Soomaa 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 ...

in south-western

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Soomaa ("land of

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s") protects 390 km², the park was created in 1993. Soomaa has been an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

since 1989, a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

since 1997, and a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

area since 2004.

Geography

The national park, situated in Vahe-Eesti (aka Meso-Estonia), was created in 1993 to protect large raised

s, flood plain

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s, paludified forests, and meandering rivers. The territory of the national park is mostly covered with large mires, separated from each other by the rivers of the

Pärnu River Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

basin — the Navesti,

Halliste Halliste () is a small borough () in Mulgi Parish, Viljandi County, in southern Estonia, located about 6 km northeast of the town of Abja-Paluoja. Until 2017, Halliste was the administrative centre of Halliste Parish. As of the 2011 cens ...

, Raudna and Lemmjõgi rivers. Of the raised bogs, the most noteworthy is the Kuresoo Bog, whose steep southern slope, falling into Lemmejõgi, rises by 8 metres over a distance of 100 m. On the eastern edge of the national park, lie the highest

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s on the Estonian mainland, situated approximately 50 kilometres off the contemporary coastline. The most characteristic coastal formations of the predecessor of the present

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

, the

Baltic Ice Lake The Baltic Ice Lake is a name given by geologists to a freshwater lake that evolved in the Baltic Sea basin as glaciers retreated from that region at the end of the last ice age. The lake's existence was first understood in 1894. The lake existe ...

(11,200–10,600 years ago), which marks the one-time water level, are situated on the north-western and western edges of the Sakala Upland. The Ruunaraipe Dunes are the highest of the area. The dune ridge, winding from northwest to southeast is a 1.2 km-long sand ridge, whose maximum height is 12 metres. In 2009, the Soomaa National Park, as the largest intact

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muske ...

system in Europe preserved as wilderness, joined the

PAN Parks The PAN Parks Foundation was a non-governmental organisation that aimed to protect Europe's wildernesses. The foundation filed for bankruptcy in May 2014 in The Netherlands, but was denied the status by the court and is currently in liquidation. ...

network of wilderness areas, as it proved excellence in combining wilderness protection and

sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for Impacts of tourism, economic, social, and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs o ...

development.

Floods

When vast amounts of water run down the Sakala Upland, the rivers of Soomaa cannot contain it all. The water flows over flood plain grasslands and forests, and covers roads, disrupting connection with the outer world. In some years the spring floods have risen by a meter a day for 3–4 days. The Riisa flood area is formed in such a way; with a surface area covering 175 square kilometres at its largest, it is the biggest regularly flooded area in Estonia and whole Northern Europe. At the maximum flood level the water-covered area can be 7–8 km across. Steep-sloped, raised bogs stand as islands in the water. The flood is often called the "fifth season" in Soomaa.

Flora and fauna

Soomaa National Park is the most valuable part of the remaining extensive wilderness area in South-West Estonia. Kuresoo Bog is one of the two best surviving large bogs in Estonia with species diversity amongst the highest. ;Flora The alluvial meadows and forests that cover the riverbanks are of great botanical value. Approximately 200 species have been recorded, including Gladiolus imbricatus,

iris sibirica ''Iris sibirica'', commonly known as Siberian iris or Siberian flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous plant, herbaceous perennial plant, perennial, from Europe (including France, Italy, Switz ...

, and

Sedum telephium ''Hylotelephium telephium'' (synonym ''Sedum telephium''), known as orpine, livelong, frog's-stomach, harping Johnny, life-everlasting, live-forever, midsummer-men, Orphan John, witch's moneybags, and garden stonecrop is a succulent perennial pl ...

. The unique swamp forests ( carrs) surrounding the site are also of special interest. ;Fauna The site regularly supports more than 1% of the individuals in relevant populations of

Bewick's swan The tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus'') is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (''Cygnus bewickii'') of the Palaearctic and the ...

and

common crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the crane (bird), cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') an ...

, and the composition of bird species in these bogs, especially Kuresoo, is one of the most representative in Estonia. Species recorded include

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 bird of pr ...

Eurasian whimbrel The Eurasian or common whimbrel (''Numenius phaeopus''), also known as the white-rumped whimbrel in North America, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Pal ...

(more than 100 pairs),

European golden plover The European golden plover (''Pluvialis apricaria''), also known as the Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a relatively large species of plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers, the American ...

(ca. 150 pairs),

dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader in the genus '' Calidris''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown", with the suffix ''-ling'', meaning a person or ...

(ssp. ''schinzii''),

merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

willow ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan ( ); ''Lagopus lagopus'') or willow grouse is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known colloquially as awebo bird. The willow ptarmigan breeds in birch and other forests ...

, and

Montagu's harrier Montagu's harrier (''Circus pygargus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu. Taxonomy The first formal description of Montagu's harrier was by the Swedish nat ...

. During the autumn migration, it is a stopover and roosting site for

s (ca. 1,000) and

(ca. 500), and during spring migration there are around 2,000

Corncrake The corn crake, corncrake or landrail (''Crex crex'') is a bird in the Rallidae, rail family. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and bird migration, migrates to Africa for the Northern Hemisphere's winter. It is a medium ...

s are still numerous on floodplain meadows (50-100 pairs). It is an important spawning ground for the

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

. As a large wilderness area, Soomaa is a home and breeding area for several

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), 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 ...

s that are extinct or very rare in other parts of Europe. The most numerous large mammal species are the roe deer,

elk The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. ...

