In which hemisphere is Lake Elton located? The Dead Sea of ​​the Russian Federation is Lake Elton in the Volgograd region. To Elton from Saratov

Elton is a huge salt lake, comparable only to the Israeli Dead Sea, surrounded by natural landscapes of desert steppe. Silt mud, brine and mineral drinking springs are valuable healing resources.

Lake Elton is located on the border of Russia and Kazakhstan in the Volgograd region (Pallasovsky district). Occupies an area of ​​152 sq. km. It has the shape of an almost even circle. Despite the fact that it is quite large, its average depth is several centimeters.

The required level of the lake is maintained by 7 rivers. At the bottom there are outlets of salty springs. The lake is located 18 meters below sea level.

Lake Elton.

What is unique about Lake Elton?

The lake is filled not with water, but with brine - an oily liquid that tastes bitter and salty. It is oversaturated with table salt solution, as well as macro- and microelements.

The attraction and at the same time decoration of Elton is Mount Ulagan, which is an ever-growing salt dome.

Mount Ulagan.

Here rocks come to the surface, the history of which dates back to the Jurassic period, often with preserved examples of flora and fauna. Fossils of ancient mollusks can be found here on the surface, without excavation. This mountain is also interesting for its stunning views of the entire reserve. Another interesting feature of the reservoir is that the lake is not dead; algae live in the water, which gives it a pink tint.

Pink shades of Lake Elton.

The natural beauty here is specific - this is the bare steppe, in which Lake Elton is located. This is the real kingdom of salt. Salt frames the lake in the form of a wide variety of crystals of different forms of formation.

Lake Elton is the kingdom of salt.

Theories about the origin of the name of Lake Elton

There are two theories about the origin of the name.

In Kazakh “Altyn-Nur” means “golden mine”. And since the red color of the water in July shimmers with gold, this is what happens. According to the second version, the lake began to be called that in 1741, when the governor of Astrakhan Tatishchev brought an Englishman, engineer John Elton, to the lake, who explored the reservoir, described it, put it on a map and immortalized his name. But the Polovtsian khans considered these lands sacred. Kazakhs today still believe in a pagan legend that says that the lord of heaven, Tengri Khan, sometimes descends into the waters of the lake to prolong his eternal youth.

Treatment at Lake Elton

Lake Elton is very popular among Russians because... The Volgograd region is much closer to Israel, and treatment can be even more effective, since the salt content is 1.5 times higher than their concentration in the water of the Dead Sea.

Under the salt is the famous healing mud, which is a natural source of vitamins, enzymes, hormone-like and other biologically active substances. The mud procedure generally affects the entire body, the nervous and endocrine systems.

Despite the wide range of indications and the undeniable benefits of Elton’s wealth, consult your doctor before going to the lake.

Tourists can take salt and mud baths not only in the mud baths, but also on their own, in holes dug near the shore. Bus excursions are organized to these pits.

Elton successfully treats diseases of the musculoskeletal system, skin, musculoskeletal system, nervous system, respiratory system, digestive system, severe consequences of injuries and metabolic disorders. The royal family once vacationed here. Excellent conditions for recovery.

There is a legend that there was once here "Museum of Abandoned Crutches", since people who arrived with disabilities were cured and left the crutches they no longer needed.

How to get to Lake Elton

Lake Elton is located approximately 204 kilometers northeast of Volgograd, 345 kilometers south of Saratov, and almost 1,180 kilometers from Moscow. Six kilometers east of the lake is the village of Elton, where there is a bus station and a railway station.

• From Moscow you can get here directly by train (travel time from 21 to 24 hours, depending on the train), or by car.
• From Volgograd you can get here by bus (once a day, departs at 11:30) or minibus (2 times a day). Both buses and minibuses depart from the Volgograd bus station. There are no direct trains from Volgograd to Elton station.
• You can get from Saratov to Elton station by train. Travel time is about 5-6 hours.

According to the site: fb.ru

• October 19, 2015

Lake Elton (Volgograd region), stretching its salty shores on the territory of the Caspian lowland, is rightfully considered a natural wonder of Russia. On the map it is just a small blue spot on the border with Kazakhstan. In fact, it is a reservoir with an area of ​​just over 150 square meters. km. The reservoir is one of the largest salt lakes in Europe.

In contact with

Its healing potential is so high that it is fair comparison with the Dead Sea, having a salt concentration 1.5 times less than Elton. And, if we take into account the presence in the lake of deposits of hydrogen sulfide sediment and silt sulfide mud containing:

• iron salts,
• carbon dioxide,
• amino acids,
• iodine impurities,

then its healing power will become clear.

