Kabardino Balkaria blue lake is an unusual story. Blue Lake (Chirik-Kel) in Kabardino-Balkaria. Company "Individual excursions"

Tserik-Kel

Scientists have found that the Lower Blue Lake in the Cherek region of the republic is much deeper than previously thought. This lake is also called Tserik-Kel. It is located at an altitude of 809 meters above sea level. Temperature all year round+9 degrees. Researchers suggest that it was formed due to the collapse of an underground karst cave.

A river flows out of the lake - more than 70 thousand cubic meters per day. But what feeds the reservoir itself - for many years it was not clear, the flowing sources are not visible from the outside. Until recently, it was believed that the depth of the lake is 258 meters. But it has recently become clear that this is not the case.

“The Underwater Research Center of the Russian Geographical Society, professors and scientists from all over Russia (about 60 people in total) carefully studied the Lower Lake,” says Mukhamed Kozhokov, chairman of the Kabardino-Balkarian branch of the Russian Geographical Society. - More than 90 deep-water descents were made in a couple of months. For the first time, underwater vehicles were used - controlled robots. With their help, scientists discovered three caves in the deep part of the lake. The deepest point we managed to descend to is 279 meters. It also turned out that underwater rivers feed Tserik-Kel. The water is incredibly clear, you can see every pebble, even at a depth of 25 meters. Further, the water becomes azure-turquoise due to hydrogen sulfide. There is no flora and fauna in the lake - hydrogen sulfide kills all life. But why the temperature of the water is constant and what is at the very bottom is still unknown.”

Going to the bottom “I went down to the Lower Lake several thousand times,” says Eduard Khuazhev, head of the KBR Underwater Research Center, president of the Kabardino-Balkarian Underwater Sports Federation. - The task of the last expedition was to determine a more accurate depth. And understand where the water comes from. In the bowl of the lake, we found several cracks from different sides, three of them are 1.5 meters wide, powerful streams come from there.”

At the bottom of the lake, not far from the shore, there are several sunken cars. Empty, without people. Old-timers say that in the 30s of the last century, a truck loaded to the top with boxes of port wine fell into the water. The researchers debunked this myth: there really is a “Lawn” at the bottom, but there is only a box of port wine in it. They got one bottle, tried it, evaluated the endurance.

Locals avoid the lake because of superstitions. It is believed that in Tserik-Kel one cannot even wet one's feet.

By the way, swimming there is really impossible even in summer. From cold water, an unprepared person cramps muscles, and at a depth it is very dangerous.

four lakes

“There are four lakes in the Cherek Gorge - Lower, Dry, Secret and Upper,” says local historian Khadis Tetuev. - For the first time, the "bottomless" lakes of the Caucasus are mentioned in 1864 in the notes of the Russian officer Fyodor Tornau.

The first special observations of the Blue Lakes group were made in 1892-1895 by geologist Konstantin Rosikov. Scientists have established that all lakes are of karst origin. But they are all completely different. If you rise from the Lower Lake to the northeast, then on the mountain plateau 187 m above the Lower Lake there is a huge, now dry, Kel-Kechkhen sinkhole. Translated from Balkar - "the lake has flowed away." The depth of the failure is 177 meters. Below you can see the lake, which from above seems very small - the size of a saucer. They call him "Dry". According to legend, once its waters reached the upper edge of the failure, but the mountains shuddered, and the water flowed into the Lower Lake.

Modern researchers suggest that the Lower and Dry lakes are indeed connected. The secret lake seemed to be hidden in dense thickets of shrubs and trees. On the opposite side of it lies the Upper Blue Lake. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were three small reservoirs in its place, which eventually merged into one big lake. The water in the Secret and Upper lakes freezes in winter, and in summer you can swim and fish in them - there are a lot of living creatures in them.


This is one of the deepest karst lakes in the world. There are no fish in this lake, many legends are connected with this lake. It is known that in the 1930s a truck with port wine fell into the lake.

Blue Lake is located in the picturesque Cherek gorge on the territory of the district of the same name. Chereksky district is the largest in Kabardino-Balkaria and the most sparsely populated. The fact is that most of the area of ​​​​the region is occupied by mountains. Here are 5 of the 7 five-thousanders of the Caucasus and the longest glacier in Europe. One of the oldest mountaineering camps in our country, Bezengi, is also located here, where the legendary Soviet mountaineering was born.


