Climate
Average annual precipitation is about 400 mm, rising up to 800 mm on the top of the mountains. Mud floods and land slides may occure in spring.
Understand
The Kugitang Nature Reserve is situated on the west slope of the Kugitang Mountains on the border to Uzbekistan. It covers an area of 27.140 ha. The name Kugitang Koyentag in Turkmen means 'almost impassable mountains'. The area was declared nature reserve in order to protect the unique ecosystem of the mountain range and the rare capra falconeri, a wild mountain goat included in the Red Data Book of Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species CITES (http://www.cites.org/).
The most striking feature of the Kugitang Nature Reserve is the Dinosaur Plateau with more than 400 footprints of dinosaurs, about 150 million years old. The footprints were left by a dinosaur species called Magalosauripus in the Jurassic period.
Flora and fauna
The upper parts of the mountains are covered by walnut, maple, juniper ans wilde grape forests. The nature reserve was established for the protection of the wild mountain goat called Markhor in Turkmen. It is reported that their number has increased to 500 after the creation of the reserve. There are also about 300 mountain sheep Arkhar in Turkmen, 100 wild cats. Occasionally Persian leopards have been seen in the reserve.
Landscape
The highest mountain of Turkmenistan Air Baba 3137 meters is situated in the nature reserve. The area constists of a great number of deep canyons. The Hodjachilgazbaba Canyon is 28 kilometers long and the walls of the Daraya Canyon are up to 600 meters high.
History
The Kugitang Nature Reserve was created nature reserve in 1986.