The Dead Sea of ​​the Russian Federation is Lake Elton in the Volgograd Region. Russia Medicinal properties of Lake Elton, 18th century

Lake Elton has been known since ancient times, even then people were well aware of its healing properties and regularly used the services of a natural "doctor" in order to improve their health. At the beginning of the 20th century, a sanatorium was founded here. This is a huge salt lake, comparable only to the Israeli Dead Sea, surrounded by natural landscapes of the desert steppe. Silt mud, brine and mineral drinking springs are valuable healing resources.

Where is Lake Elton

This is the eastern part, located almost on the border with Kazakhstan, in the Volga steppes. The depth of the lake is quite small, in summer - no more than 7 cm, in spring it can reach up to several meters. The area is 152 sq. m. A large circle of mirror surface, to which you need to walk several meters along the dried salty crust. The required level of the lake supports 7 rivers. At the bottom there are outlets of salty springs. The lake is located 18 meters below sea level.

It is not suitable for bathing, as it is filled not with water, but with brine - an oily liquid, bitter-salty in taste. It is oversaturated with a solution of table salt, as well as macro- and microelements. Lake Elton is decorated with another attraction - Mount Ulagan, which is a constantly growing salt dome.

Another one interesting feature of the reservoir lies in the fact that the lake is not dead, algae live in the water, which give it a pink tint.

Climatic features of the region

If you are going to relax on Lake Elton or get medical treatment in a sanatorium, be sure to take sunscreen creams and oil with you. The sun is burning here, almost instantly burns both the face and other open areas of the body. The wind almost does not stop, so dark glasses will be a useful thing. They will solve two problems at once: they will protect against bright sun and windblown dust. The temperature difference between day and night is very noticeable, so if you are going on a long excursion, stock up on warm clothes, it will come in handy if you return in the evening.

The heat here is hard to bear, so when leaving the hotel room, take a hat and a supply with you. drinking water. If you suffer from heart disease, then choose to travel in spring or autumn, when the weather is milder.

Today the resort is open 12 months a year, average temperature the air here in the winter months is -11 degrees.

For lovers of new experiences

The natural beauties here are specific, you need to get used to them, especially for a Russian person who likes the sound of the wind in the treetops and the singing of birds. Here you will not find either one or the other. As already mentioned, the surroundings are a bare steppe, in which a pinkish lake is located. Driving close by car is not recommended due to salty mud, in which the wheels slip, and a large number of salt pretty spoils metal and rubber. On a sunny day, eyes are blinded as if from snow, and only in the evening, when the sunset paints Lake Elton in magical red tints, you can appreciate the beauty of these places.

This is the real kingdom of salt. It frames the lake in the form of a wide variety of crystals. They resemble either snow flakes or bizarre snowflakes: with sharp needles, oval, cubic. Here it makes sense to walk around with a camera and look for a more interesting frame. Salt gets stuck in the hair, felt on the entire surface of the skin, settles on the lips... The smallest particles of it are constantly carried by the wind, which makes it seem that it is here that the air can be tasted.

Health tourism

For this, there is a sanatorium on Lake Elton. It is located 6 km from the lake, so tourists receive all the procedures in the local mud bath. Thrill-seekers can take a hike to get the gifts of nature in a natural environment on their own, or take advantage of the daily tour. Twice a day, a bus leaves for the lake, which takes out those who want to take a "wild bath". The advantages of such a trip are that it is here that the high temperature works for you, and even the special air of these places. Then, covered with a salt crust, you have to drive back to take a shower.

For comparison: fresh mud from the lake is also brought to the sanatorium twice a day. It is applied to the body, after which the patient is wrapped in polyethylene and covered with a blanket. The procedure lasts 15-20 minutes, then you can take a shower (without a washcloth and soap). Next, in accordance with the instructions of the doctor, a sweating procedure is performed: the patient is wrapped in several blankets and given hot tea to drink.

Not only mud, but the “water” of the lake itself is also healing. Rapa is recommended for the treatment of many diseases, and the best effect can be achieved by alternating brine and mud baths. Your choice is to use the services of a sanatorium or the opportunity to plunge into the lake itself.

