Gus River, Vladimir region: description, natural world and interesting facts

The middle strip of Russia is rich in beautiful places with a curious history. A lot of unique and little-known corners of nature. The Gus River is known mainly due to the city of Gus-Khrustalnoye. Although the gully itself deserves attention from the ethnic (title) point of view, and as an excellent object for the further development of tourism.

Description

Central Russian Upland, where the Gus River is located, part of the East European Plain. This largely determines the nature of the current and the coastline. It flows through two areas - the Vladimir and Ryazan, and is the left tributary of the Oka. Its origin takes at an altitude of 127 m above sea level near the village of Arsamaki Gus-Khrustalny district, Vladimir region, with several sources. The mouth (height above sea level - 83 meters) forms a small lake near the wharf Zabeleno (Kasimov district, Ryazan region). Characteristic:

• Length -146 km;
• Swimming pool - 3910 km ² ;
• Depth - up to 2 meters;
• Width - from 5 to 20 meters;
• Height - 127 meters;
• Slope - 0.34 meters per kilometer;
• Water system: Oka - Volga - Caspian Sea;
• The banks are shallow;
• Spring floods;
• Ice stands from November to April;
• The largest settlement is Gus-Khrustalny.

In the area of more than three hundred lakes, the total area of the water surface in the region reaches 33 thousand hectares. Two navigable rivers Oka and Klyazma with numerous tributaries create a unique ecosystem. Picturesque beaches and the presence of fish make the area attractive for tourists. On the river there are camp sites, dispensaries.

The Gus River flows in a southerly direction, eventually through the Oka River, and then the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea. Throughout, it strongly curls, it speeds up, narrowing to 4 meters, it slows down, spilling up to 20 meters. The banks are mostly wooded, occasionally the river flows through the meadows. The bottom is sandy, there are magnificent natural beaches.

Tributaries

Despite the relatively small size, the river Gus (Vladimir region) in spring is full of water and floods a vast territory in the spring. Water filling is provided not only by its own estuaries, but also by numerous tributaries. A large number of them can not boast, but they are quite full.

Rights:

• The Smalany Canal is 122 km away;
• Ninur - 77 km;
• Narma - 20 km;
• Ninor (Barrel) - 90 km;
• Miserva - 49 km;
• Nysmoor - 105 km;
• Dandur - 55 km;
• Pinsur is 100 km away.

Left:

• Vekovka - 112 km;
• Stream Sentur (Black River) - 84 km;
• The cap is 12 km;
• Shershul (Enpush) - 103 km.

Reservoirs

The use of the Gus River by man is mainly of tourist orientation. Fans of outdoor activities open the rafting season along the river for May Day holidays. The lack of large settlements, relatively calm flow of the river, good fishing and the presence of wild sandy beaches - these are the main advantages of the river.

Human intervention can be considered two artificial reservoirs on the first 24 kilometers of the watercourse. The first one is called the Aleksandrovskoe (or Anopinsky) reservoir, located half a kilometer from the village of Anopino. It was created in 1968 for irrigation of fields. The second is called a city lake, it is located in the city of Gus-Khrustalny. Both are filled with spring runoff and groundwater.

At the beginning of the century, after the transfer of the object to the disposal of the glass factory, the reservoir was reconstructed. Cleaning the bottom, strengthening the dam, organizing a place for swimming, car parking have added attractions for tourists. However, the cutting of bushes on the banks led to a decrease in the number of birds nesting here before. On the basis of the nature monument "Alexandrovskoe Reservoir" (regional significance), in 2015 a reorganization was completed in the "Gusevsky" nature reserve (complex). The main task is to preserve unique objects of nature, especially valuable century-old trees, rare plant species.

A small lake in the center of the city is a favorite place of rest for the townspeople. Attracts transparent water, sandy yellow bottom, equipped city beach and boat station. The earth embankment (dam) appeared in 1850, now it is reinforced with concrete. A brief description of:

• Width 0.5 km;
• Length 2,8 km;
• The total area of 0.86 km ² ;
• Length of the coastline is 6.6 km;
• Depth of 6.5 m (maximum);
• The total volume of 2.31 million m³.

A curious phenomenon is the floating islands. During the erosion of the shore, small areas of soil with vegetation come off and begin to drift along the water area. On separate islets grow trees. At the same time, up to 10 such floating objects can be observed. Over time, the soil in them is washed away and they are destroyed.

Flora and fauna

Plants and animals of the Gus River are characteristic for the Central regions of Russia. From mammals there are beavers, however, already introduced, "indigenous" at one time completely exterminated. There are muskrats and the Red Book Russian desman. From waterfowl you can meet a swan-hissing, a black-throated diver, a wild duck, a rare black stork. Fishermen frequent guests on the pond. Here they catch a perch, a pike, roach, asp, ide, top, carp, loach and others.

The flora is rich, there are 1370 plant species. The shores are mainly occupied by bushes and deciduous forest. In the meadows there are thickets of reeds.

Name

The Gus River is notable for its name. There are several versions regarding its origin:

• Finnish-Ugric. Some researchers believe that the "goose" is consonant with the Finnish - "kuusi", which means spruce. Against this version says the fact that on the banks there are no spruce forests, there are pine forests, but they are not as numerous as deciduous forests. In the names of the tributaries there are clearly traces of Avestan and Sanskrit roots, only Finno-Ugric endings.
• Slavic. The etymologist MN Makarov believed that the hydronym correlates with the popular expression "the water runs a goose" - very tortuous. The word "goose" itself is more than six thousand years old. From Sanskrit literally translated - walking on the water.
• Totem. Many names of waterfowl in modern Russian came from the language of the tribe Meshcher: bittern, goose and others. The Gus River could be named according to the totem of the tribe living in these places. There are quite a few examples in Central Russia of rivers bearing the names of birds: Soroka, Yastreb, Guslitsa and others.

Curious conclusion

The goose of many peoples was considered sacred, closely connected with the sun. Goose or goose was a sacrificial bird, the personification of the sun, a rebirth and life itself. All three rivers are connected together by a sacred symbol:

• Goose is the sacred symbol of the sun.
• Oka - in translation from the ancient Illyrian language (it is close to the language of the Proto-Slavs and Balts) - goose, that is, the symbol of the sun, a solar sign.
• Volga, the ancient name - Ra, the sun god.

It turns out that the whole chain of rivers carries a charge of life, affirming the all-conquering power of the sun.