The lake is fed mainly by snow reserves and the waters of seven mineralized rivers, and salt is born from the depths of underground deep springs. The favorable climate of the region and the absence of the need to preserve the life-giving mud made it possible to use the Elton resorts all year round.

From Ivan the Terrible to the present day

However, all the charms of the reservoir were not noticed today. Already during the time of Ivan the Terrible Salt was mined from its banks, which enterprising merchants of Rus' subsequently sold not only to their compatriots, but also sent to the tables of European sovereigns.

The special pink color of the mineral, obtained from the “Dunaliella salina” algae that lived at the bottom, added to the product’s popularity, novelty and demand. At the end of the 19th century, salt mining was suspended, and travelers, doctors, and climatologists increasingly began to visit the region to study the properties of salt crystals and their effects on humans. Scientists assessed the advantages of brine solution and the unique antioxidant tendencies of dunaliella, which gave birth to a new line of production of cosmetics and dietary supplements.

From this time on, commercial development of the territory and its improvement for complete recreation begins. In 1910, the first resort opened, and in the post-war years it was formed a whole balneological complex. The map of the Caspian lowland near the lake is gradually overgrown with new settlements.

The healing power of salt waters and relaxation by the lake

Rebuilt modern buildings and rooms for spa treatments gradually replaced the spontaneous mud pits set up by savage tourists. Lake salts have become the “carrot” that attracts many people today, suffering from various ailments, among which:

• diseases of the musculoskeletal system,
• diseases of the genitourinary system,
• disorders of nervous origin,
• skin diseases,
• endocrine abnormalities.

In addition, therapeutic baths can strengthen the human immune system, improve metabolism, rejuvenate the body and simply create a good mood.

Available on site and your own mineral spring, located 3 kilometers from the healing mud. Its popularity among vacationers is very high. Still would! After all, the chemical composition of its water is similar to the famous healing brand “Essentuki-17”.

Holidays on Lake Elton in the Volgograd region will bring pleasure to even the most skeptical people. After all, this is the place where the healing power comes together with the recreational component of the area. Numerous parks, picturesque rivers, pink and white salt marshes, shallow lake waters, mysterious haze - this is not a complete list of the natural beauties of this region.

Elton and Baskunchak

Flora and fauna lovers will not be disappointed. Thus, the collection of birds nesting here exceeds 250 species, including various duck families, cranes, waders, and bustards. If you're lucky, you can bring home great photos and videos! And how much joy a horse ride through the surrounding steppes can bring, when the wind is in your face and adrenaline is playing in your veins!

You can come to Elton either on a one-day excursion or on your own for several days. Prices for accommodation, treatments and horse riding are moderate. After all, the resort area does not yet have the world fame of the Hungarian baths or the same Lake Baskunchak, located only 103 km in a straight line from Elton. And, although Elton and Baskunchak are approximately equivalent in terms of healing properties, they are completely different in terms of bathing quality. You can go ankle-deep into Elton, no more, so as not to risk drowning in its suctioning dense waters. In Baskunchak you can actually float on your back with a book in your hands, and also get pleasure from a cool novel.

Prices and tourist infrastructure

The cost of living in equipped sanatoriums in the Elton resort area will be from 1700 rubles per day per person. Rented housing in the private sector within a 7-kilometer strip from the lake can be found even at a lower price. This does not require the help of aggregator sites at all. Everything can be done upon arrival in the village. Local residents will be happy to show hospitality by offering an apartment or even a whole house for accommodation with a bicycle in addition - with it it is cheaper and more convenient to get to the healing brine.

The tourism infrastructure on Elton, as well as throughout the Volgograd region, has received a boost and is now developing every season. There are cozy hotel rooms, catering outlets of varying prices, equipped sports grounds, modern shops, beach equipment rental points, and a developed network of main and secondary roads for transport crossings. So it’s easy to get to your destination both from Volgograd and points in the region, as well as from Kamyshin, Saratov and Astrakhan by your own car or by minivan taxi. Travel time is about 6 hours.

In addition, through the village of Elton, located on the eastern shore of the lake, there are railway tracks and sidings. Traveling by train will be an interesting prelude to an excursion to the magical healing waters.

This is such a gorgeous point on the map of Russia! Soon the rest of the world will appreciate it.

I collected these photos from the Internet before leaving and studied the destination. Considering the climate this summer, and the fact that the temperature in the Elton region rose to +64 during the day in the sun, in the evening it was not less than +30, all that was left of the lake was salt, but it was also interesting. I'll post my own photos once I figure them out. 2 weeks in hell, but the ankle came back to life.