What is the therapeutic effect

Lake Elton is very popular among Russians. much closer to Israel, and even more effective treatment can be obtained, since the salt content is 1.5 times higher than their concentration in water of the dead seas. Therapeutic mud causes irritation of skin receptors and blood vessels. Organic nitrogenous substances penetrate the skin into the bloodstream and affect the functioning of internal organs.

Mud is a natural source of vitamins, enzymes, hormone-like and other biologically active substances. The mud procedure as a whole affects the entire body, the nervous and endocrine systems.

Magic mud and brine

Hundreds of people undergo treatment at Lake Elton every year. The procedures bring significant relief, and subsequent therapy will give an even more tangible result. Therefore, in chronic diseases, people practice annual treatment in a local sanatorium.

High-salt silt, sulfide, bromine mud is a homogeneous, oily mass, a bit reminiscent of grease. It is also not easy to wash, it smells of hydrogen sulfide. The crust of dirt on the body retains heat well, which is a catalyst for starting recovery processes. Salt Lake Elton is famous for the chemical composition of the mud. It contains magnesium and sodium chloride, bromine, iodine, magnesium and calcium sulfate, calcium silicate, magnesium, aluminum. There is also iron sulfide, silicic acids, organic substances.

It is because of this amount of impurities that the Elton salt lake is no longer used for the extraction of edible salt. Thanks to this, it has retained its original appearance and today can be a place of healing for many people.

Rapa is an even more amazing substance. As you approach the lake, the salt crust begins to break under your feet and you sink into the mud. Having enjoyed these sensations enough, you can go further. Here, the crust already fully supports the weight of a person, and it is covered with an oily liquid in which undissolved salt crystals float. In the hot season, it is completely difficult to dive into the brine, the depth barely reaches 10 cm, but the concentration of salts is such that it begins to corrode the skin. More balanced brine baths will be offered to you in the sanatorium.

They include calcium chloride and magnesium, magnesium sulfide, calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate, organic substances, bromine and boron. During brine baths, the smallest salt crystals settle on the skin, which continue their therapeutic effect after the end of the procedure.

Benefits for your health

Rest on Lake Elton will be useful to everyone without exception. East End this mysterious reservoir is most suitable for swimming and enjoying the views. Treatment is prescribed according to medical indications, but it has a beneficial effect on the entire body. Metabolic processes are activated, hematopoiesis normalizes, immunity increases, the nervous system strengthens, the condition of the skin improves, working capacity increases, blood pressure normalizes.

Elton mud is similar to that which comes from the Dead Sea, and brine is 1.5 times higher than its waters in terms of the concentration of useful substances. Many note a pronounced bactericidal effect. The mud of Lake Elton is used in the form of general and local applications. They are used to treat diseases of the joints, bones and muscles, the central and peripheral nervous system, the gastrointestinal tract, and ENT organs. Diseases of the genitourinary system (both female and male) respond well to mud treatment. In addition, Lake Elton is a real panacea for patients suffering from chronic skin diseases.

Contraindications to the passage of mud therapy

Despite the wide range of indications and the undeniable benefits of Elton's wealth, consult your doctor before going to the lake. If you go to the official website of the resort, you can read rave reviews. Lake Elton easily conquers the hearts of people, but still there are contraindications for treatment that must be considered:

• Pregnancy.
• Any disease in the acute stage.
• Venereal diseases.
• All diseases of the blood in an acute form.
• Tuberculosis.
• Severe forms of hypertension.
• Any bleeding.
• Mental illness.
• Drug addiction and alcoholism.

If you should not use mud and brine baths today, this does not mean at all that you cannot visit Elton. The lake offers treatment in the form of the purest air, the famous mineral drinking spring, as well as nature itself - calm, unhurried, pacifying.

Road to Elton

You can get to Volgograd by train, car, fly by plane. Options - for every taste and budget. In the city, you can change to a bicycle or continue your journey by car. It is easy to get lost in the endless steppes, so it is better to stick to the already known route. One of these is the path from Volgograd through the village of Volzhsky and Leninsk, but a bad steppe road leads to the lake. The second route is longer, it goes through Volzhsky, Nikolaevsk, Pallasovka, but for almost the entire route it is an asphalt road. Feel free to take a trip to Lake Elton! Any local resident will tell you how to get there, even if you go astray.

