Mari Chodra National Park. Mari Chodra National Park Mari Chodra National Park

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Location and history of the Mari Chodra National Park

National Park Mari Chodra"in 1985 on the territory of the Republic of Mari El. The national park is located in the southeast of the Republic of Mari El, in its most economically developed part, on the territory of three administrative districts: Morkinsky, Zvenigovsky, Volzhsky. There are 5 settlements in the park, where About 15 thousand people live there.

Non-forest lands occupy only 7.1% of the park's territory, among them: hayfields, pastures, arable lands - 1%, water - 2%, swamps - 1%, roads and clearings - 2%, the rest - estates and other lands. The national park is located 60 km from the city of Yoshkar-Ola and 30 km from the city of Volzhsk. Its territory is crossed by the Yoshkar-Ola - Moscow railway and the Yoshkar-Ola - Kazan highway of republican significance.

Nature of the Mari Chodra National Park

The flora and vegetation of the park are diverse. Its territory is located on the southern border of coniferous-deciduous forests of the subtaiga zone, and in floristic terms, at the junction of the European and West Siberian provinces of the Euro-Siberian floristic region. The flora of this limited area includes 774 species and subspecies from 363 genera of 93 families, which is more than 67%. A number of taiga species, both European (Norway spruce) and Siberian (Siberian fir), are found here with elements of forest-steppes (summer oak) and steppes (feather feather grass).

Pine forests grow mainly on sandy and sandy loam soils and make up 27.7% of forests. Among them, pure green moss pine forests predominate, often with the participation of aspen, birch, and sometimes spruce. A special place belongs to sphagnum pine forests. Although their area is only about 600 hectares, they are an important component of the park's natural complex. Spruce forests are presented mosaically and occupy only 3.3% of the forest area. They may contain pine, birch, and aspen.

The park's flora includes about 50 rare species, which makes up 1/4 of the list of rare and endangered species of local flora. Among the species listed in the Red Book of the USSR (1984), there are the true slipper and the red pollenhead. Relict plants can be seen in sphagnum bogs: swamp chamarbia, Magellanic and stringroot sedges, white sphagnum, cotton grass, sundews. Some plant species have become endangered as a result of the disappearance of plant communities. For example, from the swamps - the marsh nappet, the unifoliate grasshopper, the compressed streamweed, the Lapland willow, and from the field - the common cockle. As a result of intensive exploitation, the endangered species include sandy cinnamon, pure white water lily, curly lily, Siberian iris, etc.

Animals of the Mari Chodra National Park

The park is home to many animals from the mixed forests of the European part of Russia. This is due to the ecological and trophic diversity of habitat conditions, as well as the geographical location of the park at the junction of natural zones. The fauna of the republic is quite well studied. However, a systematic study of the fauna of the national park has not yet been carried out. But if we exclude species that live in ecotopes unusual for the park (the forest-steppe part of the republic, the Volga valley, the Cheboksary reservoir), then we must assume that approximately 50 species of mammals, about 100 species of birds and 29 species of fish live in its lands.

Among mammals, the most numerous order is rodents. In the forests of the park, the squirrel and chipmunk, a recent eastern newcomer, are found from the squirrel family; from the mouse family - wood mouse, bank vole, yellow-throated mouse, etc. From the order of lagomorphs, the white hare is not uncommon, and the brown hare is occasionally found along the borders with fields. The order of carnivores is represented by the mustelid family: weasel, ermine, polecat, pine marten, European and, possibly, American mink - all are relatively small in number. The otter noted by Yushut is especially rare. Interestingly, mink sometimes hunts birds, in particular hazel grouse, by their voice. Of the felines, the lynx apparently enters. Elk are common in forests. Another representative of the artiodactyl order, the wild boar, is less common. In the lands of Mari-Chodry, especially in the Ileti floodplain, many bats live in hollows in overmature forests. Specially protected species include the otter and the beaver, which were brought from the Voronezh Nature Reserve and released into the republic’s lands in 1947. Interestingly, beavers were previously found on the Irovka, a tributary of the Ilet, but were exterminated.

