Reserve Lena Pillars. Lena Pillars national park in russia. Sand massifs "Tukulan"

Do you want to see a monument created by nature itself in unimaginably ancient times, and still causing primal awe and delight? Then be sure to visit natural park Lena Pillars.

Natural Park Lena Pillars (Russia)

This miracle of nature is located in the Republic of Sakha (or Yakutia), just 180 kilometers from the capital - the city of Yakutsk. It is here, on the territory of the Olekminsky and Khangalassky uluses, that amazing geological formations are located, which received the name.


The Lena Pillars Natural Park in Yakutia is divided into 2 isolated sections - the stone pillars themselves, stretching along the right bank of the Lena River and the Buotama River basin, as well as the Sinsky section, which is located on the left bank of the Lena, just above the mouth of the Sinyaya River.

- these are massive stone sculptures, scientists estimate their age at 570 million years. Then, on the site of present-day Yakutia, a warm sea splashed, washing the shores of the ancient continent. Then, under the influence of a changing climate and the movement of continental plates, numerous rocks of the most varied, bizarre shapes appeared.


The Evenks and Yakuts considered it a sacred place. They believed that the rocks are frozen human figures created by unknown giants. When you see these statues with your own eyes, this legend is easy to believe - it often seems that the rocks are moving, changing the silhouette. This amazing effect is especially noticeable at sunset.

Lena Pillars and UNESCO

The pillars were included by UNESCO as a protected site in 2012. Ask why?


On the territory of the natural park, numerous archaeological finds have been found that date back to the early Cambrian period.


In addition, archaeologists have found long-extinct mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses and other fossil animals here in exceptionally well-preserved form. Famous Lena Pillars National Park also with its petroglyphs and tukulans (sand dunes, a real northern desert).

Video about the Lena Pillars of Yakutia

Lena Pillars on the map of Russia and the world

Coordinates: 61°07′45″ N 127°31′05″ E

The beauty of the Lena Pillars is both majestic and somewhat gloomy. Therefore, the legends of the local peoples about this landscape, for the most part, have a dramatic ending.

HALF A MILLION B.C.

It was then that this peculiar stone “fence” began to form, set up by nature itself along the banks of the Lena, which eventually turned into a complex geological formation and one of the wonders of nature.

The Lena Pillars are a fantastic erosive form of relief: a “fence” stretching for forty kilometers from vertically elongated remnant rocks. The pillars stand along the right bank of the Siberian Lena River, below the confluence of the Sinaya River with the Lena, where the Lena cuts through the Prilenskoye Plateau with a deep valley. The most densely palisade pillars lined up in the area between the city of Olekminsk and the village of Pavlovsk: the rocks go straight into the river water with their base. The pillars are separated from each other by deep and steep crevices, partially filled with rock fragments.

The average height of the Lena Pillars reaches 220 m above the river level. At the base of these river cliffs are limestones of the Cambrian period, about 550 million years old, formed from bottom sediments of a shallow and warm sea that once existed here. The Lena Pillars themselves were formed much later - "only" about 400 thousand years ago.

The Lena Pillars are located within the boundaries of the tectonic Siberian platform. Approximately half a million years ago, as a result of tectonic processes, faults formed here, in which river beds began to emerge, and subsequently deep river valleys, which caused the development of karst processes (washout of limestone rock). Together with the strongest erosive weathering and a significant amplitude of annual temperature (up to 100°С: from -60°С in winter to +40°С in summer), it formed a peculiar configuration of rocks. Each vertical crack in the limestone massif continuously expanded under the influence of water, wind and temperatures, which led to the separation of the next block from the general rock massif. Also noteworthy is the unusual multi-colored rocks of the Lena Pillars, in which red sandstone is interspersed with light gray limestone.

The Lena Pillars are still a sacred place for the Yakuts and Evenks. In the old days, only shamans could come here, an ordinary person was afraid of the spirits of the rocks, considering the pillars to be petrified people.

NATURAL PARK

Lena Pillars is also a natural park, organized in 1995 and subordinate to the Yakut Ministry of Nature Protection.

The Lena Pillars Nature Park was organized by a decree of the President of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in 1994 and by a decree of the Russian government in 1995. It is currently subordinate to the Yakut Ministry of Nature Protection. The documents of the park indicate that its main task is the development of ecological tourism.

