Transbaikal National Park

Here, well-preserved unique natural areas and scenic, diverse landscapes combine with extensive opportunities for recreation, educational and adventure tourism, and recreational fishing.

The Ushkany Islands offer a chance to observe the remarkable Baikal seal, an endemic species of the lake.

Territory

The park's boundaries encompass two settlements: Kurbulik and Katun, with a combined population of approximately 140 people. The total area of the national park is 268,993 hectares, with all lands owned by the park itself.

This total includes 36,401 hectares of Lake Baikal's water area.

The land area amounts to 232,592 hectares.

Zabaikalsky National Park is situated within a typical mountain-taiga region, characterized by mountainous terrain. Several major orographic units define the park's landscape: the Svyatoy Nos Ridge, the Barguzin Ridge, the Chivyrkuy Isthmus, and the Ushkany Islands.

Two mountain ranges stretch across the park in a northeast to southwest direction:

• The Barguzin Ridge gradually slopes downward from the Barguzin Nature Reserve toward Lake Bormashyovoye, with its highest point within the park reaching 2,376 meters above sea level.
  
• The Middle Ridge of the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula reaches its peak of approximately 1,877 meters in its central part, gradually descending toward the north and south.
  
• The Chivyrkuy Isthmus connects the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula to the eastern shore of Lake Baikal. The Ushkany Islands (Bolshoy Ushkany Island and the Malye Ushkany Islands) represent the peaks of the Academic Ridge, a submarine range that divides the Baikal Basin into northern and southern depressions.

The national park's territory is crisscrossed by numerous small rivers, all with enclosed basins that drain into Lake Baikal. The most significant of these are the Bolshaya Cheremshana, Malaya Cheremshana, Bolshoy Chivyrkuy, and Maly Chivyrkuy rivers.

The largest lake, Arangatui, is situated on the Chivyrkuy Isthmus and is connected to Chivyrkuy Bay by the Istochnaya River. The second largest lake, Bormashyovoye, is renowned for its mineral waters.

Furthermore, the park contains more than twenty mountain lakes, the largest of which is Ladokhinskoye.

The park also features several thermal springs, including the Zmeiny (Serpentine) and Nechaevsky springs. A significant portion of Lake Baikal's water area, covering 38.8 thousand hectares (encompassing parts of the Barguzin and Chivyrkuy Bays), falls within the park's boundaries.

The climate is continental, characterized by a long, cold winter and a warm, sometimes dry summer. Lake Baikal exerts a moderating influence on the climate of the coastal zone. The average January temperature ranges from -18°C to -19°C, while in July it varies between +12°C and +14°C.

In the mountains, the average January temperature drops to -23°C...-25°C, and in some intermontane basins, even to -27°C. In these basins, the average maximum July temperatures can rise to +18.5°C. The absolute maximum recorded temperature is +36°C, and the absolute minimum is -50°C.

The water in Lake Baikal, even during the hottest period, rarely warms above +14°C. The average annual precipitation ranges from 350 mm on the coast to 450 mm in the mountains. Westerly and south-westerly winds prevail.

The soils within the park are predominantly shallow-profile, gravelly, and susceptible to erosion by rainfall and wind in the absence of vegetation. Soil distribution follows an altitudinal zonation principle.

The considerable diversity of the soil cover within forest complexes is shaped by the characteristics of micro- and meso-relief and the variety of parent rock materials.

Zabaikalsky National Park protects over 10,000 hectares of particularly valuable plant communities, primarily consisting of ancient pine, Siberian pine, and fir forests aged 200 years and older.

The park's flora is characterized by numerous endemic, rare, and relict species. Of special botanical significance is the chozenia (Chosenia arbutifolia), a rare species growing at the western boundary of its natural range.

Preliminary data indicate the park hosts 977 species and subspecies of vascular plants. The territory serves as a sanctuary for many protected species listed in regional and national conservation records, including:

• Cypripedium macranthos (Large-flowered Lady's Slipper)
  
• Deschampsia turczaninovii
  
• Borodinia macrophylla
  
• Rhodiola rosea (Golden Root)
  
• Calypso bulbosa (Calypso Orchid)
  
• Lobaria pulmonaria (Lung Lichen)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

The Zabaikalsky National Park is inhabited by characteristic Siberian fauna, including the brown bear, wolf, red fox, lynx, sable, otter, wolverine, moose, Siberian musk deer, red squirrel, Siberian chipmunk, muskrat, and mountain hare.

Common bird species include the black-billed capercaillie, hazel grouse, mallard, common gull, and western marsh harrier, among many others.

A total of 303 species of terrestrial vertebrates have been recorded within the park. These include:

• 3 species of amphibians
  
• 3 species of reptiles
  
• 249 species of birds
  
• 48 species of mammals

Among the fish species in the park's waters, the Baikal sturgeon is listed in the Russian Red Data Book. The sharp-snouted frog is a rare amphibian. In the area of the Zmeiny thermal springs, the common grass snake survives as a relict species for Lake Baikal, though its population is small.

Of the birds recorded in the park, 19 species are listed in the Russian Red Data Book, including the white-tailed eagle, osprey, Eurasian eagle-owl, black stork, and hooded crane.
The great cormorant, once eradicated from Lake Baikal due to human activity, has now reappeared here.
Among mammals, the black-capped marmot—an inhabitant of high-mountain meadows—is listed in the Russian Red Data Book. Colonies can be found among the peaks of the Barguzin Range.

The Ushkany Islands are renowned for hosting the largest haul-out site for the Baikal seal on Lake Baikal. During the summer, hundreds of seals gather on the rocks around the islands, and in some years, numbers can reach up to 3,000 individuals.
Access to the Ushkany Islands requires a special permit from the national park administration.