The year 2021 marks the International Year of Caves and Karst*.
Why do they declare international years of remembrance?
Each year is dedicated to a major problem that is little known to the public or that has so far received little attention. There are years officially designated by the UN and years designated by major international organizations.
The UN usually chooses people-related issues - the Year of the Refugee (1959), the Year against Racism (1971), the Year of Indigenous Languages (2019); in recent years environmental themes have appeared more frequently - the Year of Forests (2011), the Year of Plant Health (2020).
International organizations usually establish years dedicated to environmental or scientific issues, such as the International Year of Caves and Karst, to which 2021 is dedicated.
On the territory of the geopark "Yangan-Tau" there are many natural objects connected with karst and having an important geological and cultural heritage - Idrisovskaya, Laklinskaya, Urmantauskaya caves, karst springs - Kurgazak spring, Kuselyarovsky sulfur springs and others.
In 2021 we are going to tell you about unique and little-known geological objects which are situated in the geopark territory and which are related to the karst processes and karst relief forms (caves, sinkholes).
The main goal and slogan of the Year of Karst and Caves is "Explore, understand and protect".
During the whole year we will tell you about the most interesting geological phenomenon - karst and about karst landforms.
Follow our updates with the hashtags #karstcavesYanganTau #карстпещерыЯнганТау
We invite you to travel with us and take an active part in all the activities organized by "Yangan-Tau" Geopark and its partners.
You can become the organizers of different events, among which can be:
- excursions to caves, springs;
- drawing, film, and photo contests devoted to caves and karst;
- clearing caves and sinkholes of debris, installation of information boards near the sites;
- conversations with the population, teaching schoolchildren basic concepts;
- making souvenir products and postcards;
- publications in the press and on the Internet devoted to the Year of Karst and Caves.
Suggest your forms of participation!
Geopark "Yangan-Tau" is open to all and welcomes any positive actions in this direction!
*Karst is the geological process of dissolution of karst rocks by underground water. The main agents are groundwater and soluble rocks (carbonate - limestone, dolomite, marl; salt - rock salt, gypsum, etc.).
As a result of the process, surface (pits, sinkholes, and glades) and underground (caves, wells, mines) landforms are formed.
You can find more information on the page of the International Year of Karst and Caves
http://iyck2021.org/index.php/international-year-of-caves-and-karst/