In addition to the Lena Pillars, there are three more valuable natural objects in the park: Sin Pillars, Buotam Pillars and Tukulan Sands - Samye Kumaga and Kysyl Elesin.

The tukulan sand zone, up to 5 km long, also includes separate sections of the cold northern sandy desert. There are also areas of permafrost with unique flora and fauna.

The proof that people of the Stone Age lived here - the inhabitants of the banks of the Lena - is the site of an ancient man at the mouth of the Deering-Yuryakh stream, belonging to the Ymyyakhtakh culture and the Deering Paleolithic culture. The age of the latter caused fierce disputes among archaeologists around the world. Also in the park area, fossilized remains of representatives of the ancient fauna were found: mammoth, bison, woolly rhinoceros.

Of the representatives of modern fauna living in the Lena Pillars area, one can name musk deer, red deer, northern pika, sable, brown bear, elk, roe deer. Within the Lena section, which is part of the park, there are Siberian lamprey, Siberian sturgeon, taimen, East Siberian lenok, tugun, whitefish, pizhyan, valek, East Siberian grayling, nelma, Siberian vendace, omul, muksun. Among the birds there are protected species of world importance: kloktun, osprey, golden eagle and peregrine falcon.

According to their natural criteria, the Lena Pillars were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012.

ATTRACTIONS

Natural:

■ Geological complex Lena Pillars.

■ The Lena Pillars Natural Park (including the Lena, Buotam and Sinsk pillars, sand dunes of tukulans, frozen ecosystems, bison nursery "Bizonoriy").

■ Nozdrevata cave.

Historical:

■ Petroglyphs - rock carvings of animals.

■ The site of the ancient man Deering-Yuryakh (II millennium BC).

■ Pillars in Siberia have long been called picturesque rocky peaks, remnants, ridges of pillar-shaped outcrops formed as a result of weathering of crystalline rocks. In addition to the Lena Pillars, the Nizhneudinsk and Krasnoyarsk Pillars are also known.

■ The name of large fluttering sandy massifs tukulan comes from the Evenk “tukal” – sand. Accordingly, “tukalan” is a sandy massif or dune.

■ Geological formations similar to the Lena Pillars abroad are the multi-colored pillars of the Monument Valley along the border of the US states of Arizona and Utah, as well as the columnar forms of the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the Shilin Stone Forest in China.

■ In the area of ​​excavations in 1982 at the site of a Neolithic burial of the Ymyyakhtakh culture of the 2nd millennium BC. e. stone tools of the Deering culture were discovered, which were originally dated 2-3 million years ago. But, if this is so, then in Siberia a person appeared earlier than in North Africa - the ancestral home of Homo habilis (handy man) recognized by archaeologists. Subsequent analysis showed that the age of the Deering culture is 260-370 thousand years. This indicated that man had explored the banks of the Lena already in the Lower Paleolithic and could potentially penetrate from here to Beringia and from there to America. True, some scientists argue that the artifacts of this culture are not tools, but natural formations, that is, just stones.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Location: central Yakutia,.
Origin: the result of water and wind erosion, as well as a significant annual temperature range.
The Lena Pillars Natural Park was founded in 1995.
Administrative affiliation: Khangalassky ulus, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russian Federation.
Nearest settlements: Yakutsk - 299,169 people. (2015), Pokrovsk - 9047 people. (2015). Lena river.

NUMBERS

Lena Pillars
Length: 40 km.
Average height above the river level: 220 m.
Maximum height above river level: 321 m.
Distance: 104 km downstream of the Lena - the city of Pokrovsk, 200 km - the city of Yakutsk.
The area of ​​the natural park Lena Pillars: 4.85 km 2.

CLIMATE

Sharply continental.
Winters are long and harsh, summers are warm, often hot, but short.
Average January temperature: -39°С.
Average July temperature: +18.5°С.
Average annual rainfall: 320 mm.

The Lena Pillars National Park was formed relatively recently, just over 15 years ago. In the mid-1980s, as a result of archaeological excavations at the mouth of the Deering-Yuryakh stream, which flows through the park, a site of ancient people, traces of prehistoric Deering culture, was discovered. Scientists have found not only tools, jewelry and household items, but also the remains of ancient animals: woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiguibatis), bison (Bison priscus) and mammoth (Mammulhus primigenius). There is a version that the Deering-Yuryakh site is one of the oldest in the world.

