All about Sivash Lake

There are reservoirs that cannot be described in a couple of words, cannot be represented by a series of even the most talented photographs, and displayed in one film, so that the idea of ​​them is complete, comprehensive. For example, those that almost everyone has heard of, and which do not need special advertising. And if you say the Volga, you mean - majestic, if Baikal is incredible, and all are completely outstanding, legendary, special places. As they say, they are easy to love and honor.

There are reservoirs that do not collect such enthusiastic reviews, and you often need to look at them. But then a special charm, charm and ambiguity of the first perception opens. Sivash Lake is one of those.

The first written mention of the lake dates back to the first century AD - Strabo, the Roman author, calls Lake Sivash the Rotten Sea and describes it in some detail. In the second century, the pond was already mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, but on his map he captures the lake with slight errors.

Although, perhaps, there is no mistake at all: some historians believe that if two millennia ago the level of the Black Sea was different from the present, then what can we say about the lake.

What kind of pond is this - let's understand.

To be precise in the definitions, then Sivash (the name comes from the Crimean Tatar word, which means “dirt”) is a bay located in the west of the Sea of ​​Azov.

This bay separates the Crimean peninsula from the mainland. Since 2014, a new stretch of the Russian-Ukrainian water border has been passing through the lake, with a length of 146 km.

The area of ​​the lake is 2560 square kilometers.

Since Sivash is a shallow body of water, in summer, the water in the lake warms up significantly, which leads to the formation of a putrefactive odor. Hence the name Rotten sea. By the way, for the same reason there is an active evaporation of sea water, which is fraught with a strong mineralization of Sivash.

Those who travel in order to see (capture on film, explore) the most interesting reservoirs in Russia are sure to register in the Crimea, where they simply run their eyes from the number of places that you definitely need to see: from Kalamitsky Bay (often confused, calling Klaisky Bay) to the same Sivash.

But only two of them are distinguished - Western and Eastern Sivash.

The first attracts more attention, its length from west to east is 70 km, the small and narrow Chongar Strait connects two Sivash.

The Sivash system itself is quite complex: you cannot call the combination of water and land simple - numerous peninsulas and islands interspersed with reaches, straits and even bays. The lake complex, as already noted, is shallow: the largest depth of the reservoir barely reaches 3 m, and mostly 0.5-1 m - this is its most frequent depth.

All tourists are primarily interested in the current state of the lake, rather than mentioning it in ancient sources (although this is interesting). Well, Sivash is a shallow basin isolated from the sea, which means he is the lagoon of the Sea of ​​Azov.

The water in this lagoon is both bitter and salty: algae decay there, which makes the smell from the water far from pleasant. Clearly guessed in it is hydrogen sulfide.

In calm weather, with clear water, you can easily see the muddy bottom almost anywhere in the lagoon. Salt penetrated even into the soil, because the banks of the Sivash can not be called teeming with life.

Green grass cannot be seen, especially trees and other stormy vegetation. Instead of it, bluish wormwood, a sullen kermek and a hodgepodge: only they do not care for salt and heat.

The concentration of salts in the waters of Sivash is significantly higher than in the Black and Azov Seas, and almost 17 times. This mineralized water is called brine.

Is it good or bad? If you are a researcher or just a lover of the study of nature, then you will like Sivash - it can be called a real natural laboratory, where mineral salts accumulate in an interesting way.

And scientists have learned exactly how this happens: about a millimeter of water evaporates from a centimeter of the square surface of the lake in a year. And rainfall is only 300 mm.

There is also evidence that the total amount of moisture evaporated by Sivash per year is almost half of the total mass of water in it. You do not need to be a scientist to understand: if Sivash has not yet disappeared from the face of the earth, if the amount of water in it is nevertheless almost constant, this means that water is constantly coming from outside.

And it comes, as it turns out, from the Sea of ​​Azov through the Genic Strait.

This is an estuary, closed lake where hundreds of videos and films could be shot, as the place is unique in its natural beauty.

Such a "glamorous" color of the reservoir gives an unusual algae called dunaliella, which secretes about three dozen carotenoids, beta-carotene can be considered the most valuable of them.

How much beta-carotene is in brine, the lake will be so saturated in color: from pinkish to bright red.

Everyone knows that many southern bodies of water are distinguished by pronounced healing properties.

And Sivash, in whose name the word “mud” is guessed during translation, in itself is associated with treatment, restoration, healing power.