Excursions in the natural park

One of the most popular services is the rental of bicycles, on which you can take a tour of the surroundings. There is something to see here. The tour usually starts from the lake itself. After listening to stories about miraculous healings, tourists head to Mount Ulagan. This dome is unique not only because it is made of salt, but its height fully corresponds to the depression of the lake. But that's not all! Here, rocks come to the surface, the history of which dates back to the Jurassic period, often with preserved samples of flora and fauna. Fossils of ancient mollusks can be found here on the surface, without excavation. This mountain is also interesting for its stunning views of the entire reserve.

If you are interested in geology, you can visit grand canyon, which is located next to Mount Ulagan. But usually sightseeing tour runs around the lake. An interesting monument culture is the abandoned salt mining village, Stary Elton, which is located on the western shore. Here you will be told about the hard work of the villagers who had to get and load the precious goods, protect themselves from nomadic raids and deliver the salt unscathed through a difficult section of the steppe. An outpost was created here, which served as a fortress protecting people.

From here, the path runs north, along the bed of the Khara River. The places are enchanting, with a completely unusual landscape. Even the plants here are unusual, adapted to the salty soil and mineral water. Maybe that's why there are so many rare species of trees and herbs that are not found anywhere else. Surprisingly, a huge number of various species of ducks gather on this salty river, even common cranes fly here.

A mandatory attribute of the tour is a visit Devil's bridge. It no longer exists, it existed at the time of active salt mining on the lake, almost 400 years ago. Now only the ruins of a stone dam have been preserved here. Further the route runs along the Khara riverbed to the Botanicheskaya beam. It will be of interest to connoisseurs and lovers of botany, but for an uninitiated tourist it is just bushes and herbs. About 400 species of plants grow here. Among them you can find trees - apple trees and buckthorn; shrubs - sloe, wild rose, blackberry. Interesting rare species located on the slopes. These are tulips and irises, almonds, asparagus, valerian, tansy, tarragon.

If you are lucky, you can take photos of insects listed in the Red Book. This is a long-legged kravchik, motley ascalaf.

A walk under the hot sun makes itself felt, and tourists move towards the long-awaited Smorogdinsky mineral spring. The composition of the water resembles the waters of the famous springs in Kislovodsk, although the taste may not be pleasant out of habit.

Lovers are here cultural recreation can leave the bikes and take a hike in ethnographical museum. It is unique in that it was created and maintained by one person, a history teacher. These are four buildings located side by side. The first tells about Russian life. This is a hut, cleaned according to all traditional canons. Nearby is a Kazakh yurt, demonstrating the life of the nomadic people. The second yurt is here, according to your order, a real dastarkhan is served with beshbarmak, baursaks and delicious tea. The fourth house is a museum of salt mining.

The tour is led by the creator of the museum, a historian who knows and loves his land. He will tell you everything you want to know about Lake Elton. - the real passion of this enthusiastic person.

Visit to Eltonsky natural park can become a real adventure, full of new experiences, and a budget family vacation. Therapeutic baths will improve the state of health, normalize the nervous system. This place is ideal for spending time pleasantly and profitably.

There are legends about this unique lake. But you will be surprised - Lake Elton exists and is located in Russia in Volgograd region. This is the largest salt lake in Europe, its dimensions are 18 by 14 kilometers. This salt surface was formed 40-50 thousand years ago on the site of the so-called Khvalyn (Aral-Caspian) Sea. The immediate basin of the salt lake was formed as a result of gravitational tectonic processes of breaking the earth's crust, due to which sea water deposited a huge amount of mineral salts in this lake. On Elton, you have the feeling that you are on another planet, and this is true, everything is unusual here.

