Western Sayan on the physical map. Southern Siberia, Sayan mountains

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 /  / 53.25194; 94.97444(G) (I)Coordinates : 53°15′07″ s. sh. 94°58′28″ E d. /  53.25194° N sh. 94.97444° E d./ 53.25194; 94.97444(G) (I) CountryRussia, Russia

Highest pointMunku-Sardyk, 3491 m

Sayans (Sayan mountains ) - the common name for two mountain systems in the south of Siberia within the subjects Russian Federation: Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk Region, Republics of Khakassia, Tyva, Buryatia, and also northern regions Mongolia, bordering on the last two regions of the Russian Federation.

Characteristic

Flora

Almost everywhere in the Sayans, dark coniferous taiga spruce-cedar-fir forests prevail, rising in the western and central parts to altitudes of 1500-1800 m and more; light larch-cedar forests form the upper forest boundary at altitudes of 2000-2500 m. Alpine landscapes located above the forest boundary are characterized by severe and long winters, short and cool summers, strong winds. It is dominated by both a sharply indented, distinct relief, and leveled watershed spaces covered with shrub and moss-lichen tundra, alternating with extensive stone placers with almost no vegetation. In more humid areas, subalpine shrubs and meadows are developed, in some places tall grasses.

Red and black currants, blueberries, lingonberries, wild strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries grow from berries along the river valleys.

Fauna

The animal world is as rich as the plant world. There are numerous animal trails.

In the taiga and mountains you can see a bear, a wolf, a lynx, a deer, an elk, a musk deer, a squirrel, a chipmunk, a hare. Of the birds, the most numerous are the nutcracker, the jay, and the woodpecker, crossbill, smurf, capercaillie, partridge, hazel grouse are often heard. Siberian grayling, lenok, a lot of taimen are found in the rivers. Typical representatives of blood-sucking dipterous insects - mosquitoes, midges, biting midges - are not numerous here, and they are not in well-blown river valleys.

Rivers

The Sayan rivers have a mixed snow-rain supply, are available for rafting from June to September and belong to the Yenisei basin, the sources of which are mountain rivers Big Yenisei (Biy-Khem) and Small Yenisei (Kaa-Khem). Biy-Khem is considered the main source of the Yenisei. It starts in the Eastern Sayan, not far from the peak of Topographers. The river is very beautiful and passes through almost uninhabited places. Eastern Siberia. The length of Biy-Khem is 600 km. The second source of the Yenisei - Kaa-Khem - has a length of about 500 km, originates in the territory of Mongolia.

Tourism

The taiga landscape, the abundance of mountain streams, waterfalls, lakes and places of striking beauty, almost untouched wildlife, the relative simplicity of tourist routes - these reasons attract everyone's attention to the Sayans more outdoor enthusiasts. There are two unique reserve wildlife: Sayano-Shushensky in the Western and Pillars in the Eastern Sayans.

Settlements

The largest city belonging to the Sayans is Krasnoyarsk (located on the northwestern tip of the Eastern Sayan).

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Notes

Literature

  • // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

Links

  • in the book: N. A. Gvozdetsky, N. I. Mikhailov. Physical geography of the USSR. M., 1978.

