The article tells about the largest nature reserve in Kazakhstan called Altyn-Emel. It is located on the slopes of the Dzhungarsky Alatau ridge. The reserve area is 460 thousand hectares. A park has been created to preserve rare plants and animals.
National Park Location
The reserve is located 150 kilometers from the city called Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan). It is located on the right bank of the Ili River, capturing the northern part of the Kapchagai reservoir.
If you decide to visit the park, the question will inevitably arise: how to get to Altyn-Emel? Kapchagay is the closest city to the reserve; transport from Alma-Ata runs to it. Next, by car, you need to go along the Kapchagai reservoir to the cordon at number one. The city of Kapchagay (Alma-Ata region) is located 160 kilometers from Alma-Ata. All the way to the park, in general, will take you no more than three hours. Of course, the path is not very close, but it is worth crossing it to see the unique attractions of the reserve, given that some of them are more than 2500 thousand years old, as well as to see the rarest predators and birds. If you wish, you can leave Alma-Ata and get to the reserve through the city of Kapchagay, having arranged a day trip.
But there is another road passing through Sary-Ozek, where, bypassing the Altyn-Emel pass, you can get to Bassha. The journey from Alma-Ata to the central estate takes about six hours, its length is 320 kilometers. This option is longer - the trip will take from three to five days. However, during this time you will be able to see the most famous attractions of the park: Mount Aktau, Katy-Tau, a singing dune, old seven hundred year old willows and rare animals.
History of creation
Altyn-Emel State National Natural Park was established in 1996 on the basis of the Kapchagai hunting farm. The main estate is located in the village of Basshi. From it, the city of Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) is 250 kilometers away. The reserve stretched thirty kilometers from north to south, and from east to west for more than two hundred.
The reserve received such a beautiful name for a reason, it has ancient Mongolian roots and is translated only as the “golden saddle”. There is even a legend that says that in the summer of 1219, the famous troops of Genghis Khan crossed the valley, moving to conquer Central Asia. At sunset, mountains with yellowed grass seemed to the commander like a golden saddle. Indeed, if you look closely, the outlines of the Altyn-Emel pass actually resemble a saddle.
In the park there are a variety of landscapes: from sand deserts to mountains. In addition, the reserve is famous for its historical and cultural monuments.
Singing dune
The singing dune is a high sand dune (about 100 meters) with a length of more than three kilometers. It got its name thanks to the vibrating hum that sometimes emanates from it, which is vaguely reminiscent of the sound of an organ. So the songs of the Singing Dune are heard for kilometers. The sound arises at the moment when the grains of sand rub against one another - a subtle squeak appears, and with strong impulses a more expressive sound is born. But the melody of the dune can be heard even in calm weather. Steps along it cause friction between particles, which leads to an unusual sound. Despite the fluctuation of sand, the dune does not wander and has been in the park for several millennia.
Local legend says that Genghis Khan himself and his brave warriors are buried under the sands of the dune, and the dune begins to sing when the khan tells his descendants about his great deeds.
Aktau
Altyn Emel Natural Park consists of unique objects, one of which is Aktau. These are the chalk mountains of the Cenozoic period, consisting of gypsum clay, where wind and water have drilled unusual canyons for thousands of years.
The main feature of this place is the complete absence of at least some vegetation, which makes it look like lunar landscapes. These mountains are characterized by steep slopes and quite strong dissection due to the constant mudflows and showers. Aktau in Altyn-Emel is a world-famous unique paleontological field. In the lake sediments, perfectly preserved remains of ancient animals, such as giant rhinos, crocodiles, turtles, primitive predators, were found, their age, according to experts, reaches 25-30 million years. Not far from Aktau are the mountains of Katutau.
Katutau Mountains
The mountains stretched from southwest to northeast in the form of a hilly ridge with peaks in the form of a plateau. The slopes are cut by a large number of waterless gorges. Bright stripes are dotted with blue limestone sandstones and red clays. The word "Katutau" in translation means "harsh mountains."
It is believed that in the Permian period on this very spot there were two volcanoes. Indeed, the mountains are composed exclusively of lava and other volcanic rocks. There are also cracks in the earth that are filled with magma. And they were formed during the earthquake during the movement of the underground layers. The length of some of them reaches eight kilometers. In the north of Aktau and Katutau, the rocks of the once existing ancient ocean of Tethys were preserved, which took the form of intricate figures.