The lake is a huge basin, the bottom of which is covered with a continuous dense layer of salt constantly falling out of the solution - this layer is called "new plantation". Due to external physical factors, the layers of new sediment alternate with layers of mud, encircling the entire lake in a wide strip. Thick deposits of salt lie under the novosad layer. And the immediate uppermost liquid layer of the salt lake is called "brine" - a highly concentrated salt solution. But Elton is not only brine, but also healing mud, the properties of which are simply unique. Elton muds are high-salt silt sulfide muds in their composition and are a homogeneous mass of rather dense consistency, retaining heat for a long time, with the smell of hydrogen sulfide. Elton mud is the only mud in the world similar in composition and healing properties to the mud of the Dead Sea, but EXCELLENT in the content of sulfides and organic substances, environmental friendliness and, accordingly, efficiency. The effect of taking this mud is impressive.

Unlike the Dead Sea, Lake Elton is alive, a number of microscopically small creatures live in it; But the main wealth of Elton is, of course, brine. The total mineralization of brine is from 260 g/dm³ to 800 g/dm³, which is 2 times higher than in the famous Dead Sea in Israel. Lake Elton - in its healing salt and mud properties surpasses most of the world's lakes.

Lake Elton contains inexhaustible reserves of mineral salts, brines (dense lake water saturated with salts). But the reserves of natural therapeutic mud, unfortunately, are exhausted. Since ancient times people have used Natural resources salt lake, and so at the beginning of the 20th century, a mud clinic was built on the peninsula, where, along with mud and brine, air saturated with lake fumes with the smells of the steppe was also used.

1.
Elton most romantic place sunsets and sunrises. Here the sunrise and sunset are constantly different and this is due to external climatic factors - weather and winds.

2.
You can walk barefoot on the lake for hours. Due to wind and rain, the lake is constantly changing and the brine slides over the salt pit, changing the shape and location of the brine

3.
The Elton area belongs to the Caspian inland water region, which is characterized by a weak development of the river system. The aquatic environment is fed in these places mainly due to underground rivers.

4.
The lake is huge and you can walk on it endlessly. Some travel around Elton in search of mud or brine, whose healing properties are quite high. In general, Elton attracts travelers and romantics.

5.
The mineralization of salts on Elton exceeds the famous Dead Sea by 2 times

6.
Oh yeah. It's really romantic here.

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There is nothing more romantic than seeing the sunset on Elton and wandering around the lake

8.

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Lake Elton is not only brine and salt, but also mud therapy

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The old mud bath of the lake. Now it is not active. But anyone can pick up dirt

11.
By the way, scientific fact. When conducting a comparative analysis of the content of biologically active substances in the samples of therapeutic mud of Lake Elton and the Dead Sea, it was found that the content of lipids, vitamins, ascorbic acid, triglycerin, thiamine B1, tocophorop E1, retinol A in the peloids of Elton Lake is 2-3 times higher than in the Dead Sea. Like this.

12.
Here at this place was a pier for taking mud baths. Only protruding wooden piles have lagged behind the pier, which sometimes swim with salt.

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Elton mud

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With such a bucket they collect dirt, which has a dense composition. The bucket is lowered into the mud and Elton's mud is collected with a cable

15.
Elton mud contains - sodium, potassium. calcium, chlorine, sulfate, iron sulfide, bromine, magnesium, silicic acids and 13 metals, including beryllium, selenium, cadmium, zinc, cobalt, copper, chromium. They come to the lake with such carts to collect miraculous saving mud.

16.
People from all over Russia and other countries come to Elton for mud therapy

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In the warm brine of the lake you can wash off the dirt

18.
Unlike the Dead Sea, Lake Elton is alive. A living salt lake - just think about it? A number of microscopically small creatures live in it. The process of mud formation on Elton is a very complex process, in which a number of living organisms take part. Animals and plant organisms of Elton after death provide abundant material for decay processes. Due to the high salt content, a significant amount of various bacteria and proteins are released from decaying organic residues. So some of these trace elements are able to decompose protein substances with the formation of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia from them, others decompose fats, and others destroy carbohydrates. As a result, all the constituent parts of the body of any organism turn into a mass, which, together with clay, forms Elton's mud. Elton - in its healing salt and mud properties surpasses most of the world's lakes.

