Lake Ural: description, origin, location

The territory that lies at the junction of Europe and Asia is called the Urals. This region is famous for the Ural Mountains. But the lakes of the Urals are worthy of no less attention than the mountain peaks. The region is rich in beautiful and even healing water reservoirs, where you can relax, fish and improve your health.

Geography of the Urals

The area along the ridge of the Ural Mountains at the place of the border between Europe and Asia has long been inhabited by people. The origin of the name of the Urals still causes controversy among scientists. The most realistic version seems to be its connection with the word from the ancient Turkic language, meaning "sublimity".

The region extends from the steppes of Kazakhstan to the Arctic Ocean, covering the elevations adjoining the mountain peaks. The mountain range of the Urals is low, its peaks lie in the range from 600 to 1500 meters above sea level. The Ural ridge is the main element that organizes the landscape and climate of the region. The Ural mountains create a kind of barrier that divides the region into two climatic zones: a milder and drier western and more severe, continental Zaural. The climate of the region is typical mountainous, in the Urals with a lot of precipitation, in the Trans-Urals the climate is drier. The region is rich in diverse flora and fauna. In the numerous hollows and deepened mountains lie beautiful and unique lakes of the Urals.

Water Resources of the Urals

The Ural region is rich in various water bodies and rivers. From the mountains streams descend, the famous lakes of the Urals are formed. In total there are 11 large enough rivers in the region, among which the most famous are Kama, Pechora, Chusovaya, Belaya. They feed three water bodies: the Arctic Ocean, the Ob and Ural rivers. But the main wealth of the Ural region is the lake, there are more than 30 thousand of them!

Lake District

The Urals can rightfully be called the edge of the water. Lakes of the Urals are diverse in origin, each has a unique landscape. Many of the reservoirs are real natural attractions. Each lake has its own legend, its unique appearance, its history. In addition to incomparable beauty, many reservoirs have healing power. In the region there are a number of saline lakes, whose healing power is not less than that of the famous Dead Sea. The most famous salt lakes are: Moltaevo, Gorkoe, Muldakkul, Medvezhye and Podborn. Rest homes and sanatoriums were located on their shores. There is an amazing Sweet Lake in the Urals , whose alkaline water has a sweetish taste, it has a huge list of medicinal properties.

Another unusual drainage lake is Shantropai. Its water has a very high rate of mineralization, and mud from the bottom has truly miraculous properties. In addition to treatment and recreation, the lakes of the Ural region are famous for their fish stocks - here is a great place for fishing. And, of course, the lakes are a magnificent natural landscape, each object has its own, with unique features. Not in vain, many reservoirs are objects of protection, as natural monuments. The lakes of the Urals have so far been little studied, their depth, the underwater landscape, and the animal and plant world are also not fully known. Let's talk about the six most notable Ural lakes.

High-mountain Zyuratkul

The highest mountain in the Southern Urals is the lake Zyuratkul (Chelyabinsk region) located at an altitude of over 700 m above sea level. It feeds on a large number of streams that originate in nearby swamps. In this regard, the water in the lake is tea brown. Despite the shade, it is very clean, suitable for drinking. Today the area of the lake is 12 square kilometers, but historically its area was half that. It increased due to the construction of a dam. In connection with the increase in volume, the depth of the lake has also grown, today it is about 12 meters, the historical form has changed. The pond is in a picturesque place, surrounded by coniferous dense forests, from the winds reliably cover the mountain ranges of Nurgush.

Lake Zyuratkul (Chelyabinsk region) has attracted people since ancient times. Archaeologists find here traces of sites 8-5 millennium BC. The history of the appearance of the reservoir is described by the legends of local people who poeticize the lake, attach special importance to its shape resembling the heart. Today, the reservoir and the surrounding area are part of the Zyuratkul National Park.

