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12 Karkaralinsky National Park
The name of Karkaraly originates from the national Kazakh women's hat - karkary - artfully covered with beads, lace, silk, and velvet and owl feathers. And like this bright Karkara, the Karkaralinsky Mountains shine with all the colors of the rainbow. Its highest point is the three-faced Komsomol Peak (1,403m) and the surrounding hills rise to 400-500m.
The reserve covers about 1,000 sq .km. of pine and birch forests, and various types of grass. The names of the cliffs, mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers truly reflect their beauty: Eagle Summit, Dear Mountain, Red Bird Hill, Red Mountain Cliff, Mirror Deep Lake, Plough Lake and Devil's Lake.
Karkaralinsk, the pearl of the Saryarka, is located to the east of Karaganda. The untouched beauty of the Karkaralinsk Mountains and forests, gorgeous vegetation of its valleys and pristine lakes will remain in the memory of every visitor.
Small town life and breathtaking nature
Karkaraly is a charming small town of wooden houses and narrow streets. People are keen to welcome you to their homes to share their way of life, and their delicious home cooked (and often home grown) food.
There are cafes and shops where rural Kazakh life can be appreciated. Try out your Kazakh language skills.
Walk in the mountains, which are not too steep and suitable for most abilities. Search for the elusive Devil's Lake, well hidden among the intriguing rock formations. In the mountains, find evidence of the region's early settlers, who lived there at the beginning of the first millennium BC.
Six tourist routes cross the National Park, featuring traditional Shamanistic prayer trees: three walks, one horse route, one ski route and one cycling route.
There are many legends about Devil's Lake. One of them tells how the beautiful Sulushsash ran from her village to the Karkaraly Mountains, met a tiger and threw herself into the lake to avoid the ferocious predator.
Another legend says that when humanity was not yet created the devil settled down in the Karkaraly Mountains. One day a tiger attacked him and he threw himself into the lake and drowned.
Karasor (Tyzdigul) Lake covers 250 sq. km. and has plenty of fish. Its water is more salty than seawater. It has sandy shores and about 10 little rivers flowing into it.
Just relax and enjoy the peaceful and warm welcome of Central Kazakhstan.
Karkaraly can be reached by train from Almaty (1 day/night) or Astana (four hours). A 3 hour taxi journey will take you from Karaganda to the village, an adventure in itself, driving through miles of empty steppe with hardly another vehicle, person or sign of life in view.
Community Based Eco-tourism.
By choosing this destination or any other offered by the Ecotourism Information Resource Center you will be playing an important part in supporting these special places.
What makes these trips different is that all the services are operated by and benefit local people.
You will have the pleasure of meeting the people who call these beautiful places 'home', and the satisfaction of knowing that the money you spend is staying in the area - providing much-needed income to the families you meet and protecting the environment you explore.
12.1 Write complete answers to these questions:
a) Where is located Karkaralinsk National Park? b) What highest point of Karkaraly? c) At what Karkaralinsk lake water more salty, than sea water? 12.2 Choose the correct answer: Karkaralinsk, the pearl of the …. a) Saryarka; b) Ulutau; c) Altai;
12.3 Use a verb to be in the necessary form (is, are)
a) Karkaraly _ a charming small town of wooden houses and narrow streets.
b) There _ cafes and shops where rural Kazakh life can be appreciated.
c) Walk in the mountains, which are not too steep and suitable for most abilities.
12.4 Find a synonym of word «national»
a) People;
b) Ethnos;
c) Public;
12.5 Find an antonym of word «bright»
a) Light;
b) Intense;
c) Dark.
13 Kazakh steppe. The Birds and the Trees
The Khazakh Steppe is the largest dry steppe region in the world. Similar to the prairies of North America, steppes are grassland communities with little or no trees. In the Khazakh Steppe, you'll find hundreds of different species of plants, all of them adapted to regular droughts, strong winds, fires, and grazing. And you'll find a rich diversity of hardy mammals equally well-adapted to this environment, including saiga antelopes, corsac foxes, and steppe marmots.
Special Features
Before being intensively cultivated in the 1950s, the Khazakh Steppe was a broad, continuous belt of grassland stretching from the Ural River to the Altai foothills. Summers here are hot and dry, and winters are cold with very little snow accumulation. In adapting to these conditions, many plants have evolved a "podushka" or cushion-like form--lying close the ground and investing their energy in growing deep root systems. Some parts of this grassland are almost desertlike, but depressions in the landscape retain more moisture and develop into meadow swamps.
Wild Side
You'll find a number of animals in this region that have close relatives in the prairies of North America. The steppe marmot is the Eurasian equivalent of the prairie dog. The saiga antelope is similar to the prairie pronghorn. And the blind mole rat lives its life in underground burrows much as the pocket gopher does. Other species found in this great grassland are steppe pikas, pallid harriers, white-headed ducks, and lesser kestrels.
Cause for Concern
Much of this eco-region was plowed under in the 1950s, which removed native vegetation cover. Pesticide use was heavy, and many areas were overgrazed. In recent years, though, agricultural activity and associated pesticide use have decreased significantly. But growing threats remain in the form of illegal hunting of wildlife and increased oil development and mining.
13.1 Write complete answers to these questions:
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
