Tour to Buryatia. Buryatia tour.
WELCOME TO BURYATIA
NATURE OF BURYATIA
The nature of Buryatia is a notable variety of landscapes, geological conditions
and peculiarities of the climate. The major part of its territory is included
into the water-protected zone of Lake Baikal.
The surface of Buryatia mostly consists of gently sloping highlands about
1200-1700m high in the southern part of Buryatia and mountains with sharp peaks
2200-2300m high in the north-west and in the north of the Republic.
Hollows where the bottom is 500-600m high separate mountain ranges and
highlands.
The lowest place in Buryatia is the level of Baikal Lake (456m) The highest
place is the mountain Munku-Sardyk, 3491m high.
Climate
The climate of Buryatia is extremely continental. Winter is long, frosty and
windless with little snow except for the coast of Baikal Lake. You can feel an
influence of a great volume of water here: average temperature in January is
24-25°C below zero. Summer is short but warm and sometimes even hot. Average
temperature in July is 17-18°C above zero, sometimes it reaches 35-40°C above
zero.
At the coast of Baikal summer is cooler. The maximum amount of precipitations is
250-300 mm per year, in the mountains - 300-500mm.
Water resources
Buryatia is rich in water resources. There are about 9000 small and large
rivers that belong to the Baikal Lake water area and to the drainage basin of
Siberia’s largest rivers of - the Yenissey and the Lena. The basin of Baikal
Lake also includes the largest river of Buryatia, the Selenga and such peculiar
rivers as the Barguzin, the Upper Angara, the Snezhnaya (Snowy), the Turka, the
Chikoy, the Khilok and others.
The drainage- basin of the Yenissey includes four large rivers: the Oka, the
Kitoy, the Belaya (White), the Irkut. Fast mountain rivers, the Vitim, the Tsipa,
the Muya flow into the drainage basin of the Lena river.
The republic also has several lake groups: Gusino-Ubukunskaya, Eravninskaya,
Bauntovskaya, North-Baikal, Barguzinsky and others. The main water resource for
those lakes is Baikal Lake.
Buryatia has plenty of mineral springs that differ in their chemical and
physical properties. More than 360 springs are known. Some of them have been
studied and explored. There is medical silt and mud in lake Kiran,
Bormashevskoye and Kotokel.
Forests
Buryatia is located on the borderline of two different regions: East-Siberian
mountainous taiga (4/5 of the territory) and Central-Asian steppe. This is the
reason for a great diversity and peculiar character of trees and plants on its
territory. Northern slopes of mountain ranges are covered with deciduous forests
and thick moss, with cedars and silver firs in some places. Pines and thicket of
bushes grow on the southern slopes of mountains. Steppes covered with feather
grass rise up to 900-1000m high. The region of forests is above it with the
upper line of 1500-1600m to 2000m high. Pines grow in Predbaykalye, on the
slopes of Primorskoye and Baikalsky ranges. Deciduous forests grow mainly in the
northern part of Zabaykalye. Cedar forests are concentrated in the highlands.
Silver fir is not so widely spread as fir or birch tree.
Flora
About 1800 species of plants have been discovered in Buryatia, there are
bird-cherry tree, sweet-brier, Siberian apple, medical plants, black berry,
marsh cranberry and Altay woodbine, currant, raspberry and so on. Some of them
are endangered.
Fauna
Mammals inhabiting the territory of the republic have 4 areas of habitat:
mountain-tundra, mountain- steppe, steppe and meadow swamp. 6 species of
amphibian, 8 species of reptiles, about 100 species of mammals and more than 384
species of birds are known. Hunting animals include sable, squirrel, fox,
Siberian weasel, ermine, lynx, Manchurian deer, wild boar, brown bear and
others. There are also some endangered species - red wolf, otter, wild cat, snow
panther, polar deer, Siberian goat.
Birds
348 species of registered birds include 260 species of nesting birds, 34
species that fly through the territory, 7 species that spend winters here, 47
species that fly from other areas and nest here, 16 of them are endangered
(black stork, steppe eagle, erne, black griffon, cancan, dauer crane, black
crane, great bustard, jacksnipe, Mongolian land sparrows). The great number of
animals and their wide variety gives a great opportunity for bird-watchers.
Fishes
Siberian species inhabit coastal zone of Baikal, they are carp, perch, pike,
bream, sazan, sheatfish, and others Siberian-Baikal species are grayling, lake
white fish, sturgeon. Red fish inhabits Frolikha Lake, this fish is a relic from
the ice-age period. Specialists are interested in the presence of
“crossopferygii” fish from lake white fish family. Baunt Lake has endemic Baunt
white fish “vendace”.
Ichthyological fauna
Ichthyological fauna of Buryatia is also very diverse. It was formed under
the influence of Baikal Lake, its rivers and its basin. All fish inhabiting its
water basin are divided into 3 kinds: Siberian, Siberian-Baikal and
Baikal.Ichthyological fauna
Ichthyological fauna of Buryatia is also very diverse. It was formed under the
influence of Baikal Lake, its rivers and its basin. All fish inhabiting its
water basin are divided into 3 kinds: Siberian, Siberian-Baikal and Baikal.
Official site of the national Agency for tourism
PAGES OF THE PICTURE ALBUM
|
Tour to Buryatia
St. Petersburg