An excerpt characterizing the Sayans

“Yes, yes,” Pierre said, looking at Prince Andrei with shining eyes, “I completely, completely agree with you!”
The question that had been troubling Pierre from Mozhaisk Mountain all that day now seemed to him completely clear and completely resolved. He now understood the whole meaning and significance of this war and the forthcoming battle. Everything that he saw that day, all the significant, stern expressions of faces that he caught a glimpse of, lit up for him with a new light. He understood that latent (latente), as they say in physics, warmth of patriotism, which was in all those people whom he saw, and which explained to him why all these people calmly and, as it were, thoughtlessly prepared for death.
“Do not take prisoners,” continued Prince Andrei. “That alone would change the whole war and make it less brutal. And then we played war - that's what's bad, we are magnanimous and the like. This generosity and sensitivity is like the generosity and sensitivity of a lady, with whom she becomes dizzy when she sees a calf being killed; she is so kind that she cannot see the blood, but she eats this calf with sauce with gusto. They talk to us about the rights of war, about chivalry, about parliamentary work, to spare the unfortunate, and so on. All nonsense. In 1805 I saw chivalry, parliamentarianism: they cheated us, we cheated. They rob other people's houses, let out fake banknotes, and worst of all, they kill my children, my father and talk about the rules of war and generosity towards enemies. Do not take prisoners, but kill and go to your death! Who has come to this the way I did, by the same suffering...
Prince Andrei, who thought that it was all the same to him whether Moscow was taken or not taken the way Smolensk was taken, suddenly stopped in his speech from an unexpected convulsion that seized him by the throat. He walked several times in silence, but his body shone feverishly, and his lip trembled when he began to speak again:
- If there was no generosity in the war, then we would go only when it is worth it to go to certain death, as now. Then there would be no war because Pavel Ivanovich offended Mikhail Ivanovich. And if the war is like now, then the war. And then the intensity of the troops would not be the same as now. Then all these Westphalians and Hessians led by Napoleon would not have followed him to Russia, and we would not have gone to fight in Austria and Prussia, without knowing why. War is not a courtesy, but the most disgusting thing in life, and one must understand this and not play war. This terrible necessity must be taken strictly and seriously. It's all about this: put aside lies, and war is war, not a toy. Otherwise, war is the favorite pastime of idle and frivolous people ... The military estate is the most honorable. And what is war, what is needed for success in military affairs, what are the morals of a military society? The purpose of the war is murder, the weapons of war are espionage, treason and encouragement, the ruin of the inhabitants, robbing them or stealing for the food of the army; deceit and lies, called stratagems; morals of the military class - lack of freedom, that is, discipline, idleness, ignorance, cruelty, debauchery, drunkenness. And despite that - this is the highest class, revered by all. All the kings, except for the Chinese, wear a military uniform, and the one who killed the most people is given a big reward ... They will converge, like tomorrow, to kill each other, they will kill, maim tens of thousands of people, and then they will serve thanksgiving prayers for having beaten there are many people (of which the number is still being added), and they proclaim victory, believing that the more people are beaten, the greater the merit. How God watches and listens to them from there! - Prince Andrei shouted in a thin, squeaky voice. - Ah, my soul, recent times It became hard for me to live. I see that I began to understand too much. And it’s not good for a person to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ... Well, not for long! he added. “However, you are sleeping, and I have a pen, go to Gorki,” Prince Andrei suddenly said.
- Oh no! - Pierre answered, looking at Prince Andrei with frightened sympathetic eyes.
- Go, go: before the battle you need to get enough sleep, - Prince Andrei repeated. He quickly approached Pierre, hugged him and kissed him. "Goodbye, go," he shouted. - See you, no ... - and he hastily turned around and went into the barn.
It was already dark, and Pierre could not make out the expression that was on the face of Prince Andrei, whether it was malicious or gentle.
Pierre stood for some time in silence, considering whether to follow him or go home. "No, he doesn't need to! Pierre decided by himself, “and I know that this is our last meeting.” He sighed heavily and drove back to Gorki.
Prince Andrei, returning to the barn, lay down on the carpet, but could not sleep.
He closed his eyes. Some images were replaced by others. At one he stopped for a long, joyful moment. He vividly recalled one evening in Petersburg. Natasha, with a lively, agitated face, told him how, last summer, while going for mushrooms, she got lost in big forest. She incoherently described to him both the wilderness of the forest, and her feelings, and conversations with the beekeeper whom she met, and, interrupting every minute in her story, said: “No, I can’t, I don’t tell it like that; no, you don’t understand, ”despite the fact that Prince Andrei reassured her, saying that he understood, and really understood everything she wanted to say. Natasha was dissatisfied with her words - she felt that the passionately poetic feeling that she experienced that day and which she wanted to turn out did not come out. “This old man was such a charm, and it’s so dark in the forest ... and he has such kind people ... no, I don’t know how to tell,” she said, blushing and agitated. Prince Andrei smiled now with the same joyful smile that he smiled then, looking into her eyes. “I understood her,” thought Prince Andrei. - Not only understood, but this mental strength, this sincerity, this openness of soul, this soul that seemed to be bound by the body, this soul I loved in her ... so much, so happily loved ... ”And suddenly he remembered how his love ended. “He didn’t need any of that. He didn't see it or understand it. He saw in her a pretty and fresh girl, with whom he did not deign to associate his fate. And I? And he is still alive and cheerful."