The most common birds are passerines, whose life is associated with forests: jay, magpie, oriole, crossbills, pika, nuthatch, tit, etc. Birds from the order of woodpeckers should also be included here: great and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and the common woodpecker. In mixed forests with varied and dense undergrowth, representatives of the thrush family are common: field thrush, mistletoe, blackbird. Forest birds leading nocturnal and twilight lives, although less common, include the long-eared owl, the hawk owl, the great owl and the largest of the owl family, the eagle owl. The common nightjar is common. Among the grouse birds in the park, taiga species live: capercaillie (unfortunately, their numbers have sharply decreased) and hazel grouse. A resident of the forest-steppe and broad-leaved forests, the black grouse, lives in clearings and young growth. From the snipe family, woodcock is common; snipe and great snipe are less common due to the limited meadow-marsh spaces. The pigeon family is represented by the wood pigeon, the pigeon and the dove. The first two live in old oak forests on Maple Mountain and feed on acorns. The most common diurnal birds of prey are the buzzard, goshawk, and black kite.

No nesting eagles were found. But flights of the golden eagle - the largest eagle - are possible. Another rare feathered predator - the osprey - was noted along the river. Ilet, a little south of the park. Until recently, gray herons lived in the park: two pairs of herons nested in huge pine trees on the banks of the Ileti. Currently there are none. Of the waterfowl nesting birds in floodplain lakes and swampy channels, the mallard duck and teal are common; they are less common in reservoirs of sinkhole origin. Possible habitation of the goldeneye - a typical wood duck that makes nests in hollows. Seasonal bird concentrations are small. In the fall, diving ducks temporarily stop on the lakes, and in the spring, the flight over the flooded rivers is busier. In autumn and winter, bullfinch, waxwing, sometimes nutcracker, etc. migrate.

Birds: Woodcock, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Clint, Black Kite, Osprey, Eagle Owl

Mammals: marten, elk, wood mouse, European mink, wood ferret

Insects: wood ant

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Posted Wed, 07/07/2010 - 21:02 by Cap

(Mouth of Yushut - Confluence of Yushut and Ileti)

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MARI CHODRA

The Mari Chodra National Park was formed by Decree of the Government of the RSFSR No. 400 dated September 13, 1985 on the territory of the Mari El Republic. Reports to the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Mari El. The name Mari Chodra is translated from Mari - MARI FOREST.

The national park is located in the southeast of the Mari El Republic, in its most economically developed part, on the territory of three administrative districts: Morkinsky, Zvenigovsky, Volzhsky. There are 5 settlements in the park, home to about 15 thousand people.

The area of the national park is 36.6 thousand hectares, all lands are provided to the national park. Forest lands occupy 34.0 thousand hectares (92.9% of the park), incl. covered with forest - 33.5 thousand hectares (91.5%). Non-forest lands occupy only 7.1% of the park's territory, among them: hayfields, pastures, arable lands - 1%, water - 2%, swamps - 1%, roads and clearings - 2%, the rest - estates and other lands. The national park is located 60 km from the city of Yoshkar-Ola and 30 km from the city of Volzhsk. Its territory is crossed by the Yoshkar-Ola - Moscow railway and the Yoshkar-Ola - Kazan highway of republican significance.

ILET RIVER FROM SHUNGALDAN CLIPP - MAPLE MOUNTAIN

Functional zoning
In 1982, the Rosgiproles Institute (Moscow) developed a Project for the Organization of a National Park (feasibility study for the organization of the Mari Chodra State Natural Park). According to the design decisions, a differentiated regime for the protection and use of land has been established on the territory of the national park.
The following functional zoning is currently accepted:

The protected area is 7.6 thousand hectares (20.7% of the total area).

The zone of extensive recreational use is 14.1 thousand hectares (38.6%).

The zone of intensive recreational use is 13.9 thousand hectares (38.1%).

Other territories - 1.0 thousand hectares (2.6%). The protected zone of the national park is 93.4 thousand hectares.

HYDROGEN SULFIDE LAKE SHUNGALTAN AT THE FOOT MAPLE MOUNTAIN

PHYSICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS OF THE PARK Mari Chodra

The park is located in the southeastern part of the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in river basin Ilet- the left tributary of the Volga, and is included in the strip of mixed forests of the forest zone.

