Absheron National Park () is a
national park
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
in the
Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests
The Hyrcanian forests (; ) are a zone of lush lowland and montane forests covering about near the shores of the Caspian Sea in Iran and Azerbaijan. The forest is named after the ancient region of Hyrcania. The World Wide Fund for Nature refers t ...
'
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
.
It was established on 8 February 2005, on an area of in the administrative territory of the District of Azizbeyov (now
Khazar
The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...
) in the City of
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
, on the base of Absheron State Nature Preserve. Absheron was the country's most visited park by foreign tourists in the first three months of 2024.
Fauna and flora

The Absheron State Nature Preserve was created in July 1969 in order to protect
gazelle
A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...
s,
Caspian seal
The Caspian seal (''Pusa caspica'', syn. ''Phoca caspica'') is one of the smallest members of the earless seal family and unique in that it is found exclusively in the brackish Caspian Sea. It lives along the shorelines, but also on the many ro ...
s and waterbirds that inhabit the territory. The climate of the area is
semi-arid
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...
, specific to semi-
desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
and dry
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the tropical and subtropica ...
. Types and
phytomass of
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 ...
is poor here, plants are changed respective of water and saltiness regime of area. Sea coastal sand plants (42,6%), meadows with jigilgamish and paz grass (13,2 %), one-year saline grasses (5,2 %) etc. are spread. Ephemeras also develop well in early spring.
List of fauna
* In dry area gazelle, jackal, fox, rabbit, badger, in Caspian waters seal and various fishes, birds such as black headed gull, greater black headed gull, whooper swan, mute swan, mallard, northern shoveler, tufted duck, eurasian teal, great egret, grey heron, great cormorant, eurasian coot, eurasian curlew, dunlin, sandpiper, sanderling, grey plover, ringed plover, kentish plover, marsh harrier, long-legged buzzard, little owl and other migrant birds have inhabited here.
*

The eastern point of the
Asiatic lion
The Asiatic lion is a lion population of the subspecies ''Panthera leo leo''. Until the 19th century, it occurred in Saudi Arabia, eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia, and from east of the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bengal region and the Narm ...
's range in the
Trans-Caucasus
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...
was
Absheron Peninsula
The Absheron Peninsula () is a peninsula in Azerbaijan. It is the location of Baku, the most populous city of the country, and the Baku Metropolitan Area, with its satellite cities Sumqayit and Khyrdalan. It extends eastward into the Caspian S ...
, before the end of the 10th century.
* The
Caspian tiger
The Caspian tiger was a '' Panthera tigris tigris'' population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the Midd ...
used to invade Apsheron Peninsula from the
Talysh Mountains
Talysh Mountains (, , ) is a mountain range in far southeastern Azerbaijan and far northwestern Iran within Ardabil Province and Gilan Province.
Geography
The Talysh Mountains extend southeastward from the Lankaran Lowland in southeastern Azer ...
and
Lankaran Lowland
The Lankaran Lowland () is a narrow strip of lowland in southern Azerbaijan by the Caspian Sea. It is the southward extension of the Kura-Aras Lowland which in itself is an extension of the Aral–Caspian Depression. It is named after the city of ...
, before disappearing in the 20th century.
* The
Caucasian leopard,
lynx
A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...
, and
striped hyena
The striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena'') is a species of hyena native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Hyaena''. It is listed by the IU ...
were reported in this area.
See also
*
Nature of Azerbaijan
The environment of Azerbaijan includes a wide diversity of climates, animals, plants, and habitats.
National protection
Due to the tapping of oil reserves in the early 20th century, Azerbaijan has had sufficient resources to develop an indus ...
*
National Parks of Azerbaijan
National parks of Azerbaijan are run by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The first national park established was Zangezur National Park in 2003. Since then, a further 9 national parks have been establi ...
*
State Reserves of Azerbaijan
State Reserves of Azerbaijan refers to the state reserves in Azerbaijan, which preserve the fauna, flora and their ecosystems.
State Reserves bear the status of governmental establishments aimed at environmental protection and scientific researc ...
*
List of protected areas of Azerbaijan
This is a list of protected areas of Azerbaijan, including both National parks of Azerbaijan, national parks and State reserves of Azerbaijan, state reserves:
Parks
Reserves
* Ag-Gel Nature Sanctuary or Partial Reserve
*Ag-Gelskiy State R ...
References
External links
Absheron National Park Official Website - Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan
National Parks: Absheron National Park - Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan
{{authority control
IUCN Category II
National parks of Azerbaijan
Protected areas established in 2005
2005 establishments in Azerbaijan