July 14th, 2016 , 09:03 pm

Available in Bashkiria unusual place. Here it hits from a depth of 800 meters mineral spring, and next to it there is a mountain, the insides of which have been continuously burning for many centuries. The source is called Kurgazak, and the mountain is called Yangan-Tau.

Finding this place is quite easy. If we are traveling from Ufa or Chelyabinsk, then we need to turn off the M5 highway (Samara-Ufa-Chelyabinsk) to Kropachevo. Next, you need to drive through Maloyaz and, near the village of Komsomol, you will see what is shown in the photo above.

Near the source there is convenient parking, a cafe and a hotel.

2. Stairs leading to the source from the parking lot.

Kurgazak (Ҡorgаҙаҡ) is a Bashkir name. Consists of two words:
ғаҙаҡ - means “river” (this is an ancient Bashkir word, in the modern language the river is translated as yylga);
ҡor (ҡur) - leaven, malt, strength, power.
The second version of the meaning of the word ҡor (from ҡoro) is dry, drying up.
So, the translation of the name will be “Powerful River” or “Dry River”.

The outlet of the source itself is a small lake. It is now fenced off and guarded. Only the ennobled part of the source is available to visitors.

3. Artificial waterfall. Here you can get water or climb under the icy streams and wash yourself.

To the right of the waterfall there are taps from which mineral water flows continuously. It's convenient to put liquid into bottles there.

From a niche under the waterfall, water flows into a small pool. The water there is very cold! The source has a constant temperature at any time of the year 16 +-0.5 C.

4. Swimming pool. There is a convenient ladder for entering the water.

5. The changing cabins look ridiculous. It is impossible to be alone in them. Everything is visible from above and through the opening on the side. There were no doors at all.

6. A stream from a source flows into a pipe passing under the road.

This was the part of Kurgazak that many saw. And what I will show below is seen only by rafters and the curious who thought of crossing the road and looking at the place where the stream flows.

7. The stream runs along the slope towards the Yuryuzan River.

Gentlemen, rafters, look at the photos above. Think twice before collecting water from Kurgazak to make tea. The spring flows out of the pool where people swim!

8. Near the confluence of the stream into the Yuryuzan River there is a beautiful suspension bridge.

9. Filmed in the spring, when the water in the Yuryuzan River is muddy. The water of Kurgazak and Yuryuzan is mixed.

About the Kurgazak source.
The source comes to the surface from a depth of 600...800 meters in the form of several powerful griffins. It emerges along the tectonic weakened zone of the Yuryuzan fault.
The water in the source is hydrocarbonate, magnesium-calcium. Water mineralization 0.6 g/l.

Water contains biologically active microelements and organic substances: bituminous substances - 1.5-4.5 mg/l, naphthenic acids - 0.1 mg/l. It has significant radioactivity - 10-17 units. Mahe per 1 liter or (134.4-229.0 Bq/l); the radon content in water taken directly from the source is 13.8-17.6 units. Mache for 1 l.

List of things that can be treated with this water:

chronic gastritis;

peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum;

colitis and enterocolitis;

diseases of the liver and biliary tract;

pancreatitis;

metabolic diseases, etc.

When used externally (baths, showers, swimming in the pool), the source water has a weak relaxing and sedative effect.

There is some confusion associated with the name "Kurgazak". In addition to the source, there is also the Kurgazak cave, which is located on the Ai River. It has nothing to do with the source. Tourists confuse rivers with each other. Sometimes you can hear the story that the Kurgazak spring flows from the Kurgazak cave. This is wrong. They are located in different places and at a considerable distance.

Now about Kurgazak’s connection with Yangan-Tau. If we stand with our backs to the source, then in front of us there will be high mountain overgrown with forest. That's what it isMount Yangan-Tau. It is poorly visible directly from the source, but is perfectly visible from highway. At the top of this mountain, among the forest, the buildings of the Yangan-Tau sanatorium will be visible. In a straight line to the top from the source is about 3 kilometers. Water from the Kurgazak spring is supplied through a pipeline to the sanatorium, where it is used for medicinal purposes.

