Altaisky

The Altaisky zapovednik was established in 1932 in the republic of Altai, in southern Siberia, near the triple border with Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan, and protects some 8,800 km² on the eastern shore of Lake Teletskoye and the mountains around it. It is one of the oldest and most extensive protected areas in the country.

Lake Teletskoye, set between steep slopes, is one of the deepest lakes in Russia and is known as the little Baikal for its tectonic origin, its depth and the clarity of its water. From its shores the ground rises through dense taiga of Siberian pine, larch and fir to mountain tundra and snow-covered summits, with an altitudinal gradient that supports a very high diversity of plant communities.

The fauna includes emblematic species of the mountains of Central Asia: the snow leopard, of which a small and closely watched population survives in the Russian Altai, the argali or Marco Polo sheep, the forest reindeer, the elk, the brown bear and the wolverine. The reserve forms part of the natural property Golden Mountains of Altai, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998 alongside other protected areas in the region, among them the Ukok plateau, whose Scythian burials frozen in the permafrost have yielded exceptional archaeological finds.