Kivach Nature Reserve () (also Kivach) is a Russian '

zapovednik A zapovednik is an established term on the Post-Soviet states, territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which is kept "forever wild". It is the highest degree of environmental protection for the assigned areas, which are strictly ...

' (strict nature reserve) established in 1931 to study and protect

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

of the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...

. The site includes the famous 10.4 meter Kivach waterfall on the

Suna River The Suna (, ) is a river in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. The length of the river is 280 km. The area of its basin is 7,670 km2.Kondopoga Kondopoga (; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Kondopozhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located by the northern tip of the Kondopoga Bay of Lake Onega, near the mouth of the Suna River and Kivach Nature Reserve, ...

in the

Kondopozhsky District Kondopozhsky District (; ) is an administrative district (raion), one of fifteen in the Republic of Karelia, Russia.Constitution of the Republic of Karelia It is located in the south of the republic. The area of the district is . Its administrat ...

. It covers an area of .

Topography

The Kivach Reserve covers lake and forest territory just to the northwest of

Lake Onega Lake Onega (; also known as Onego; , ; ; Livvi-Karelian language, Livvi: ''Oniegujärvi''; ) is a lake in northwestern Russia, on the territory of the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast. It belongs to the basin of the Baltic ...

, where the terrain is rockier and more rugged than along the main shores of the lake. The Suna River runs through the reserve, over a ridge of

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

Diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-gra ...

to create the waterfall for which the reserve is best known. The waterfall is diminished from its former size due to the construction of a dam upstream. The reserve's terrain is found in three main types: rocky ridges (the highest point is 160 meters above sea level), hilly glacial moraines, and Quaternary glacial-lake plains.

Climate and ecoregion

Kivach is located in the ''

Scandinavian and Russian taiga The Scandinavian and Russian taiga is an ecoregion within the taiga and boreal forests biome as defined by the WWF classification (ecoregion PA0608). It is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in ...

'' ecoregion, which covers Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south. It is covers parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the northern part of European Russia, being the largest ecoregion in Europe. The ecoregion is characterized by coniferous forests dominated by Pinus sylvestris (in drier locations), often with an understory of Juniperus communis, Picea abies and Picea obovata and a significant admixture of Betula pubescens and Betula pendula. The climate of Kivach is '' Humid continental climate, cool summer'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

(Dfc)). This climate is characterized by long cold winters, and short, cool summers. :mean July temperature: 17°C :mean January temp: -10.7°C :mean annual precipitation: 619 mm :frost-free period: 104-153 days :mean snow cover by the end of winter: 83 cm (lasts for 143 days on average)

Flora and fauna

Vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes (, ) or collectively tracheophyta (; ), are plants that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified tissue ( ...

: 569 species, 239 genera, 85 families :

Mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

: 48 species :

Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

: 197 species :

Reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

: 3 species :

Amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

: 5 species :

Fishes A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed ...

: 18 species

Gallery

File:Prokudin-Gorsky.Suna River.jpg ,

Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky ( rus, Сергей Михайлович Прокудин-Горский, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ prɐˈkudʲɪn ˈɡorskʲɪj, a=ru-Prokudin-Gorskii.ogg; – September 27, 1944) was ...

in 1915 at the Kivach waterfall File:Kivach-w-fall.JPG File:Kivach2 2008.JPG File:KivachMuseum.JPG

Ecoeducation and access

As a strict nature reserve, the Kivach Reserve is mostly closed to the general public. There is, however, a "public excursion zone" that is open year round to public tourists for visits to the waterfall, a nature museum, and a monument to fallen soldiers of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

. Trails in the public zone have informational signs and basic facilities. The main office is in the town of Kivach.

References

External links

Map of Kivach Reserve, OpenStreetMap

Map of Kivach Reserve, ProtectedPlanet
{{Authority control Kondopozhsky District Nature reserves in Russia Protected areas established in 1931 Tourist attractions in the Republic of Karelia Zapovednik