Uimon Valley of Mountainous Altai: photo, description

The place, which will be discussed in this article, as well as other intermountain hollows of the Altai Territory, is the territory of the valleys of the rivers Koksy and Katun. For many centuries they covered and smoothed the gorges with a powerful fertile soil layer.

Gorny Altai is magnificent and rich. The Uimon valley is one of the most attractive natural attractions with magnificent landscapes. Similar intermontane valleys in the Altai are three: the Kanskaya, the Kuray and the Chui.

Uymonskaya valley in the Altai: location

The Uimon Valley is located in the Central Altai, in the Ust-Koksinsky District (the Republic of Altai), at an altitude of almost 1000 m above sea level. 35 km and more - its length, and the width varies from 8 to 13 km.

It is located between the Terekt and Katenskiy mountain ranges. At its very beginning is located with. Ust-Koks (the administrative center of the region).

From the eastern slopes in good weather all the peaks of the magnificent and main Altai mountain Belukha are seen.

sights

Beautiful and unique Uymonskaya valley in the Altai. Reviews of her people who have visited these amazingly beautiful places, the most enthusiastic.

The valley of Uimonskaya is far removed from civilizations. All its impressive appeal is in landscapes created by nature. Its main attraction is the Belukha Mountain, which is rightfully considered the highest peak in Siberia and the Altai region. It rises to 4506 meters. This mountain not only admires and admires, but also reveres it. Another amazing place in these parts is a magnificent 50-meter waterfall on the Tekele River.

In connection with the remoteness from civilization, the infrastructure here is rather poorly developed.

Description of the territory

In the southern part of the valley is the highest Altai ridge - Katunsky, whose ice peaks rise to 4000 meters. On the northern side, the valley is enclosed by the slopes of another, Terektinsky ridge. Between these mountains calmly bears its powerful strong water river - the queen of Altai, Katun.

The Uimon valley extends along the river for 35 km (almost the entire length of the valley) from west to east, from the village of Ust-Koksa to Lower Uimon.

The valley also belongs to the smaller steppe Katan- din, which extends along the Katun valley, but is separated by a wooded spur of the Terek ridge from the main massif.

From the northern direction to the southern Umonsky valley cross numerous mountain rivers: Margal, Okol, Uymon, Multa, Cox. They all fall into the largest waterway - the Katun, which spills widely into numerous channels and cuts the valley into two halves.

Strongly dotted with riverbeds draining from the mountains, the Uimon Valley. Coke is a beautiful turquoise river, located in the west of the valley. In translation, its name means "blue (or green) water".

Due to the unique climate conditions and the variety of magnificent landscapes, the Uimon Valley is distinguished by a rich and beautiful natural world. The Katunsky Nature Reserve, located on its territory, is an environmental preserve. Here in natural conditions they breed marals.

Geology

Long ago, the Umons valley represented the bottom of a huge ancient sea, which today is only reminiscent of coastal water-lines near the very slopes of the mountains. They are perfectly visible even from the distance of many settlements of this region.

Approximately 15 million years ago, the Terek and Katun Ranges gradually formed as a result of not the first tectonic activity, and between them appeared the future Uimon valley. Then a general uplift (about 0.7 million years ago) led to intense glaciation. And the ice descended to the valleys and melted, warming, gradually turning into a large mountain lake.

It turns out that in ancient times (about 80 thousand or less years ago), according to many scientists, the Uimon Valley in the Altai was under water, as evidenced by the lake deposits found.

Population

The area is populated by a multinational population. The main inhabitants are the Altaians. There are also Russians, Ukrainians, etc.

The Uimon valley was originally inhabited by the inhabitants from the tribes of the Kypchaks and Todoshes. Since the end of the 17th century, the Russians began to settle here: the peasants, refugees from the former "cabinet" Kuzbass lands, fleeing from overwork. "Cabinet" land is the land of the Altai and Kuznetsk districts, belonging to the Cabinet of Her Majesty Catherine II.

The main and peculiar group of the population of the valley are schismatics. These are the Russian Old Believers, who fled from the reforms of Petrine and Metropolitan Nikon (300 years ago) to preserve their faith and the Old Russian way. They also live today in the traditional old Russian huts-pentameters. Each house has an icon, a fire of a lamp and traditional Uimon clothes.

Legend

The valley of Umons is magnificent, and its history is full of various curious legends. One of them tells about a sleeping dragon.

There is talk that in ancient times a malicious and terrible monster crawled from Altai to China, all devouring and ruining in its path. No one was able to overcome this beast, in connection with which many people suffered from grief because of him.

Once the great Katun River felt sorry for them . And when the dragon, full of flesh and blood of people, crawled with clean water to drink before going to sleep, the river mixed in its strong waters all the anger and rage accumulated over many years. After the monster drank this water, it fell asleep forever. And to this day the dragon is asleep.

People, as a token of their gratitude to the river, began to erect large villages along the banks of the Katun, like Kaytanaku.

Since that time, the dragon's body was heavily covered with wood and moss, but people remember everything and honor the Katun River for the good that it did for them.