It is difficult to imagine Mount Yangan-Tau separately from its source. If you come to Kurgazak, then you should definitely visit the mountain and vice versa! However, it will not be easy to get to the territory of the sanatorium located on the top of the mountain. The area there is fenced and outsiders are not allowed.
If you didn't manage to get to the mountain, don't worry. All the most interesting things are now hidden from prying eyes! You can only see the creations of human hands scattered throughout the territory of the sanatorium complex.

10. Beautiful tower.

11. A photograph of a fountain with an eagle, which everyone who came here has.

12. Staircase of 1000 steps. It leads from the top down to the Yuryuzan River.

The staircase is the only place in the sanatorium that I especially remember. I once walked down these steps 3 times in a row when, after rafting, we were lifting our equipment from the water to the bus. We were very upset when we found out that it was possible to walk on the water a little further than the sanatorium pier and calmly get out to the bus stop, without lifting boats and backpacks on foot to a high mountain.
Visitors to the hospital walk along the stairs. There beautiful nature and the stairs provide good stress on the body.

About Mount Yangan-Tau.
The name of the mountain is translated from the Bashkir language as “Burnt Mountain”.
Gases with temperatures from +37 to +150 C are constantly emanating from the cracks at the top. They say that in a well drilled to a depth of 90 meters, a temperature of 380 C was recorded. When studying the mountain, 5 “hot” spots were found, which are sources of heat. It is known that the most heat on the southern slope of the mountain. Please note that there is no volcanic activity in these places!
As far as I know, there is no single theory about what is happening in the depths of the mountain. I believe in the hypothesis that the bituminous shale is oxidizing inside the mountain. The chemical reaction that occurs releases heat, which heats the water, which rises through the cracks in the form of steam.

The Bashkirs have their own story about Yangan-Tau. According to legend, once upon a time, a tree standing on the top of a mountain was struck by lightning. The tree burned completely, then the fire spread along its roots deep into the mountain. Since then, an unquenchable fire has been burning in the depths of Yangan-Tau.

There is also a Bashkir legend about the healing properties of steam coming out of cracks.
One day in the fall, a wet and chilled shepherd was exhausted and decided to take refuge from the rain on the mountainside. It was located in a hole at the root of an old tree. He fell asleep soundly, and when he woke up, he noticed that warm steam was rising from the bottom of the pit. After this incident, the shepherd began to visit this place to “warm the bones.” Soon he was no longer tormented by painful joints and his strength noticeably increased. This is how we learned about the healing properties of Burnt Mountain - Yangan-Tau.

When passing by these places, be sure to fill up water at the source for the road. It perfectly quenches thirst and is very tasty.

Legends say that once upon a time a huge tree grew on Mount Yangantau in Bashkiria. One day lightning struck it, the tree caught fire, and the fire went deep down its roots and everything burned there and burned...

The fire burns without going out

To be honest, it is difficult to call this elevation a mountain: the height of Yangantau above the valley of the Yuryuzan River flowing nearby is 160 meters. Rather, it is an elongated hill. But there are plenty of tall ones, but there probably isn’t one like this anymore.

The famous scientist and traveler Peter Simon Pallas, who visited here 250 years ago, was amazed: hot steam rises from the cracks, which at night is illuminated by fire from the depths of the mountain. If you throw dry wood chips into a crevice, they will burn on the fly!

“An ordinary sleeping volcano,” you might shrug. But the fact of the matter is that, as they say, there is no smell of a volcano here. Mount Yangantau lies far from all seismically active zones; no traces of ancient eruptions have been found either on it or in the region. Nevertheless…

Something inside her has been burning for centuries. Scientists have found out that the main “firebox” lies at a depth of 60-90 meters. The temperature in it reaches 380°, and the steam coming out reaches 150°. By placing a pot or frying pan on the crevice, you could cook dinner!

Why and from what?

Intrigued specialists have been conducting research and observations here for many years. We are no closer to a solution, although up to a dozen hypotheses have been put forward.