The Sayans are a mountainous country located in the south of Eastern Siberia. It is part of the Altai-Sayan folded region. The Sayans are divided into two mountain systems: Western Sayans and Eastern Sayans. The Eastern Sayans stretch almost at right angles to the Western.

From the point of view of geology, the Sayans are very young mountains, they are about 400 million years old. However, they are composed of ancient rocks, including those of volcanic origin. Geobotanical finds indicate that billions of years ago there was an ocean here - petrified ancient algae, which are found quite often, "tell" about this in the fractures of the rocks.

The features of the Sayan relief are determined by the climate that was here many years ago. Then, in the era of ancient glaciation, powerful glaciers covered the mountains. As the glaciers slid down, they "plowed" the earth's surface, creating sharp peaks and deep valleys with wide bottoms and steep slopes. When the climate warmed up, the glaciers began to melt and filled with water numerous depressions and depressions in the relief that formed ancient glaciers - many lakes of glacial origin formed in the mountains.

The Sayans are located in the south of Siberia, northeast of Altai and west of Baikal, on the territory of Russia and Mongolia. In fact, the Sayans are two interlocking mountain systems with different relief and a clearly visible border: the Eastern Sayan and the Western Sayan, which are located almost at right angles to each other. The place of their intersection is called the Central Sayans. The Eastern and Western Sayans form a mountain arc convex to the north.

The Western Sayan is a system of ridges elongated to the northeast, separated river valleys. The Eastern Sayan is located almost at right angles to the Western Sayan, from the left bank of the Yenisei River in a southeast direction - almost to the southern tip of Lake Baikal.

Arched-blocky Sayans are included in the largest and most typical belt of intracontinental (eniplatform) orogeny - Central Asian, including mountain structures of the Hindu Kush, Tien Shan, Pamir, Kunlun, Nanshan, Qinling, Altai, Sayan, Baikal, Transbaikalia, Stanovoy Range, which formed on mature continental crust after a long period of relative tectonic quiescence. In the case of the Sayan Mountains, we can talk about one of the oldest geological materials on the territory of Russia, about Late Proterozoic - Early Paleozoic rocks, and igneous granitoids (manifestations of alkaline-basalt volcanism in the Eastern Sayan Mountains). Neither in height nor in size are the mountains of the “secondary orogen” inferior to the young, primary orogens of the Alps and others.

In many areas, the Sayan peaks are covered with glaciers. In the highest massifs of the Eastern Sayan, 190 glaciers with a total area of ​​about 30 km 2 are known. A significant part of the peaks is occupied by snowfields: immobile accumulations of snow in gorges and depressions, protected from wind and sun. Ridges covered with snowfields create a system of "white mountains", the most famous are Manskoye and Kanskoye. Many snowfields persist throughout the summer, for which they are nicknamed "flights". Snow melting all year round on the tops of the Sayan Mountains was nicknamed "squirrels".

The highest peak of the Western Sayan is Kyzyl-Taiga, sacred to the Tuvans: at its foot, the locals bury their shamans. The name of the mountain, translated from Tuvan, means “red mountain covered with forest”. Munku-Sardyk is the highest point of the Eastern Sayan, and its name in Buryat means "eternal char". In Siberia, treeless mountain peaks have long been called loaches. Munku-Sardy is located on the border of Russia (Republic of Buryatia) and Mongolia. The first ascent to the summit was made in 1858 by Gustav Radtse (1831-1903) - Russian geographer and naturalist, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

The Sayan rivers are rapids, possessing large reserves of hydropower, flow in swampy valleys formed by glaciers, and belong to the Yenisei basin. Lakes of glacial origin are rich in fish, mainly Siberian grayling.
The main obstacle to the development of agriculture and the development of the Sayan valley territory is the thickness of permafrost. Mountain taiga prevails on the slopes of the Sayans, turning into subalpine and alpine meadows, and even higher - into mountain tundra.