(Chirik-Kol) is a unique monument of nature. It is the world's second deepest karst spring and is a water-bearing karst mine with sheer walls. On the surface, the lake has a maximum length of 235m and a width of 130m. The minimum depth of the mine is 179m, the maximum is 258m. In the extended upper part, the depth varies from 0 to 40 m. The lake has no tributaries, but is a drain. A river flows out of it with a flow rate of 0.8 cubic meters. m/sec. The water temperature is 9 degrees all year round. Visibility under water practically does not depend on the weather and reaches 20-50 meters. There is a possibility that at a depth of 2558 meters there is not a bottom, but an inflection and then the Blue Lake will be the deepest source in the world. Research is ongoing.


The transparency of the water is stunning. Depth 15 meters:

From the history of Blue Lake research
One of the first to describe Blue Lake was the geographer, zoologist and glaciologist I. Dinnik in his work “Trip to Balkaria in 1887-1890”. Early 20th century geographical research I. Schukin conducted in this area. In 1926–27, Ivan Georgievich Kuznetsov, a native of Nalchi, who graduated from the Mining Institute in Petrograd in 1919, was studying the Blue Lake, professor, doctor of science. He was awarded the silver medal of the Russian Geographical Society for the study of Lake Chirik-Kel. The reservoir of the lake is a deep well with sheer walls, composed of layered limestone. Water enters the well from below, from a great depth, and is under great pressure, because it flows out of the lake itself in a powerful stream. In June 1980, Lake Chirik-Kel was studied by the expedition of the Institute of Geography named after A.I. Vakhushti Bagrationi of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR under the guidance of Doctor of Geographical Sciences G. Gigineishvili.
The water in the lake is poorly mineralized and only algae live in it.



The history of the creation of the Blue Lake dive center must begin in June 1982. It was at this very time that Moscow student Roma Prokhorov (future Russian record holder in diving depth and director of the Blue Lake dive center) appeared on the shores of Blue Lake, loaded with trunks with cylinders and diving equipment.

He had a lot of strength, a lot of enthusiasm, but little money and normal equipment. The one that was prepared according to the principle of a circle of skillful hands. The scuba gear is assembled from stolen carbon dioxide cylinders, the depth gauge is made entirely by one's own hands. With this treasure, Roma rushed into the abyss of the Blue Lake along a steep wall towards new discoveries. He escaped, of course, by a miracle, but he nevertheless set the first record of Lake Roman. Reached the mark - 70 meters. For comparison, I would like to note that Jacques-Yves Cousteau with his partner named Taillez, diving in Vaucluse in 1946, made 4 dives and reached a depth of 46 meters, and only 9 years later his team was able to reach 74 meters, having made in Vaucluse about 80 dives.

The building of the dive center, built by the government of Kabardino-Balkaria, consists of two tiers. The lower one, with an area of ​​about 150 square meters, is carved into the rock and has access directly to the surface of the water to the launch pad. There are warm locker rooms, showers and toilets, rooms for preparing and storing equipment, a compressor room, and a pressure chamber. The entire lower module is equipped with underfloor heating.




Up the gorge behind the Blue Lake are located Cherek tunnels and segment old road. Starting at a small waterfall, a narrow path winds along a hundred and fifty-meter cliff. At the corners, a bewitching view of the Balkar valley and snow-capped peaks opens up. And if you drive a few more kilometers, you will find yourself in the village of Upper Balkaria. Behind the village is suspension bridge, which leads to the old settlement, which was destroyed during the Stalinist resettlement of the Balkars. The foundations of houses and walls that form the winding streets of the ancient mountain village have been preserved. Very beautiful tower Abai-Kala around which apricot trees grow. A couple of kilometers to the left of Abay-Kala, a real watchtower has been preserved. It stands on a ten-meter solid stone and is impregnable without climbing equipment.




Approximately 15 km. from the Blue Lake are hot, mineral spring Aushiger, discovered in the 1950s during an expedition to search for oil and which flows from a depth of about 4000 meters ... The origin of the word "Aushiger" is interesting. According to philologists, it clearly indicates that the Kabardians once professed Christianity, since this toponym is translated as "Saint George". Some scholars believe that this toponym should be translated “Greek Jesus”, since the word “dzher” (ger) means “Greek” in Kabardian, because Christianity came to Kabarda from Byzantium

