Monuments – Russian Federation

Time to discover a unique geopark!

UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development.

The Yangan-Tau UNESCO Global Geopark is situated in the Salavat District of the Republic of Bashkortostan (Russian Federation), which includes 16 rural settlements with 60 villages.

The regional economy is represented mainly by farming production, mining and processing industries. The principal contributor to the economy and the quality of life and welfare of local communities is the Yangan-Tau Resort.

In the Geopark, the main rivers are Yuruzan and Ai. Due to the irregular terrain and the presence of karst, the river network is unevenly distributed. The flora is mixed, while the fauna is composed mainly of forest inhabitants. In addition, there are three major geological structures defining high geological diversity with various forms of relief and types of landscape.

The central object of the Geopark is the Mechetlino section containing a wide variety of fossils. There are also lowland peat-bogs, karst caves and sulfur springs.

One of its most outstanding geological object is the Yangantau Mountain -meaning “Burning Mountain”- with unique thermal anomalies and no magmatic activity.

Bonus Trivia!

There, the highest temperature recorded is 380 °C at the depth of 90 m.

The mountain has medicinal importance. Its vapors and gases are widely used for balneological treatments.

Sources: https://www.unesco.org/en/iggp/geoparks/about & https://en.unesco.org/global-geoparks/yangan-tau

Photographs taken from: https://en.unesco.org/global-geoparks/yangan-tau & http://en.geopark-yangantau.ru/o-geoparke/foto-i-video/

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