the park rises from flatlands in the west, into medium-height karst (limestone) uplands to the east. the northern boundary is along the nugush river (in turkic, "clean, bright"), which flows through deep wooded valleys with limestone formations on the slopes. the nugush reservoir (25 km) where the river flows west out of the mountains. the reservoir is a popular destination for locals in the summer; the industrial town of meleuz is only 20 miles to the west, making bashkiriya national park an important point of recreation as well as an ecological buffer to the protected areas to the east.