РАЗДАТОЧНЫЙ МАТЕРИАЛ ПО ТЕМЕ
«ЗАЩИТА ОКРУЖАЮЩЕЙ СРЕДЫ: ИЗВЕСТНЫЕ ЗАПОВЕДНИКИ МИРА»
Famous National Parks and Reserves.
The USA.

- The Yellowstone National Park
A large national park mostly in Wyoming known for its springs and geysers, esp. one called Old Faithful, which erupts regularly 100 to 185 feet (30-56 meters) into the air many times each day.
The park is also known for its brown bears which like to come down to the roadside and beg for hand-outs from a passer-by. The park was established in 1972 and was the first national park in the USA.
- The Rocky Mountains National Park
It is famous for remains of older mountains, canyons, forests and glaciers. It has a great significance for those who study earth structure.
- The Mesa Verde National Park
It is a table land about 15 miles long and 8 miles wide, rising 2000 feet out of the valley below. It contains the cliff-dwellings of some of America’s earliest known Indian tribes.
- Yosemite National Park
A park in California, known for its beautiful lakes,waterfalls and large redwood trees. The park is on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Its valleys have walls which are 3000 feet high. The park contains three groves of sequoias.
- The Everglades
It is an area of low wet tropical land in Florida covering about 5000 square miles. The Everglades national park is famous for its wildlife, esp. alligators.
- Okefenokee Swamp
It is a large area of swampland in SE Georgia and NE Florida. It is the home of many alligators and many kinds of snakes and birds. Most of the area is now included in the Okefenokee National Park
- The Grand Canyon National Park
It is an extremely large gorge cut over millions of years through the rocks of Arizona. It is up to 1-6 km deep, 6-29 km wide and over 320 km long, and is one of America’s main tourist attractions. For its unusual view there are air tours – in a small aeroplane or helicopter. Tourists can also ride on a raft down the Colorado River. The most thrilling experience of the Grand Canyon is the 78 mile ride to the bottom of the canyon on mules.

Great Britain

- The Lake District National Park (2240km2)
It is situated in the old countries of Cumberland and Westmoreland. The Cumbrians are not very high but beautiful. The highest mountains in England, Scafell Pike (978m), Helvellyn Peak (950m) and Skeddaw (931m) are here.
The Lake District is famous for a great number of lakes in beautiful mountain scenery which attract many tourists. The largest lakes are Windermere, Coniston Water, Derwent Water, Ullswater.
- The Northumberland National Park (over 1000km2)
Only here you can watch otters which were widely spread all over England in former times in the north-eastern part there is the tiny island of Cocket which is closed for people. Here settle rare species of birds like eiders.
- Exmoor
It is a large area of open country (Moorland) in Devon and Somerset in SW England. It is a national park known for its wild ponies called Exmoor ponies having brown coats, short ears and large eyes.
- Dartmoor (945km2)
A large wild open hilly area;it is of great natural beauty in Devon in SW England. It is one of the ten National parks in England and Wales. The Park is also known for a small horse called Dartmoor pony.
- Snowdonia
A mountainous area in N Wales which is also a national Park. Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales and England (1085m)
- Brecon Beacons
It is the name of the two high hills in Powys, South Wales on which signal fires part of a national park.

Russia

- Lappish Wildlife Reserve (161254 acres)
It is situated in Murmansk region by Lake Imandra; was founded in 1930to protect reindeer, elks, martens, beavers
- Astrakhan Reserve (62.4 thousand acres)
The reserve occupies the delta of the Volga; founded in 1919. It is famous for herons building their nests here, geese and cormorants. In some places the Volga back-waters are covered with the lotus.
- Sikhote Alin Wildlife Reserve (340 th. acres)
It was founded in 1935 and is situated on the eastern slopes of Sikhote Alin. The reserve is well known for vast cedar forests and rare species of Manchurian deer, Himalayan bears.
- Kabardino-Balkarian Reserve (53303 acres)
It was founded in 1976 and occupies the northern slopes of the Caucasus. The tourists are attracted by its alpine grasslands. Many species of animals and typical of mountains inhabit this area – mountain goats, roes, chamois.

Mari El

- ‘Mari Chodra’ State Natural National Park
It was founded on December 2, 1985 (total area is 36.6 th acres). The National Park occupies the territory of Morki, Vlozhsk and Zvenigovo
- Vetluga Reserve (Urino region)
Its total area is 12 th acres. The reserve was founded on October 12, 1976. Such rare animals as the otter, the beaver, the wild boar, the elk, the mink, and the heath-cock are protected there.
- Maryersky Botanical Reserve (Zvenigovo region)
It was founded in 1977 (total area is 0,9 acres) to save natural landscapes and rare plants and flowers growing there. It is the only place in Mari El where water chestnut grows.
- The National Reserve in Morki region founded in 1981 (12,6 th acres) for protecting such animals as the beaver, the otter, the wild boar, the elk, the bear, etc.
- Oak groves in the Mountain Mari region are also protected forest reserves (total area is 12 th acres) where the badger, the wild boar, the marten, the elk, the grey heron, the grey stork nest.