Kitab State Geological Reserve is located in the Kitab district of Kashkadarya region,

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. It is located on the south-western branches of the

Zarafshan Zarafshan, Zarafshon or Zeravshan may refer to: * Zarafshan, Tajikistan * Zarafshon, Uzbekistan * Zarafshan Airport, Uzbekistan * Zarafshon (river), in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan * Zarafshan Range, in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan * Nasser Zarafshan ...

mountain range, on the left bank of the Jinni Darya and on the northern side of Karatog, 45 km east of the city of Kitab. The area is 5378 ha. It was established in 1979 in order to study and protect unique

paleontological Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

stratigraphic Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

objects, which are natural-scientific monuments related to the geological history of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. In the Kitab State Geological Reserve, marine sediment formations from the Middle Ordovician period to the boundary layers of the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

and

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

periods are observed in a stable consistency in several stream valleys that cross the direction of the rocks of the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

layer. They are characterized by various paleontological phyla representing

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

and

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

belonging to 16 different groups. The absolute height of the reserve is 1300–2650 m, the relative height is from 500 m to 1500 m. The

terrain Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...

is rocky, sharply divided in the highlands, and somewhat flat in the middle altitudes. As a result of the deep cutting of the mountain ridges of Obisafed, Khojakurgan, Zinzilbon, and Novabak streams, scenic mountain

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

s were created. One of the international stratigraphic benchmarks of the

system, the stratotype of the lower boundary of the Ems

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

, chosen by the International Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy in 1989 and ratified by the International Association of Geological Sciences in 1996, is located in the Zinzilbon section of the Reserve. Its cuttings became the basis for granting international status to the reserve. In the territory of the reserve, from the

Middle Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period Ma (milli ...

to the Lower Carbonifer-us period, the sections made up of marine -edimentary formations are mainly composed of carbonate and less terrigenous and volcanogenic rocks with a total thickness of more than 4000 m. Most of them consist of various paleontological fossils in the form of microscopic and macroscopic remains, which are important for determining the age and correlation of deposits, for understanding the conditions of formation of one or another deposit, and for the reasonable interpretation of the geological structure of the studied regions. Since the establishment of the reserve, international conventions, colloquiums, excursions, various paleontological and stratigraphic researches on various groups of the animal world have been held at its base.Isahojiyev, Baxtiyor. OʻzME. Birinchi jild. Toshkent, 2000-yil

References

{{coord, 39, 10, 30, N, 67, 18, 43, E, type:landmark_region:UZ_dim:10000, display=title Protected areas of Uzbekistan Regional parks Nature reserves