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The old pier of the hospital. Now it has not been operating for a long time and people come here to collect dirt and admire the lake.

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In Elton you can come across such small deposits of brine. The water is warm and you can take baths here.

21.
The depth of the lake is quite small and it is impossible to drown in it.

22.
Sunsets on the lake are long and always different

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The main thing is to have time to get to the edge of the lake with the advent of dusk

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Until the very night on Elton, people take mud baths

25.
Here you can change

26.
You can wash off dirt in any way. The most effective and the only way on the lake is in the photo.

27.
White salt and brine turns into mud. In fact, it turns out a mineral mud bath.

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long sunset

29.
Here, in the last century, a narrow-gauge railway of 4 wagons operated at this place, which transported patients to the lake. And this is a few kilometers from the station and the Sanatorium. The train ran from 6 am to 6 pm. After railway disassembled and torn apart. The road was in a terrible state. But now slabs have been laid here and more or less ennobled the passage. In the future, the Elton-2 sanatorium can build a road for all patients and restore the destroyed communication.

30.
Sunsets and sunrises on Elton are always different. How long have I been here - not a single dawn was the same. The thing is that the brine of Lake Elton is constantly changing and depends on external natural factors - from wind, rain, steppe storm. Today there is mud and water surface, and tomorrow in the same place there is mineral salt brine. The day on Elton is different.

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And of course, not testing the new Pentaks K1 II full-frame camera was beyond me. In this post and in the following, you will often see the test of the camera and lenses of this photo of happiness for every traveler and photographer. The cameras of this company are distinguished by flawless operation at high ISO levels without noise and all sorts of problems.

32.
Lake Elton is a whole natural complex rivers flowing into the salt lake. 7 small rivers - streams flow into Elton. Khara, Lantsug, Big Smogda, Small Smogda, Karantinka, Solyanka, Chernavka. The largest of them - Khara has a length of about 40 km, Bolshaya Smorogda - 21 km, Lantsug - 13.5 km. All of them occupy an area of ​​​​about 200 square meters. km. At the mouths of all these rivers there are huge deposits of therapeutic mud.

33.
Many animals live in the vicinity of Lake Elton. This is truly unique nature reserve. The climate here is hot and dry, which contributes to recovery from serious ailments. The number of hours of sunshine per year here is about 2200, which is slightly less than south coast Crimea, where the sun shines 2200 - 2400 hours a year.

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A road leads to Lake Elton through a railway crossing and Elton station. View of the lake from the railroad crossing

35.
Lakes are visible from everywhere. Trains passing by salute Elton and the history of the railway, which is directly related to this place, where during the Great Patriotic War, the place of Elton was marked by historical events. By the way, the popularity of Lake Elton gained thanks to the construction of the Astrakhan railway line of the RYAZAN-URAL railway, which brought Elton closer to Russia. On July 4, 1910, a report was sent to the head of the medical service of the Ryazan-Ural Railway, Dr. P.A. became popular in narrow circles as a medical resort of the railway.

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Available locality, which is called Elton, like the railway station, where passing trains stop for only 2 minutes.

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Elton is a rural-type settlement in the Pallasovsky district of the Volgograd region, the administrative center of the Eltonsky rural settlement. The population of the village is 2723 people

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Ancient water tower in the village of Elton

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Heroes who died and were buried during the Second World War in the local village of Elton

40.
In Elton, on the territory of the old sanatorium, a new Elton Sanatorium - 2 was built. Thanks to the Health Committee of the Volgograd Region, by a special resolution of 09/03/2015 No. According to the above decision, a resort of 3 and 4-star accommodation with treatment and medical courses was formed between the Health Committee of the Volgograd Region and LLC "Sanatorium Elton-2". In the next report, I will tell you in detail what serious diseases are treated in this Sanatorium, which has no analogues in Russia, not only in terms of medical indicators, but also in terms of natural properties. unique lake Elton

