Alaniya National Park (Russian: Национальный парк «Ала́ния»), is a heavily glaciated, mountainous section of the northern slope of the Central Caucasus Mountains. It covers the southern third of the Irafsky District of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. The park was created to have a dual purpose of serving as an ecological refuge - it has very high levels of biodiversity and vulnerable species, such as the near-endangered West Caucasian Tur – and also an area of high cultural heritage and potential for recreational tourism. The park contains widespread archaeological ruins from several notable past civilizations, including the Bronze Age Kopban people (1200–300 BCE), and the Alans people (100 BCE – 1234 AD). It is from the Alans that the name "Alaniya", and indirectly the term "Aryan",