Some believe that layers of porous rocks are burning - shale, which contains mountain resins. Others talk about some kind of vigorous oxidation of iron salts. Still others talk about a natural nuclear reaction.

The current name Yangantau (translated from Bashkir as “burning or burnt mountain”) is not the first. Some old-timers call it in the old way - Karagosh-Tau (Berkut Mountain). They say that in 1758, lightning struck the mountain and a fire broke out on the slope, which spread deeper into the area. So the legend with which we began the story may have a basis in reality.

However, there is no consensus among experts. Geologists do not rule out heating by underground radioactive heat and even the fall of a meteorite, which could also ignite the underground “furnace.”

At a depth of seven meters, scientists discovered a massive ingot of cast iron. There was probably a very hot fire here, which smelted the metal from the surrounding ore. Then, as it cooled, the hearth went deeper and deeper.

In winter, combustion intensifies, in summer it weakens. For some reason, hot gases on one slope come out mixed with water vapor, and on the other side of the mountain there are the same gases, but devoid of moisture. It seems that the aquifer in the depths is heating up, or even an underground stream is boiling away.

Cold-hot

A children's game with this name is reminiscent of walking on a fire-breathing mountain.

Almost half a century ago, the pearl of Bashkortostan was declared a natural monument. But even before that, tourists and lovers of unusual phenomena did not forget it. Moreover, it is easily accessible - only one and a half hundred kilometers from Ufa.

In addition, Yuryuzan is one of the most famous water tourism routes. A stop at the foot of the mountain and a hike along its “heated” slopes give the route a special appeal. The mountain slopes are picturesque all year round– meadows, forests, rocky steppes. There is no snow here, as you might guess: when it falls, it immediately melts.

For a long time, local residents considered the heat emanating from the depths of the mountain to be healing. Having dug up the soil, they lay down on hot areas, warming the body to the bones. Doctors also confirmed the healing effect of warm water vapor - it turned out to contain a whole “bouquet” of chemicals.

In 1937, the Yangan-Tau sanatorium was founded on the slope. At first it was a modest hospital. Sitting on chairs in wooden cabins, patients warmed up their joints and muscles. Over the years, the sanatorium gained strength and popularity. Wells have been installed that intercept hot gases already at depth and supply them to steam baths. Water rich in hydrogen sulfide and radon came from nearby springs. Nowadays there is a real year-round resort here, where people can recover and treat a variety of diseases.

Since Mount Yangantau does not have an underground supply of fire and “fuel,” then, most likely, the time will come when its furnaces will burn out and go out. Let's hope this doesn't happen very, very soon.

Did you know, where is Lake Huron, which is one of the five great lakes of the United States?

Yangantau
Highest point
Absolute altitude	504 m
Location
55°17′55″ n. w. 58°07′54″ E. d. HGIOL
A country
The subject of the Russian Federation	Republic of Bashkortostan
Mountain system	Southern Urals
Media files on Wikimedia Commons

Physiographic characteristics

Mount Yangantau stretches from East to West for 2.5 km along the right bank of the river. Yuryuzan. The absolute height of the mountain is 143 meters, the height above the level of the Yuryuzan River is 160m (504 meters above sea level).

The mountain is composed of rocks of the Sakmarian and Artinskian stages of the lower part of the Permian system, crushed into folds. Structurally, the territory of the GNP is located on the southern edge of the Bashkir arch, limited by a deep fault, along which the Yuryuzan River laid its valley.

Hot air saturated with water vapor emerges on the slopes of the mountain. The air temperature is from +37 to +150 degrees, and in a well drilled to a depth of 90 meters the temperature reaches 380 degrees.

In the depths of the mountain, oxidative and reduction reactions of bituminous marls occur. At a depth of 60-90 m there are hot spots. The accumulated heat in a limited area is retained for a long time due to the weak heat transfer of the surrounding rocks.

