reserves.

15. Barguzinsky Biosphere Reserve

16. Baikal Biosphere Reserve

17. Tunkinsky National Park occupies the valleys of the Irkut River.

18. Reserve "Frolikhinsky"

Volcanoes of Kamchatka
19.

Location: in the mountains and on the coast of the southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Kamchatka Krai
Square: 4.3 million hectares

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996.
The natural complex "Volcanoes of Kamchatka" consists of 6 sections, allowing you to get the most complete picture of the diversity of manifestations volcanic activity in the region.

20. Volcanic eruption in Kamchatka

The Kamchatka Peninsula is located at the junction of tectonic plates in a zone of active volcanism, where modern natural processes and the history of our planet are inseparable. Here, 30 active and about 300 extinct volcanoes, as well as more than 150 groups of thermal and mineral springs. Dozens of geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, cascades of waterfalls, sharp peaks of ridges, mud pots and turquoise lakes, carpets of colorful algae give a fabulous appearance to the famous Valley of Geysers.

21. Valley of Geysers of Kamchatka

22. Waterfall, Kamchatka

Rare geological objects are accompanied by a unique wild living nature that has experienced virtually no human impact. Of the 1,168 plant species in Kamchatka, 10% are found only here. The peninsula is home to about half of the world's Steller's sea eagle population, over
10 thousand brown bears (the Kamchatka subspecies is one of the largest in the world fauna), as well as bighorn sheep, wild reindeer, sea lion, and sea otter.

23. Flora of Kamchatka

24. Kamchatka brown bear

25. bighorn sheep

26. Steller's sea eagle

Component objects: Kronotsky Biosphere Reserve, South Kamchatka Federal Reserve, natural parks“Bystrinsky”, “Nalychevo”, “South-Kamchatsky” and “Klyuchevskoy”.

27. Kronotsky Biosphere Reserve

28. South Kamchatka Federal Reserve

29. Natural park "Nalychevo". Bear Tundra

Golden Mountains of Altai
30.

Location: in the southeast of Western Siberia in the Altai mountains, Altai Republic
Square: 1.64 million hectares

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998.
The nature of this mountainous territory, located at the junction of Central Asia and Siberia, is distinguished by its striking originality. There are few places in the world with such a contrasting combination of different landscapes in such a small space.

31.

The flora and fauna of the region are diverse and in many ways unique. In the basin of Lake Teletskoye, Altai cedar forests are still preserved - forests of Siberian cedar pine, providing food for numerous representatives of the animal world. Here are the largest meadows in the Siberian mountains.
The color of the vegetation of the Southern Altai, where semi-deserts, steppes and tundra coexist, is also unique.
32. Southern Altai. Steppe in the river valley Narym

33. Lake Teletskoye is the most big lake Gorny Altai

About 60 species of mammals, 11 species of amphibians and reptiles, and 20 species of fish live here. Among the rare species of mammals, the snow leopard, or snow leopard, should be highlighted - this is one of the most beautiful cats of the world fauna. Very few of these animals have survived in Altai.

34. Irbis or snow leopard

The geological history of the region is unique, “recorded” in the different age groups composing it. rocks and captured in unusual relief forms. Such, for example, are the high terraces of the Katun, striking in their grandeur. Mount Belukha is grandiose - highest peak Siberia (4506 m).

35. Terraces of Katun

36. Mount Belukha

Crowned with glaciers and snowfields, it rises almost 1000 m above the nearby ridges. The valleys of the Altai rivers, primarily the Katun and Chulyshman, are narrow, deep canyons. The Chulyshman Valley is picturesque, decorated with numerous waterfalls of its side tributaries. The true pearl of Altai is Lake Teletskoye. For the purest waters, majestic mountain frame and rich animal world it is called Small Baikal.

37. River valley Chulyshman

The exceptional diversity of nature left its mark on the culture and religion of the indigenous population of this territory - the Altai. The achievements of Altai folk medicine are highly valued. As H.K. wrote Roerich, “many peoples passed through Altai and left traces: Scythians, Huns, Turks.” Mountain Altai called an open-air museum.

Component objects: Katunsky Biosphere Reserve, Altai Nature Reserve, natural parks “Mount Belukha” and “Ukok Plateau Quiet Zone”.

38. Altai State Nature Reserve

39. View of the Ukok plateau

Western Caucasus
40.

