Chivyrkuisky Isthmus

The Chivyrkuisky Isthmus is a broad land bridge that connects the island-like mountainous part of the Svyatoy Nos ("Holy Nose") peninsula to the eastern shore of Lake Baikal. The isthmus and the "island" are part of the Zabaykalsky (Trans-Baikal) National Park of the Republic of Buryatia. The isthmus is a roughly trapezoidal region of low-lying swampy terrain, about 15 km long, 24 km wide at the southeast (mainland) end, and 8 km wide at the northwest ("island") end. Both ends are limited by mountainous terrain. The northeast and southwest shores are smooth and gently curved inward, about 11 and 20 km long, respectively. The southwest shore of the isthmus ends next to the town of Ust-Barguzin. The isthmus divides the strait between the island and the mainland into two bays, Chivyrkuisky Bay at the northeast and Barguzinsky Bay at the southwest. Thousands of years ago the isthmus did not exist, and Svyatoi Nos was an island. It was created by alluvial sediments of the Barguzin River. Chivyrkuisky Isthmus is one of the three nesting areas of Baikal's waterfowl and birds of prey. It is an unusual alternation of sand bars and coastal marshes, showing species of mountainous and steppe vegetation growing side by side. Some trees like bird cherry and common pines grow close to ground, as creeping bush. Sand levees stretch for many kilometers along the banks of the isthmus. The is

NatureReserve data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).