Between the Sayan ridges there are more than a dozen basins of various sizes and depths, the most famous of which is the Abakan-Minusinsk basin, famous for its archaeological sites. It should be noted the presence of a large number of waterfalls.

The animal world is as rich as the plant world. There are numerous animal trails. They live in the Sayans Brown bear, deer, musk deer, wolverine, sable, lynx and the irbis listed in the Red Book, also known as Snow Leopard. Reindeer graze in the mountain tundra.

To protect the nature of the Sayans, two wildlife reserves have been created: Sayano-Shushensky in the Western Sayan and Stolby in the Eastern. The Sayano-Shushensky Reserve is located in the center of the Western Sayan on both sides of the Main Sayan Range. The purpose of its creation was to protect the sable as the most valuable fur-bearing animal.

The Eastern Sayans in Siberia are not only an interesting zoological, geological and botanical object, but also a historical and spiritual object of the culture of the local population. In the mythology of the peoples of the Eastern Sayan, the Sayans are the habitat of heroes and gods, one of which is Geser-Khan, so in the heroic epic of the peoples of Asia "Geser-Khan" we are talking about the petrified warriors-heroes of Geser - the mountains of the Sayan ridge.

Many peaks of the Sayan Mountains are covered with legends, some bear ancient names, some of which are already forgotten. Very often, on the tops of such mountains, in the places indicated by the shamans of Siberia and Buddhist lamas, since ancient times, "obos" have been erected - religious and religious structures in the form of stacked stones and poles, where they pray and leave donations or sacrifices to the gods, the owners of the area. The custom of putting obo came from Tibet itself.

Sayan Mountains, Tyva Republic on the map

The Siberian mountains of the Sayans are the habitat of the rarest snow leopard - the irbis and the area of ​​extraction of valuable minerals. A remote and sparsely inhabited mountainous country - a taiga and snow kingdom, part of the "great triangle" Altai-Sayan-Baikal. Bizarre rock formations, especially the Krasnoyarsk Stone Pillars, gave rise to many legends. These slopes are a distant blue dream of climbers and climbers.

THE MOUNTAINS OF THE SAYAN TRIBE

The Sayan Mountains are named after the Turkic-speaking tribe of the Sayans (Soyons), who lived in the upper reaches of the Yenisei. Mixing with other Turkic tribes, the Sayan tribe became part of the Tuvan people.

The Sayans are a mountainous country in Siberia. Written documents and maps of the 17th century. indicate that only one object was originally known, named after the Sayan - a small ridge Sayansky Kamen (currently - the Sayansky ridge). Later, the name Sayan spread to the entire mountainous country from Altai to the Baikal region and is now subdivided into the Western Sayan and Eastern Sayan, which are surrounded by basins: Minusinsk, Tuvinskaya, Todzhinskaya and Tunkinskaya.

Arched-blocky Sayans are included in the largest and most typical belt of intracontinental (eniplatform) orogeny - Central Asian, including mountain structures of the Hindu Kush, Tien Shan, Pamir, Kunlun, Nanshan, Qinling, Altai, Sayan, Baikal, Transbaikalia, Stanovoy Range, which were formed on mature continental crust after a long period of relative tectonic quiescence. In the case of the Sayan Mountains, we can talk about one of the oldest geological materials on the territory of Russia, about Late Proterozoic - Early Paleozoic rocks, and igneous granitoids (manifestations of alkaline-basalt volcanism in the Eastern Sayan Mountains). Neither in height nor in size are the mountains of the “secondary orogen” inferior to the young, primary orogens of the Alps and others.

