Zengezur National Park, National park in Ordubad District, Azerbaijan.
Zengezur National Park covers 42,797 hectares of the Zangezur range in the Lesser Caucasus, within Ordubad District of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Its highest point is Gəmiqaya at 3,906 m, the tallest summit in Azerbaijan's part of the Lesser Caucasus. The Soyuq dağ section, 2,000–3,000 m high, falls away over 12 km with cliff slopes and narrow watersheds. Eight rivers, among them the Gilançay, Ordubadçay and Duylunçay, are fed by springs, rain and snowmelt.
Zangezur National Park was created on 16 June 2003 as the Ordubad National Park, covering 12,131 hectares in Ordubad District of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. On 25 November 2009 it was enlarged to 42,797 hectares using land from Shahbuz, Julfa and Ordubad districts and renamed Zangezur National Park. Its full name honours Academician Hasan Aliyev.
The park's full name honours Academician Həsən Əliyev, the Azerbaijani geographer and soil scientist after whom the Ordubad park was named. Its highest point, Gəmiqaya (3,906 m), is the tallest summit in the Azerbaijani part of the Lesser Caucasus and lies within the park. The park also holds the Soyuq dağ massif, whose cliffs and narrow watersheds descend over 12 km.
A 2010 USAID report found that access to the park was all but impossible: entry required a personal letter from the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, obtained far in advance and often refused, and NGOs and foreign donors rarely obtained one. The park lies in Ordubad District of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and its rivers are fed by rain and melting snow.
The area is home to many bird species and rare plants, with some listed as endangered in Azerbaijan's conservation records. This biological variety makes the protected grounds particularly valuable for nature enthusiasts.
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