In this article we want to talk about the Tigirek Reserve, located in the Altai Territory. Its area is more than forty thousand hectares and includes three districts: Khankharinskiy, Tigirekskiy, Beloretskiy.
History of creation and relief of the protected area
Tigireksky Nature Reserve was founded in 1999. The purpose of the creation was to study and preserve the flora and fauna of the mid-mountain and low-mountain landscapes of the Altai Territory. The reserve is located in the southern part of Altai.
The terrain is mid-mountain. The value of the average heights ranges from 700 to 1000 meters above sea level. The eastern part of the reserve partially captures the Tigiretsky Range. The relief here has an alpine character with pointed high peaks. The highest point of the Tigiretsky Range is Black Mountain (2015 meters), which is located in the southeastern region of the reserve.
Razrabotnaya mountain, which is a historical object, is also known in these places. The development of rocks was carried out here in 1842, rose quartz and aquamarine were mined here, and other varietiessemi-precious stones.
Natural Monuments
Altai Territory is rich in sights. Only in the Tigirek Reserve there are six natural monuments. One of them is Mount Semipeshchernaya. This is a very beautiful rock of Upper Silurian limestone. It has several caves. Among them, the grim and Struna caves are the most popular.
The Lair of the Hyena Cave belongs to natural monuments. It is a small karst cavity. It gained its fame thanks to the remains of fossils of ancient fauna found in it.
But in the Terrible cave were found the remains of people belonging to an unknown species (the period of 35-50 millennia ago).
On the territory of the reserve there are also caves Fyashchur and Log Terrible. The first one is of considerable size. The length is two hundred and ten meters, and the depth is about thirty-five meters. The cave has three entrances in the form of wide gaps. Log Terrible is a real karst canyon with many caves on rocky slopes. In the log there is the Ancient Cave, which is a monument of Altai archeology. The stream flows along the entire length of the cave, sometimes getting lost in the bowels, then returning to the surface. In general, there are many more caves that have not yet been explored.
Rivers of the reserve
River valleys in the protected area are gorges and canyons with steep cliffs. The western and northern parts of the territory already have a softer and calmer relief.
The river network of the reserve is quite dense and branched at the same time. The largest water artery of these places is Belaya, belonging to the Charash basin. On the right side, Irkutka, Bolshaya Berlozhya, Bolshoi Tigirek, Krokhalikha flow into it, and on the left - Strizhanka. In general, the upper reaches of the Belaya River are very beautiful, unique places.
In the southwestern part, the rivers originate: Vostochny Alei, Glubokaya, Chesnokov, Bolshaya Cherepakhina. They are filled with snow and rain water. In the spring there is a pronounced flood, and in the summer there are floods. There are very few swamps in this region.
Animals of the Tigirek Reserve
I must say that the fauna of the reserve is very rich and diverse. It is represented by 63 species of animals, 173 varieties of birds, many reptiles, several amphibians and some bony fish.
Tigireksky nature reserve is rich in reptiles. There are 1700 varieties of them here. It should be noted that invertebrates have been studied here not so long ago, and therefore we can safely say that the number of their species is not exactly known.
Altai Territory has a rich wildlife. Weasels, ermines, foxes live in the protected area, and here they are quite widespread.
Less common are lynx, wolf, wolverine, badger and sable. Of the artiodactyls, the Siberian roe deer, musk deer, deer, elk and wild boar live here.
As for birds, the Tigirek Nature Reserve has become home to many species. The inhabitants here are protected and protected fromoutside interference in their lives. Of the birds, there are woodpeckers, black grouse, forest pipits, black partridge, field harrier. There are even currently very rare black stork and griffon vulture, which are listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.
From among the amphibians, moor frogs and gray toads live in the reserve. The latter are found up to a height of 1500 meters, and this is very unusual for Altai.
The reptiles of this region are represented by the common snake and viper, the patterned snake, as well as several varieties of lizards.
Fish in the rivers of the reserve
The Tigireksky reserve is completely devoid of lakes. The hydraulic system is represented only by mountain rivers, which have a very strong and fast current. Grayling, taimen, pike, river minnow, dace, Siberian minnow, perch, burbot, char live in their waters.
Taimen is very rare in the Altai Territory. It was even included in the regional Red Book of the region. Thirty-eight endangered and rare species of animals are found in the reserve, among them: 14 species of animals, 16 species of birds, one species of fish, seven species of insects. All of them have long been in the lists of the regional Red Book of Altai.
Flora of the region
According to 2011, the flora of the reserve has 722 species of vascular plants only. And there are also bryophytes, and algae, fungi and lichens. Vegetation on the territory of the protected area varies depending on the altitude of the area. Therefore, such plant belts can be distinguished:
- low mountain;
- medium mountain;
- alpine.
The basis of the cover of the Tigirek Range is taiga. Preglacial plants grow in it, a kind of relics - common wolfberry, European hoof, broad-leaved bluebell, Ural sapling and many others.
Most of the reserve is aspen-fir forests. The river valleys were occupied by fir. But the cedar forests occupied the mountain-taiga belt. As for the taiga, lichens are of particular interest in it. Here they feel great and in conditions of high humidity they almost completely covered the trunks of trees, reaching a height of twelve meters. The lichens even hang from the tree branches in huge "beards".
Alpine meadows prevail in the high-mountain belt (alpine-tundra). At heights, they change to meadow steppes and shrubs.
Protection of the protected area
Tigireksky Nature Reserve is a closed protected area. To comply with the special regime that operates on its lands, a special division of the state inspection has been created. It is engaged in the protection of the territory.
The main task of this department is the prevention, suppression, detection and disclosure of offenses on protected lands.
Protected natural areas of the Altai Territory are under close control. I must say that unauthorized persons are not allowed to enter the reserve. To stay in this area you need to have a special permit. Hunting and any other activity is prohibited here. All protective measuresare aimed at protecting unique natural and animal communities from the harmful influence of people.
Visit the reserve is possible only with specially organized excursions along certain routes. You can also visit natural monuments and military historical sites.
Historical monuments
On the territory of the protected area there are historical monuments: the Tigirek outpost and the Beloretsk redoubt.
Tigirek outpost is a monument of engineering and military art. It is part of the Kolyvano-Kuznetsk defensive line (eighteenth century), and is a fortification consisting of a bastion and redoubts. Until now, only a fairly powerful rampart and a very wide moat have been preserved. A historical monument is located in the village of Tigirek.
The Beloretsk redoubt is the remains of a moat and rampart. It is located on the Beloretsk cordon on the left bank of the Belaya River. The local places are completely covered with fir forests with tall and dense grasses. In such dense vegetation, it is quite difficult to find the remains of a redoubt. The shaft and ditch are rectangular in shape, in principle they are well preserved. Naturally, they no longer have the original height and depth, but nevertheless, they can be used to judge the former size.
Instead of afterword
Altai Territory is an amazing and beautiful place, rich in flora and fauna. And the Tigirek Nature Reserve, created on its territory, is able to protect natural communities and restore populations of rare and endangered species.animals and plants.
