West-Altay State Nature Reserve

West-Altai State Nature Reserve – located in the north‑west part of the Kendi Altai, in the territories of Ridder (Leninogorsk), Zyran, Glubokoe (central office‑building in the city of Ridder, Glubokoe district) of East Kazakhstan region, in the area taken out of nature use southeast of the village of Poperechnoye. The district of West Altai Reserve belongs to the Altai Province of the South‑Siberian mountain countries. The reserve’s landscape complex includes the mountainous landforms of the peaks Ivanov (2800 m), Kholzun (2500 m), Koksin (2300 m), Tigiretsk (2300 m), Lineysk (1600 m), Uba (2067 m), Ulbi (2000 m).

The fauna of the reserve consists of taiga animals: elk, roe deer, moose, marmot, brown bear, lynx, sika deer, bison, saiga antelope, white‑tailed eagle, black‑tailed eagle, steppe eagle, beaver, weasel, dwarf hamster, various rodents.

The bird world, according to previously obtained data, includes more than 100 species. Among them entered in the Red Book are: black grouse, tundra sandpiper, hawk, white‑tail sub‑hawk.

Administrative status

The office of West Altai State Nature Reserve is located at 10 Semey Street, Ridder city, East Kazakhstan region, Republic of Kazakhstan.

Nature conditions

Physical‑geographic description

West Altai State Nature Reserve is located in the north‑west part of the Kendi Altai, in the territories of Ridder (Leninogorsk), Zyran, Glubokoe (central office‑building in the city of Ridder, Glubokoe district) of East Kazakhstan region, in the area taken out of nature use southeast of the village of Poperechnoye. The district of West Altai State Nature Reserve belongs to the Altai Province of the South‑Siberian mountain countries.

The reserve's landscape complex includes the peaks Ivanov (2800 m), Kholzun (2500 m), Koksin (2300 m), Tigiretsk (2300 m), Lineysk (1600 m), Uba (2067 m), Ulbi (2000 m).

These mountain landforms are part of the ridge system.

The shape of the terrain is tectonic, glacial and water‑erosional in origin, and consists of water meadows, intermountain basins, plateau‑like depressions, scree, boulders, pits, reservoirs, and stone rivers. The tops of the ridges are a peneplain, while some areas show features formed by ancient glaciers—cirques, troughs, and cirques—and by spectacular granite remnants (Network columns – Stone Tale, Devil’s Fortress). All ridges are separated by picturesque river valleys.

The reserve area contains a branched hydrological system of rivers, glacial lakes, springs, sources, high‑altitude mountain swamps (the largest swamp in Altai, Gulbische Swamp, is 6 km long and 2 km wide). Rivers flowing through the reserve are the Black and White Uba, Palevaya Razlivanka, Lineychikha, Large and Small Turghysin and others, belonging to the upper basin that drains into the Karst Sea of the Irtysh. The White and Black Uba rivers leave the reserve and flow into the Uba River, which is part of the Irtysh basin in Western Altai. The rivers are mainly fed by meltwater from the mountains (40–70%).

Preserving the hydrological system of the reserve in its natural state is the main condition for ensuring the normal hydrological regime of the entire area.

The mountain taiga includes vegetation of the upper belt: mixed coniferous forests, alpine and subalpine meadows, tundra zone. Of the 25 forest‑tree species identified by forest specialists in Western Altai, 16 are found within the reserve.

The reserve's climate depends on its geographical location and terrain. The reserve is located at the farthest tip of the Asian continent at the junction of forest, steppe, and desert natural‑climatic zones; in the various mountainous regions of South Siberia and Central Asia, in the vast plain space of West Siberia, and in the steppes and deserts of Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The reserve's distance from the ocean and open seas makes its climate continental, and the air temperature varies not only annually but also daily. In the summer season, comfortable weather of +18+24 degrees Celsius is more frequent. Frost‑free days can last up to 90 days. Winter lasts up to 220‑240 days. The average temperature in January is -17‑28 degrees Celsius. Snow cover height reaches 1.5‑2.0 meters, sometimes up to 3‑4 meters.

In spring the snow melts quickly, avalanches and snow cracking are observed more often. In the area of Lake Ak Uba, snowfall reaches 1600‑2000 mm per year, sometimes even more, up to 3000 mm. Although the overall precipitation level in the reserve area can be described as uniform, it varies.

The region's climate forms under continental conditions, but the decrease of air temperature in the mountains and the amount of precipitation, especially on the open western and north‑western slopes where air masses from the Atlantic Ocean arrive, make these areas more humid. Also, the mountainous terrain influences the development of atmospheric air circulation processes and creates a variety of climatic conditions that change according to sea level altitude, crustal form, slope exposure, and the nature of the ground cover. The air mass formed in the mountains differs sharply in its characteristics from the air mass of the adjacent plain.