The structure of the MASSR surface was studied by B.F. Dobrynin (1933), and later by V.N. Smirnov (1957). Three main geomorphological regions were identified: the elevated northeastern region, the sandy lowland of the left bank of the Volga region, and the region of the high right bank of the Volga. The geomorphology of the first region was influenced by the Mari-Vyatka swell, at the southern end of which the Mari-Chodra National Park is located.

The Mari-Vyatka swell begins in the Kirov region, runs in the meridional direction along the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and ends in the Tatar Republic. It received its greatest development in the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Its length here is about 130 km, width up to 40 km, maximum height 284 m above sea level. seas. The river valleys cutting through the rampart are deeply incised and in some places resemble mountain gorges. This area ( Mountain Zadelye) B.F. Dobrynin refers to low-mountain areas. In the southern direction, the shaft decreases and breaks up into separate wide hills - Kerebelyak, Klenovogorskaya etc. The latter is located approximately in the center of the park.

More modern and detailed physical-geographical zoning has preserved the areas established by Dobrynin and identified 6 physical-geographical regions in them. The territory of the natural park is part of the Iletsky upland-plain southern taiga region with the development of modern karst.

The rocks of the Kazan stage - limestones, dolomites, marls, sandstones, gray clays and gypsum - are distinguished by greater porosity and resistance to erosion processes than the layers of the Tatarian stage. Therefore, the Kazan stage creates a more dissected topography, with steep slopes and karst formations (collapsed landforms), which is especially typical for the uplifts of the Mari-Vyatka swell: Stone Mountain, Katai-mountains, B. and M. Karman-Kuryk, maple mountain and etc.

By the Quaternary period, the main features of the relief were the same as now. The leading role in the formation of the relief of the eastern part of the republic belonged to the Mari-Vyatka shaft. As we approach R. Ilet the shaft is divided into tent-shaped hills, the southernmost of which is Maple Mountain.

On Maple Mountain there is a natural monument - Klenovogorskaya Dubrava!

COMPLEX OF NON-FROSTING MINERAL SPRINGS ON THE YUSHUT RIVER - VALLEY OF GEYSERS

Lakes add special picturesqueness to landscapes. In the forested Ileti valley there are many oxbow lakes of various sizes and shapes. All lakes are of failed origin, forest, with the exception of Kozla-Solinsky. Among them there are also rich in healing mud. Larger and more accessible lakes - Yalchik , Kichier- already have on their shores health resorts. On Yalchik (length1600 m, width 250-900, depth up to32 m) There is a holiday home, sports and recreational and pioneer camps. More than 300 people relax there. Known for his healing sanatorium "Klenovaya Gora"".

On lake Kichier, almost equal to Yalchik, but with a shallow part overgrown in the east, two sanatoriums are located.

Mari Chodra - PUGACHEV'S OAK ON THE OLD KAZAN TRAKT

Lake Glukhoe, Conanyer(near Pugachev Oak), Mushander, Long (Kuzh-er) and smaller and more remote ones are being developed by unorganized tourists. Kozhla-Solinskoe Lake located in Krasnogorsky village. The administrative center of the park is located on the shore of the lake.

The water of forest karst lakes is highly transparent, with the exception of those that become peaty. It was especially famous for this lake Yalchik. But, unfortunately, the overload of the lake with vacationers, free visitors, and fishermen has recently led to an increase in the turbidity of the water.

The park's soil cover is varied due to differences in topography and underlying rocks. No soil survey of the entire park territory was carried out. Zonal soddy-podzolic soils predominate. In some areas, bedrock carbonate has led to the formation of intrazonal soils. Mari-Chodra is included in the Shoro-Iletsky and partly in the Zvenigovsky soil regions. The dominant position is occupied by sandy and sandy loam, weakly and medium-podzolic soils on ancient alluvial sands. They line, with the exception of the floodplains, the Ileti valley and its tributaries. Small areas of sandy and sandy loam soils in closed depressions are peat-bog soils.

