February 15, 2023
Chersky National Park
Friends, we continue to introduce you to the nature reserves and national parks of Russia.
Today we want to tell you about the youngest park in our country. The decree on its creation was signed on December 16, 2022. This is the Chersky National Park. It is located in the north of the Magadan region and was created on the initiative of scientists of the Institute of Biological Problems of the North. The purpose of creating the park is to compensate for the damage caused to the nature of this region by gold mining enterprises.
The Magadan region is one of the largest mining regions of our country, and the history of gold mining here goes back almost 100 years. The Magadan region produced 51.43 tons of gold in 2022, the plan for 2023 is more than 56 tons. Gold mining pollutes water with waste, changes natural riverbeds, and the use of heavy machinery destroys the fertile soil layer. Because of the active gold mining, entire valleys were destroyed here.
The creation of the Chersky National Park is a necessary measure to preserve the unique landscapes and natural complexes of the upper Kolyma River basin, archaeological and geological monuments found on the southern spurs of the Chersky Ridge. Conditions will be created here to preserve the still untouched spaces of wildlife and the habitat of red Book species of birds and animals — gyrfalcon, musk deer and others.
To justify the creation of the park in 2018 and 2021, 2 research expeditions were organized.
The area of the new park will be more than 742 thousand hectares. It will be located on the territory of the Susuman and Yagodninsky urban districts and will include 2 clusters.
On the territory of the Jack London Lake cluster there are the southernmost Chersky ridges, the Bolshoy and Maly Annachag, and lake-river systems between them. The Big Annachag includes one of the highest peaks of the Magadan region, the Aborigine (2287 m) and the Snow (Bilibina, 2292 m). The natural value of the territory consists of mountain lakes, alpine landscapes with glacial valleys and moraines, mountain and valley flora and fauna of the Upper Kolyma basin. Glacial Lake Jack London is included in the list of the most important wetlands of the Magadan region.
Four Stone Age sites with bonfires, remnants of dwellings and a large number of bone and stone tools and ceramics have been found here.
The Omulevsky cluster includes the Omulevsky Srednegorye, rivers and reservoirs of the Kolyma River basin. The local mountainous terrain is interesting, which is very different from the neighboring areas. Due to active karst processes, the mountains here are especially steep (part of the slopes has a negative vertical), the landscape is riddled with cracks, dips, canyons and gorges.
The natural value of the cluster consists of mountain lakes. Their diversity and altitude range have formed a unique natural complex for the North-East of Russia. The largest lake Momontai has a length of 10 km and a maximum depth of 100 m . This area is rich in rare and red-book views and historical monuments. Since ancient times, it has been the territory of active residence and management of the indigenous population of Kolyma. It is known about three sites up to 10 thousand years old and two sites up to 7 thousand years old.
By protecting this territory from destruction for the sake of gold mining, we will be able to preserve the pristine landscapes and unique biodiversity of the northern region.
Today we want to tell you about the youngest park in our country. The decree on its creation was signed on December 16, 2022. This is the Chersky National Park. It is located in the north of the Magadan region and was created on the initiative of scientists of the Institute of Biological Problems of the North. The purpose of creating the park is to compensate for the damage caused to the nature of this region by gold mining enterprises.
The Magadan region is one of the largest mining regions of our country, and the history of gold mining here goes back almost 100 years. The Magadan region produced 51.43 tons of gold in 2022, the plan for 2023 is more than 56 tons. Gold mining pollutes water with waste, changes natural riverbeds, and the use of heavy machinery destroys the fertile soil layer. Because of the active gold mining, entire valleys were destroyed here.
The creation of the Chersky National Park is a necessary measure to preserve the unique landscapes and natural complexes of the upper Kolyma River basin, archaeological and geological monuments found on the southern spurs of the Chersky Ridge. Conditions will be created here to preserve the still untouched spaces of wildlife and the habitat of red Book species of birds and animals — gyrfalcon, musk deer and others.
To justify the creation of the park in 2018 and 2021, 2 research expeditions were organized.
The area of the new park will be more than 742 thousand hectares. It will be located on the territory of the Susuman and Yagodninsky urban districts and will include 2 clusters.
On the territory of the Jack London Lake cluster there are the southernmost Chersky ridges, the Bolshoy and Maly Annachag, and lake-river systems between them. The Big Annachag includes one of the highest peaks of the Magadan region, the Aborigine (2287 m) and the Snow (Bilibina, 2292 m). The natural value of the territory consists of mountain lakes, alpine landscapes with glacial valleys and moraines, mountain and valley flora and fauna of the Upper Kolyma basin. Glacial Lake Jack London is included in the list of the most important wetlands of the Magadan region.
Four Stone Age sites with bonfires, remnants of dwellings and a large number of bone and stone tools and ceramics have been found here.
The Omulevsky cluster includes the Omulevsky Srednegorye, rivers and reservoirs of the Kolyma River basin. The local mountainous terrain is interesting, which is very different from the neighboring areas. Due to active karst processes, the mountains here are especially steep (part of the slopes has a negative vertical), the landscape is riddled with cracks, dips, canyons and gorges.
The natural value of the cluster consists of mountain lakes. Their diversity and altitude range have formed a unique natural complex for the North-East of Russia. The largest lake Momontai has a length of 10 km and a maximum depth of 100 m . This area is rich in rare and red-book views and historical monuments. Since ancient times, it has been the territory of active residence and management of the indigenous population of Kolyma. It is known about three sites up to 10 thousand years old and two sites up to 7 thousand years old.
By protecting this territory from destruction for the sake of gold mining, we will be able to preserve the pristine landscapes and unique biodiversity of the northern region.
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