Vodlozersky National Park (russian: Водлозерский национальный парк) is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

in the north of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

, located in Onezhsky District of

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast (russian: Арха́нгельская о́бласть, ''Arkhangelskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solov ...

and

Pudozhsky District Pudozhsky District (russian: Пу́дожский райо́н; krl, Puudožin piiri) is an administrative district (raion), one of the fifteen in the Republic of Karelia, Russia.Constitution of the Republic of Karelia It is located in the sou ...

in the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (ru ...

. It was established April 20, 1991. Since 2001, the National Park has the status of a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

. The national park was created to protect coniferous forests ( taiga) of Northern Russia. The park covers ; additionally, are used by the park but belong to third parties. At the time of creation, Vodlozersky National Park was the second-largest national park in Europe after

Yugyd Va National Park Yugyd Va National Park ( Komi, russian: Югыд ва) is a national park in the Komi Republic, a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. It is Europe's largest national park (ahead of Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland) and it was R ...

. The park area includes

Lake Vodlozero Lake Vodlozero (, ) is a large freshwater lake in the southeastern part of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It is located at and has an area of 322 km². It is 36 km long and 16 km wide.Ileksa, the main inflow of the lake, and the upper course of the

Vodla The Vodla (, ) is a river in the south-east of Republic of Karelia, Russia. The town of Pudozh is located along Vodla. The river is formed at the confluence of the rivers Sukhaya Vodla and Vama, two outflows of the Lake Vodlozero, a large freshw ...

, the outflow.

History

The first people settled in the Lake Vodlozero area in the prehistoric time, around six to eight thousand years BC. Russians ( Novgorodians colonized the lake area when they were looking for trade routes leading to the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...

. Lake Vodlozero was one of the points on the route which further lead to the

Onega River The Onega (russian: Оне́га; fi, Äänisjoki) is a river in Kargopolsky, Plesetsky, and Onezhsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. The Onega connects Lake Lacha with the Onega Bay in the White Sea southwest of Arkhangelsk, flow ...

, and it was colonized in the 14th to 15th centuries. There are several dozen monuments of wooden architecture (18th- to 19th-century) located in the park. The most prominent one is

Ilyinsky Pogost Ilyinsky Pogost (russian: Ильи́нский Пого́ст) is a village ('' selo'') in Orekhovo-Zuyevsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Guslitsa River (Nerskaya's tributary). In the past, it was named Guslitsa () and Po ...

, an ensemble of a wooden church surrounded by a wall. In the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 40 villages around Lake Vodlozero, most of which are currently deserted. The national park was created in 1991 and became one of the first national parks in Russia. In 1996 the park was considered for inclusion as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

but was rejected. The reason for the rejection was that it was not a "natural" site. Currently, it is being resubmitted under the criteria of a "cultural landscape."

Location and geography

Vodlozersky National Park and horses 2010

The two parts of the National Park—the southern part, around Lake Vodlozero, and the northern part, in the river valley of the Ileksa—are characterized by different

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

. The northern part has the climate typical for the northern taiga, with long and cold winters (the minimum temperature recorded in the park was ). The climate of the southern part is more mild. The northern part is hilly, with hills up to high. In the northern part, there is Vetreny Poyas Ridge (russian: Кряж Ветряный Пояс, literally translated as ''The Windy Belt'')/ The southern part is almost flat. There are many lakes in the park. By far the biggest one is Lake Vodlozero, however, there are also lakes in the Ileksa river basin, including Lake Monastyrskoye, Lake Nelmozero, Lake Luzskoye.

Swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s cover about 40% of the area of the park. Almost the whole area of the part is covered by woods. Of these, 53.5% are

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfa ...

forests, 44.1% are

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

forests, and about 2% are

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

('' Betula pubescens'' and ''

Betula pendula ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

'') and

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

forests.

Tourism and infrastructure

Ilyinsky Vodlozersky churchyard 2010 by by Igor Georgievskiy

There is only one settlement in the limits of the park, the village of Kuganavolok. It is connected by road with the town of

Pudozh Pudozh (russian: Пудож; krl, Puudoži; vep, Pudož; fi, Puudosi or ') is a town and the administrative center of Pudozhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Vodla River east of Petrozavodsk, but traveling by t ...

. There is a visitor center in the village. There are also some recreation facilities as well as camping places elsewhere in the park. All visitors of the park need to buy a permit at a visitor center (in the park or in

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

). The Ileksa and the Vodla are popular for whitewater

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

. There are

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

facilities.

References

External links

*
UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve - Directory Description for Vodlozersky
{{authority control National parks of Russia Geography of Arkhangelsk Oblast Geography of the Republic of Karelia Biosphere reserves of Russia Tourist attractions in Arkhangelsk Oblast Tourist attractions in the Republic of Karelia