Ustyurt Nature Reserve is a
nature reserve in
Mangystau Region, southwest Kazakhstan, near the borders with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Established in 1984, it has an area of 2,230 km
2 (860 sq mi) and lies within the
Ustyurt Plateau. The reserve is intended to safeguard the desert as well as the rare flora and fauna in the area. It is home to 250 species of flora such as
grey sage, feather grass,
Anabasis salsa, and
saltwort, as well as around 44 species of mammals such as the Ustyurt
mouflon,
saiga antelope, jeyran,
fox and
polecat. The reserve has a variety of landscapes, from
steppes and
depressions to pillars reaching several hundred metres in height, and features several
Neolithic sites. This photograph shows an aerial view of the Karynzharyk Depression in Ustyurt Nature Reserve.
Photograph credit: Maksat Bisengaziev