Legends of Blue Lake
Like most lakes, Blue Lake is reputed to be bottomless among the locals. There are a lot of stories among the people about people and animals that fell into the lake and surfaced almost in the Caspian Sea. Of course, at the bottom of the lake rests the cavalry of either Tamerlane or Alexander the Great in full battle dress, naturally decorated with gold, silver and precious stones (maybe even both at once). There are also stored deposits of German and Romanian military equipment, abandoned during the retreat. And at the beginning of the thaw, a bronze statue of Stalin allegedly flew to the bottom. Well, in modern times, samples of modern wheeled vehicles are regularly sent to the bottom. So at the bottom of the lake there is a museum covered with legends, waiting for its visitors. (I’ll tell you a secret about a real fact. In the 30s a port wine truck fell into the lake. The cost of even one bottle is now very high)

Castles of damnation
It was at the end of the summer of 2003. After another dive, our friend, Tolya Ivanov, got out with an unusual find, which, however, at first they didn’t pay much attention to. It was a bunch of ordinary cheap locks. He found them at a shallow depth, on a stone ledge. And not far away, on a nearby ledge, lay a bunch of keys that seemed to fit the locks. Both the locks and the keys did not have time to turn black and oxidize under water, apparently they lay here quite recently. The find was also unusual in that in all the locks, pieces of paper were sticking out of the holes into which the key was inserted.

The scraps of paper turned out to be scraps of a photograph torn to pieces. The photo showed a young man, and on the back of it something was written in Arabic script. From this already breathed some kind of devilry. Tolya told about the find to one of the local residents. The man took this very seriously and asked to see a torn photograph. He easily recognized her as one of the neighbor's boys. This guy recently got married and moved to the city, but after the wedding he was haunted by continuous failures: illness, accident, loss of valuables, and the like.

The locks that Tolya found were a curse placed on this guy. There is a local custom. If you want to “annoy” someone very much, you need to go to the local black sorcerer with a photograph of your enemy, and he will write a curse in Arabic on the back of the picture. And then you need to tear the photo into small pieces, insert each of them into the keyhole of the newly purchased and previously locked lock, tie all the locks with the fragments of the photo into one bunch, and the keys to them into another, and hide it all somewhere or throw it away so that no one can find them. From that moment on, the life of the damned and his loved ones turns into hell and can lead the unfortunate to an untimely death. If the doomed poor fellow manages to find the cursed locks with his dismembered portrait and the keys to them, and then open the malicious locks with the keys, he will be saved. The spell will lose its power.

The hero of our story had a familiar girl in the city who liked him. And she had certain views on him. Upon learning that the object of her love was marrying another, an angry mountain woman decided to take revenge on the offender. Shortly before the wedding, she was seen several times on observation deck Blue lake.

Our story ended happily. Peace and tranquility reigned in the family of the newlyweds. And the girl who threw the castles into the lake was never seen again. They say she left the republic forever.
On the ledges lies every valuable shmurdyak:

This is such an interesting lake. And the water is really blue.

Anyone can come to this lake and dive.
You just need to take a few diving courses.

The mystery of the Blue Lake in Kabardino-Balkaria - one of the deepest in Europe - has remained unsolved.

There are 8 million karst lakes in the world. Blue Lake is the deepest. Accurate data on the depth of the lake does not exist, and unmanned underwater vehicles were able to descend only to a depth of 365 meters. Scientists understand how it formed and what's down there.

The last time Blue Lake was explored was in the 1920s. It is known that its level can change several times a day. For what reason - scientists still do not know.

The blue lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria are located in the Cherek Gorge. There are 5 lakes in total. All of them have a karst nature of education.

Lower Blue Lake is the most interesting and unique. It is located at around 809 meters above sea level. It has total area the water surface is just over two hectares, and its depth is 386 meters. But there are suggestions that the depth of the lake is much greater, because no one has yet reached its bottom. In terms of its depth, this lake ranks third in Russia after Teletskoye in Altai and Baikal. The uniqueness of the lake also lies in the fact that not a single river flows into it, and about 70 million liters of water flows out per day.

Tserik-Kel - this is how the locals call this lake, which in translation means like a rotten lake. There is a legend among the local population about the origin of this lake. Once on the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria lived the fearless hero Bataraz, who defeated the evil dragon in a duel. And when the dragon collapsed, a hole formed in the mountains, which was filled with water. The dragon to this day lies at the bottom of this lake and sheds tears, thereby filling the lake with water and an unpleasant odor.

Directly from the water's edge, you can see sheer walls that go into the depths, and from what you see, you get the impression that this is a huge well. Depending on the time of day and weather, the shades of water are constantly changing and have different colors. The water temperature in the lake in winter and summer is the same +9.3, so the lake never freezes.

Upper Blue Lakes are 2 lakes, Eastern and Western. Also, these lakes are called Communicating. A dam has been built between them, and water from the East Lake flows into the West. The East Lake is larger and deeper than the West. There are fish in these lakes.

