Yangan-Tau Geopark joined UNESCO Worldwide Network

The Republican Geopark Yangan-Tau was the first in Russia and the CIS to join the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network officially. It was stated at the Assembly of the organization, which, due to the situation with the coronavirus, was conducted online.

As the ideological inspirer of the geopark creation and the director of the Yangan-Tau sanatorium Alfred Akbashev told earlier, this status is a marker, an indicator of quality and safety for foreign tourists.

Geopark is an open-air museum, the main exhibits of which are mountains, caves, geological sections, minerals, and natural resources. Unlike national parks, access to which is limited, the geopark assumes accessibility and openness for tourists to visit.

The founder of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network, Patrick McKeever, during a meeting with Radiy Khabirov, said that for the first 19 years of his work in the Global Geoparks Network, he saw for the first time people working with such dedication. Waiting for a decision on the geopark to be made, its employees developed their services, shared knowledge, and experience with other geoparks - primarily with Toratau. They also advised colleagues from the Undoriya Geopark of the Ulyanovsk Region.

In the Salavatsky district, the geopark unites more than 20 geological objects, of which three (Mechetlino section, Bolshaya Luka section, Mount Yangantau) are of international, 10 - national and 21 objects - of educational importance. A lot of red-book plants grow in the territory; rare species of animals live there.