Audio tour Hall 7. Nature

 This is the hall of Nature

 Urjar district is located in the southernmost of the East Kazakhstan region. In the east it borders with China. The exposition shows the portraits of travelers scientists: encyclopedist Al-Farabi, great philologist, lexicographer Mahmud-Kashgari, geographer, statist, entomologist Peter Semenov-Tian-Shansky.          

 The village of Urjar is located in the same named district, which stretches along the slope of mountains to the lakes of Alakol, the pearl of the republic. Since 1928, the settlement performs the function of the administrative center. The relief of the area is mostly flat. In the south of the district part of the Alakol nature reserve is located. The closed lake is the second largest inland water of Kazakhstan. Water in the Lake Alakol has the same structure as sea water, which is good for health. In the central part of the lake there is an archipelago of three islands, on which in 1998 the State Nature Reserve was created.

Alakol is the world's only lake with black beach formed by well-rounded pebble and gravel, containing a large amount of silicon. Clean steppe air, mineral waters and sources of mineralized hydrogen sulfide mud create extremely favorable conditions for rest and treatment.

 The climate of the region is sharply continental with a cold, relatively little snowy winter and hot dry summer. Models show seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. The exposition shows meteorological instruments for measuring atmosphere pressure, temperature and air humidity.

 Along the northeastern border mountains stretch up to 2992m, in the east - up to 1114 m high.

 Besides Alakol there are 2 more big lakes located in this region.

 In the south of the district is located part of the Alakol nature reserve. In the foothills, the sanatorium with mineral waters is located.

 Urjar is surrounded by mountains, which in May are covered with a carpet of dark red flowers that emit an odour throughout the district. Birch groves, wild apple trees, gooseberry bushes, strawberries and blackberries occupy large area. Wild orchids grow in the mountains, conquering with their delicate beauty. Kazakhstan is the keeper of the Malus sieversii - the progenitor of all the apple trees in the world.

 The region has many big and small rivers. A collective view of one of the sections of the reservoir is in front of you: the sunken shore, characteristic vegetation for this zone and its inhabitants. In the waters of the region live such fish as pike, bream, tench, crucian carp, roach, Siberian roach.

 The most typical inhabitants of forests, steppes, semi-deserts and small-terrain areas of the region are: gray crane, ground squirrel, wolves, corsac, saiga, wild boar, imperial eagle, partridge, brown bear, snow leopard, lynx, viper, mouse, rodents, foxes, hare, squirrels and many species of birds presented in the exhibition.