In many areas, the Sayan peaks are covered with glaciers. In the highest massifs of the Eastern Sayan, 190 glaciers with a total area of ​​about 30 km2 are known. A significant part of the peaks is occupied by snowfields: immobile accumulations of snow in gorges and depressions, protected from wind and sun. Ridges covered with snowfields create a system of "white mountains", the most famous are Maiskoye and Kanskoye. Many snowfields persist throughout the summer, for which they are nicknamed "flights". Snow melting all year round on the tops of the Sayan Mountains was nicknamed "squirrels".

The highest peak of the Western Sayan is Kyzyl-Taiga, sacred to the Tuvans: at its foot, the locals bury their shamans. The name of the mountain, translated from Tuvan, means “red mountain covered with forest”. Munku-Sardyk is the highest point of the Eastern Sayan, and its name in Buryat means "eternal char". In Siberia, treeless mountain peaks have long been called loaches. Munku-Sardy is located on the border of Russia (Republic of Buryatia) and Mongolia. The first ascent to the summit was made in 1858 by Gustav Radde (1831-1903) - Russian geographer and naturalist, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

The Sayan rivers are rapids, possessing large reserves of hydropower, flow in swampy valleys formed by glaciers, and belong to the Yenisei basin. Lakes of glacial origin are rich in fish, mainly Siberian grayling.

The main obstacle to development Agriculture and development of the Sayan valley territory - permafrost thickness. Mountain taiga prevails on the slopes of the Sayans, turning into subalpine and alpine meadows, and even higher - into mountain tundra.

The Western Sayan is a system of ridges elongated to the northeast, separated by river valleys. The Eastern Sayan is located almost at right angles to the Western, from the left bank of the Yenisei River in a southeast direction - almost to the southern tip of Lake Baikal.

ROCKS OF THE IRBIS

Irbis - a two-meter cat - still lives in the Sayan gorges, although its population is endangered.

More than half of the Sayan area is occupied by mountain taiga landscapes with dark coniferous spruce-cedar-fir or light larch-cedar forests. The tops and slopes of the mountains are rocky tundra with kurums - stone streams originating on the tops of the mountains.

The brown bear, deer, musk deer, wolverine, sable, lynx and the irbis, also known as the snow leopard, are found in the Sayan Mountains. Reindeer graze in the mountain tundra.

To protect the nature of the Sayans, two wildlife reserves have been created: Sayano-Shushensky in the Western Sayan and Stolby in the Eastern. The Sayano-Shushensky Reserve is located in the center of the Western Sayan on both sides of the Main Sayan Range. The purpose of its creation was to protect the sable as the most valuable fur-bearing animal.

The Stolby Reserve was founded on the initiative of the inhabitants of Krasnoyarsk to preserve the "pillars" - rocks of volcanic origin.

People mastered the Sayan intermountains about 35-40 thousand years ago: from those times there were stone tools found at primitive sites, for example, in the area of ​​Mount Afontova. Later here for the first time tamed reindeer. The ancestors of the indigenous inhabitants of the Sayan received iron and copper, traded with all of Asia.

Excavations in the Western Sayan and finds of monuments of the Uyuk culture in the Valley of the Kings near the Uyuk River - mass graves of people and horses in the mounds of Arzhaan-1 (dated to IX-VIII centuries BC) and Arzhaan-2 (intact burial VI-V centuries BC of the Scythian leader and his wife, where about 20 kg of gold objects and jewelry in the Scythian-Siberian animal style were found), turned the idea of ​​​​the level of development of art and crafts of the ancient Scythians. A collection of gold items restored in the workshops of the Hermitage (there are more than a thousand of them, and they are exhibited at temporary exhibitions in the best museums in the world) is stored in the museum of the city of Kyzyl - the capital of the Republic of Tyva.

The Russians learned about the existence of the Sayans in 1615 from the documents of the expedition of the tsar's ambassadors in Tuva. Fifty years later, along the banks of the Sayan rivers - the only transport route in those wild places, the construction of ostrogs (fortified settlements) began. Nevertheless, these lands were settled slowly - due to the harsh climate.

