Botcha Nature Reserve
Botcha Nature Reserve () (also Botchinsky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict ecological reserve). It is the northernmost reserve inhabited by the endangered Amur Tiger. The reserve is located in the north-eastern part of the Sikhote-Alin mountain range; it includes the Botchi River basin on its eastern slopes. The reserve is about 120 km south of the port city of Sovetskaya Gavan in the Sovetsko-Gavansky District of Khabarovsk Krai. The reserve was created in 1994, and covers an area of . Topography The Botcha Reserve has a terrain of mountain ridges and spurs, encompassing the Botcha River basin. The Botcha delta for the last 10 km before its mouth, is outside of the reserve boundaries. The reserve is roughly a rectangle that parallels the east coast of Russia, running southwest northeast, 80 km long and 50 km wide. The reserve itself is separated from the Strait of Tartary of the Sea of Japan by a coastal strip about 10 km wide. Across the strait to the east is the center of Sakhalin Island. The terrain is mountainous in the western portions of the reserve, sloping down the eastern foothills of the Central Sikhote-Alin to the Sea. The Botcha River flows to