Numto

Numto Nature Park is a regional protected area in the eastern part of Beloyarsky District, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, on the border with Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It was created on 28 January 1997 by governor's decree No. 71. It centres on Lake Numto, a sacred site for the Khanty and Forest Nenets, and lies where tundra, forest-tundra and taiga meet^[1].

About 20 mammal species and around 150 bird species are recorded, 137 of them on a major migration route, and nine species are listed in Red Books. The headwaters of the Kazym, Nadym and Pur rivers rise in the park, and water covers up to 70% of the territory^[1].

About 163 vascular plant species have been recorded, including 18 rare ones, along with 48 litter-dwelling and 26 wood-decaying fungi. Tundra islands here are the southernmost in Russia. The area around the lake has sparse larch taiga and swamps^[1][2].

Lake Numto is of thermokarst origin and lies among many smaller lakes in the Siberian Uvaly, with an area of 62 km2, a length of up to 12.5 km and a width of up to 7.5 km^[2]. The park's southern border follows the Sibirskie Uvaly ridge^[1].

The park lies in the northern taiga subzone in the centre of the West Siberian Plain^[1], a region of long, cold winters.

The name comes from a Khanty term meaning "lake of God", and a heart-shaped island near the western end is sacred in local shamanism. The Kazym rebellion began here in the early 1930s^[2]. Researchers have identified 20 archaeological sites and 65 ethnocultural monuments, and the explorer Alexander Dunin-Gorkavich described the lake in 1901^[1].

The park was created by decree of the governor of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug on 28 January 1997, with later amendments in 2001, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2022 and 2023. It has seven separate land clusters^[1].

The chief site is Lake Numto and its Holy Island, which the park describes as the largest sacred site of the peoples of the Ob North^[3].

The park lies about 200 km from Beloyarsky and 300 km from Surgut^[1], and its office is in Beloyarsky^[3].

Commercial hunting and fishing, mining, unapproved construction and off-road vehicle use in the snow-free season are prohibited. Traditional land use by Indigenous peoples is permitted, and helicopter use is restricted during bird migration and nesting^[1].