Mount Suntar Hayat: geographical location, minerals

In the vast expanses of the north-eastern territory of Russia, between Yakutia and the Khabarovsk Territory, the mountain range of Suntar-Hayat stretches. Covered from the northwest by the Verkhoyansk Range, and from the north-east by the Chirsky Range, for centuries it remained unconquered and unexplored. The name Suntar-Hayat means "mountains of Suntara". Local legends tell of the powerful shaman Suntar, who had great knowledge, but did not have a gentle disposition. No one even wanted to incur her anger inadvertently. People did not want to disturb the mistress in her domain.

Ancient superstitions are a thing of the past. However, to this day, distant and hard-to-reach mountains contain many secrets and mysteries. They attract geologists, climbers, travelers, photographers and biologists. And none of them returned disappointed.

Treasure of Siberia

If you go along the Khandyga highway that connects Yakutsk and Magadan, you can see with the naked eye the majestic, snow-capped peaks of Suntar-Hayat. The highest point of this ridge reaches almost 3000 meters. And the length of this mountain system is 450 kilometers. By the way, the main peaks and glaciers are at a distance of 100 kilometers from this very road. And there are simply no other ways.

However, it is the remoteness from the habitual and often overloaded communication routes that connect industrial regions with each other, which allowed preserving the pristine nature of the landscape and a feeling of real unity with nature. Here, pure rivers still flow, from which it is not terrible to get drunk, mountain forests are growing, not disfigured by patches of cuttings, there are rare local people engaged in reindeer herding.

Yakutia and the Khabarovsk Territory, and this is exactly where Suntar-Hayat is located, rich in minerals. First of all, it is a deposit of ore containing silver, copper, tungsten, tin, indium and bismuth. In addition, the region is rich in deposits of gold and precious stones. The search and development of such deposits served as a driving force for the development of the region and the study of mountains. But first things first.

The history of the ridge

It was 1639 year. Cossack Ivan Moskvitin with a detachment of 39 people, crossing the mountain range, reaches the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk and places a winter residence there. It became the first Russian settlement on the Pacific coast. The purpose of the expedition was the collection of furs, the search for new lands and - most importantly - the determination of the position of the mountain Chirkol, where, according to rumors, there were rich deposits of silver ore. The Cossack did not find the mountain, but it was very important that now there was a starting point for further research.

But the mountains reluctantly allowed strangers to come. Over the years and decades, new expeditions were organized, but the places where the Suntar-Hayat Range rested remained a blank spot on the maps. For the first time this area was documented in 1944 by airborne surveying. At the same time, another geological expedition was sent under the direction of VM Zavadovsky.

The main goal of this expedition was not the Suntar-Hayat minerals. The scientists had to draw up an accurate map of the terrain and describe in detail the relief. Nevertheless, the return was marked by sensational news: the tops of the ridge are covered with glaciers.

Research of glaciers

Back in 1881, the deserved geographer climatologist AI Voeikov scientifically proved the impossibility of the presence of glaciers in Eastern Siberia. His conclusions he built on the fact that in this area is very low air temperature in winter, but the total number of annual precipitation is minimal. In 1938, in his work The Foundations of Climatology, Berg Berg supported this assertion.

And now, after only six years, Zavodovsky's expedition brings evidence that glaciers exist. Three years later, information was gathered about 208 glaciers covering the Suntar-Hayat Range. The description is based on data collected using aerial photography. The total area of glaciers, according to geologists, was 201.6 square kilometers. And their total volume reached 12 cubic kilometers.

So on the maps appeared reliable information about Mount Suntar-Hayat. Photographs that were classified and cataloged helped to determine that the main ice masses, as expected, are concentrated at the highest points: on the peaks of Mus-Khaya, Beryl, Vaskovsky, Obruchev and Rakovsky. All of them have a height of more than 2700 meters above sea level. One of the glaciers is named after the Soviet doctor of geographical sciences, who made a great contribution to the national geomorphology and regional physical geography. This is the Solov'ev glacier. Suntar-Hayat is a ridge in Yakutia, which keeps the memory of the Russian scientist. But there are many legends.

