Kazan is a city where Muslim minarets are visible between Orthodox churches, and there are many unusual landscapes in the district. This settlement is almost as old as Moscow. But Kazan is not only famous for its architecture: there are many ponds, and in some, legends go, even treasures are hidden. It is about Lake Kaban. But Kazan is not famous for this pond, but the Blue Lakes. They attract divers, because they really have clear water.
general description
The name Blue Lakes in Kazan refers to three reservoirs of karst origin. This complex is located on an area of about 19 square kilometers and is a natural monument.
The lakes got their name due to salt mud, which is blue in color and is at the bottom. All year round the temperature in the reservoirs is stable, at a level of +3 to +7 degrees. Therefore, few people decide to swim in such cold water even on a hot July day.
The average depth of the lakes is about 3-4 meters, but due to the optical effect of the lens it seems that they are very shallow. For this reason, divers come here, but there is one feature that not all new arrivals know about. The sludge that is at the bottom has a light gray color, and if you accidentally hook it, you can forget about the transparency of water for a long time. Divers who constantly come here adhere to a certain tradition - they lower the decorated Christmas tree to the bottom of the Big Lake, which can be seen even from the shore.
Light
One of the Blue Lakes of Kazan is called Big or Light. The depth in it is from 1 to 3 meters. However, it has two karst funnels :
- Big Puchina with a depth of 18 meters;
- Malaya Puchina, 6 meters deep.
In the Great Funnel, keys are found that are saturated with gypsum. Bridges are equipped near the deepest place, here you can meet lovers of cold water and athletes who are preparing to dive into the Big Puchina. It attracts professional divers and amateurs who dive in the winter, and even at night. This lake has one runoff in the form of a small waterfall into the Kazanka river.
Small and Big Lakes are interconnected by a dirt path, where you can not only walk, but also ride a bike. The path is located under the bridge along the estuary of the Kazanka River.
Small and Flowing Lakes
Small Blue Lake of Kazan is much smaller in size than Svetly, and its depth is up to 4 meters. It has two runoffs to Kazanka, one of which is in the form of a waterfall. There are also equipped places for immersion and descent.
Flowing in size is even smaller than Small Lake, with a depth of 3 meters and 1 drain into the river. It is in this pond the warmest water.
Appearance story
The photo of the Blue Lakes in Kazan, of course, is impressive. After all, the cascade of water bodies is surrounded by dense forest and is located in the state reserve. There are many wetlands in the area. The total area of the conservation zone is 1910 hectares, and lakes - 0.3 hectares. The lake received a conservation status in 1972, and in 1994 they were given the status of a conservation zone. Lakes are actually the beginning of the shallow arm of the Kazanka River.
It is believed that several hundred years ago the soil sank in these places, and the resulting bowls were filled with water. And so the lakes appeared. By the way, the trunks of ancient trees are still visible from under the thickness of the water.
Flora and fauna
Frogs and crustaceans live in the lakes, there are a lot of algae. Today there are no fish, although old-timers say that pike used to be found in these waters. There have been many attempts to plant fish in the lakes, but the water here is too cold and salty for freshwater fish.
There are many birches in the conservation area and there are about 97 species of plants, some of which are listed in the Red Book of Tatarstan. This is a mannik floating, water pine and others.
There are unique animals in the waters - this is a water scorpion and milky white planaria, a golden bee-eater. Beavers and muskrats and snakes are sometimes found on the shores.
Water composition
If you decide to go on vacation to the Blue Lakes of Kazan, then it will not be amiss to know the composition of these waters. The analyzes carried out more than once show that local waters are saturated with soluble chemical salts, they account for about 2500 milligrams per 1 liter of water. For example, in the same river Volga there are only 150 grams per the same amount of water.
Most of these salts are gypsum. In confirmation of this, on the leaves of plants growing on the coastline, you can sometimes notice even with the naked eye a light white coating - gypsum crystals.
The water itself is a little sticky and absolutely odorless. And the sharp smell of hydrogen sulfide comes from silt. Studies of this density have confirmed that sludge can be used as sulfur mud. It was not possible to establish exactly how hydrogen sulfide is formed, but, most likely, it is created due to the fermentation of sulfates.
The flow of water of all three lakes is about 550-600 liters per 1 second, about 250 liters fall on the Svetly Lake.
Diving
Diving enthusiasts dive into the Great Blue Lake. Divers say that under the water incredible landscapes open up, almost futuristic views, you can see the sky with stars through the thickness of transparent water, if you plunge at night. It is in the dark when the weather is clear and the moon and stars shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow.
This place is considered ideal for underwater filming. Many come here to experience the newly acquired cold water diving equipment. Here it immediately becomes clear how good the new regulator or the batteries in the camera are.
As professionals and instructors say, who could dive into the Blue Lake of Kazan, he will be able to sink under the water anywhere. Training takes place almost every week.
How to get there
The blue lake of Kazan is located near the M17 highway. It can be reached by your own or public transport.
If you go under your own power from the city of Kazan, you should take a bus following route No. 35 from Tukaya Square metro station. Having reached the stop "Sun" or "Golubyatnikova", you need to change to bus number 40 and go to the final stop - the village of Shcherbakovo. Then go on foot following the signs.
How to get to Blue Lake (Kazan) by car? You need to go onto the M17 highway and go 808 kilometers to the village of the same name. Then move to the bridge. The descent to Maly and Protochnoy is in front of the bridge, to Svetly - beyond the bridge. You can go down in front of the bridge, go around two small ponds and go along the path to the Big Lake.