Samarskaya Luka National Park

Samarskaya Luka National Park
Russian: Самарская Лука (Also: Samara Bend)
IUCN category II (national park)
Deviat Mound, Samara Bend
Location of Park
Location	Samara Oblast
Nearest city	Zhigulyovsk
Coordinates	53°18′N 49°50′E / 53.300°N 49.833°E / 53.300; 49.833
Area	134,000 hectares (331,121 acres; 517 sq mi)
Established	1984 (1984)
Governing body	Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Russia)
Website	http://www.npsamluka.ru/

Samarskaya Luka National Park (Russian: Самарская Лука национальный парк) (in English, "Samara Bend") covers most of the peninsula formed by the 180-degree bend of the Volga River as it flows around the Zhiguli Mountains, near the cities of Samara and Zhigulyovsk in the Stavropolsky District, Samara Oblast. The north shore of the bend is on the Kuybyshev Reservoir, the south side is on the Saratov Reservoir, and on the north it has a border with Zhiguli Nature Reserve. The park is culturally important because of its centrality to a range of peoples back to ancient times, and to its scientific value resulting from the biodiversity of its closely placed variety of habitats. The territory is part of the Middle Volga Integrated Biosphere Reserve.^[1]