Location: western slope of the Subpolar and Northern Urals;
Krasnodar Territory, Republic of Adygea, Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia
Square: 0.30 million hectares

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999.
West Side Greater Caucasus in terms of diversity of flora and fauna and their preservation, it has no equal not only in Caucasus region, but also among others mountainous regions Europe and Western Asia. This is an area where a large number of endangered people are concentrated
disappearance of rare, endemic and relict species of plants and animals. It is especially important that the little-changed habitat of the most vulnerable large mammals has been preserved here: bison, Caucasian red deer, Western Caucasian aurochs, chamois, Caucasian subspecies of brown bear, wolf, etc.

The Caucasus Nature Reserve is practically the only habitat in the world for the mountain bison; outside this territory it is almost completely exterminated by poachers.

41. Caucasian mountain bison (bison)

42. Caucasian red deer

43. Western Caucasian tur, or Caucasian stone goat

44. Caucasian brown bear

967 species of vascular plants grow in the high mountain zone alone.
Ancient and modern mountain glaciers played a major role in the formation of the relief of the Western Caucasus. Trough valleys, tarns, and moraines are common here.
In the limestone massifs of the northern part of the territory, numerous caves and cavities, including some of the longest and deepest in Russia (up to 600 m deep and 15 km long), form complex underground systems with rivers, lakes and waterfalls.

45. Shum waterfall in the Western Caucasus

The territory is rich in picturesque objects: powerful waterfalls, pointed mountain peaks(up to 3360 m), stormy mountain rivers with clear water, clean mountain lakes, huge trees (majestic fir trees up to 85 m high and more than 2 m in diameter), rare plants (orchids, etc.) and much more.
An invaluable, unique natural complex has been preserved in the Western Caucasus.

46. Mountains and lakes of the Western Caucasus

Component objects: Caucasian Biosphere Reserve, Bolshoy Thach Natural Park, 3 natural monuments.

47. Caucasian Biosphere Reserve

48. Natural Park "Big Thach"

Russia, of course, is rich in unique natural complexes that have not been affected by economic activity. According to rough estimates, there are more than 20 territories in Russia that are worthy of the status of a World Natural Heritage Site. Among the promising territories the following can be noted: natural complexes: « Kurile Islands", "Lena Delta", "Volga Delta".

The adoption in 1972 by the international organization UNESCO of the Convention for the Protection of the World Heritage of Humanity was due to serious global changes in the human environment. The need for additional measures aimed at improving the environment, in which people are inextricably linked with nature and ensures the preservation of cultural heritage inherited from past generations, has become obvious.

Natural heritage

The list of World Natural Heritage monuments includes objects of both living and inanimate nature. Monuments of world significance include all the most famous natural wonders that have exceptional beauty and are valuable for all humanity. These are objects such as the Grand Canyon, Mount Chomolungma, Komodo Island, and many dozens of other objects. The World Natural Heritage sites in Russia include volcanoes, pristine Komi forests, the island, the Ubsunur Basin, the mountains of the Western Caucasus, Central Sikhote-Alin and.

The list of World Heritage sites also includes specially protected areas where endangered species of animals and plants live. IN national parks The Serengeti and Ngorongoro protect several million wild animals different types. On Galapagos Islands() there are giant ones under protection sea ​​turtles, iguana lizards and other animals, most of which are endemic.

Cultural heritage

The various World Cultural Heritage monuments can be grouped into several groups.

Firstly, these are historical city centers or even entire cities, reflecting the architectural styles of different eras. In Europe these are cities Ancient world- Rome and Athens, ancient temples and whose palaces were built in the style of classicism. Medieval Florence and Venice, Krakow and Prague retain majestic Catholic cathedrals and luxurious palaces Renaissance. In Asia it is the center of three Jerusalem, ancient capital. In America - the capital of the Aztec Empire, the Incan fortress city of Machu Picchu in Peru.

Secondly, the number of cultural heritage sites includes individual architectural masterpieces. This is, for example, religious centers in Europe (Cologne and Reims cathedrals, Canterbury and Westminster Abbey) and in Asia (Buddhist temples Borobudur and Angor-Watt, mausoleum).

Thirdly, objects of cultural heritage become unique monuments engineering art. Among them, for example, the Iron Bridge (England), the most grandiose creation of human hands - the Great Wall of China.

Fourthly, these are the most ancient religious buildings and archaeological monuments of primitiveness and the Ancient World. Examples of such objects include the English, Greek ruins of Delphi and Olympia, and the ruins of Carthage in.

Fifthly, special heritage objects become memorable places related to historical events or the activities of famous people.

 

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