, and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

Eurasian beaver The Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber'') or European beaver is a species of beaver widespread across Eurasia, with a rapidly increasing population of at least 1.5 million in 2020. The Eurasian beaver was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur ...

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is one of the four wikt:extant, extant species within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. It is widely distributed from Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe to Cent ...

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

, are also commonly found. ;Research Soomaa National Park and its surroundings are one of the main research areas for large carnivores and herbivores in Estonia. Starting from 2004 several cooperation projects have been organised between State Nature Conservation Centre and universities in Estonia and abroad. The main goal within these studies has been telemetric observation of species like

and

. "In 2009 Soomaa receives PAN Parks certification" for its excellence in combining wilderness protection and sustainable tourism development.

Traditional culture

In last 70 years, Soomaa National Park area has faced dramatic changes due to the economic and political situation in the 20th century from what human habitation has decreased more than 10 times (87 people according to local municipalities in 2011). With a loss of human inhabitants, a lot of tangible and intangible cultural heritage has been lost as well. To preserve as much of what is left or has been gathered to museums throughout the years a web page http://maastikud.ee/ was created in 2007. Project carried out by local NGOs http://mardu.ee/ and Estonian Literary Museum has brought back several toponyms crucial for the area to reveal its past. Such toponyms play a vital role in modern conservation. Knowledge of traditional landscape usage, read out from these names, can give us a better understanding also on the changes in regions ecology. Due to its remote location, Soomaa is probably the only place in Europe where the tradition of making

dugout canoes A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed-out tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (tr ...

(

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

''haabjas'') survived into the 20th and 21st centuries. In recent decades, a new surge of interest in making dugouts has revitalized the ancient tradition. To support Soomaa National Park and its administration, http://keskkonnaamet.ee several NGOs have taken action in different fields:
Estonian Fund For Nature
is one of the initiators on creating of Soomaa NP. Organiser of different monitoring works and conservation holidays today http://talgud.ee.
Estonian Fund For Nature
is one of the oldest NGOs in the region, dealing mostly with different conservation issues and people living in Tipu village.
Tipu Nature School
is responsible for nature educational programs
Mardu Studio
is trying to bring back life to one of the few farms left in Soomaa area. Studying local intangible heritage and building an open studio for artists and designers

Recreation and tourism

Visitor Centre

The Soomaa National Park Visitor Centre is situated in South-West Estonia between Pärnu and Viljandi county, being located in the middle of the park 44 km away from the centre of Viljandi and Pärnu cities. Building of the visitor centre was finished in 1998 and has been placed on the historical crossroad of ancient winter ways that were used up to the beginning of 20th century for transporting goods from Pärnu to Viljandi. The aim of the Visitor Centre is to give all information needed for those tourists, who come to explore the nature of Soomaa. There are printed out information for several nature trails as well as media guides, films and small public library. It is also possible to order nature educational lectures and participate in different workshops and programs.

Activities

;Hiking and study trails There are several hiking and study trails, placed all over the National Park to explore the nature at its best: *Riisa hiking trail: 5 km / ca 3 h / Riisa bog / watch tower / *Ingatsi hiking trail: 4,5 km / ca 3 h / Kuresoo bog / watch tower / *Beaver trail: 2 km / ca 1,5 h / Beaver habitat and paludified forest / *Oksa track: 800 m / ca 45.min / culture heritage object and meadows / *Kuuraniidu hiking trail: 1,2 km / ca 1.5 h / old forest habitat / watch tower / *Mulgi meadow: camping site / flood plain grasslands / rich bird habitat / *Tõramaa hiking trail: 2,5 km / ca 3 h / Halliste meadow, rich bird habitat / bird watchtower / *Meiekose hiking trail: 2,8 km / ca 3 h / old cart road through abandoned Tõramaa village / semi natural habitats / *Kuresoo hiking trail: 32 km / 2 days / various landscape and culture historical sites / *Hüpassaare study trail: 5 km / 2,5 h / Kuresoo bog / semi-natural habitats / museum of

Mart Saar Mart Saar ( in Hüpassaare – 28 October 1963) was an Estonian composer, organist and collector of folk songs. Childhood Saar was born in the small borough of Hüpassaare (now in Karjasoo, Suure-Jaani Parish), Kreis Fellin in the Livonia ...

*Tipu study trail: 3 km / 2 h / culture historical sites / traditional rural landscape / semi-natural habitats :''More detailed information about Soomaa nature- and hiking trails from State Forest Management Centr
homepage
;Tours There are five seasons in Soomaa – spring, summer, autumn, winter and high-water season. Building a Dugout Canoe

Canoeing season lasts from April until October. Canoeing is also one of the best ways to get acquainted with Soomaa. Canoeing on the flooded area is an adventurous experience, floods are common in the end of March or at the beginning of April. Guided trip on a traditional dugout canoes is an exclusive way of paddling, log-boat building camps are organised in summer. Bog walks can be undertaken in the area, walkways on wooden boards give visitors the opportunity to observe the special flora and fauna of the deep peat bogs. In winter, when the whole wetland is frozen, snowshoe and sledge tours are being organised over the frozen bogs and in the case of snow also cross-country skiing trips. In the year 2009 Soomaa National Park was awarded by European Commission as a supreme nature holiday destination.

References

External links

official Soomaa National Park website

National parks of Estonia: hiking

{{authority control National parks of Estonia Ramsar sites in Estonia Geography of Viljandi County Geography of Pärnu County Protected areas established in 1993 1993 establishments in Estonia Tourist attractions in Viljandi County Tourist attractions in Pärnu County