Basegi Nature Reserve (russian: Басеги заповедник) (also Bassegi) is a Russian '

zapovednik Zapovednik (russian: заповедник, plural , from the Russian , 'sacred, prohibited from disturbance, committed o protect committed o heritage; ) is an established term on the territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which ...

' (strict nature reserve) along the Basegi Ridge, in the Middle

Ural mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

. "Basegi" means "beautiful" in the local Urals dialect. It is relatively untouched by commercial use, and thus the area has scientific value as a "reference site" for spruce-fir forests of the Urals. It also supports spawning habitat for trout and grayling. The main rivers are the

Usva River The Usva (russian: Усьва) is a river in Perm Krai in Russia, a right tributary of the Chusovaya ( Kama basin). The river is long, and its drainage basin covers .Vilva River The Vilva (russian: Вильва) is a river in Perm Krai, Russia, a left tributary of the Usva. It starts on the west foothills of the Ural, near the border with Sverdlovsk Oblast. It flows west and southwest, entering the Usva from the larger r ...

(southern border). There are also some small rivers, that have rapids typical of mountain rivers. The reserve is situated in the

Gremyachinsk Gremyachinsk (russian: Гремя́чинск) is a town in Perm Krai, Russia, located northeast of Perm, the administrative center of the krai. Population: History The emergence of the town in 1841 is connected with the mastering of the Gremya ...

area of

Perm Krai Perm Krai (russian: Пе́рмский край, r=Permsky kray, p=ˈpʲɛrmskʲɪj ˈkraj, ''Permsky krai'', , ''Perem lador'') is a federal subject of Russia (a krai) that came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 re ...

Topography

The reserve covers the Basegi Ridge, which runs north-south, and is divided into three sections (Southern, Middle and Northern Basegi) by steep ravines. The Basegi's geology is stable Lower Paleozoic and Proterozoic quartzite, facing the surface, with lesser amounts of granite and diabase. The main rivers are the

(southern border). There is also a network of smaller rivers.

Climate and ecoregion

Basegi is located in the '' Urals montane tundra and taiga'' ecoregion, a region that covers the Ural Mountains in a band that is narrow from west-east, but runs up most of the divide between European and Asiatic Russia. The region is a meeting zones of taiga and tundra tree and plant species. The climate of Basegi is '' Humid continental climate, cool summer'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

Subartic climate(Dfc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1–3 months above ) and cold, snowy winters (coldest month below ).

Flora and fauna

There are more than 250 species of plants in the nature reserve, among them more 45 are rare. Many species of mosses and lichens. 50 species of mammals, more than 180 species of birds, 1 species of reptile, 17 species of fish and 3 species of amphibians. Fauna is typical for

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

. Species, protected by Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, include: *Lichens: ''

Lobaria pulmonaria ''Lobaria pulmonaria'' is a large epiphyte, epiphytic lichen consisting of an ascomycete fungus and a green algal partner living together in a symbiosis, symbiotic relationship with a cyanobacterium—a symbiosis involving members of three kingd ...

'' *Plants: ''Calypso'' orchid *Invertebrates: clouded Apollo butterfly and others *Fishes: '' Hucho taimen'' and others *Birds:

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred ...

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla'') is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptors ...

, peregrine falcon,

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, th ...

Eurasian eagle-owl The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and femal ...

and others. The reserve has a large community of shrews, of 6 species. In some years, the body mass of shrews can total over 70% of the total weight of vertebrates in the territory.

Ecotourism

As a strict nature reserve, the Basegi Reserve is mostly closed to the general public, although scientists and those with 'environmental education' purposes can make arrangements with park management for visits. There is an 'ecotourist' hiking route to the top of North Basegi Mountain in the reserve, however, that is open to the public. Permits must be obtained in writing in advance. The main office is in the city of Gremyachinsk.

References

External links