Subsequently, there were two waves of mass resettlement of Russians in these places: the first - after the abolition of serfdom in 1861, the second - during the Stolypin agrarian reform, which began in 1906. Lands suitable for arable farming - the usual occupation of Russian peasants, were quickly mastered . Because of them, conflicts with the indigenous population often arose.

AT Soviet time several highways were laid in the Sayan basins to ensure the operation of iron ore and gold mines, but the Sayan mountains still remain a sparsely populated territory. The most remote and uninhabited region of the Sayan is Tofalaria. Tofalars, or Tofs, live here - one of the smallest peoples of Russia: their number barely exceeds 700 people.

The Sayan population lives mainly along rivers and roads, serving tourists and climbers.

In the Abakan-Minusinsk basin, many archaeological sites have been preserved. In the Eastern Sayan there are a large number of waterfalls. In the Western Sayan - natural park Ergaki, among the rocks processed by the glacier.

Here you can often see "obo" - a structure made of stones and branches, where local residents ask the gods for good luck and leave tribute to them. The epic legend about the bogatyr Geser has reached our days - in different versions of the peoples inhabiting the Sayans. Geser cleared the land of monsters and established peace. His warriors turned to stone and turned into the Sayan mountains, and Geser lives on the top of the highest Sayan mountain - Munku-Sardyk, which is his throne.

CURIOUS FACTS

■ Back in the 19th century. in the Krasnoyarsk Pillars a movement was born social character, called "stolbism": people from all over Russia came here to conquer the pointed rocks and get to know each other. Difficult to climb rocks have contributed to the creation of an outstanding school of world-class rock climbers and mountaineers. Currently, Stolby is visited annually by more than 200 thousand people.

■ Hanging Stone Rock - one of the main attractions of the Erga-ki reserve. This is a huge stone, which, incomprehensibly, hung on the edge of a cliff into Rainbow Lake. In fact, the stone is held firmly and all attempts to push it manually with the force of 30-40 people were unsuccessful.

■ Near Irkutsk there is a Nilova hermitage (in honor of the archbishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk Nil of Irkutsk (Nikolai Fedorovich Isakovich (1799-1874)), who wished to establish a hermitage here, while on Seliger there is a hermitage in honor of St. Nil Stolbensky). is a hot spring resort healing properties were explored in 1840 by order of the governor, who donated these lands to Archbishop Nil in 1845. Vladyka Nil organized a service here in the Buryat language. The archbishop was interested in Buddhism, ethnography, geology, and painting. His Eminence went to Shumak more than once. He collected the richest collection of minerals, which is now stored in the mineralogical museum of St. Petersburg University. The Decembrists, who were exiled in Siberia, came to the springs.

■ Located at the foot of the mountains, the Minusinsk Basin was nicknamed Siberian Italy for its unique warm and even hot climate for these places, as well as dry summers, which makes it possible to grow fruits and even melons here.

■ The Kropotkin and Peretolchin volcanoes are large young extinct volcanoes in the Khi-Gol Pad in the territory of the Republic of Buryatia. The diameter of the craters is about 200 m, the height above the lava field is about 120 m.

■ In the Sayans, on the Yenisei River, the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station was built, the largest in Russia and the sixth among the currently operating hydroelectric power stations in the world. The construction of the HPP was started in 1963 and completed in 1985.