Lake Elton is a unique natural phenomenon, a real miracle, one of the most interesting natural sites in the Volgograd region, the pearl of the Volga steppe. A huge salt lake, comparable only to the Israeli Dead Sea, lies in the middle of the Pallas steppe.

Lake Elton is called Altan-Nor by the Tatars and Kalmyks, i.e. a bonanza from the purple-red color of its water (brine), cast in gold, which, according to the observations of Professor G.P. Fedchenko, it happens temporarily, usually in the afternoon, when the sun leans toward the west.

Several fresh springs and 8 rivers with bitter-salty water flow into the lake, of which the largest is Kharazakha, up to 40 versts in length (from the north-west), and small ones: two Smorogda (or rather Smarada), Solyanka, Ulan-Zakha, Chernavka and other. These rivers carry water into the lake throughout the year, but most of all in the spring.

The annual layers are separated from each other by layers of mud. In addition to table salt, brine contains other bitter salts, as a result of which the new plant has a pinkish tint and a bitter taste. When lying in the air, salt soon loses this last property. The hardness of individual layers of salt varies. As it goes deeper, it increases. The new sediment has the hardness of asphalt, but at a depth of half a fathom the salt layers acquire the hardness of stone.

The beginning of the development of salt at Altan-Nor dates back to the time when nomadic Kalmyks adopted Russian citizenship in 1665; from that time, with the establishment of barter trade between Russians and Kalmyks, the latter allowed the Russians to take salt from the lake. Over time, development intensified and in 1741, at the invitation of the Astrakhan governor Tatishchev, the English sea captain Elton, who was in Astrakhan, explored the lake for the first time; from then on it received the name Eltonsky.

Lake Elton appears to be the largest and richest of all known salt lakes in the world. The thickness of the salt layer has not yet been precisely determined; Research carried out during the construction of the Astrakhan railway has established that the depth of salt becomes greater as it moves away from the shore to the middle of the lake, where it, in any case, reaches several tens of fathoms.

With an area of ​​200 versts of the lake, the reserve of salt in it is determined to be several tens of billions of poods. The composition of Elton salt, as defined by Professor Fedchenko, is as follows:
sodium chloride ... 95.507%
magnesium…0.460%
magnesium sulfate ... 1.137%
lime... 1.428%
water…0.969%
In 1747, the extraction of salt on Elton by the treasury began and continued for 115 years until 1862. In 1866, salt extraction began by private entrepreneurs and continued for 17 years, until 1882. Salt was removed from the lake in a simple way, using crowbars, picks and shovels, and it was delivered to the shore on special boats - planks. With the transition of the fishery into private hands, its gradual decline is noticed. The short rise of the Elton salt industry in 1881 and 1882 was the last outbreak, ending in the complete closure of the industry and significant damage to the then entrepreneurs. In 1883, none of the areas where salt had been mined until then were no longer leased.

Lake Elton- This is a unique natural object, which is called the “Pearl of the Volga region” or the “Russian Dead Sea”. It is the largest of the European self-sedating salt lakes, which has unique healing properties. They were used by ancient nomads to save the sick.

Elton on the world map and Russia

This is a beautiful place in the Trans-Volga steppe with picturesque river deltas, shallow lakes, salt marshes, beaches and valleys.

History of origin

The name of the lake was apparently given to it by the color of the water. The original “Altyn-nur” in the Kazakh language sounds like “golden lake”, and in Mongolian it means “golden mine”, as the Tatars and Kalmyks call it.

The Elton reservoir received its name after the English sea captain and engineer John Elton conducted a study of it and put the lake on the world map.

The reservoir was quite popular already during the reign of Ivan the Terrible; at that time it was used for salt extraction. Due to its properties, high quality and unusual pinkish color, it was in great demand abroad.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna continued and strengthened this enterprise. Construction has begun on two salt tracts, which made it possible to supply mined salt throughout the country. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Emperor Alexander II suspended the development of salt mines at the state level.

But unscheduled salt extraction by private entrepreneurs continued for several more decades. Since the high healing properties of the water in the lake were already known at that time, in 1910 the organization of balneological resort.

Where is?

Many people do not even realize that such a miracle of nature exists in our country, and do not know in which part of it the lake is located. Lake Elton is located in the south of the European part of our country. This is the Caspian lowland (northern part), located in Pallasovsky district, Volgograd region. Near the lake (four kilometers) there is the border with the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Sanatorium Elton

Arriving at the lake, you can stay and undergo treatment in sanatorium "Elton", which is located six kilometers away. It houses a mud bath, where treatment is carried out only with fresh brine and mud brought from the lake.

