State Natural Monument "Piceous hill"

Piceous Hill, known in Russian as Smolnaya Sopka, or 'resin hill', is a one-hectare state natural monument in the Zerendi district of Akmola Region, administered by Kazakhstan's forestry and wildlife management committee as part of the republic's network of small protected natural landmarks. Its name points to pine, since 'smola' means resin or pitch, and the hill is associated with resin-producing pine trees growing on or around a granite outcrop, a combination typical of the wooded uplands near Zerenda and Burabai in this part of Akmola Region. Unlike the three monuments assigned to the neighboring Birzhan Sal district, Piceous Hill falls under Zerendi district's jurisdiction, placing it in a slightly different pocket of the same pine-and-granite steppe country. The protection order keeps logging, quarrying and uncontrolled development away from the site.