Story

Scientific research on the mountain has been carried out since the 18th century. (P. S. Pallas, 1773; F. N. Chernyshev, 1881; A. Ya. Gordyagin, 1882, 1885; E. M. Yanishevsky, 1902; A. Bikkel, 1932; G. V. Vakhrushev, 1927, 1957 and etc.)

Many hypotheses have been put forward about the nature of the thermal phenomena of the mountain: an underground fire from lightning, the reaction of the transition of ferric oxide salts into oxide salts, the combustion of low-bituminous rocks, radioactive heat, mutual friction of g.p. etc. Since the 60s of the 20th century, hypotheses about a natural nuclear reactor and a rare meteorite that became a catalyst for thermal processes have been considered (S.G. Fattakhutdinov, 1993).

Mount Yangatau is also known for its sulfur, zinc and radon springs, which became the basis for the creation of the balneological resort of Yangantau.

Birch, oak and aspen trees grow on the slopes of the mountain, alternating with meadow glades and petrophytic steppes. The surviving pines indicate primary coniferous forests. On the mountain and its surroundings there are widespread shrub meadow-steppe complexes of steppe cherry, low almond, caragana, rose hips, warty euonymus and feather grass, fescue, and thyme.

The lower slope of the mountain is covered with bird cherry and willow thickets. In 1980, on the basis of Mount Yangantau, a reserve and forestry area were organized on an area of ​​3,600 hectares.

Mount Yangantau has been a natural monument since 1965.

“From the open cracks of the crevices, a thin, trembling steam rises incessantly, against the sun, which is impossible to touch with your hand; birch bark or dry wood chips thrown there caught fire in one minute; in bad weather and on dark nights it seems like a red flame or fiery steam several arshins high,” he wrote more than 200 years ago about unusual grief in Bashkiria, academician and traveler Peter Simon Pallas.

A long time ago, Mount Yangantau was called differently: Karagosh-Tau or Berkutova Mountain. According to the good old tradition, “I call what I see.” For the mountain to be renamed, some exceptional event had to happen. They say that this event even has an exact date: 1758. Lightning struck the mountain, all the trees and bushes on the southern slope caught fire. Since then, the mountain has become known under the name Yangantau (Yangan-tau), translated from Bashkir as “burnt mountain.” The Russians slightly changed the name: Burnt Mountain. However, despite the wide popularity and absolute uniqueness of Yangantau, local residents still remember the old name, Karagosh-tau, and still use it.

YANGANTAU - YANGAN-TAU - BURNED MOUNTAIN - WARM MOUNTAIN

In the Salavat region of the Republic of Bashkortostan, 150 km from Ufa, there is a complex geological natural monument of federal rank.

Translated from Bashkir, Yangan-Tau means Burnt Mountain. It is a section of a steep high side river valleys Yuryuzani, rising 160 m above the river level.

It is composed of rocks of the Sakmarian and Artinskian stages of the lower part of the Permian system, crushed into folds. Structurally, the territory of the GNP is located on the southern edge of the Bashkir arch, limited by a deep fault, along which the river has laid its valley. Yuryuzan.

The amplitude of rock displacement along the fault reaches several kilometers.

Yangantau is one of the most unique and famous places in the republic.

The word “Yangantau” is translated from Bashkir as “burnt mountain” and this is not without reason.

The point is that this mysterious mountain It has really been burning for several centuries now!

The height of Mount Yangantau is low - only 504 meters above sea level.

It became famous for the fact that hot streams of steam always come out of the cracks at the top of the mountain. Hot gases rise to the surface through cracks in the mountain, the outlet temperature of which ranges from +37 to +150 degrees, and in a well drilled to a depth of 90 meters the temperature reaches 380 degrees!

VIEW FROM MOUNTAIN YANGANTAU

Warmth always came from the mountain (hence another name, Warm Mountain), but lightning and fire released to the surface of the earth a hidden process that had been going on in the depths of the mountain for thousands of years. Well, the competent scientist Pallas wrote down/described everything in time. Since then, Mount Yangantau has been known as a geothermal phenomenon: hot steam and gases are constantly released from its depths. An increased content of resins, phenols and ammonia was found in the local vapors. The temperature of the exhaust gases ranges from +37 to +150°C. The heating zone is hidden 60-80 meters below the surface of the mountain. In total, five “thermal sites” were counted on Yangantau; the highest temperature is observed on the “burnt” southern slope.