SEMIOZERKA - VALLEY OF SEVEN LAKES NEAR MAPLE MOUNTAIN

Closer to the bottoms of the Kerebelyak and Klenovogorsk uplands, soddy, weakly and medium podzolic sandy and sandy loam soils were formed on thin ancient alluvial sands, underlain by Permian clays and loams. On the gentle slopes of the hills, weak and medium podzolic sandy loam and loamy soils are developed. On steeper slopes, soddy-carbonate podzolized loams on Permian carbonate deposits are found.

In the Ileti floodplain, which is covered with forest within the natural park, sandy loam and light loamy layered floodplain soils (river-river floodplain), granular floodplain soils (central floodplain), silty-marsh soils, and peat-silty-gley soils (near-terrace floodplain) are common. In places where bends develop, where the process of destruction of banks and sediment deposition of modern alluvium is actively taking place, especially during the flood of spring waters, buried floodplain soils are formed. Here, floodplain oak forests or the linden, aspen and sometimes birch forests that replaced them dominate, and in the near-terrace floodplain and the inner parts of the bends there are alder forests.

LAKE LONG (KUZH-ER) IS LOCATED IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE MARI CHODRA PARK

PARK VEGETATION

The flora of this limited area includes 774 species and subspecies from 363 genera in 93 families, which accounts for more than 67% of the flora of the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. A number of taiga species, both European (Norway spruce) and Siberian (Siberian fir), are found here with elements of forest-steppes (summer oak) and steppes (feather feather grass).

In the communities of the national park there is a combination of species belonging to a variety of ecological and cenotic groups. This is especially characteristic of the vegetation of Klenovaya Mountain, which is a rare compact complex of biogeocenoses of the forest zone in a strip of coniferous-deciduous forests.

Pine forests grow mainly on sandy and sandy loam soils and make up 27.7% of forests. Among them, pure green moss pine forests predominate, often with the participation of aspen, birch, and sometimes spruce. A special place belongs to sphagnum pine forests. Although their area is only about 600 hectares, they are an important component of the park's natural complex.
Spruce forests are presented mosaically and occupy only 3.3% of the forest area. They may contain pine, birch, and aspen.

At higher elevations, oak forests with the participation of linden, maple, elm, and elm with an admixture of conifers are developed. These are upland oak forests (or their derivatives). They are similar to upland forest-steppe oak forests, but differ in the presence of representatives of the European and Siberian taiga in them. The most common oak forests are maple-spruce-linden.

It is known that river valleys, due to a number of ecological features, are channels for the penetration of vegetation from neighboring zones. This is also observed in the Ileti valley. Mixed forests are quite widely represented here (about 6.3% of the total forest area of the park). They contain spruce and linden, oak, maple, pine, birch, aspen, elm, and elm in various combinations; Willows and black poplar (sedge) are common along the riverbed bank; in the undergrowth and grass cover - nemoral-boreal elements. Directly in the floodplain there are developed floodplain oak forests, riverine shrub-forb forests, mid-floodplain linden-snow forests, and near-terrace elm-cherry forests. In the floodplains, small patches of post-forest meadow vegetation, steppe on the ridges, are occasionally found.

A small area (219 hectares) is occupied by low-lying grass marshes, scattered mainly in the open landscape of the southern part of the park. The most famous is the Iron Swamp. Coastal aquatic vegetation is developed along the low-lying banks of rivers, their oxbow lakes and lakes.

Relict plants can be seen in sphagnum bogs: swamp chamarbia, Magellanic and stringroot sedges, white sphagnum, cotton grass, sundews. Relict species of various ages, forest plants of the taiga type were noted: common ramus, Diphasium oblateus and three-spikelet, Alpine and Parisian bipetal, single-flowered grandiflora, common sedum, sedge sedge; plants of broad-leaved and coniferous-deciduous forests: short-legged forest and pinnate, Beneken brome, Japanese torylis; plants of the interglacial steppe flora: Borbash's carnation, kachim paniculata, greenish gum, Siberian bellflower, seven-leaved cinquefoil, common thyme, common thyme, field wormwood, sheep's fescue, feather grass.