The secret lake is located near the Upper Blue Lakes. And it is named so because it is located in a deep karst funnel, overgrown with a dense beech forest.

A dry lake, or it is also called the missing one, was formed in a large karst failure with sheer walls reaching a depth of up to 180 meters. Previously, this failure was completely filled with water, but as a result of the shuddering of the mountains, the lake disappeared and remained only at the bottom of the canyon.

Have you ever seen bottomless lake? And the lake with magical water? If not, then it will be very interesting for travel lovers to learn and look at the Blue Lake. It is located in the Sergievsky district Samara region. And you should definitely see this miracle! Many rumors, legends and mysteries surround him. Let's try and find out if this is fact or fiction.

Turquoise abyss changing its depth

They say it's bottomless! The bottom of the lake is present, but not all. Part of the bottom is at a depth of 23 meters, and part of the bottom is missing. Instead, there is a failure, about 10 meters in diameter, which goes into the depths. Many times tried to determine where this abyss leads. With modern instruments, only a certain length of this part of the lake has been established. It is 810 meters of explored depth! The sinuous shape of the abyss does not allow to determine its entire length.

Blue Lake is mesmerizing. You can look at it endlessly. The surface of the water part is slightly more than 40 meters in diameter. It is very similar to a turquoise saucer. Completely sheer shores go into the depths. The water is so clean and clear that you can even see the bottom. Only where there is an abyss is the mysterious darkness visible.

Incidentally, close to Nizhny Novgorod there is another interesting one.

An unusual turquoise color tends to change with the weather. Unique charophytes sway. Only these plants have adapted to live in concentrated sulfuric water. A coating of minerals gives the algae a completely alien look. Only daredevils will dare to swim in the lake, as the water has a temperature of about seven degrees all year round. And this is even in the thirty-degree heat! But in winter it does not freeze. The pressure from the depths is strong. Excess water flows into the Shungut River.



Author: Vlad chernenko - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18802148

Rumors and legends

There are rumors and legends that cannot be verified, but they are passed down from generation to generation. Once, a very long time ago, a horse with a cart fell into the lake and disappeared, as if it never existed! Witnesses claim that wooden fragments with mysterious writings sometimes float to its surface. They also say that the rich threw large silver utensils and coins into the abyss. It was supposed to bring happiness and prosperity! Underworld favorably accepted gifts and did not return back.

Blue Lake has long been chosen by divers. The anomalous shape of its bowl, clear turquoise water, a mystical view from the depths of the seven-story building. All this attracts scuba divers from many countries. They use a karst funnel for extreme diving up to 35 meters.

There is practically no life in the "dead" water of the lake. Specific charophytes, sulfuric bacteria and several types of protozoa. Only they adapted to cold and concentrated sulfuric water. Frogs and muskrats swim very rarely. Perhaps they are the same adventurers as scuba divers.

Where to camp

Although Blue Lake has the status of a natural monument of regional significance, the area around it is not a protected area. So you can safely put up tents around it. The Shungut River flows 150 meters away, where it is convenient to take water for the kitchen. In the lake itself, the water is not potable - there is too much sulfur. And swimming in the river is warmer.

How to get from Samara

Finding it is quite easy. From Samara you need to go towards Ufa along the E30 / M5 road. This is about 117 km before the turn to the village of Staroe Yakushkino. A pointer to the village of Sernovodsk, where the sanatorium "Sergievsky mineral water". Without turning towards Sernovodsk, you need to drive about 8 km more along the highway and turn right towards the village of Staroe Yakushkino.

This is very Beautiful places! Green hills covered with forest will be to the left of the road. And on the right is a field and on it, like a bump out of the blue, a mountain 150 meters high. The mountain is called “Shishka”. You can climb on it and look at the beauty of these places from a height. Travelers do just that. Part of the road up can be driven, but it is better to walk to the top.

The bridge across the Shungut River does not need to be crossed, as the road leads to the left towards the lake. Parallel to the channel, you need to drive another 2.5 km. This part of the road is without asphalt, so it is better to choose dry weather.

Exact coordinates: 53°54′44″ s. sh. 51°29′15″ E d.

"Living" and "dead" water

They say that the water in it is magical! And this is true, because it is hydrogen sulfide and has a lot of miraculous properties. In fairy tales, they say that "dead" water heals, heals wound surfaces. And the water of the Blue Lake will help relieve inflammation, treat infertility, neurological ailments and diseases of the musculoskeletal system. And this is no longer fiction, but a proven fact.