Kalkans
The Small and Large Kalkans are a Paleozoic massif characterized by intense rock destruction. Outwardly, these are quite unremarkable low mountains, which are located in the south of the Altyn-Emel park. There is nothing interesting, and especially not in them, but it is precisely between them that the Singing Dune, known throughout the world, is located.
Beskatyr
Beshatyr is nothing short of unique archaeological sites. They are also called the Royal Mounds - these are the burials of the Saka leaders of the 7th – 3rd centuries BC. Mounds are surrounded by peculiar rings of menhirs, which are somewhat reminiscent of the famous stones of Stonehenge. There are 31 barrows in the valley, the largest of which reaches a height of 17 meters, and its diameter is 108 meters. Scientists have established that the remains of the Saka leaders rest in them. Mounds are the tombs of kings. Entire galleries of cave paintings of hunting scenes and animals were found in mountain gorges.
Ili River
Altyn Emel Park has the main waterway, which is also the boundary of the reserve - this is the Ili River. It originates in the lands of China. The river has a mixed diet.
A light spring flood usually begins in April. From melt mountain snow in May, a flood occurs that does not fall until July – August. Then begins a gradual decrease in water level, and in September the usual value is established. In winter, the river freezes for several months.
Climate
The climate of the region is sharply continental, deserted, with fairly cold, dry winters and hot summers. The greatest amount of rain falls in April-May. The average annual temperature is 4-5 degrees.
Park Altyn Emel: flora
The flora of the reserve totals one and a half thousand plants, among them there are rare ones listed in the Red Book. Endemics and relics deserve special attention: Muslim's tar, Alberta tulips, Kopalsky astragalus, Herder's kahris, Vitaly's catchment.
Most of the plants in the park have beneficial properties. And many are food for wild animals. Fruits and seeds are eaten by rodents and birds, and pagons are eaten by ungulates. Eastern feather grass, shrub hen, white earth wormwood and others are especially valuable. There are medicinal plants, honey plants, essential oils.
Fauna
There are more than 5000 varieties of insects in the reserve alone. Of these, 25 species are listed in the Red Book. These are grasshoppers, praying mantises, dragonflies, beetles, etc.
Vertebrate animals of the park are also quite diverse. Twenty fish species live in the Kapchagai Reservoir, three of which are endemic. Reptiles of the reserve are represented by 25 species: muzzle, Alai hologlaz, patterned snake, steppe agama, snake-arrow and others.
Of the two hundred birds that live here, 174 nest on the territory of the conservation zone, and 18 are listed in the Red Book: the white-eyed blacken, black stork, gray crane, golden eagle, snake-eater, bearded beak, brown dove, eagle owl, saja, bustard, beauty, brown dove.
On the territory of Altyn-Emel, there are more than seventy mammals, among which there are seven endangered species: dressing, red marten, otter, snow leopard, Tien Shan mountain sheep, kulan. The reserve contains the largest populations of mountain goats, gazelles, snow leopards. Artiodactyls are also found here - roe deer, saigas, wild boars, argali.
On the territory of the reserve in the crevices of the cliffs partridge gummies live. These are beautiful elegant birds that revive the desert landscape of the mountains. They are very mobile and quickly scurry between the stones, running from the clearing to the clearing, while they shout loudly, making a polyphonic noise. Kekliks, as a rule, fly very rarely, they just fly from stone to stone, jumping over obstacles. If you frighten them, then they flare up sharply and then plan on the cleft, thus trying to get away from the persecution.
Indispensable inhabitants of these local are mountain swallows. And on the steep walls of the rocks there are occasionally sten climbers, these are beautiful birds, fluttering like butterflies. Waving raspberry-black wings, they look like exotic moths.
And very high in the mountains is the Himalayan vulture. It is also called kumai in Kazakhstan. I must say that this bird is one of the three largest predators in the world. The bird world in the reserve is very rich, due to the fact that on its territory there are very different natural objects, ranging from the desert plains to the mountains.
Through the efforts of its employees, the diversity of inanimate and wildlife was preserved in the national park.
