The Urals

The Urals (Ural Mountains) are a mountain range that runs roughly north and south through western Russia. They are sometimes considered as the natural boundary between Europe and Asia. The Urals extend 2,500 km from the Kazakh steppes along the northern border of Kazakhstan to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. Its highest peak is Mount Narodnaya (1,895m). Erosion has exposed considerable mineral wealth in the Urals, including gems such as topaz and beryl. The Urals are among the world's oldest extant mountain ranges.

URALS – STONE BELT
An extensive mountain country at THE BOUNDARY OF EUROPE AND ASIA, stretching from north to south more than 2000 km. Geographically the Urals are divided into five parts: Southern, Middle, Northern, Pre-Polar (the highest mountains) and Polar. Only a small part of the Urals is covered with ice and the climate is continental with the majority of precipitation during summer – the most clear and warm weather is in July and August.

SOUTHERN URALS
The southern Urals, stretching from the valley of the Ural River near the city of Orsk to the valley of the Ufa River north of Mount Yurma, are the widest. The eastern slopes are characterized by forest-steppe with numerous lakes, while the western slopes are characterized by karst regions and a forest zone up to a height of about 1200 metres. The southern part is mostly steppe.
The southern region of the Urals is densely populated. It has a well-developed railway, auto transport, and communication system. In the southern Urals there are several national reserves - among them Bashkirskii Nature reservewith the well-known cave "Capova" and Mineralogical Ilmenskii Reserve. The southern Urals are very popular among tourists (rafting) because of the many ideal rivers and a very convenient transport infrastructure.

MIDDLE URALS
The middle Urals stretch to the latitude of the city Serov and is the most narrow and lowest part (up to only 1000 metres). The middle Urals, are a zone of coniferous and mixed forest. This area has been populated for a long time with the territories of Sverdlovsk and Perm located here. It also has well-developed railway, auto transport, communication system and industries. Many of the plants have interesting histories. In the middle Urals there are the Visimskii and Basegi Reserves and a famous ice cave Kungurskaya There is also a region of precious stone deposits known as the Murzinsko-Adiuskii Belt.

NORTHERN URALS
Stretching to the valley of the river Schugor are the northern Urals, which are higher (up to 1600 metres) and wider than the middle Urals. This area is disposed in forest zone and the climate is more rigorous. The northern Urals occupy the northern part of the Permian and Sverdlovsk regions, part of the Komi Republic and Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous region. The area is sparsely populated and has a poorly developed transport network. In the northern Urals there are a few reserves - Denezhkin Kamen, Pechoro-Ilychskii and Visherskii. At the upper part of the river Pechora, there are seven famous picturesque stone rocks –idols on the plateau Man-Pupu-ner. The forests are abundant with berries and mushrooms while in the rivers there are many different species of fish. Tourists pass through this relatively uninhabited region in a condition of absolute autonomy.

PRE-POLAR URALS
The pre-polar Urals reach up to the upper part of the river Khulga (Lyapin). The mountain area is higher and wider than the mountain area of the northern Urals. In the central part of the pre-polar Urals there are highest peaks of the Urals – Mount Narodnaya, Mount Karpinsk and the most beautiful mountain of the Urals – Mount Manaraga <http://welcome-ural.ru/view_foto.php?fid=207> . The pre-polar Urals are in a forest zone, with the boundary of the forest at 400-600 metres. In the pre-polar Urals there is a great national park - "Ugyd-Va" ("clean water"). The climate of the pre-polar Urals is severe. This area occupies part of the Komi Republic and Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous region. It is thinly populated and also has a poorly developed transport network. It must be stressed, that tourists pass through this region and the polar Urals in condition of absolute autonomy as the areas are virtually uninhabited.

POLAR URALS
The polar Urals stretch north from the river Khulga (Lyapin) with most of the mountains 1000 metres and higher. The numerous mountain peaks are separated by passes at heights of 300-400 metres. For the most part this area is a tundra zone with an extreme climate. Summer is from mid July to mid August. The polar Urals are also virtually uninhabited and have almost no developed transport network – a most inhospitable region.

Trans-Siberian Railway
Some reasons, why you should visit the Ural region:

1. Ural Mountains are the mountain barrier separating the Europe from the Asia. Ural mountains lie where the borders Europe and Asia meet. This is really the unique geographical place. You will be able to feel the smooth and floating transition between Europe and Asia.

2. The Ural Mountains stretch 2000km from Kazakhstan in the south to the Arctic Kara Sea in the north. They are low, as famous mountain ranges go, failing to top 2000m anywhere, and if you pass through on the train along the Trans-Siberian Railway you may hardly notice them. Geographically the Urals are divided into five parts; Southern, Middle, Northern, Pre-Polar (the highest mountains) and Polar.

