Lapland State Biosphere Nature Reserve - a famous nature reserve, located in the Murmansk region. Its territory is one of the most protected natural areas in the whole of Europe. The total area of ​​the reserve is 278,435 hectares, including 8574 hectares in the waters. The most important and valuable part of the reserve is a wild and untouched nature, which is in its natural pristine condition.

Create Lapland Murmansk Reserve, which has the protection of federal significance, it occurred in 1930, and in 1985 it was included in the World Biosphere Reserve System. It is worth noting that the reserve is not only environmental, but also the Environmental Education and Research Center, which has objective: to preserve and study in detail the natural course of natural phenomena and processes, genetic heritage of fauna and flora, some communities and species of animals and plants, unique or typical ecological systems, as well as to convey to the public important information on environmental education.

The relief of the protected zone is crossed, krupnoholmisty and mountain character. Most of the area is covered with mountain tundra, and is composed of five separate mountain ranges with different heights ranging from 600 to 1114 meters. For vertical forms of relief particularly characteristic coherence outlines, explains the antiquity of the mountain system.

Throughout the Lapland reserve the watershed Barents and White seas. All the protected waters are divided into eight lake-river systems. In all the lakes and rivers of water surprisingly clean, soft and transparent, indicating the complete absence of limestone and indicates a weak chemical weathering. In the territorial area of ​​the reserve there is a considerable number of lakes and rivers that drain into the famous lake Imandra. In total there are 168 lakes, the coast of which the total length is 370 km, 63 stream and river length of approximately 718 km.

One of the most important parts of the Murmansk reserve are old-growth forests, which occupy 52% of the territory. Age of individual forests is three to ten thousand years. It is interesting that in their development throughout their history has absolutely no power to interfere, with the exception of natural. The age of some trees up to 600 years, trunk diameter - 70 cm, and the height is 30 meters.

According to the latest data in the reserve grow to a greater extent, coniferous: Siberian spruce and pine Vries. In addition, there are 575 species of lichens, 603 species of vascular plants, 370 species of mosses and 273 species a wide variety of mushrooms. With regard to the vascular plants, five of their species are listed in the Red Book of Russia: polushnik lake, calypso onion, Woods Alpine, cotoneaster cinnabar red and palmate-wheeler Traushteynera.

In Lapland Nature Reserve is home to over 31 species of mammals including the northern wild deer, wolf, brown bear, fox, weasel, wolverine, mink, European beaver, squirrel, hare, forest lemming and many other representatives of the animal world. The reserve is constantly live and nesting birds, there are about 198 species. Especially characteristic of the region have five varieties of chicken: black grouse, capercaillie, hazel grouse, and ptarmigan tundra, as well as five species of predatory birds listed in the Red Book: white-tailed eagle, golden eagle, peregrine falcon and merlin, osprey. Suffice it to harsh natural conditions allow the reserve to winter only twenty species of birds and 22 species are able to survive the winter only with a permanent feed.

A characteristic feature of the Lapland Reserve was the presence of the estate of Santa Claus, which is located on the shore of a small lake Chung. At this point you can meet absolutely any animal that lives in the area, and hearty Santa Claus will take you to visit its winter tower having a fabulously beautiful design.