Lake Chebarkul - sight of the Chelyabinsk region

Lake Chebarkul (map shown in the photo below) is located in the Southern Urals, in the eastern part of the Ural Mountains, administratively in the Chelyabinsk region.

Name

The name of the lake comes from the mixing of two languages - Bashkir and Tatar.

• In Bashkir "sibur" means "beautiful", "kul" - "lake".
• In the Tatar language, "chybar" is "variegated", "kul", as well as in the first case, "lake".

So it turned out "a beautiful motley lake". Indeed, Lake Chebarkul (Chelyabinsk region) is one of the most beautiful water bodies in the Urals Switzerland. Variety is given to him by aquatic plants, in a multitude growing at his winding shores. The lake gave its name to the city located on its eastern shore.

History

Primitive people inhabited the lake's surroundings 40,000 years ago. On the south and south-west coast there are more than forty archeological monuments from the Neolithic period to the early Iron Age.

In the Middle Ages the area adjacent to the lake was inhabited and developed by the tribes of the Tatars and Bashkirs. In the XVII century, the development of this region began Cossack freemen, "craftsmen" and free peasants. In 1736 the Chebarkul fortress was founded on the eastern shore of the lake. She fulfilled the task of the transshipment point when delivering food to the provincial capital - Orenburg. But, despite the appearance of the fortress, Lake Chebarkul and its surroundings remained for a long time a refuge for robbers and other "dashing people." In memory of that time, one of the islands is called "Robber".

Not bypassed these places and the uprising Pugachev. In 1774 the fortress was taken by rebels, on their territory and along the shores of the lake was their camp. Retreating after the defeat of the government troops, the Pugachevites burned the structure. In the subsequent restoration of the fortress took two years. Later it became one of the largest cities in the Southern Urals - the city of Chebarkul (Chelyabinsk region).

Origin and Geology

Chebarkul is a lake of tectonic origin. His age scientists define about 10 thousand years. The shores of the lake are mostly stony, but there are lowland, swampy areas. The rocks are gneisses, quartzites and pyroxenites. The coastline is uneven, often steep.

Lake Chebarkul has several islands. In the northern part - Kopeyka, Two Brothers, Ship, Rogue, near the eastern shore is the island of Golets and the southern - the largest - Grachev. The shoreline forms far reaching into the lake, covered with the cliffs of the peninsula Krutik, Nazarysh, Kosa, Lime, Cape Cape and others. Its unevenness contributed to the emergence of many large and small bays and caves, called "locals" by the locals.

Description and hydrology

The height above the sea level, on which the lake Chebarkul is located, is 320 m. Its area is 19.8 sq. M. Km. The maximum depth of the reservoir is 12 m, the average depth is 6 m. There are 154 million cubic meters in Chebarkul. M of water. The fluctuations of its level are insignificant - 1,25 m. The highest level of water is in June. The lake freezes in November, and the melting of ice ends in early May. The water is fresh, the content of minerals in it is 0.369 kg per liter.

The lake feeds in a mixed way. In the water supply, precipitation predominates. But an important role is played by small rivers. In the lake flow Elovka, the duct from the lake. Spruce, watercourses of Kudryashevka and Kundurusha. In the Chebarkul River rises. Koelga, entering the basin of the river. Obi. Also in the lake there are spring springs.

The water level in the pond under the influence of natural factors (arid or, on the contrary, snowy years) fluctuated insignificantly. But in the 1970s he began to fall critically. By 1990, it reached 318 m above sea level at a rate of 320 m. This was caused not so much by a series of particularly droughty years, as by too much consumption of lake water for the needs of the Chebarkul region (Chelyabinsk region). The fence should not exceed 3.6 million cubic meters per year. However, the city then consumed about 8 million cubic meters. M of lake water. Measures were taken to saturate the reservoir - the riverbeds of the rivers flowing into it were expanded, a water pipeline from the Kambulatovsky pond was constructed, and artesian sources were explored near the city. All this gave its results - since 2000, the water in the lake began to rise gradually, and by 2007 its level came back to normal.

Nature and fauna

On the western bank of the Chebarkul is a dense coniferous forest. There are also rare linden groves for the South Ural plantings. They also grow on almost all islands of the lake. On the eastern shore, the vegetation of the forest-steppe prevails - a field with a rare birch forest and thickets of wild sea buckthorn. Near the water, the willow, alder, bushes grow in abundance.

Lake Chebarkul is rich in sedge, cane, reed, rdest and cattail. Especially a lot of this vegetation near the low shores of bays and caves. The thickets of these plants are a favorite place for wintering and spawning fish. In the middle of summer, the water often blooms, especially in the same crocks.

The fauna of the lake is traditional for the Ural lakes. This is primarily fish - carp, crucian carp, tin, bream, pike, perch, ruff and some others. This diversity is supported by the Chebarkul Fishery Plant. He also carries out fishing. The lake is open to all lovers of fishing, which can fish on it all year round.
In its vicinity, mainly in the western part, there are roe deer, hares, foxes, sometimes moose appear. In swampy curses lizards and snakes feel at ease. Poisonous vipers are frequent visitors to Lake Chebarkul. Rest here can be arranged all year round, however you need to be careful and avoid the wetlands.

An interesting fact - a meteorite

Today, the lake of Chebarkul is known all over the world. Such popularity was a significant event. February 15, 2013 over the territory of the Chelyabinsk region at an altitude of about 50 km there was a meteorite explosion. Lake Chebarkul was the site of the fall of a fragment weighing about 600 kg. In September of that year, its part (4.8 kg) was raised from the bottom. Now she is in the Chelyabinsk Museum of Local History.