Mud procedures are also advised to those who have problems with the musculoskeletal system, who know firsthand about arthritis, arthrosis, osteochondrosis.

Someone will like the information that mud can be stocked up: no money will be taken for its collection.

Both mud and brine have healing properties.

• Brine. It includes elements that are considered natural cleaners of liver cells. It is for this reason that people bathing in Sivash drunk, come out of it pretty sober. It’s not worth checking on yourself, but the fact is interesting. If you believe the responses (and there are a lot of them), then the effect of brine on the musculoskeletal system of the human body is really great. Someone retreated, long-standing osteochondrosis softened significantly, some old injuries of bones and joints ceased to hurt. People come here to get rid of dermatological diseases, and many succeed in this.
• Therapeutic mud. You don’t have to look for it for a long time. The top layer of healing mud is sulfur, as there is a contact of light and air. But it is possible to use not only gray clay, because the black healing mud, which is deeper, is truly healing. By the way, Sivash therapeutic mud has a reputation for healing not because of obsessive, unreasonable advertising: it has passed the necessary clinical trials, has certification, and it is indeed possible to treat it.

But it is impossible to say about the development of infrastructure in the zone of this lake.

For tourists, this interesting area has just been landscaped, in connection with which many travelers come here as savages, live in tents.

The climate and soil features dictate their conditions to the flora and fauna of Prisivashia. In particular, they attract birds at the winter house, and what birds! Here, a relict strep was seen, which had previously been seen only in the Azov steppes. Galagas flies here from the salt lakes of Europe and Asia. Interestingly, pheasants have recently been raised on these islands.

Local plants, as already mentioned, are not impressive with their wealth, although depending on what we are talking about. For example, every botanist (and just an interested tourist) will be interested in visiting the Kalinovsky landscape park. It is located in the Dzhankoy district near the village of Transparent: its area is 12,000 hectares. It was created specifically for the preservation of wetlands.

In the park territory, natural associations of different steppes of Crimea are growing - both zonal-desert, and sod-cereal, and pale-forb.

The fauna of the park is also curious: there you can see cormorants, gulls, waders. And all in all, in the territories belonging to the reserve, about one and a half hundred birds live, including yellow heron, white-tailed eagle, steppe crane and others.

By the way, in the village relatively recently restored the estate of Shatilov. They organize exhibitions of contemporary artists, and conduct unique night excursions.

In the light of numerous candles, guests stroll around the estate, admire the creations of Crimean painters.

To understand how to build a route, you need to find out which settlements are as close as possible to Sivash. These are: Dzhankoy, Saki, Yevpatoriya, Krasnoperekopsk, Armyansk, Genichesk, Novoalekseevka.

You can get in different ways.

1. Own car: you are coming from Simferopol along the routes M-17, E-105. Closest to the capital of Crimea Evpatoria, the stop is called Sasyk-Sivash.
2. By any bus which moves towards the border with Ukraine. If you are going to relax as a savage, then already during the bus trip you will see places suitable for this purpose.And if a wild vacation is not for you, motels and pensions are in the area, but places in them should be taken care of in advance.
3. Electric trains going from Dzhankoy and Novoalekseevka. There is direct transport to the Salt Lake. The train schedule can be seen in the courtyard of the railway station in Simferopol.

Probably the most beautiful place in this territory is the Arabat Spit.

On the one hand, it is the Sea of ​​Azov, on the other, healing springs.

On the Crimean peninsula there are so many interesting, unique, and often underestimated places, the names of which are even confused by the inhabitants of the nearest territories (as, for example, the town of Shchelkino is called Schelkovo).

Someone brings only tan and wine from the Crimea, while others bring unique photos and videos of local lakes worthy of general attention.

Sasyk-Sivash, that same Pink Lake, is also known for its salt industry. And this salt is by no means valuable only in taste. Its composition is rich in macro- and microelements, including calcium, sodium chloride.

Crimean salt has been known for a long time, there are even documents of its international level: they date back to 1912, when this product won first place at a world exhibition.

The pink composition is better absorbed, does not lead to edema, removes toxins, leaches excess water, strengthens the immune system. Salt is rich in iodine, therefore, its reasonable use contributes to the normalization of the hormonal background of both men and women.

Just imagine: unusual, unique lakes with healing water, salt, mud, as well as stunning landscapes and the possibility of a wild vacation surrounded by impressive Crimean nature. And such a vacation can be budgetary and memorable: that means you have to go!

You can learn about the healing mud of the lake from the video below.