Legend of the keeper of the mountains

Not always the most formidable and highest peaks are covered with legends. Among the Yakuts and Evenks there are many tales of Mount Alton. It is a comparatively small peak, rising to 1542 meters above sea level (for comparison, Mount Mus-Shai reaches 2959 meters, which is almost twice as large). Legend has it that in the heart of the mountain there is a magic lake. In the center of this amazing underground reservoir is a throne carved from a single piece of amazingly beautiful jasper. And on the throne is the elder Alton - a stern keeper of the mountains. The magic water of the lake gives him immortality. This water can heal a person from any ailment. But no mortal dares to approach Lake Altona. Yes, and climb the mountain, not everyone is given. Only great shamans who communicate with the world of spirits come there to listen to the will of their ancestors.

In times immemorial, when the world was still young, there was a lot of game in the forests, and the rivers were full of fish, a brave young Evenk lived. He was young, strong, handsome and respectful in his father's house. The young man showed himself to be a brave and successful hunter. He never returned to the family fire without prey.

Once during the hunt the young man heard singing in the distance. Like a streamlet gaily murmured, as if the wind whispered softly, as if the Sun itself had given its warmth to this amazing voice. The young hunter, forgetting about everything, followed the marvelous sounds. The voice belonged to a beautiful girl, in which the hunter fell in love without memory, as soon as he saw. His feelings turned out to be mutual and soon young people were already preparing for the wedding.

But then there is a misfortune. The beloved hunter falls ill and begins to weaken before his eyes. Neither herbs, nor conspiracies, nor rites of shamans can not save her. In desperation, the hunter turns to the oldest member of the tribe. And the old man tells him how to penetrate to the magical lake of the keeper of the mountains. He also warns him of the danger. Guardian Alton does not tolerate uninvited guests. Only twice a year, during the autumn and spring equinox, he leaves his throne and rises to the top of Suntar-Hayat mountain at night.

A young hunter, fast as a mountain chamois and resolute as a snow leopard, sets off on a journey. How long, whether he walks shortly, but, eventually, reaches the mountain, finds an entrance to the cave, waits for the night and penetrates to the lake for precious moisture for his beloved.

But the young man could not escape the sight of Alton. Angry, the starets brought down a rockfall, which blocked the entrance to the cave leading to the lake, so that it was not possible for mortals to join in to its waters. And the unyielding guardian of the mountains forever made a young hunter his squire.

Mount Alton

And today Mount Alton enjoys fame from the local population. Hunters claim that even wild animals bypass the unfriendly mountain side. Near the mountain, flying over the Suntar-Hayat Range, whose geographical position had already been well studied by that time, a helicopter crashed. The crash took the lives of three people. Some tourists also paid with their lives, stepping on the treacherous slopes of Altona. All this only heated old beliefs. However, such statistics are also common in other localities. And simple coincidences are most often used to confirm what they are deeply convinced of without them.

Attitude towards the mountain and its surroundings is reflected in the names. At the very spur there is a rock called the Devil's finger. Not far from the foot there is a place known as the Devil's Cemetery. There are lying bones of deer, weather-beaten and whitened from time. Apparently, animals are sent here when they feel the approach of death.

Under the Devil's finger on the vertical section of the slope is the entrance to the cave. According to legends, there begins a long tunnel, at the end of which there is a lake with healing water. But you can get into the cave only with special mountaineering equipment. And although the miraculous lake was never found, but found nearby the mountain stream Volchiy and several beating from the ground keys. The water in them, of course, is not magical, but definitely curative. With regular bathing, minerals washed out of the depths of Suntar-Hayat help to cure many skin diseases and even relieve from aches in bones.

The role of rivers in the relief of Suntar Khayat

The Suntar-Hayat Range is the watershed of the Hunt, Indigirka and Aldan. There are many beautiful and deep rivers on this territory. The most developed river system is the tributaries of Indigirka. The rivers Kongor, Agayakan, Suntar, Azekan and Kuidusun flow into it. The waters of Tyra, East Khandyga and Yudoma gather in Aldan. A Hunting, Delkia-Okhotsk, Ulbei, Urak, Kukhtui and Ketanda flow into the Sea of Okhotsk.

The presence of such a large number of rivers could not but affect the formation of the relief. The rivers cut deep deep gorges all over the ridge. If you look from space, this area looks like a huge giant for some reason crushed mountains like a sheet of paper. And the terrestrial observer can enjoy the picturesque view of the waters running through broken canyons and the noisy and iridescent waterfalls that come down from above.

