One of the most picturesque and unique places of Russia in its beauty, climate and natural features is the Valdai Upland. In the center of it is the city of Valdai, whose history goes back almost five hundred years. Many tourists come here willingly. One of the reasons for the popularity of this route among travelers is the proximity to such large cities as Moscow, Novgorod, St. Petersburg. The Valdai Upland unites several hills and ridges, the largest of which are Valdai, Vyshevolotskaya, Ostashkovskaya. Here, the Volga, Western Dvina, and Dnieper rivers begin; there are many mineral springs, springs, and springs.
Location on the map
The Valdai Upland on the map is located in the Novgorod, Smolensk, Tver regions, partly in the Pskov and Leningrad regions in the north-west of the Russian Federation. The height of the hill is about 600 km, the height ranges from 150 to 250 km. The highest point is 346.9 km.
Relief of the Valdai Upland
This area is characterized by the alternation of ridges, hollows and depressions. There are small plains. The average height of the hills is 20-50 m, the degree of their slope is 15-20 and higher. Hollows located between the hills are often filled and form small lakes. On the Valdai Upland, three forms of relief are combined : sandra, kama and end moraine. The appearance of the area has developed thanks to the activity of glaciers. Other relief factors are negligible.
Climate Valdai
Excessive humidity prevails in the area. Short cool summers and long warm autumn - the Valdai Upland differs in such weather. The climate here is temperate continental, very similar to the sea. Valdai winter is relatively warm, and spring is lingering and cold. Weather conditions are formed as a result of the circulation of air masses. Arctic air and air of temperate latitudes accumulate over the terrain. Continental air from temperate latitudes gives heat in summer and frost in winter, while sea air sets rainy weather in summer and thaws with snowfall in the cold season. In general, the weather in Valdai is unstable, can change dramatically.
On average, during the year the air warms up to 3.2 0 , in winter the temperature drops to -9 ..- 10 0 , in summer the average temperature is +16 0 . The prevailing winds are west, south and southwest. During the year, a little more than 800 mm of precipitation falls, the height of the snow cover reaches 50 cm.
Hydrological characteristic
On a hill is the watershed of the basins of the Baltic Sea, Volga and Dnieper. Here are the sources of such rivers as Msta, Tvertsa, Mologa, Sisya, Paula, Lovat and others. The rivers of the Valdai Upland have a rapid current, rapids, deep valleys. They receive food at the expense of thawed snow, as well as rain and groundwater. The rivers are covered with ice for about 4-5 months a year. Ledostat is observed in December, and ice breaking in April, with early spring in March and even in February.
The rivers are home to a large number of different types of fish: perch, pike, gudgeon, burbot, pike perch, bleak, silver bream, asp, bream, ide, roach and others.
The lake of the same name - Valdai - is beautiful, cleanest. By the way, "Valda" means "clean", "bright." It refers to natural monuments. The lake is located on an area of about two thousand hectares, its average depth is 15 m, but in some places it reaches 50 m. There are several islands on the surface of the reservoir. Birch and Ryabinovy are one of the largest, they divide the lake into two reaches - Valdai and Dolgoborodsky. Adds beauty to this place on the shore of the lake of the Iversky Monastery and the Museum of Bells. After all, originally in the city of Valdai, the molding of bells was the main occupation.
The Valdai Upland is rightfully called the lake region, on the map of which there are more than a dozen lakes. The largest of them are Seliger, Velje, Dinner, Borovno, Ilmen. On the shores of the lakes, many different recreation centers have been built, where vacationers are offered a typical Russian vacation - bathing, barbecue, fishing.
National parks
Valdai Upland is a very attractive area for the location of national parks here. Valdai National Park was established in 1990 with the aim of organizing recreation and preserving the natural conditions of the area. This natural unit occupies more than one hundred thousand hectares. On the territory of the park there are forests, lakes, rivers, various representatives of the animal world live. Many species of vegetation located here are listed in the Red Book. It is a bristle half-bush, venus slipper, helmet-bearing orchis, Baltic finger-tree and many others. Under the protection of the state is more than a hundred species of various mosses.
More than 150 species of birds nest here. Of the rare species were observed: black stork, peregrine falcon, golden eagle and osprey. As well as a gray heron, kingfisher, yellow, some species of woodpeckers, bittern. The fauna is represented by mass species: squirrel, fox, brown bear, raccoon dog, lynx, mouse.
Valdai National Park carries out a huge scientific work, one of the directions of which is educational activities among children. The park is a member of the Federation of National Parks of Europe.
An excellent recreational area is the Valdai Upland, where there are many places of recreation. On the banks of rivers and lakes built children's camps, recreation centers. Hiking, kayaking, skiing and horse riding trails have been developed.
More than 20 species of fish live in the reservoirs of the Sebezh National Park: tench, eel, ide, pike, and from rare ones, peled, trout, and crucian carp. There are many lakes and rivers in the park, interconnected into a single water system. The largest lakes here are Sebezhskoe and Necheritsa.
Nature reserves
The Valdai Upland also includes protected areas. These are the Polistovsky and Rdeisky reserves. Here, as well as in national parks, scientific work is carried out. Thanks to the existence of such reserves in Russia, such a direction of recreation as ecological tourism is developing. It organizes excursions and whole expeditions with overnight stays in tents, cooking at the stake. Employees of the reserve together with the children make and install informational banners on environmental topics.
Vegetation
Under the influence of a climate with excess moisture, sod-podzolic soils are formed on the territory of Valdai. On these depleted lands with a small part of humus, mainly coniferous trees — pine and spruce — grow. There are rare species of ecosystems with a predominance of northern vegetation, namely northern oak forests with ash, hazel. There are many wetlands.