41.
A roadway leads to the lake and any traffic is prohibited here.

42.
This is the road leading to Lake Elton. in 1910, a narrow-gauge railway operated at this place, which carried patients directly to the lake. If it were possible thanks to investors - it would be possible from railway station to this lake, launch a narrow-gauge diesel railway for all visitors to Lake Elton. In the meantime, getting to the lake itself is not a cheap pleasure, because renting minibuses here will cost you 500 rubles for several hours. Some go on foot, and this is a lot of kilometers in the open sun of the hot and dry Volgograd climate

43.
In the morning, Elton is filled with birds and their cackling and swearing is all over the lake.

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Dawns on Elton is a separate beautiful story, which I will share with you in the near future

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And don't forget. Salt Lake Elton is alive, it contains trace elements and animal world unlike the Dead Sea. And it's all in Russia

Lake Elton (Volgograd region), spreading its salty shores on the territory of the Caspian lowland, is rightfully considered a natural curiosity of Russia. On the map, this is just a small blue spot on the border with Kazakhstan. In fact, a reservoir with an area of ​​just over 150 square meters. km. The reservoir is one of the largest salt lakes in Europe.

In contact with

Its healing potential is so high that it is fair comparison with the Dead Sea, having a salt concentration 1.5 times less than Elton. And, if we take into account the presence in the lake of deposits of hydrogen sulfide deposits and silt sulfide mud containing:

• iron salts,
• carbonic acid,
• amino acids,
• iodine impurities,

then its healing power will become clear.

The lake feeds mainly on snow reserves and the waters of seven mineralized rivers, and salt is born from the depths of underground deep sources. The favorable climate of the region and the absence of the need to conserve life-giving mud made it possible to use Elton's resorts all year round.

From Ivan the Terrible to the present day

However, all the charms of the reservoir were not noticed today. Already during the time of Ivan the Terrible salt was mined from its shores, which the enterprising merchants of Russia subsequently sold not only to their compatriots, but also sent to the tables of European sovereigns.

The special pink color of the mineral, obtained from the Dunaliella saline algae living on the bottom, added popularity, novelty and demand to the product. At the end of the 19th century, salt mining was suspended, and travelers, physicians, and climatologists increasingly began to visit the region to study the properties of salt crystals and their impact on humans. The scientists evaluated the advantages of the brine solution and the unique antioxidant tendencies of Dunaliella, which gave birth to a new line of production of cosmetics and dietary supplements.

Since that time, the commercial development of the territory and its improvement for a good rest begins. In 1910, the first resort was opened, and in the post-war years, a whole balneological complex. The map of the Caspian lowland near the lake is gradually overgrown with new settlements.

The healing power of salt water and relaxation by the lake

The rebuilt modern buildings and rooms for spa treatments gradually replaced the spontaneous mud pits, equipped by savage tourists. Lake salts have become the “carrot” that attracts many people today, suffering from various ailments, among which:

• diseases of the musculoskeletal system,
• diseases of the genitourinary system,
• nervous disorders,
• skin diseases,
• endocrine abnormalities.

In addition, therapeutic baths can strengthen the human immune system, improve metabolism, rejuvenate the body and simply create a good mood.

Is on the territory and own mineral spring, located 3 kilometers from the healing mud. Its popularity among vacationers is very high. Still would! After all, the chemical composition of its water is similar to the famous healing brand "Essentuki-17".

Holidays on Lake Elton in the Volgograd region will delight even the most skeptical people. After all, this is the place where the healing power comes together with the recreational component of the region. Numerous parks, picturesque streams, pink and white salt marshes, lake shallow waters, a mysterious haze - far from complete list natural beauties of this region.

Elton and Baskunchak

Flora and fauna lovers will not be disappointed. Thus, the collection of birds nesting here exceeds 250 species, including various duck families, cranes, waders, bustards. If you're lucky, you can bring home great photos and videos! And how much joy a horseback ride through the surrounding steppes can bring, when the wind in your face and adrenaline plays in your veins!

You can come to Elton both with a one-day excursion and on your own for a few days. Prices for accommodation, treatments and horseback riding are moderate. After all, the resort area does not yet have the world fame of Hungarian baths or the same Lake Baskunchak, located just 103 km in a straight line from Elton. And, although Elton and Baskunchak are approximately equivalent in terms of healing properties, they are completely different in terms of the quality of bathing. You can enter Elton up to your ankles, no more, so as not to put yourself at risk of drowning in its sucking dense waters. In Baskunchak, it is really possible to swim on your back with a book in your hands, while also enjoying a cool novel.