However, few people can observe this beauty. Because it is not easy to overcome these rivers. Crossings through them involve many dangers. A rapid current, frequent shiver (shallow areas with irregularly scattered boulders on the bottom) and rolling (shallow-water, shaft-shaped areas with a loose bottom) seriously complicate the task. In addition, the water level in rivers often fluctuates sharply. This is due to the fact that they feed not only due to precipitation, but also due to the melting of the ice sheet and taryns (layered ice that intrudes in the valley over the winter).

Lake Labyngkir

In the regions where there is Suntar-Hayat, there are many lakes. Most often, they owe their origin to glaciers. In the overwhelming majority it is small reservoirs enclosed in a frame made of stony talus. A pleasant exception in this respect is Lake Labyngkir. Climbing to a height of more than a thousand meters above sea level, it stretches 14 kilometers in length and about four kilometers in width. Its depth is also considerable - sometimes reaches 53 meters. The water is surprisingly clean. In the northern part, the transparency of the water is about ten meters.

There are many fish in the lake - grayling, pike, lenok, swamp, char, whitefish, whitefish, and others. The largest fish is burbot. But fishing here is not particularly developed. It is estimated that over the past two decades only sixty kilograms of fish have been caught from the lake. And this is not surprising. The terrain here is hard to reach, and in winter it is better not to get in here at all. After all, the area in which Labyngkyr Lake is located is the coldest in the Northern Hemisphere.

The water in Labyngkir is always cold. Even in the hottest summertime, its temperature does not rise above the mark of nine degrees. Surprisingly, this lake freezes much later than the rest. While neighboring lakes are already calmly traveling by truck, Labyngyrk is barely covered by a coastal crust of ice. Even in the fiercely sixty-degree frosts it's dangerous to go along this pond. The machine at any time can suddenly fail and go under the water.

Flora Suntar-Hayat

A variety of vegetation at the end of the summer paints the whole district, spreading amazing colors along the Suntar-Hayat ridge. Gold, purple, turquoise, green and orange scales - all this against the background of majestic dark peaks with snow-white caps supporting the blue of the sky, creates a fantastic picture.

The flora itself has a clearly expressed zoning in the vertical direction. From 2000 meters and above the high desert begins. Nothing grows there. The mountain tundra is located in the interval from 1400 to 2000 meters above sea level. On the uppermost borders, only mosses and lichens are retained, which extract nutrients from ancient moraines (sediments accumulated by glaciers). Further, lower down the slopes, alpine poppies, golden rhododendrons and rare undersized dwarf willows start to appear inconspicuously.

Even lower, already solid stripe, stands cedar stlanik. He boldly rises above the ground meter by one and a half. The birch trees of Middendorf and the Dahurian larch are already found among the stalagic. Well, the lower terraces of the slopes, starting from about 1500 meters above sea level, are covered with a real deciduous forest.

Representatives of the fauna

Taiga fauna is rich and diverse. There are moose and herds of wild reindeer. The Suntar-Hayat Range is the focus of the rare snow sheep range. It is a rare species with an isolated habitat. At this time, the snow sheep is protected by the law on the conservation of rare animals.

In the forests and even on stony placers, large gray hares and a white hare live high in the tundra. In the mountainous and lowland deciduous forests find shelter of red and black squirrels, as well as bright flying squirrels. Everywhere there are chipmunks scurrying over the bushes. A fairly rare species of Kamchatka marmot lives next door to them. The population of the Eurasian (American long-tailed ground squirrel) is numerous on this territory.

Suntar-Hayat as a tourist destination

The mountain range of Suntar-Hayat attracts tourists. Here you can lay pedestrian, ski and water routes of different complexity categories. The range is located at a great distance from the central populated areas and any paved roads. This factor negatively affects the development of tourism industries. However, it is he who allows us to preserve the main attraction of this region - its untouched virginity.

By laying out routes, travelers understand that the trek will take place in conditions of complete autonomy. It adds romanticism and sharpness of sensations. Very often the routes are made in such a way as to climb the planned peaks, and to cross the return path by rafting along the rivers. Often such trips take several months. They require serious preparation and careful planning. There is an opportunity to go on tour by a group, under the guidance of experienced guides. Often in such hikes, horses are used, on which they transport personal luggage and general equipment for the camp bivouac.