The Krasnodar Territory has been famous for centuries for its healing air, life-giving springs and fascinating original beauty. The lakes of the Krasnodar Territory are very numerous and diverse. Among them there are those in which ice water is even in the hottest months, and there are those that warm up to +30. Abrau, Ryaboe, Kardyvach, Khansky are the blue pearls of this region, each of which has its own history and its own characteristics.
The lake that helped Khan Giray
About 60 km southeast of Yeysk and 185 km northwest of Krasnodar lies the amazing Lake of Khan. According to legend, the great Khan Girey and his harem once bathed in it, and the ladies became much younger and more beautiful after water procedures, and the khan himself was stronger and healthier. As if he even built a palace on the lake shores. Perhaps it was so, because the waters of Lake Khan are rich in micro and macro elements, and its mud is healing. Locals call him Hanka, or Tatar. Earlier, not far from this water body there was a farm of Tatar hell. In the 60s of the XIX century, the Tatars who lived there moved to Turkey, and the village of Yasenskaya, which exists to this day, arose at the site of the settlement. On the other side of the lake lies the village of Kopanskaya. Khan is located on the Yeisk Peninsula. A narrow spit of sand and shell separates it from the Sea of Azov. Year after year, it was “built” by sea waves until it cut off part of the bay from the sea. Thus was born Khan Lake.
Healing water and mud
The first studies to determine the chemical composition of water and mud in Khansky were carried out in 1913, and in 1921 the first medical resort was opened there . Now it is reliably known that the lake’s waters are about 12 times more salty and concentrated than the Azov sea. Muds include sulfates, carbonates, sodium, potassium, magnesium, which, in fact, is famous for Lake Khan. In Yeysk - in sanatoriums - these muds are successfully used to treat diseases of the heart and blood vessels, bones and joints, nervous, skin and many other diseases. There are no medical institutions on the shores of the lake itself. Those who want to relax and heal there can stay in one of the hotels of Yeysk or in the private sector of nearby farms and villages.
Lake problems
Once Khan Lake was a wonderful pond about 16 km long and 8 wide. In its waters, in spite of the shallow depth (0.8-0.9 m, in some places - about 2 m), pelengas, perches, crucian carp, and zander were splashing around. Many birds nested along the shores, some of which were listed in the Red Book. In coastal reeds and bushes, even mammals were found. Cut off from the sea by a sand spit, the lake lived due to meltwater and rain. With strong winds, sea water fell over him. But in the summer in extreme heat it still dried out in places, and then salt was mined there. Currently, the picture is different. Most of the water area dried up, the fish died, birds and other animals, left without food, moved to other places. Now here is a paradise for fans of kiting, buggy and mountainboards. Rescue from the final disappearance of the lake as a reservoir is carried out by scientists, ecologists and all people who are not indifferent to this problem. Let's hope that they succeed.
Abrau, Kardyvach and others
The interest in tourists is not only Lake Khan. Krasnodar Territory has more than 200 unique reservoirs. Among them are not only salty, but also fresh. The largest is Lake Abrau, which lies 15 km from Novorossiysk. On its shore is the village of Abrau-Durso, in which they make world famous wine. Kardyvach Lake is considered one of the most beautiful on Earth. It lies surrounded by mountain ranges with snow-white peaks, silently reflected in the surface of the water, as if in a mirror. Kardyvach is a rather large lake in size, second after Abrau. There are in the Krasnodar Territory and small, but no less remarkable reservoirs. Some, for example, Pockmarked, Psenoda or Cheshe, are located in such inaccessible places that there are almost no tourists there. Others, such as Delphinier, are widely known to the public and quite popular. In this lake, lying on Cape Utrish, a dolphinarium was created, so there are always a lot of tourists here.
Natural balneological hospitals
Not only Khan Lake in the Krasnodar Territory is rich in healing mud. In the village of Golubitskaya there is one more, also called Golubitsky. Like Khan, it is separated from the sea by a sand spit, and is also fed by sea water during strong waves. Golubitsky mud contains bromine, iodine, hydrogen sulfide. They are very dense, in contact with the body are able to form a special kind of film, so people can easily tolerate mud therapy.
In total, the Taman Peninsula has three healing reservoirs: Golubitskoye in the south, Salt in the north and Markitansky in the east. The latter was formed in approximately the same way as the Khan, it feeds on meltwater. The layer of mud silt in it reaches 50 cm. By the type of Markitan lake, chloride-magnesium-sodium. Another balneological reservoir called Chemburka is located in Anapa. The mud of this lake is highly colloidal, slightly clogged, ductile and viscous, with a high thermal effect. Krasnodar Territory is famous for its mud estuaries, which are not much different from lakes. These are Kiziltash, Vityazevsky, Bugaz and Tsokur. All of them are separated from the sea by a narrow sand spit, which is very convenient for vacationers, since after taking balneological baths you can always swim in a transparent sea water.
Salt Lake, Krasnodar Territory
This lake fully lives up to its name, as it is one of the most saline in the region (400 ppm). It lies between the Bugazsky estuary and the cape with the name Iron Horn. Salty is 1.5 km long and 1 km wide, and the maximum depth is only 30 cm.
There are places where it barely reaches the ankle. Its highest salinity creates a peculiar decoration around the reservoir - a white salt border. Mud lake highly mineralized, include magnesium,
sulfides, sodium, bromine, iodine, hydrogen sulfide. All micro and macro elements also have a fairly high concentration, approximately 300 grams per 1 liter of dirt. In the hot season, Salty dries completely, presenting to the eyes white layers of salt. It is advisable to walk on them in shoes so as not to get hurt. And under their layer is in a semi-liquid state dirt.