Prices and tourist infrastructure

The cost of living in equipped sanatoriums in resort area Elton will be from 1700 rubles per day per person. Rented housing in the private sector in a 7-kilometer strip from the lake can be found even for more low price. This does not require the help of aggregator sites at all. Everything can be done upon arrival in the village. Local residents will be happy to offer hospitality by offering an apartment or even a whole house with a bicycle in addition - it is cheaper and more convenient to get to the healing brine with it.

The tourist infrastructure on Elton, as well as throughout the Volgograd region, has received a boost, and is now developing every season. Here you will find cozy hotel rooms, various catering points, equipped sports grounds, modern shops, beach equipment rentals, and a developed network of main and secondary roads for transport crossings. So it's easy to get to your destination both from Volgograd and points of the region, and from Kamyshin, Saratov and Astrakhan by your car or by taxi-minivan. Travel time is about 6 hours.

In addition, through the village of Elton, located on the eastern shore of the lake, railways and traveling. Traveling by train will be an interesting prelude to an excursion to magical healing waters.

This is such a gorgeous point on the map of Russia! Soon it will be appreciated by the rest of the world.

Elton is the largest salt lake in Europe. It is located on the border of Russia and Kazakhstan in the Volgograd region (Pallasovsky district). Covers an area of ​​180 sq. km. It has the shape of an almost even circle. Although it is quite large, it average depth a few centimeters. Really very small. 7 salty rivers flow into Lake Elton. There are 2 fresh keys.

See where Lake Elton is located on the map.

There are two theories about the origin of the name. In Kazakh "Altyn-Nur" means "gold mine". And since the red color of the water in July casts gold, it turns out so. According to the second version, the name of the lake began in 1741, when the governor of Astrakhan Tatishchev brought an Englishman to the lake - engineer John Elton, who explored the reservoir, described it, mapped it and immortalized his name. But the Polovtsian khans considered these lands sacred. Kazakhs still believe in a pagan legend that says that Tengri Khan, the lord of heaven, sometimes descends into the waters of the lake to prolong his eternal youth.

What is the uniqueness of the lake?

Its uniqueness is amazing. Firstly, the area around the lake is an excellent balneological resort, since the concentration of salt in the lake (brine) is 1.5 times higher than in the Dead Sea. But concentrated saline is habitable. Halobia live here - super-survivable microorganisms. Dunaliella brackish algae also grow here, thanks to which the water has an unusual pinkish tint. Even satellite photographs of Lake Elton capture a pinkish color off the coast.

The royal family once rested here. Excellent conditions for recovery. There is a legend that once there was a "Museum of Abandoned Crutches", because people who arrived with disabilities were cured and left the crutches they no longer needed.

Besides the fact that the lake is good for health, it is incredibly beautiful. Most suitable for relaxing, swimming and admiring the beauty of the lake east side. It is especially beautiful in these places at the end of April, when the steppe blooms and millions of tulips with emerald green expanses are simply mesmerizing. The lake itself is surrounded by salt crystals resembling snow flakes. Sometimes there are different forms of education. Under the salt is the famous therapeutic mud.

Lake Elton - a miracle of nature in our Russian expanses - is the topic of today's article.

Lakes are different: large and small, forest, mountain and steppe. And the lakes are salty.

Not far from the city of Volgograd is Europe's largest salt lake Elton - a real miracle of nature, a unique property of the Volga steppe.
Unusual places in the world always attract increased attention. And this pond is no exception. The water in the lake is a thick solution of mineral salts. This solution is called brine. It is not transparent, like water, but a reddish hue.

On a bright sunny day, the water in the lake looks pink, and at sunset the lake looks golden. On the tongue local residents the lake is called Altan-Nor ("Golden bottom").

Dazzling white salty beaches sparkle in the sun along the shores, very similar to snow.


Salt is present everywhere.

