The
Sikhote-Alin (Сихотэ-Алинь) is a
mountain rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
in
PrimorskyPrimorsky Krai also known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province.-Geography:...
and
Khabarovsk KraiKhabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
s,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, extending about 900 km to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of
VladivostokVladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea...
. The highest summits are
Tordoki YaniTordoki Yani or Tardoki Yani is the highest peak of Sikhote-Alin Mountains. It is located in the southeast of Khabarovsk Krai to north of border of Primorsky Krai.An elevation of Tordoki Yani is 2,077 m.Tordoki Yani is a table mountain....
(2,077 m), Ko Mountain (2,003 m) in
Khabarovsk KraiKhabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
and
Anik MountainAnik Mountain is the highest peak of Primorsky Krai, Russia. It is located in the north of Primorsky Krai on the border with Khabarovsk Krai. Anik Mountain is third highest peak of the Sikhote-Alin mountain system....
(1,933 m) in
Primorsky KraiPrimorsky Krai also known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province.-Geography:...
.
Sikhote-Alin comprises one of the most extraordinary temperate zones in the world. Species typical of northern
taigaTaiga is a biome characterized by coniferous forests. Covering most of inland Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Finland, inland Norway, Highland Scotland and Russia , as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States , northern...
(such as
reindeerThe reindeer , also known as the caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer, widespread and numerous across the Arctic and Subarctic.- Distribution and habitat :...
and the
brown bearThe brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It weighs 100 to 680 kilograms and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family, and as the largest land based predator.While the brown...
) coexist with tropical species, the
Amur leopardThe Amur Leopard is a wild feline predator native to the Russian Far East, and also the mountainous areas of the taiga as well as other temperate forests. It is one of the rarest felids in the world with an estimated 35 to 45 individuals remaining in the wild...
, Siberian tiger, and the
Himalayan bearThe Asian black bear is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern Asia, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Japan. It is classed by the IUCN as a vulnerable species, largely due to deforestation and active hunting for its body...
.
The
Sikhote-Alin (Сихотэ-Алинь) is a
mountain rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
in
PrimorskyPrimorsky Krai also known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province.-Geography:...
and
Khabarovsk KraiKhabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
s,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, extending about 900 km to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of
VladivostokVladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea...
. The highest summits are
Tordoki YaniTordoki Yani or Tardoki Yani is the highest peak of Sikhote-Alin Mountains. It is located in the southeast of Khabarovsk Krai to north of border of Primorsky Krai.An elevation of Tordoki Yani is 2,077 m.Tordoki Yani is a table mountain....
(2,077 m), Ko Mountain (2,003 m) in
Khabarovsk KraiKhabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
and
Anik MountainAnik Mountain is the highest peak of Primorsky Krai, Russia. It is located in the north of Primorsky Krai on the border with Khabarovsk Krai. Anik Mountain is third highest peak of the Sikhote-Alin mountain system....
(1,933 m) in
Primorsky KraiPrimorsky Krai also known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province.-Geography:...
.
Sikhote-Alin comprises one of the most extraordinary temperate zones in the world. Species typical of northern
taigaTaiga is a biome characterized by coniferous forests. Covering most of inland Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Finland, inland Norway, Highland Scotland and Russia , as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States , northern...
(such as
reindeerThe reindeer , also known as the caribou when wild in North America, is an Arctic and Subarctic-dwelling deer, widespread and numerous across the Arctic and Subarctic.- Distribution and habitat :...
and the
brown bearThe brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It weighs 100 to 680 kilograms and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family, and as the largest land based predator.While the brown...
) coexist with tropical species, the
Amur leopardThe Amur Leopard is a wild feline predator native to the Russian Far East, and also the mountainous areas of the taiga as well as other temperate forests. It is one of the rarest felids in the world with an estimated 35 to 45 individuals remaining in the wild...
, Siberian tiger, and the
Himalayan bearThe Asian black bear is a medium-sized species of bear, largely adapted for arboreal life, which occurs through much of southern Asia, northeastern China, the Russian far east and Japan. It is classed by the IUCN as a vulnerable species, largely due to deforestation and active hunting for its body...
. The region holds very few wolves, due to competition with tigers. The oldest tree in the region is a millennium-old Japanese yew.
In the 1910s and 1920s, Sikhote-Alin was extensively explored by
Vladimir ArsenyevVladimir Klavdiyevich Arsenyev was a Russian explorer of the Far East who recounted his travels in a series of books , telling of his military journeys to the Ussuri basin with Dersu Uzala, a native hunter, from 1902 to 1907...
(1872–1930) who described his adventures in several books, notably
Dersu UzalaDersu Uzala is the title of a 1923 book by the Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev.-Plot:...
(1923), which in 1975 was turned into an Oscar-winning film by
Akira Kurosawawas a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. In a career that spanned 50 years, Kurosawa directed 30 films. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in film history...
. The large Sikhote-Alin and Lazo wildlife refuges were set up in 1935 to preserve the region's unusual wildlife.
In 2001, UNESCO placed Sikhote-Alin onto the World Heritage List, citing its importance for "the survival of endangered species such as the
Chinese MerganserThe Chinese Merganser or Scaly-sided Merganser is an endangered typical merganser . It lives in temperate East Asia, breeding in the north and wintering in the south.-Description:...
,
Blakiston's Fish OwlBlakiston's Fish Owl, Bubo blakistoni, is an owl. This species is a part of the family known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl...
, and the
Amur tigerThe Siberian tiger is also known as the Amur, Manchurian, Altaic, Korean, North China or Ussuri tiger...
". World Heritage Area has a total area of , of which the terrestrial core zone of
Sikhote-AlinSikhote-Alin Nature Reserve is biosphere reserve in Primorsky Krai.It was founded in February 10, 1935 for protected sables population. Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve is located in a watershed and eastern slopes of Central Sikhote-Alin in Terneysky and Krasnoarmeysky Districts and area of Dalnegorsk...
Zapovednik comprises . The core zone can only be explored in a company of rangers.
External links