User:Idashyn/Altyn-Emel (National Park)

"Altyn-Emel" (Kazakh: «Алтынемел» мемлекеттік ұлттық табиғи паркі  ) - is a state national natural park in the valley of the Ili River in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan. It occupies the territory bounded from the south by the Ili River and the Kapshagai reservoir, from the north by the western spurs of the Dzungarian Alatau - by the Sholak, Matai Altynemel and Koyandytau mountains, from the east by the low Aktau mountains.

History
Park "Altyn-Emel" was organized on April 10, 1996 with an area of 209,553 hectares in the territories of the former: Kapchagai State Hunting and Reserve Economy, Almaty State Reserve, nursery for semi-free keeping of animals (kulanarium), the collective agricultural enterprise Baschi. The purpose of creating the park is to preserve unique natural complexes, rare, endangered and especially valuable species of flora and fauna.

The total area of the park currently stands at 307,653.35 thousand hectares.

The territory of the park includes mountainous, sandy-desert, gravelly-clay-desert landscape complexes.

The flora of the park has about 1,800 plant species, among them 21 species are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, about 60 species are endemic and rare forms of the Dzungarian Alatau and Ili-Balkhash basin.

Habitats of 1658 species of invertebrates were established, including taxa: orthoptera - 56, praying mantis - 7, equiptera - 497, beetles - 536, lepidoptera - 164, hymenoptera - 225, eagles and louses - 1, arachnids - 140, mollusks - 32 species.

The fauna of vertebrates of the national park has 393 species. The park is home to 78 species of mammals, 260 species of birds, 25 species of reptiles, 4 species of amphibians, 26 species of fish.

Of the animals living in the park, 56 species are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, including 25 insect species, 3 - fish, 2 - amphibians, 1 - reptiles, 12 - birds, 10 - mammals, including argali, kulan, and gazelle. The pride of the national park is a large population of kulans. In 1982, several dozen Turkmen kulans were brought to Altynemel from Barsakelmes. Now their livestock has more than two thousand individuals. Another adornment of the national park can be called gazelles. In addition, in Altynemel in the early 2000s, as part of reintroduction, they were brought from German zoos and released to the will of the Przhevalsky horse.

Birds are represented by such species as: lapwing, herbalist, snipe, meadow jungle, pheasant, quail, meadow harrier, yellow and black-headed wagtail, sandpiper (small zuyok, sea zuyok, sorok-magpie, stillo), seagull (common gull, common tern), wagtail.

The climate of the park is continental.

The most famous park attractions are the Singing Dune, 1.5 km long and up to 130 m high; clay mountains cut by canyons - Aktau; Katutau - mountains composed of volcanic rocks.

3 km from the bank of the Ili River there is the necropolis of the Sakian nomadic elite from the time of the 8th — 3rd centuries BC to Besshatyr - translated as “Five Tents”.

Links

 * Официальный сайт Государственного национального природного парка «Алтын-Эмель»
 * Национальный парк Алтын-Эмель: как доехать и что посмотреть
 * Планы KEGOC — угроза Чарыну и Алтын-Эмелю
 * PaleoKazakhstan.info: Илийский Актау