YURYUZAN RIVER- MOUNTAIN YANGANTAU

The heat-generating process continues today. This means that it would be more correct to call “Yangan-Tau” in Bashkir “Yanyusy-Tau” or “Yanyp Torgan Tau”, that is, “Burning Mountain”. It turns out that the current name is not entirely accurate. During the fire, according to P.S. Pallas, the burning was open. Although if the heat-generating process was then the same as it is today, as some scientists say, then it can be argued that it continues for many millennia. Most likely, the first Bashkir settlers, feeling the warmth coming from the mountain, called it Yyly-Tau, that is, Warm Mountain, or Dymly-Tau, Byuly-Tau, Parly-Tau, that is, “mountain with steam,” in extreme cases — Byskak-Tau, which means “smoldering mountain.”

Burning mountains are not that uncommon, but the combustion process is always associated with volcanic activity. In addition to the Bashkir phenomenon: the area where Yangantau is located is very remote from volcanic zones. In other words, there are no volcanoes here and, most importantly, there never have been.

Science since the time of Pallas has not found an explanation for the nature of the gas-geothermal phenomenon of Mount Yangantau. There were many versions, including radioactive decay (by the way, there really is a radioactive mineral spring called Kurgazak near Yangantau). Until recently, the most plausible was the “bitumen hypothesis”: bituminous shale in the depths of the mountain slowly oxidizes under the influence of air penetrating through cracks, during this reaction heat is released, rising through cracks to the surface in the form of hot steam.

The results of recent studies speak in favor of the combustion of hydrocarbons and allow us to draw an analogy with the processes occurring inside burning coal waste heaps. In any case, the process is clearly complex, involving everything from rock composition to wind direction. Interestingly, a natural cast iron ingot was discovered at a depth of 7 meters. V.N. Puchkov and R.F. Abdrakhmanov (Institute of Geology, USC RAS) made the assumption that the ingot is the result of an absolutely unique natural metallurgical process. It is possible that the initial temperature of the combustion source was very high, and the source itself was located near the surface of the earth. Then the temperature began to drop, and the outbreak went deeper into the mountain.

At a depth of 60-80 meters in the depths of the burning mountain there is a thermal core, it is heated to 400 degrees. Through cracks in the body of the mountain, hot gases rise to the surface, where they are intercepted by the wells of the steam treatment facilities. It is also interesting that on the one hand, in the near-summit part, Mount Yangan-Tau emits hot vapors, and on the other, dry gases of almost the same temperature. What this is connected with is also still a mystery. It is also known that the mountain burns hotter in winter than in summer. And in cold weather it gives more warmth. Research is complicated by the fact that deep drilling can upset the unique balance, and the mountain will simply go extinct.

MOUNTAIN YANGANTAU - YURYUZAN RIVER

LEGENDS

The Bashkirs explain the phenomenon of the mountain in their own way.

The Bashkirs tell a legend that in time immemorial, when people did not yet know fire, fire came down from the sky to Yangantau, and people spread it from here throughout the earth. In ancient times, the Bashkirs (like all ancient Turks) professed Tengrism, in the pantheon of gods of which there was also a god of fire. It was from this god that people received fire.

According to the second legend, several centuries ago a tree at the top of a mountain was struck by lightning. The tree burned completely, then the fire spread along the roots deep into the mountain.

Since then, an unquenchable fire has been burning inside her. The Bashkirs considered the fire inside the mountain sacred, divine.

According to the third legend, one autumn, a wet and chilled shepherd, exhausted, took refuge from the rain on the mountainside in a hole at the root of an old tree. The tired shepherd fell fast asleep, and when he woke up, he noticed that warm steam was rising from the bottom of the pit. Subsequently, the middle-aged shepherd came here more than once. Soon his painful joints stopped tormenting him and his strength noticeably increased...