Big fishing - Big Elantik

In 90 km from Chelyabinsk, not far from Chebarkul, there is a small, but very popular pond - Lake Elanchik. From the Bashkir language the name of the lake is translated as "snake", "snake lake". Big Elanchik, this is the official name of the reservoir, has a small size - about 6 square kilometers, the depth is 6-8 meters. It is located at an altitude of 363 meters above sea level. The shores of the lake are covered with pine and deciduous forests, the western shore is quite swampy. Today, Big Elanchik is becoming an increasingly popular holiday destination, there are three large recreation centers, several cottage villages, the presence of a man has a negative impact on the ecology of the lake. But it still enters the top five of the cleanest lakes in the Urals, the transparency of the water here is 4 meters. The main reason for the popularity of the lake is a large number of fish. Here there are perch, ruff, roach, tench, pike.

Beauty of Uvildy

A natural monument of local importance - Lake Uvildy - is located 100 km from Chelyabinsk, at the foot of the Ural Mountains. The origin of Lake Uvildy is tectonic. Many millions of years ago there was a fault, which later filled with water. The area of the lake is almost 70 square meters. Km, the deepest place is 35 meters, the average depth is about 14 meters. Because of its size, the lake is warming up badly and this leads to the fact that it does not have a stormy underwater life. True, today there are inhabited bream, chibaki, pike, whitefish, burbot. The oligotrophic type of the lake, which is quite rare for the Urals, makes Uvildy an interesting object for scientific research. The reservoir is famous for the purest water, it is one of the five cleanest lakes in Russia. However, a strong recreational load threatens the ecology of the lake, which is heavily polluted. A special charm of the lake is attached to the islands: Elm, Spruce, Olkhov, Bukovy, there are 52 islands of different sizes on the reservoir. Lake Uvildy has long attracted people, they have composed romantic legends and stories about the pond.

Deep lake

300 km from Yekaterinburg is the purest Lake Terenkul in the Urals. In translation from Bashkir the name of the reservoir means "deep lake". The maximum depth of Terencul is 19 meters, the transparency is about one meter. Some researchers suggest that the water in some places has a "double bottom" effect, where the depth reaches 30 m, but there is no real evidence for this. Lake Terenkul occurred as a result of a tectonic fault, it feeds on precipitation and groundwater. On all sides it is surrounded by dense forests, the water surface in some places has grown overgrown with reeds and water lilies. Despite the fact that there are not enough specially equipped places for recreation, they mainly belong to guest houses and boarding houses, the flow of tourists here is growing every year. Tourists here are attracted by the silence and untouched nature, as well as fishing.

High mountain lake

On the main summit of the Northern Urals Mount Teplozis in the crevice there is a unique high-mountain lake Telpos. It is famous for its crystal clear water of emerald shade, the transparency of the water is about 10 meters. The area of the lake is only a quarter of a square kilometer, and the depth is about 50 meters. The origin of the lake is carved, that is, it preserves water recently (several thousand years) for a melted glacier. The lake is very little studied, it is not even known whether there are any inhabitants in it. The water in the lake does not warm up, and you can not swim in it. Even the ancient inhabitants of the Urals revered Telpos as a shrine, they even wrapped their oars with rags to walk silently through the water. And today there are very few people around the pond, and it keeps its pristine beauty.

The purest Turgoyak

This star, which is proud of the whole of the Urals - Lake Turgoyak. He is called "the younger brother of Lake Baikal", even a corresponding legend is composed about it. The reservoir is the second most clean in Russia. The area of the water mirror Turgoyak is almost half a thousand square kilometers, the maximum depth is 36 m. Turgoyak extends at the foot of the Ilmen mountain range, at an altitude of more than 300 meters above sea level. The lake has a tectonic origin, it is fed by groundwater, precipitation and several small rivers. The lake is rather cold and therefore there are almost no inhabitants in it. Today, the reservoir is experiencing a strong anthropogenic influence, which negatively affects its ecology. On the shore of the lake there are many facilities for tourists.