Lake Elton Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 2019, in Russian Federation. Lake Elton Biosphere Reserve is located in the south-eastern part of the East European Plain, within the Caspian lowlands in the Russian Federation. Lake Elton is a hypersaline lake and the largest in Europe. It is also among the deepest situated, at 16 m below sea level, and one of the most saline lakes in the world. People live in 14 rural settlements and herder posts in the biosphere reserve, with seasonal variations almost doubling human presence in the area. The lake is important to nomads and their livestock, the only remaining agricultural activity in the area. It is also important to numerous mammals and birds, including cranes, some of which belong to threatened species.