Naurzum State Nature Reserve

There is a large number of fresh- and brackish-water lakes that resemble flat round kettles with a depth of usually no more than 2.5-3 m; they are dependent completely of spring flood water. The types of steppe here are: feather grass steppe, herb-bunch-grass steppe and different types of salt steppe and meadows.

The Zapovednik consists of three parts with different types of forest, 9-14 km from one another. The central part (139,714 ha) includes lake systems with surrounding meadows, Naurzum-Karagay - light pine forest, and insular groves of aspen or birch on sand dunes; Tersek-Karagay (12,947 ha) includes high pine forest with some additional birch and aspen along the Turgay plateau, and different steppes in the Dana-Byke river valley; Sypsynagash (38,720) includes dispersed insular groves of aspen or birch on semidesertic steppe with small seasonal lakes, meadows and bushes, in the Karasu river valley. An additional 'buffer zone' of 2-km width with restricted use exists around the reserve, with total area of 116,550 hectares.

The largest portion of the latter tract is covered by Naurzum Coniferous Forests. It is possible to consider the pine forests of the reserve native, as they have been preserved practically unchanged since the tertiary epoch.

And while the birches of Naurzum may be less slender and graceful than those of Russia, nevertheless, they are beautiful, even those which grow near saline lakes. These are of a special kind, the Kyrgyz Birch, endemic of Northern Kazakhstan. They grow in a comparatively small area here, and nowhere else in the world.

The emblem of Naurzum Reserve is the hissing swan. However, the grave eagle could equally be considered as a symbol of the region, for here its population reaches around 30 couples.

The most graceful animals of the reserve, the beauty of the Naurzum Coniferous Forest, are the roe deer.

Naurzum State Nature Reserve was listed into UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.