Rare species include those located on the border of the range: in the north - laxative jockstrap, wood apple, etc., in the south and south-west - red-fruited crow, spear-shaped kakali, in the east - common heather, German gorse, in the west - Bunge chickweed , Arnell's sedge, Ural cicerbita.

Some plant species have become endangered as a result of the disappearance of plant communities. For example, from the swamps - the marsh nappet, the unifoliate grasshopper, the compressed streamweed, the Lapland willow, and from the field - the common cockle.

As a result of intensive exploitation, the endangered species include sandy cinnamon, pure white water lily, curly lily, Siberian iris, etc.

LAKE YALCHIK - THE LARGEST LAKE OF THE PARK AND MARI EL

PARK WILDLIFE Mari Chodra

The park is home to many animals from the mixed forests of the European part of Russia. This is due to the ecological and trophic diversity of habitat conditions, as well as the geographical location of the park at the junction of natural zones. The fauna of the republic has been quite well studied (Pershakov, 1927; Formozov, 1935; Efremov, 1957, 1977; Rusov, 1977; Baldaev, 1977; Ivanov, 1983, etc.). However, a systematic study of the fauna of the national park has not yet been carried out. But if we exclude species that live in ecotopes unusual for the park (the forest-steppe part of the republic, the Volga valley, the Cheboksary reservoir), then we must assume that approximately 50 species of mammals, about 100 species of birds and 29 species of fish live in its lands.

The order of carnivores is represented by the mustelid family: weasel, ermine, polecat, pine marten, European and, possibly, American (released in the MASSR in 1948), minks - all relatively small in number. The otter noted by Yushut is especially rare. Interestingly, mink sometimes hunts birds, in particular hazel grouse, by their voice. Of the felines, the lynx apparently enters. Elk are common in forests. Another representative of the artiodactyl order, the wild boar, is less common.

Specially protected species include the otter and the beaver, which were brought from the Voronezh Nature Reserve and released into the republic’s lands in 1947. Interestingly, beavers were previously found on the Irovka, a tributary of the Ilet, but were exterminated.

In the lands of Mari-Chodry, especially in the Ileti floodplain, many bats live in hollows in overmature forests.

Forest birds leading nocturnal and twilight lives, although less common, include the long-eared owl, the hawk owl, the great owl and the largest of the owl family, the eagle owl. The common nightjar is common.

Among the grouse birds in the park, taiga species live: capercaillie (unfortunately, their numbers have sharply decreased) and hazel grouse. A resident of the forest-steppe and broad-leaved forests, the black grouse, lives in clearings and young growth.

From the snipe family, woodcock is common; snipe and great snipe are less common due to the limited meadow-marsh spaces.

The pigeon family is represented by the wood pigeon, the pigeon and the dove. The first two live in old oak forests on Maple Mountain and feed on acorns.

The most common diurnal birds of prey are the buzzard, goshawk, and black kite. No nesting eagles were found. But flights of the golden eagle - the largest eagle - are possible. Another rare feathered predator - the osprey - was noted along the river. Ilet, a little south of the park.
Until recently, gray herons lived in the park: two pairs of herons nested in huge pine trees on the banks of the Ileti. Currently there are none.

Of the waterfowl nesting birds in floodplain lakes and swampy channels, the mallard duck and teal are common; they are less common in reservoirs of sinkhole origin. Possible habitation of the goldeneye - a typical wood duck that makes nests in hollows.
Seasonal bird concentrations are small. In the fall, diving ducks temporarily stop on the lakes, and in the spring, the flight over the flooded rivers is busier. In autumn and winter, bullfinch, waxwing, sometimes nutcracker, etc. migrate.

At the junction of three zones - forest-steppe, mixed and coniferous forests - the Mari Chodra National Park is located. Its name itself translates as “Mari forest”.

Pearls of Mari Chodra

The main treasure of the complex are the most beautiful lakes, many of which are declared natural monuments: Morskoy Glaz, Yalchik, Glukhoye, Shungaldan. Not only residents of Mari-El come to admire them, but also guests from more remote regions.