It is felt on the skin, in the hair. Its crystals are visible in the cracks of the earth and even the wind has a salty taste.

Even in the photograph taken from the Sputnik, the reservoir appears pink.

In 1741, the lake began to be called Eltonsky in honor of its first explorer, an English sea captain. The Englishman Elton described in detail that the area of ​​the lake is 152 sq. km, which feed it several fresh springs and eight rivers with bitter-salty water.
Salt lakes are usually shallow, so that the depth of a huge lake is only ten centimeters. And only in spring, when meltwater flows into the lake, the level of brine in it rises, in some places reaching eighty centimeters.
The bottom of Elton is a crust of salt with prickly outgrowths, fragile as glass. Water washes more and more new layers, one per year. The layer between them is black silty and oily mud, saturated with minerals and useful salts. Layers of salt under the lake go deep into the earth for several kilometers. Its stock is estimated at billions of tons.
From the middle of the seventeenth century, salt from the lake was mined for sale. For almost a hundred and twenty years, these works were financed from the treasury. But by 1882, salt mining on Elton had died out and the healing properties of the local land and water came to the fore.

Even the ancient nomads knew about the healing properties of Elton mud and salt. The treatment looked like this: a crust of salt was punched near the shore. The patient was placed in the resulting hole, as in a bath, and after an hour they took out and washed off the dirt with a brine from the lake. All ailments, they say, were taken away by hand.
Elton mud does not need to be processed at all. Nature itself prepared it for therapeutic baths and compresses. The mineral mud of the lake in its healing properties is not inferior to the famous Dead Sea mud. The steppe hot climate is also favorable for treatment. The air above the lake is very clean, the wind is saturated with the smallest particles of medicinal salts, and in the morning and evening there is never dew. This is very important for people who catch cold easily.
All this led to the fact that already at the beginning of the twentieth century, a mud bath was created on Elton, which was considered a very prestigious and expensive resort. Members of the royal family and other Russian nobility came here for treatment. Until now, diseases of the joints and the musculoskeletal system have been successfully treated here.
Now the area adjacent to the lake is one of three national parks located in the Volgograd region. Here, among the steppes and semi-deserts, you can see real sand dunes and fancy salt mountains. You can taste the bitter water from the mineral river, admire the red-purple grass and take pictures of strange landscapes, more like the scenery of science fiction films about other planets.

And also: due to the fact that in a vast space, on the surface of the earth there is water, and the thinnest layer. It reflects the sky in an unusually beautiful way. Considered by photographers as one of the most the most beautiful places. Photos there are obtained as if a person is soaring in the sky!

Sochi astrotour club "Orion" invites astrophotographers, travel photographers and just amateurs unusual places and nature on an astrophoto expedition to this incredible lake.
Purpose: photographing night and day landscapes, exchange of experience, communication.
Venue: Lake Elton. (Volgograd region)

If there are three people who want to take part in the event, we will leave Sochi by car.
Date of arrival in Sochi: May 3.

Plan:
We reach the village of Elton, meet with participants from other cities. On the spot we park the car in the parking lot of the sanatorium or we agree with one of the local residents about parking the car at his house for money and under protection, then we follow the hiking method to the venue of the event, the distance will not be very large and it will not be difficult to walk it with backpacks .
Accommodation on the shore of the salt lake Elton: camping-field way.

What you need to have: warm clothes, sleeping bag, gas for the burner, backpack. soft canister.
Back to Sochi, also on foot to the car, and on it the transfer to Sochi.
It is also necessary to have a border zone passport with you.

On the way, you will have to stop for the night in the Rostov region (camping or motel)
Departure date from Sochi: 23 April.
Date of arrival in Sochi: May 3.

What the participant receives: transfer by car in both directions, use gas burner, campfire equipment. Teaching astro and landscape photography. Tent-place, double karimat.
Not included: sleeping bag (tour equipment can be rented or ski overalls can be used. I can give one sleeping bag t -6g free of charge), accommodation in intermediate motels or camping (Rostov region and Elton village).
Meals: self-cooking on a gas burner.
Yura Zvezdny's report on the location.