In our time, a statue of a shepherd was even erected on the top of the mountain - in memory of the discoverer of the Ural miracle. Today, the modest monument has been sent for restoration, and the hot streams emitted by the mountain are no longer visible behind the modern outlines of the popular hospital. Modern buildings and asphalt paths do not in any way remind you that at a depth of only 60 meters a giant cauldron is boiling under your feet.

It was in these parts that the legendary hero of the Bashkir people, Salavat Yulaev, was born and raised.

STORY:

In 1770, an academic expedition led by Academician P.S. visited Mount Yamantau. Pallas. Shocked by what he saw, the scientist wrote:

“From open cracks (cracks) a thin, hot steam constantly rises, trembling against the sun, which is impossible to touch with your hand, but birch bark or dry wood chips thrown there caught fire in one minute, in bad weather and on dark nights it seems like a thin red flame or a fireball several arshins high. But behind all this, nowhere on the mountain is there a sulfur or coal smell, and the steam coming out of the pits does not have any odorous properties...

The Bashkirs say that in these burnt places not only is there no snow in winter, but that the whole surrounding area is constantly turning green..."

Mount Yangantau

At the beginning of the twentieth century, news of medicinal properties gases from Mount Yangan-Tau spread far beyond the surrounding villages, and visiting the mountain for healing became widespread.

In 1935, by decision of the People's Commissar of Health of Bashkiria, the first health resort was built on the mountain - a hospital house with 15 beds. For the first time, a doctor was sent here to monitor the patients being treated.

Sanatorium "Yangan-Tau" founded on April 2, 1937, with the launch of an experimental clinical station with a hospital with 20 beds. The first thermal baths were small depressions where steam and gas escaped, where patients sat on stools placed in wooden “cabins”.

In 1957, the sanatorium switched to year-round operation.

The new stage in the development of Yangan-Tau is associated with the adoption in 1990 of the “Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Bashkortostan” and the establishment of statehood of the republic. Thanks to the policy pursued in the republic by the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan M.G. Rakhimov and the care of the Government of the Republic of Belarus, the appearance of the sanatorium acquired a modern look.

ATTRACTIONS

Currently, Mount Yangantau has the status of a natural monument.

The Yuryuzan River, popular for tourist rafting, flows under the mountain.

She is widely known for her picturesque cliffs, caves, archaeological finds.

This river is associated with the Bashkir national hero Salavat Yulaev.

SOURCE KURGAZAK

According to a recent analysis, the water of the Kurgazak spring is close to the famous Caucasian mineral waters. The water contains more than 20 components: iron, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, copper, titanium, beryllium, molybdenum, chromium, silicon, as well as unique natural microflora. Due to its original chemical composition it is also called living water.

The influence of Yangan-Tau extends far beyond the low, but such interesting mountain. Further along the Yuryuzan River is the village of Kuselyarovo. There is a hydrogen sulfide lake here that does not freeze even in 40-degree frost. The brackish water, which local cows and horses love to drink, is said to even cure eye trachoma. And another one and a half kilometers from here, from under the steep slope of Yuryuzan, several hydrogen sulfide springs gush out at once!

The uniqueness of such sources is that within a few minutes after reaching the surface, the water reacts with air and loses its healing properties during transportation. This applies primarily to lake mud.

Here and there, deposits of ancient marine sediments - sapropels - are discovered. And according to the original theory of one of the local historians, the unusual properties of the burning mountain, the healing power of the mineral spring and the Kuselyarovsky hydrogen sulfide mud are the result of a global cataclysm that happened in ancient times in the valley of modern Yuryuzan. And all these abnormal points that bring health to a person are connected together.

