The district is mostly situated on the West-Karelian upland with broken tectonic denudation terrain and elevations of up to 300-400 metres, whereas its north-eastern part is flatter, with elevations to 200 m, covered in glacial till deposits. The district has mire complexes of various types characteristic of central Karelia: Sphagnum fuscum raised bogs, aapa mires with swampy string-flark complexes, transitional sedge-Sphagnum mires, herb-rich lake-border mires and various types of paludified forests. Most mire complexes coalesce into complex mire systems. In terms of the mire zoning of Karelia, the western part of the Muezersky District belongs to the mesotrophic herb-Sphagnum mire district of the West-Karelian upland, where open mires cover 15-25% of the territory; and the north-eastern and eastern parts belong to the aapa mire district, where the paludification Notice: Undefined index: alt in /www/muetacis/lib/init.lib on line 457
border=0 alt=""> degree is 30-50%. According to the land cadastre, mires in the district cover a total of 410,000 ha (23.1% of the territory). Mires of the district are very little investigated. The forecast-based peat deposit map of the Republic shows 498 mire contours with a total area of 190,000 ha, and only 30 small mires (4% of the total area) have been studied in situ. Most mires have remained undisturbed; forest drainage done only in a number of sites in the eastern part of the district near villages Muezersky, Ledmozero, Rugozero (about 10% of the district's mires). The "Boloto Tiksha" mire is protected as a natural monument. This is a mire system typical of the district, covering 556 ha and comprising the raised bog and aapa mire types. It lies close to the road in the Tiksha village outskirts and is thus easily accessible.

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border=0 alt=""> When planning various nature- and ecotourism routes (on water or land), the possibility of visiting and learning about the nature of mires should be taken into account. Water tourists would first of all be interested in lake-side open herb-rich and herb-moss transitional (mesotrophic) mires, which are quite numerous both beside lakes Leksozero, Sulo, Lenderskoye, Gimolskoye etc., and along rivers Chirka-Kem, Voloma, Lenderka, Muezerka, Peninga. Land routes may run through various mire types: typical aapa mires and raised bogs can be found within several kilometres from any village of the district. The Tulos reserve (or park) to be designated in the near future has all main mire types of central Karelia (aapa, herb-Sphagnum transitional, raised bogs), which are quite easily accessible.

Expert: O.L.Kuznetsov.