However, it is impossible to treat yourself, since the concentration of hydrogen sulfide is very high and dangerous with prolonged contact with the skin. You can cure many diseases in the sanatorium "Sergievsky Mineral Waters", where water is diluted to a safe concentration. The sanatorium is located very close, about 17 kilometers, in the village of Sernovodsk. The sanatorium uses water similar in composition from another lake. There is an assumption that these water bodies are replenished from one underground source.

It is curious that literally fifteen meters from the Blue is located black lake. This area always attracts tourists. A mystical bottomless karst funnel with cold turquoise water and an ordinary warm reservoir perfectly “get along” side by side. Mysterious place with "dead" and "living" water really exists in the Samara region!

Shooting from a quadcopter

Many myths and legends are associated with these amazingly beautiful places.

Location

The blue lakes of the KBR are located in the unique Cherek Gorge, located on the territory of the region of the same name. It is considered the most densely populated in Kabardino-Balkaria, moreover, it has large area. Mostly mountains are located here: five of the seven peaks of the Caucasus, the height of which reaches 5 km. It is here that the longest European glacier is located. There is one of the oldest mountaineering camps "Bezengi" in these amazing places, it was in it that the foundations of Soviet mountaineering were laid.

natural monument

The blue lakes of the KBR are considered unique Chirik-Kol - the second in the world in terms of the depth of the location of the karst source. It is a karst aquifer, which has sheer walls. The maximum width on the surface of the lake is 130 meters, the length is 235 meters. There is an extension in the upper part, so the depth difference is determined from 0 to 40 meters. Chirik-Kol has no tributaries, a small river flows out of it.

Temperature regime

The weather on the Blue Lakes of the KBR is determined by the time of year, but the water temperature is unchanged and is 9 degrees. This lake is absolutely transparent, in good weather visibility is about 30-50 meters.

Research History

For the first time, the Blue Lakes of the KBR were described by the geographer I. Dinnik in his work “Trip to Balkaria in 1887-1890”. The author emphasized the beauty and originality of these unique places, described the features of the climate of the KBR, Blue Lakes.

How to get to this natural monument? This question interests many tourists. At the beginning of the last century, serious geographical research in this region conducted by I. Schukin. In the thirties of the last century, he was engaged in the study of the Blue Lakes. It was he who was awarded the Russian Geographical Society for the unique results obtained during the experiments, with a nominal silver medal. He managed to find out that the reservoir of this lake is a deep well, the steep walls of which are lined with layered limestones. Water comes here from below under strong pressure.

In the summer of 1980, the expedition of the Geographical Institute named after A.I. Vakhushti Bagrationi, belonging to the Georgian Academy of Sciences. G. Gigineishvili, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, became the head of the research group. The expedition confirmed the information about the depth of the lake, and during the work, new data on the chemical composition of the water were revealed. It turned out that only algae live in these places, there are no living creatures, and mineral salts in Blue Lake are present in minimal quantities.

Legends of Blue Lake

The history of the appearance of the dive center on the Blue Lake begins in the summer of 1982. In June, Roma Prokhorov, a Moscow student, appeared on the shore of the lake. In addition to a huge number of trunks, he had oxygen tanks, as well as diving equipment.

It was he who later became the champion of the Russian Federation by founding the Blue Lakes camp. KBR is famous all over the world for its dive center founded by Prokhorov. Now the buildings, built with the assistance of the government of Kabardino-Balkaria, have two tiers. The lower one is carved directly into the rock, there is an exit to the descent platform. There are showers, changing rooms, rooms for storing equipment, as well as a pressure chamber.

How to get there

Have you decided to visit the Blue Lakes of the CBD? How to get to these Amazing places? First, get to Nalchik. From Moscow you can get here by railway, as well as along the road. Along the gorge up behind the Blue Lake there are Cherek tunnels, part of the old road has been preserved. A narrow path to the reservoir begins at a small waterfall and winds along a cliff, the height of which is about one hundred and fifty meters.

A breathtaking view opens on the way to the Blue Lakes. After driving a few kilometers, you can get to the village of Upper Balkaria. The attraction of this locality is a unique suspension bridge leading to the old settlement. It was destroyed during the resettlement of the Balkars by order of Stalin. But the foundations and the remains of the walls still survived, looking at them you can imagine the narrow winding streets where the inhabitants of the ancient mountain village once walked. The Abai-Kala tower surrounded by apricot trees is also unique in its beauty. On a solid stone, the height of which is ten meters, to the left of Abai-Kala, there is a watchtower.