ОЗЕРО ЭЛЬТОН
LAKE ELTON Волгоградская область / Volgograd Region
The Lake Elton Biosphere Park was founded in 2001. In 2019 the International Coordinating Council of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme made a decision to include the Lake Elton Biosphere Reserve, created on the basis of this Natural Park, into the UNESCO World Network.
Lake Elton is a salt, closed, self-deposited lake in the north of the Caspian lowland and the largest mineral lake in Europe. It is filled with a saturated salt solution (brine). At the bottom of the lake there are deposits of salts and a layer of mineral hydrogen sulphide mud underneath.
A unique natural complex has been pre- served here in the Lake Elton Biosphere Park. There are about 600 plant species and over 330 animal species found around the Lake. 265 bird species, almost half of Europe's bird diversi- ty, are among them. The migration routes of birds intersect on Lake Elton, therefore the Biosphere Park is recognized as a key ornitho- logical area of the international level.
From the north, the Khara River flows into Lake Elton. Its salty shores are grown with plants that feed on mineral salts. In spring and autumn, migratory birds stop here in huge numbers: up to 15 species of ducks, 20 species of waders and common cranes. Between the Khara and Lantsug Rivers, there is the Biological Balka — a unique mesophilic area totaling 120 hectares. Over 400 spe- cies of plants grow here: tulips, onions, irises, almonds. Insects listed in the Red Data Book, such as long-legged dung beetle, owlfly and others find refuge here.