Sea Eye, the most famous of all bodies of water, is so named because of the amazing turquoise hue of the water. From the high bank there is a view of a huge bowl filled with clear cold water, to which a narrow path descends. Tall spruce trees grow around, and the aroma of pine needles flows in the air.

Resembling a crescent shape, Deaf Lake is very popular among divers. Having reached a depth where the light of the sun almost does not penetrate, you can see “growing” pines that fell there many centuries ago.

Yalchik captivates at first sight with its grandeur and beauty. Underwater sources are constantly expanding the area of the reservoir.

Shungaldan Lake stands a little apart. It seems that the forest surrounding it seems to come straight out of the water. Shungaldan is located near Maple Mountain.

The lakes are of karst origin, which explains the bizarre shapes.

The magical land of Klenovogorye

Maple Mountain is the highest point of the Mari Chodra Park. From its top there is a beautiful view of the surrounding forests. The wonderful land, Klenovogorye, is located in the center of the complex. The ecological route passing through the mountain amazes with the beauty of the surrounding landscape.

Pugachevsky oak

A little less than a thousand species of plants grow on the territory of the national complex, but its most famous inhabitant remains the huge oak tree. Proudly rising at the top of the mountain, the stocky, tall hero, according to legend, protected Emelyan Pugachev himself from the sun. To this day, the tree is a decoration of the park.

Horseshoe Trail

Along the route you can see rare plants listed in the Red Book. Ferns, which grow only in the park, will be a real find for naturalists. The Horseshoe educational trail will lead you through the most interesting corners of Mari Chodra.

Many birds and mammals live here all year round. Moose often visit here, and lynx are a frequent visitor. There are also taiga species such as brown bear and ermine in Mari Chodra. However, the most numerous inhabitants remain representatives of the rodent order. Otters and muskrats live in the rivers. The park is home to more than 150 species of birds. Among them are wood grouse, hazel grouse, and birds of prey: tawny owl, white owl, osprey, buzzard, and white-tailed eagle. Numerous families of waterfowl have become long-time residents of the complex.

Ilet River

Glorified in songs, Mari tales and legends, the beautiful river proudly carries its clean, cold waters. On the territory of the park, Ilet is the largest. Thanks to the underground springs that feed it, the largest of which is the Green Key, the river does not freeze even in severe frosts. The water of the springs is considered healing. The shores of Ileti either rise up with steep slopes, or descend down into wonderful beaches with clean sand. There are almost no settlements, but many paths and paths approach the river. A kayaking trip will be an unforgettable experience for park guests.

The purest water, the aromas of blooming lilies of the valley, fresh air - all this allows you to forget about the bustle and monotony of the city. That is why residents of the republic call the Mari Chodra complex their favorite vacation spot.

MARI CHODRA, national park in the Republic of Mari El. Founded in 1985. Sq. 36.6 thousand hectares. Located in the river basin. Ilet (left tributary of the Volga) in the southern part of Vyatsky Uval. Karst. Coniferous broadleaf forests. The fauna includes elk, squirrel, chipmunk, hare... ...Russian history

National park in the Republic of Mari El. Created in 1985 on the square. 36.6 thousand hectares for the protection of coniferous-deciduous forests of the Volga region (pine, linden, alder, oak, birch) in the river valley. Fly. 1155 plant species, of which about 10% are rare and... ... Geographical encyclopedia

Coordinates: 56°42′ N. w. 47°52′ E d. / 56.7° n. w. 47.866667° E. d. ... Wikipedia

Republic of Mari El Mari El Republic of Mary El Republic ... Wikipedia

Republic in Volgo-Vyatka economic. area. Pl. 23.2 thousand km², capital Yoshkar Ola; other large cities: Volzhsk, Kozmodemyansk. Formed in 1920 as the Mari Autonomous Republic. region, since 1936 – Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, since 1990 – Republic of Mari El. Located… … Geographical encyclopedia

Main article: Mari El As of January 1, 2011, the natural reserve fund of the Republic of Mari El includes 49 specially protected natural sites (SPNA), including: State Nature Reserve "Bolshaya Kokshaga"; National... ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Volzhsky region. Volzhsky district Yulser kundem Coat of arms ... Wikipedia

State Natural National Park "Mari Chodra" (meadow mar. Mari Chodyra, translated as "Mari Forest") is a national park in the southeastern part of the Mari El Republic, near the border with Tatarstan.