According to natural criteria, the national park claims to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

general information

• Full name: Lena Pillars National Natural Park.
• IUCN Category: II (National Park).
• Foundation date; February 10, 1995.
• Yakutia region, Khangalassky ulus.
• Area: 485,000 ha.
• Relief: mountainous.
• Climate: sharply continental.
• Official site: http://www.lenskiestolby.ru/.
• Email: [email protected].

Walk in the park

The path from Olemkinsk to the village of Pavlovsk along the Lena River leaves an unforgettable impression. After all, it is here that the amazing pearl of the North is located - the Lena Pillars. The national park consists of two branches: "Stolby" and "Sinskiy".

On the right bank of the Lena one can see fluttering sands-tukulans. Translated from the Evenki language, "tukulan" means "sand". The air temperature here can reach +40 °C. There are no analogues to such a miracle of nature anywhere else on the planet. For scientists, the origin of tukulans is still a mystery.

Vegetable world

464 species of higher vascular plants have been identified on the territory of the Lena Pillars park. The plain larch taiga dominates. Interestingly, only here grows an endemic plant - Redowskia sophiifolia. It is not found anywhere else in the world. In tukulans there is another very rare plant - Scriabin's thin-legged (Koeleria skrjabinii). There are many other rare flowers and herbs here: small-flowered wallflower (Parietaria micrantha), spotted slipper (Cypripedium guttatum), Pennsylvania lily (Lilium rep-sylvanicum), etc.

A truly amazing plant is the Arctic lupine (Lupinus arcticus). The fact is that its seeds have broken all world records of viability. So, in 1954, during archaeological excavations on the Canadian Yukon plateau, the seeds of this plant were found. Their age was also determined: 10,000 years. After the excavations were completed, the seeds lay in storage for about 12 years until they were tried to germinate. The experiment was successful!

There are many bizarre mosses and lichens on the territory of the Lena Pillars. Moss moss, or reindeer moss (Cladonia rangiferina), has a very high frost resistance. Thanks to this, it serves as an excellent food for reindeer even in the most severe cold weather, making up to 90% of their diet in winter.

Animal world

The park is inhabited by 42 species of mammals, 99 - birds, 27 of which are rare and endangered, 4 - amphibians and reptiles, 23 - fish.

Most often in the forests and on coastal areas there are columns (Mustela sibirica), sable (Martes zibellina), American mink (Neovison vison), steppe polecat (Mustela evers-manni), wolverine (Gulo gulo). Smaller animals include flying squirrel (Pteromys volans), common squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), Asian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus), long-tailed ground squirrel (Spermophilus undulatus), white hare (Lepus timidus).

Musk deer (Moschus moschiferus), a relatively small deer-like animal, is found here. The body length of an adult musk deer reaches one meter, the height at the withers is 70 cm. It has no horns, instead of them, fangs serve as a tournament weapon for males. Pay attention to the Latin name of this animal. The word moschus is of Greek origin and means "musk", and moschiferus means "bearing musk". Each male musk deer has a special abdominal gland that produces musk, a strong-smelling substance that has long been used and highly valued in perfumery.

Lesser swan (Cygnus bewickii), peregrine falcon (Falcoperegrinus), gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), white-tailed eagle (Hali-aeetus albicilla), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), osprey (Pandion haliaetus), white crane , or Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus), and dozens of other bird species.

The golden eagle is one of the most famous birds of prey, the largest and strongest eagle. Recently, their number has sharply decreased, mainly due to serious violations in the ecological balance of nature and the targeted destruction of birds. Golden eagles, like many other predators, have very sharp eyesight: they are able to see a hare from a distance of 2 km. Golden eagles can attack animals that are equal and even larger than them in size: foxes, deer and their cubs, chamois, roe deer, sheep.

For visitors

park mode

The park has ecological routes and trails that introduce tourists to unique natural monuments: the Lena Pillars, tukulans, flora and fauna.

How to get there

From Yakutsk to the park "Lena Pillars" the distance is about 180 km, from Pokrovsk - 104 km. The easiest way to get to the national park is by tourist boat. You can also get from Olemkinsk. More detailed information about tourist routes can be obtained from the administration of the park.

Where to stay

One of the options is the Buotamskaya recreation center, which is located on the right bank of the Lena River in the park. It has ten heated houses. In addition, you can stay at the recreation center "Verkhny Vestyakh", located a few kilometers above the village of the same name. The base is electrified, there are summer houses, a bathhouse, a dining room. Up to 20 people can stay here.