3. Ural Mountains are vast areas of outstanding natural beauty, mountains and lakes, forests and valleys all teaming with wildlife. You will see beauty of old Ural Mountains, taiga, rapid mountain rivers and taiga slow rivers, mysterious world of Ural caves. In dependence on season (spring, summer, autumn, winter) you can walk, hike, cycle, ride horses, ski, climb, walks on dog teams, explore caves, photograph, watch wildlife and try your hand at traditional crafts, study wild flowers and plants. During your travel in the Urals you will cross several natural-landscape zones: tundra, forest, mountain, steppe, and forest-steppe.

4. There are more then 10 of national and Nature Parks on the Urals. Including the biggest in Europe national Park "Yugyd-Va". These are real natural museums of biodiversity, which included different types of ecosystems. Objects of great scientific, cultural, historic and aesthetic value are located here.

5. If you'll visit Ural region you can see architectural monuments of several centuries, churches and castles, ancient towns and modern industrial giant factories, old villages with wooden buildings, preserved as living museums and modern cities with entertainment centers. You will touch lightly upon the deep, fascinating history of the Ural region, which always were a strong part of the Russian Empire and an immense source of raw materials (in particular iron).

Transsib

Transsib or TransSiberian railway is the most popular tourist route in Russia among foreigners. Actually it is the most attractive, the longest tour across the territory of Russia. Transsib is considered to be the longest railway in the world.
If you decide to start traveling, then you should bear in mind that such tour can take three – four weeks.
There is a classical variant of Transsib tour:
Moscow – Perm – Ekaterinburg – Krasnoyarsk – Irkutsk – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok.

There is no doubt that the most attractive line of Transsib is the one via the "heart" of the Southern Ural – towns Zlatoust and Miass. But, if we dig the history of Transsib we will found out that this "southern" line is the historically real Transsib.
But due to historical peculiarities and direct trains Moscow – Vladivostok, Moscow – Ulan-Bator and Moscow-Beijing teh Transsib line via Perm and Ekaterinburg is the line that is considered to be the classical Transsib for foreigners.

May be you have a question why the "southern" line is much more preferable then anything else.
There is the only answer:
Southern Ural is the area in the Urals, which is characterized by broad diversity of natural landscapes – from steppe and forest - steppe zones in area of the city Ufa and Chelyabinsk to forest and mountainous ones near Zlatoust and Miass. The section of railway between Zlatoust and Miass is about 50 km. But this short section includes maximum of sights of interest. They are geological, hydrogeological, speleological, botanic and other ones.
In this area there are two nature parks – Zyuratkul and Taganay and world-famous Ilmenskij mineralogical reserve.

The Lake Talkov Kamien ("Talc Stone")
One of the sights in the environs of the town of Sysert is the lake Talkov Kamien. It is located a westerly direction 4 – 5 km from the centre of the town near Mt. Chernovskoi Uval.

The lake has an artificial origin. It is an old abandoned talc mine, which was flooded by subterranean waters. Talc <http://welcome-ural.ru/view_foto.php?fid=254> schist which was mined here by hand in the last decades of the 19th century was used as a fire retardant material in the metallurgical factories of the former Sysert mountain district. By 1905 a deep quarry was formed and then from the bottom of it subsoil waters began to filter stopping the extraction of talc. In the first years after the Great October Revolution however, working of the talc quarry was sometimes renewed. In 1927, a new large talc deposit – Shabrovskoe (near the settlement Shabry) was discovered and finally the working of the talc quarry near Sysert stopped. Gradually the quarry filled with water and became the beautiful lake it is today.

The lake Talkov Kamien has the outlines of an irregular shaped polygon, whose greatest length diagonally reaches 60-70 m. The lake's steep banks are of a greenish-white colour reaching 20-30 m above the level of the water.

A rare pine forest covers the upper parts of the banks and hollows on the slopes. On a clear sunny day, the walls formed by the greenish talc schist sparkle, reflecting in the greenish-grey water of the lake. In the evening when the sun disappears behind the horizon, or on cloudy day, all grows gloomy. Light green talc schist becomes dark green in colour, almost black and the reflections in the water become indistinct.

Typical types of flora around the lake include pondweed and sometimes on hot windless days "flowering" water is observed.

From the banks of the lake, especially on the northeast side, it is possible to pick up different types of rocks and minerals - "noble" talc of a whitish green colour, greenish talc schist with small crystals of dark dolomite and green chlorite schist with crystals of quartz.

Before the October revolution the environs of the lake Talkov Kamien were places where the Bolsheviks of Ekaterinburg made illegal speeches.

These days, the banks and their forests are a favourite place of relaxation for the inhabitants of Sysert and Ekaterinburg. The lake Talkov Kamien, which is classified as a natural monument, and its environs are often visited by tourists.

The Ingalskaya Valley
The Ingalskaya Valley is an archaelogical microdistrict with an area about 1500 square kilometres and situated 75 kilometers to the south from Tyumen, between the Tobol and the Iset rivers. By the present time on its territory more than 300 archeological memorials were discovered, among them settlements, remainings of old towns, burial complexes dated back to different epochs from neolite to the Midddle Ages