WHERE LOCATED, HOW TO GET THERE:

Mount Yangantau is located in the Salavat region of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Distances from major cities:

Ufa - 180 km, Chelyabinsk - 320 km,

Ekaterinburg - 430 km, Perm - 400 km, Tyumen - 750 km, Kurgan - 585 km

GPS coordinates:

Yangantau:

N 55°17"55"; E 58°07"54"

By car you need to drive along the Chelyabinsk - Ufa highway, then turn onto Kropachevo. Pass Karatavly, Maloyaz, Komsomol (the Kurgazak spring is located there). Next, after crossing the bridge over the Yuryuzan River in the village of Chulpan, turn right and climb up the mountain, which will be Yangantau.

By bus from Ufa (from the Northern Bus Station), Yekaterinburg or Chelyabinsk.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:

http://yantau.ru/

http://strana.ru/places/196338

http://nashural.ru/Mesta/yangantau.htm

http://www.ufainfo.ru/

Yangan Tau is considered a unique and very popular place in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Translated from Bashkir, “yangan tau” means “burnt mountain,” which very accurately characterizes this place. The thing is that for several centuries this mountain has actually been burning.

The height of Mount Yangan Tau is only 504 m above sea level. What made the mountain famous is that hot jets of steam emerge from the cracks at its top. Through cracks, gases rise to the surface, the temperature of which ranges from +370 to +1500 Celsius, and at a depth of 90 meters, the temperature of the gases reaches 3800 C. On the mountain, a total of five “hot” spots were discovered, studies have shown that the hottest is the southern slope. The phenomenality of this phenomenon lies in the fact that in this area there is no volcanic activity that would explain this process.

The most popular hypothesis explains this phenomenon by the fact that oxidation of bituminous shale takes place inside the mountain, and the heat from the chemical reaction that occurs heats the water, which rises to the surface in the form of hot steam.

However, residents of the republic have their own explanation for this phenomenon. Legends are an integral part of the Republic of Bashkiria; Yangan Tau also has its own legends. People believe that several centuries ago, a tree standing on the top of a mountain was struck by lightning, the tree burned completely, and the fire spread inside through the roots. Since then, the Bashkirs consider this unquenchable inner fire to be divine and sacred.

Another legend says that one rainy autumn day, a cold and wet shepherd found shelter in a hole between the roots of an old tree. He fell asleep from fatigue, and when he woke up, he discovered that warm steam was coming from the pit. The elderly shepherd came to this place more than once, and gradually recovered from joint pain and became noticeably healthier. And today Mount Yangan Tau is decorated with a monument depicting the shepherd from this legend.

In 1770, Mount Yangan Tau was visited by an expedition led by academician P.S. Pallas. The scientist was shocked and wrote: “From open crevices, hot steam continuously rises to the surface, which cannot be touched by hand, and if chips or dry birch bark were thrown there, they would burst into flames within a minute. On a dark night or in bad weather, the steam appears as a ball of fire or a thin red flame several arshins high. However, there is no sulfur or coal smell anywhere on the mountain, and the steam coming out is also odorless. The Bashkirs say that there is never snow in these places, and the entire surrounding area is covered with greenery.”

At its foot flows the Yuryuzan River, a popular place for tourist rafting. This waterway is famous for its caves, rocks, and archaeological fossils. She has a close connection with the national hero of Bashkiria Salavat Yulaev.

Today, Mount Yangan Tau is known for its balneological sanatorium "Yangan Tau", which is the largest in the republic. The sanatorium includes heat and hydrotherapy facilities that use the healing natural qualities of steam from the inside of a burning mountain. Vapors and gases escaping from cracks and wells are used to treat various diseases. This water vapor contains ammonia, phenols and resins, but the gases are almost invisible, as they are colorless and odorless.

There are many other healing places in the Republic of Bashkiria. Yangan Tau, of course, stands apart, but just 3 km from it, in the village of Komsomol, there is another healing place - the Kurgazak mineral spring. The water of this source comes through a tectonic fault of great depth (600-800 meters), and the temperature of this water stays around +16 C all year round. The water has almost no taste, since it is slightly mineralized, however, it contains many microelements useful for the body: silicon , molybdenum, chromium, titanium, zinc, manganese, beryllium, phosphorus, copper, iron and others. Kurgazak water has a cleansing effect on the body; it can remove salts, toxins and even stones.