The age of Karas Lake in Mari El exceeds 10 thousand years. It is hard to understand how the legends of his education came to our times, but they are amazing, a little creepy and at the same time romantic. But first, a little about what the lake itself is, how it was formed and why.
Big and Small Kokshaga - rivers of republican significance
Karas Lake in Mari El is located 23 km from the capital, in the place where the two rivers converge - the Big and Small Kokshaga. Both rivers are left tributaries of the Volga, which flow through coniferous, and in some places mixed and swampy forests. Malaya Kokshaga is a river that flows completely through the Mari El Republic, and the capital of the republic, Yoshkar-Ola, is located on it. The big one also flows through the neighboring Kirov region, and then flows into the Kuibyshev reservoir. The Bolshaya Kokshaga river basin is sparsely populated, Russians and Maris live here interspersed with small villages at a decent distance from each other. Therefore, a large part of the territory is occupied by the reserve of the same name - “Big Kokshaga”.
Both rivers participated in the formation of Karas Lake - it is located between them. But nevertheless closer is Malaya Kokshaga, a river that is considered the largest waterway in the republic. Water washed the soil from the inside until, finally, at the latitude 56.3407909 and longitude 47.7463119, a dip has formed, which we now call Karas Lake.
History of formation and development of the local landscape
Karas Lake in Mari El karst, that is, was formed due to the activity of water. Any phenomenon that is associated with leaching, dissolving water of various rocks, is called karst, and therefore voids of various shapes are formed at the site of application of water forces. Usually, water successfully transforms the appearance and shape of gypsum rocks, limestone, marble, dolomite. The bottom of Karas Lake is a layer of pure white quartz sand, covered with dark green silty sediments from dead algae.
The largest depth in Lake Karas is 46.1 m. In shape, it resembles an oval 426 x 597 m in length, stretching from north to south. Karst processes in it did not stop and continue to change the topography of the bottom and coast quite intensively. So, over the past 100 years, the reservoir has added 10.2 m to a depth. Its south-west coast decreases at a speed of 12 cm per year, and the northeast coast at a speed of 28 cm per year. As a result of water activities, coastal rocks turn into sand, which covers the bottom and shores of the lake.
Today, local scientists are sounding the alarm, noting that the karst processes in Karas Lake in Mari El are not only not stopping, but are also being activated. The flow and influx of water increased, which accelerated the erosion of rocks, voids and funnels began to form more often and faster. Scientists believe this could be dangerous for nearby construction buildings.
Who lives on the lake today
Most of the buildings around the lake are dachas of the local elite and sanatorium, in which everyone can relax in principle. Getting here is just so difficult - most of the territory is blocked off. This moment is very annoying to the public, but the status quo is still maintained.
The largest local sanatorium is called "Sosnovy Bor" and is popular with those who want to relax in peace and quiet among the amazing beauty of nature. The landscape here is really unique, as well as the climatic conditions. The air is rich in oxygen ions and volatile from many medicinal herbs, the water is crystal clear, through the thickness of 8 m you can see every pebble at the bottom. In such conditions, health is better even faster.
Legend of Karas Lake
Let us return to the times of the formation of the lake, which are beautifully described in the legend. In a small village nearby lived a guy who was great at spoiling everyone's life. His name was Epanai. Fellow villagers tolerated him until he stole a horse on one farm. This could no longer be forgiven for him - the horse meant too much at that time. Miraculously surviving (a local old man named Akrei protected him from the villagers), Epanai fled to the forest and continued his dark business there: he gathered a gang of the same hermits and began to rob and kill people. He got rich on this, providing himself with everything that only the soul desired.
But you won’t be full of jewelry alone, Epanay wanted to love, and, by coincidence, the daughter of that very Acreus who had saved him before became the subject of his passion. Okay, I would have approached with goodness, maybe that would have happened, but after all, the robber, he is the robber - he decided that he could capture Karasiy (that was the name of the girl) by force and bring him to his forest. He sent robbers to her, but they returned with nothing - their old Acreus outwitted them. Epanai got angry, started screaming and stamping his feet. Here the irreparable happened - the house of Epanay, together with him and all the robbers, failed, and water splashed at the bottom. The villagers only occasionally heard a cry: "Karasiy ...". So they called the lake.
How to get to the lake
The most direct route leads through the capital, to which you can fly from anywhere in Russia by plane. Further only by ground transport: car or bus. The Yoshkar-Ola-Cheboksary highway is clearly visible on the map. The lake is only 3 km from it and 23 km from the capital. That is, you need to turn off the road a little south of the republican center towards the lake and after a few minutes you will see an unusually beautiful landscape. This will be Karas Lake in Sosnovy Bor, Mari El is a well-known attraction throughout the country and just a great place to relax and restore health.