Khibiny National Park (Russian: Национальный парк «Хибины») protects a mountainous region of taiga and tundra on the Khibiny Mountains and Lovozero Massif of the western Kola Peninsula in northwestern Russia.[2] The mountains contain commercially important minerals, and the park's borders reflect the need to balance three uses - protection of the unique natural environment, recreation (hiking in the summer, skiing in the winter), and industrial mining. The park was officially created in 2018,[3] and is located in the districts of Kirovsk and Olenegorsk in Murmansk Oblast.
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Topography
Surrounded by low plains, the varied terrain of the mountains supports high biodiversity. The mountain range itself is a circle about 40 km across, with Lake Imandra on the western border, and Lake Umbozero on the eastern. The park has two sections - a west sector and east sector of approximately equal size and central valley corridor that is not in the protected zone.[6] Across Lake Imandra to the west is the Lapland Biosphere Reserve. Elevations in the park range from 130 to 1,196 meters.[4]
Ground cover in the park is 62% grassland, 27% forest, 8% bare rock, and the remaining 3% shrub cover or water.[4] Species diversity is high, as there are different altitude zones, different landform types, and mixing of species in the transition zone between Arctic and taiga flora zones.[6]