ATTRACTION

■ Natural: Turan hot springs - balneological resort "Nilova Pustyn" (Eastern Sayan), "Stone City" (Western Sayan), Mount Kyzyl-Taiga (Western Sayan), mountain and glaciers Munku-Sardyk (Eastern Sayan), Minusinskaya hollow, Maiskoye and Kanskoye Belogorye, the rocky ridge Sleeping Sayan (Western Sayan), the Big Yenisei River, the Tunkinsky Goltsy mountain range (Eastern Sayan), waterfalls Khamsarinsky, Dototsky, Udinsky, Biy-Khemsky, canyons Big Kishty and Dotota, tarn lakes Medvezhie, Lower Suruntsinskoye, Dozor-Hyp, Shutkhulai-Nur and Kara-Balyk, Peretolchin and Kropotkin volcanoes, Hanging Stone rock (Western Sayan), Badzheiskaya, Kubinskaya and Oreshskaya caves.
Reserves and natural parks: Ergaki Nature Park (Western Sayan), Sayano-Shushensky Reserve (Western Sayan), Stolby Reserve (Krasnoyarsk).
Archaeological: Paleolithic site near Mount Afontova (Krasnoyarsk), Scythian burial mounds near the village of Arzhaan (Western Sayan).
Ethnographic: Tofalaria (Central Sayan) - the area of ​​​​residence of the small people of Tofalars, or Tofs.
■ Industrial: Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP.

Atlas. The whole world is in your hands #159

The volcano got its name from the famous revolutionary P.A. Kropotkin.

The hill has a height of almost 2000 meters. From the side it looks like a small but wide crater, consisting of various rocks. The most common are basalt and andesites. In addition, there are volcanic dust, ash and slag in the layers of the hill.

At the top of the volcano is a huge crater. Its diameter is approximately 200 meters. The depression is filled with greenish-blue water. This shade was obtained as a result of a large accumulation of various chemical elements.

Once the Kropotkin volcano erupted. The last explosion occurred over 10,000 years ago. Due to the fact that he has been "silent" for a long time, vegetation filled his slopes. There are stone birch and alder elfin.

Okinsky plateau

The Okinsky Plateau is located at an altitude of about 1500 meters above sea level. The main role of this territory is the drainage basin of the Eastern Sayan. Many mountain reservoirs originate from here. Such as Irkut, Oka, Dibi, Kitoy. The plateau along the perimeter is surrounded by mountain ranges, smoothly turning into chains. Because of them, it is not so easy to get to Okinsky.

Previously, the territory of the Sayans was occupied by the most ancient tribes of the Buryats. They knew these lands like the back of their hand. And the Buryats laid a path to Okinsky, winding among the mountains and hills. By the way, it still exists, but not many people know about it. To date, another entrance to Okinsky has been opened, which appeared already in modern period. The road meanders among the hills, passes along narrow broken roads, runs through huge wooden bridges. But the tourists passing through it do not regret the way they have done, because the spectacle at the finish line is worth it.

And what sights of Sayan did you like? There are icons next to the photo, by clicking on which you can rate a particular place.

Volcano Peretolchin

The hill is named after the researcher S.P. Peretolchin, who died near the volcano under mysterious circumstances. No one has yet been able to determine the cause of his death.

The hill itself is a huge cone-shaped mound, consisting of various rocks. Mostly andesites and basalts are found. Slag, volcanic dust and ash are mixed with rock.

At the top of the hill there is a huge crater 30 meters deep and about 140 meters in diameter. The bottom of the depression is occupied by a small cold lake. Its parameters are very small, about 10 meters wide. But it's full various organisms from rare species bacteria, to fry and crustaceans.

As for the slopes, they are completely overgrown with vegetation. There is not only grass and shrubs, but also quite tall trees. Pine, spruce and fir trees growing at an angle of 30 degrees look very original. Moreover, they have taken root well not only on the outer slopes of the volcano, but also in the inner ones.

Karlygan (Western Sayan) is a mountain range located in Russia, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the Western Sayan. Its absolute height is 2,000–2,900 meters above sea level, the highest point is 2,834 meters (Mount Anytaiga), and its length is about 55 kilometers.

In the southern part, the ridge is composed of granites, in the northern part - metamorphic schists. In the south, the relief of Karlygan has alpine forms with rocky peaks. The slopes are covered with cedar and spruce-fir forests, if you rise above 1.800-2.000 meters, you can see mountain tundra and stone placers.

Karlygan is the watershed of the Small and Big Abakan rivers.

The most popular attractions in Sayan with descriptions and photos for every taste. choose best places for visiting famous places Sayans on our site.

