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| Югыд ва | |
|---|---|
| Yugyd Va National Park | |
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  | |
| Location | Komi Republic, Russia |
| Coordinates | 62°25′N58°47′E / 62.417°N 58.783°E /62.417; 58.783 |
| Area | 18,917 square kilometers |
| Established | April 23, 1994 |
Yugyd Va National Park (Komi,Russian:Югыд ва) is anational park in theKomi Republic, arepublic of Russia. It is Europe's largest national park (ahead ofVatnajökull National Park in Iceland) and it was Russia's largest national park until the creation ofBeringia National Park in 2013.
The park was created by theRussian Government on April 23, 1994, with the goals of protection and recreational use of thetaiga forests of the Northern Urals.
In 1995, the forest area including the Yugyd Va National Park and the nearbyPechora-Ilych Nature Reserve were recognized byUNESCO as aWorld Heritage Site,Virgin Komi Forests.
The Yugyd Va National Park is located on the western slopes of thePolar Urals and Northern Ural, on the border ofEurope andAsia. The rivers flowing from the western slope of theUral Mountains, such as theBolshaya Synya supply water to thePechora River, one of the largest rivers in Europe flowing into theBarents Sea. The natural boundary of the park in the east is the main ridge of the Ural mountains, in the north - theKozhim River, in the west - the rivers Synja, Vangir andKosya, in the south - thePechora-Ilych Nature Reserve. The territory of the park is part of the Prepolar-Ural physical-geographical area and is located in three zones - mountain, foothill and lowland, which were formed more than 200 million years ago. It is here in the central part of the Yugid Va National Park that the highest peaks of the Ural Mountains are: theMount Narodnaya (1894.5 m), as well as theMount Karpinsky (1878 m), Bell Tower (1724 m),Manaraga (1662 m), Nioroika (1645 m).
More than half of the park is covered with thetaigaboreal forest; the rest is mostlytundra, found at higher elevations. There are also some 20 km2 of meadows, both alpine ones and those in the river valleys.
Some 180 bird species live in the park, some of them quite rare. Twenty fish species are known to inhabit the park's rivers and lakes. There are also fiveamphibian species and onereptile species in the park.
Among the mammals common in the park are themountain hare,flying squirrel,reindeer,ermine,otter,Alces alces (known as themoose in North American English and elk in British English),wolf,fox,wolverine,bear,pine marten,weasel,Arctic fox.
Recreational uses of the park includerafting, boating, andhiking in the summer,Nordic skiing in winter. Limitedhunting is allowed too, but permits have to be applied for several months in advance.
Due to the remote location of the park, the amount of tourism there is still quite low. According to the park's management, it is currently visited by some 4,000 tourists every year, which is much less than the park's potential recreational capacity. The management was concerned with the fact that the user fees (some 2.4 millionroubles (US$100,000) a year) did not cover park expenses (some 5 million roubles (US$200,000) a year).[1]