A ridge of rocky battlements, whose height reaches 200 m, and the age of rocks exceeds 500 million years, stretched for many kilometers along the river bank. A natural object of stunning beauty is also unique from the point of view of science. Lena Pillars is an example of two rare natural phenomena at once: modern permafrost karst and the consequences of the Cambrian explosion, during which the population of chordates, arthropods, mollusks and echinoderms suddenly increased. The remains of the most ancient organisms found inside the sedimentary rocks of the Lena Pillars are a particularly valuable material for study.

At the beginning of the Cambrian period, the first sea creatures appeared and modern ecosystems formed. The rocks on the banks of the Lena, which in the distant past stood at the bottom of the Cambrian Sea, have become a clear illustration of these processes. Due to climatic conditions, all the remains of the most diverse life forms are perfectly preserved, which gives scientists the opportunity to conduct experiments on the territory of the natural park, the results of which make it possible to predict further large-scale changes on the planet. In addition, the drawings found on rocks, in grottoes and crevices indicate that the Lena Pillars were a sacred place for the ancient people who inhabited these lands. The age of the drawings is 5–8 thousand years.

The total area of ​​the reserve is 1.353 million hectares. Another unique ecosystem of the park is a desert with fluttering sands-tukulans, in which the remains of a mammoth, an ancient bison and a rhinoceros were found. According to a number of scientists, these places are the most ancient human sites: some of the oldest tools on earth were found here.

Tourist routes

The park offers more than five one-day or two-day tourist routes: you can go down the river, seeing the majestic pillars from the water, or you can climb to the highest point of the reserve, and a huge panorama of the Lena, taiga and sands will open up. Rock climbing is prohibited in the reserve.

Bears, lynxes, wolverines, wolves, squirrels, elks, red deer, hares, muskrats, golden eagles, eagle owls, falcons, egrets live in the forests. In total, there are 42 species of mammals and 102 species of birds, many of which are listed in the Red Book. The climate is typical for Central Siberia, with hot summers and frosty winters.

People usually get from Yakutsk to the Lena Pillars Reserve by water.

National Natural Park "Lena Pillars"

The Lena Pillars is also a natural park, organized in 1995 and subordinate to the Yakut Ministry of Nature Protection.
The Lena Pillars Nature Park was organized by a decree of the President of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in 1994 and by a decree of the Russian government in 1995. It is currently subordinate to the Yakut Ministry of Nature Protection. The documents of the park indicate that its main task is the development of ecological tourism.
In addition to the Lena Pillars, there are three more valuable natural objects in the park: Sin Pillars, Buotam Pillars and Tukulan Sands - Samaya Kumaga and Kysyl Elesin.
The tukulan sand zone, up to 5 km long, also includes separate sections of the cold northern sandy desert. There are also areas of permafrost with unique flora and fauna.
The proof that people of the Stone Age lived here - the inhabitants of the banks of the Lena - is the site of an ancient man at the mouth of the Deering-Yuryakh stream, belonging to the Ymyyakhtakh culture and the Deering Paleolithic culture. The age of the latter caused fierce disputes among archaeologists around the world.
Also in the park area, fossilized remains of representatives of the ancient fauna were found: mammoth, bison, woolly rhinoceros.
Of the representatives of modern fauna living in the Lena Pillars area, one can name musk deer, red deer, northern pika, sable, brown bear, elk, roe deer. Within the Lena section, which is part of the park, there are Siberian lamprey, Siberian sturgeon, taimen, East Siberian lenok, tugun, whitefish, pizhyan, valek, East Siberian grayling, nelma, Siberian vendace, omul, muksun. Among the birds there are protected species of world importance: kpoktun, osprey, golden eagle and peregrine falcon.
According to their natural criteria, the Lena Pillars were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2012.

general information

Origin: the result of water and wind erosion, as well as a significant annual temperature range.

Natural Park Lena Pillars: in 1995

Lena river.

Numbers

Average height above river level: 220 m.

Maximum height above river level: 321 m.

Distance: 104 km downstream of the Lena - the city of Pokrovsk, 200 km - the city of Yakutsk.

Area of ​​the natural park Lena Pillars: 4.85 km2.

Climate and weather

Winters are long and harsh, summers are warm, often hot, but short.

January average temperature: -39°C.

July average temperature: +18.5°С.

Average annual rainfall: 320 mm.

Relative humidity: 70%.

Attractions

Curious facts