Where the Sayans are located, what republics, regions and cities surround them, what they will be of interest to travelers, is described in this article.

Geographical position

What is the Saiyans? This is not one mountain, but a whole complex located in southern Siberia. The Sayan Mountains are divided into:

  • Eastern Sayans;
  • Western Sayans.

It is worth noting that the mountain ranges are interconnected and therefore do not have clear boundaries.

The western part of the mountain range can be reached by the following routes:

Large reservoirs are located near the Eastern Sayans:

  • river Oka;
  • lake Baikal;
  • the Yenisei river.

The eastern edge of the Sayan Mountains is located near Lake Baikal in the Irkutsk region. southern part Sayan is the border between Russia and Mongolia.

The Western Sayan has a length from east to west of about 650 km, and the Eastern Sayan is almost 1000 km. If you look at a map of Russia or a physical map of the world, you will see that the Sayans have a slightly curved and blurry shape. In general, if you do not divide the mountains into eastern and western parts, then the total length of the ridge is more than 1500 km. The closer to the south, the more inaccessible the area. The southern part of the Sayans is one of the most environmentally friendly places on the planet.

The vegetation of the Sayan Mountains is taiga evergreens, for example, such as cedar.

Why you should go to the Sayans

Pure air, pristine nature and silence - that's what you need modern man especially those living in the metropolis. Southern Siberia is an ecologically clean area in every sense. locals people are healthy and happy. A trip to the Sayans "Khakassia for two weeks" includes visiting thermal springs, climbing mountain peaks. Photo enthusiasts and artists will find something to capture:

  • the mountains;
  • waterfalls;
  • Attraction;
  • rocks;
  • plants;
  • animals and birds.

In the zone of the Sayan Mountains there are a large number of protected reserves in which rare birds and animals live.

Among the sights of the Sayan-Khakassia tour are:

  • Peak Bird at an altitude of 2221 m above sea level;
  • Peak Molodyozhny on the Sleeping Sayan Ridge, which is associated with many legends about the origin of the nature reserve;
  • Star Peak - 2265 m above sea level;
  • Dragon's Tooth and Gamma Peak - rock formations;
  • ice lake, etc.

The main invention of mankind on the Yenisei River, striking in its scale, is the Sayano-Shushanskaya HPP, recognized as one of the largest in Russia and ranked seventh largest in the world. Its height is equal to an 80-storey building - 245 m.

How to get to the Sayans?

All regions located near the Sayan Mountains are extraordinarily beautiful. No need to go to other countries for impressions, we have our own extraordinary beauty!

The nearest way to the Sayans is Khakassia. It is this republic that is closest to the Central part of Russia. But keep in mind that in this way you can get to the Western Sayans - mountains without snow caps. Altai Krai is also located close to the described objects, but it is very difficult to get to them.

The Western Sayans are closest to the Irkutsk region, and in Eastern Siberia as a whole. The Krasnoyarsk Territory is also an integral part of the Sayan Mountains, especially their northern part. In this regard, when choosing a travel route, you need to take into account the remoteness of the region of departure. For example, if you want to visit the snow-covered Eastern Sayan Mountains, then you need to go to the Irkutsk region, and not to Khakassia.

Where to book a tour

From which cities is it most convenient to book excursions and find a guide to the mountains.

It is better to enter the Western Sayan from settlements:

  • the capital of Khakassia, Abakany;
  • Sayanogorsk;
  • Abaza.

The Eastern Sayans are accessible from the following settlements:

  • Artemovsk,
  • Algjer,
  • Ikei,
  • Angarsk,
  • Irkutsk.

Inside the mountain objects are located:

  • The Republic of Buryatia;
  • The Republic of Tuva (or, as it is also called, Tuva).

Where the Sayan Mountains are located, of natural and man-made origin, you can now see there. It remains to purchase tickets and hit the road to conquer mountain peaks. It is worth noting that in summer the air temperature averages +18 degrees, in winter temperatures can reach -30 C. Therefore, it is more expedient to visit the Sayan Mountains in the warm season.

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