It is located on the territory of the Volzhsky, Zvenigovsky, Morkinsky districts of the republic.

Yoshkar-Ola is 60 km, Volzhsk is 30 km. A295 Yoshkar-Ola - Zelenodolsk - the M-7 Volga highway and the Zeleny Dol - Yaransk railway pass through the park.

The national park was established on September 13, 1985 by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR on the basis of the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of December 2, 1985 N 589 “On the creation of the Mari Chodra Natural National Park.”

The national park is located in the southern part of the Mari-Vyatsky shaft. Here it breaks up into separate hills. The terrain of the park is quite rugged, the soils are sandy. The network of rivers is well developed and there are many lakes.

Rivers:

The main river flowing through the Park is the Ilet. Almost all other rivers are represented by its tributaries: Yushut, Petyalka, Uba, Voncha, etc.

Lakes:

Mari Chodra is famous for its lakes.

Almost all of them are karst. All are popular summer holiday destinations among residents of Mari El, Tatarstan, Chuvashia and other, even more remote, regions of Russia.

Lakes: Yalchik, Glukhoye, Kichier, Melnichnoye, Teterkino, Mushan-Er, Konan-Er, Tot-Er, Shut-Er, Kuzh-Er, Ergezh-Er (Krugloye), Kugu-Er and others.

Flora

The vegetation cover consists of coniferous-deciduous forests. In the elevated areas, oak forests with maple, linden, and spruce are common; in the valleys there are mixed forests of spruce, pine, linden, oak, maple, aspen, elm, as well as floodplain oak forests.
There are pine forests with aspen, birch, and spruce. Minor areas are occupied by lowland grass swamps. About 50 plant species are considered rare for the flora of the Mari Republic.

Fauna

Common fauna include elk, squirrel, chipmunk, brown hare, weasel, ermine, polecat, pine marten, beaver (reacclimatized), and otter. There are also bears and wolves. Among the grouse birds, the grouse, wood grouse, and hazel grouse nest; among the diurnal birds, the buzzard, goshawk, and black kite nest, and the golden eagle flies in. Mallards and teal nest on the lakes.

Scientific activity

In addition to the constant study of the park, which is carried out by full-time employees, with the assistance of MarSU, various expeditions are periodically conducted and environmental camps are organized (for example, “Pink Dandelion”).

Recreation

Many places in the Mari Chodra National Park attract recreation lovers. Research shows that in some places uncontrolled recreation is damaging the environment and access to these sites should be limited.

An environmental fee is collected from vehicles at the entrances to the park.

Main vacation spots

Yalchik:

Yalchik is the most popular and most accessible in terms of transport (buses to the turn on the P 175 highway, the Yalchevsky railway stop and minibuses directly to the bases) vacation spot.

There are 11 recreational facilities on the lake: Rubin recreation center (from the MMZ plant), det. camp Zheleznodorozhnik (from the Kazan branch of the State Railway), sports. camp Polytechnic (from MarSTU), boarding house "Yalchik" children. camp named after Vali Kotika, tourist center "Yalchik", SOL "Chaika" (from the Pedagogical University), SOL "Olympian" (from MarSU), recreation center "Yalchik", etc.

Kichier:

The Kichier sanatorium has been established on the lake, as well as the Republican Hospital for Rehabilitation Treatment with a children's sanatorium pulmonology department (RBVL with DSPO).

Maple Mountain:

In addition to the sanatorium of the same name, this place attracts tourists with its attractions. These are Green Key, Pugachev Oak and others.

Mushan-Er:

The lakes are accessed by a good quality road, and there are a large number of sites suitable for “wild” recreation.

Voiceless:

Also, only “wild” recreation is possible.

Protected area:

The northeastern part of Mari Chodra is occupied by a specially protected protected area, into which entry and entry are prohibited. Lake Shut-Er is located on it, and partly the Uba River. Forestry workers also control visits to lakes Kuzh-Er and Ergezh-Er, although they are located outside the protected area.