But you can also take "wild baths", located in specially dug holes on the lake. For this purpose, special excursions are organized twice a day. The treatment is supplemented with mineral water, which is collected from the Smorogda sodium chloride-sulfate spring.

In terms of composition and healing properties, the water is not inferior to the famous Caucasian mineral waters.

The Elton sanatorium operates throughout the year. In its five buildings there are rooms designed for different incomes. There is also a clinic, two hotels and several cottage buildings located here. In addition to mud and brine, the following are used for healing:

1. Different kinds soul And massage;
2. Laser therapy;
3. Darsonvalization;
4. Physical therapy;
5. Inhalations;
6. Electrophoresis;
7. Franklinization;
8. Ultrasound.

Excursions

You can spend your free time in a restaurant, cafe or club, play tennis or billiards, visit the solarium, sauna or work out in the gym. There is a chapel on the territory of the sanatorium. By renting bicycles, you can get acquainted with the mysterious protected areas. Near the lake you can ride local short and flexible horses.

There are also various excursions with a historical, ethnographic and environmental focus. IN sanatorium museum You can see the collection of crutches and sticks left by people who were cured here of diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Elton is a village and lake in the Volgograd region. Not just a simple one, but the largest salted one in Europe! You've never seen so much salt. This is a huge bowl of golden-pink water, which is bordered by snow-white crystals.

People come here to improve their health at the sanatorium, and to look at the chamomile steppes in the local national park. The landscape here is amazingly beautiful and diverse: lakes, valleys, ravines, steppes and beaches.

How to get there

Elton is located in the Pallasovsky district near the border with Kazakhstan. To get here, you need to register at the border post, which is located in the center of the village.

It is best to get to Elton from Volgograd, Saratov or Kamyshin. The roads in this area are not the best, so you will have to spend a lot of time traveling. True, you can fly across the steppe - then you will save several hours.

A bus leaves from Volgograd to Elton a couple of times a day, which goes through Volzhsky to Pallasovka. If you want to get there by train, get off at Elton station.

Village infrastructure

The village has poorly developed infrastructure - it is a small settlement with a couple of shops, one cafe and one hotel. But there is a gas station here - the only one for 100 kilometers. So you can only replenish your gasoline supplies here.

Elton Hotels

Elton receives so many tourists every year that there would be enough of them for several such villages. They all need places to sleep. Therefore, the local hotel does not lack guests. Moreover, this is not just a hotel, but a whole sanatorium. You can stay for a few nights or choose a treatment course for 10-14 days. In this case, you will receive constant food, treatment and excursions.

Fans of “wild” recreation can stay on the shore of the Chapaevsky pond - this is the only fresh body of water in the area. You can set up a whole camp here, but you just need to agree in advance with the guards of the natural park. If you are a complete extreme sports enthusiast, you can put up a tent even in the steppe. You certainly won’t have to beg anyone there.

Weather in Elton

Treatment in Elton

Elton has been known for a hundred years as an excellent balneological resort. At the beginning of the 20th century, only wealthy people came here. The air is clean here, you can breathe easily and freely, your whole body feels a surge of strength and vigor.

Today, different segments of the population can afford treatment at Lake Elton. Fortunately, vouchers are inexpensive - on average, a course will cost from 30,000 RUB. Diseases of the joints, musculoskeletal system, skin, digestive organs, nervous and genitourinary systems, respiratory organs and many others are treated here. Prices on the page are as of November 2019.

The Elton sanatorium is open all year round. The main means of treatment are brine from the mineral lake, mud and water from the springs. Rapa is used for baths, and mud is used for applications. Only fresh material is used in treatment. Agree, it’s much more pleasant to sit for half an hour in fresh dirt than in yesterday’s dirt.

By the way, they say that previously there was a Museum of Abandoned Crutches at the sanatorium - they were forgotten by people who underwent treatment here. Over the course of several years, so many crutches accumulated that the museum had to be closed.

2 things to do in Elton

1. Burying in the mud - previously, patients on Elton were treated by burying in the mud. A person himself cannot go deep underground, so it’s worth asking your friends to push you deeper. After an hour, you can go to the surface and wash off in the lake.
2. See Gesner tulips - these flowers, blooming towards the end of April, are a symbol of the village and the lake. They are listed in the Red Book. It’s rare that anyone gets to see tulips bloom, because they can only be found in deserted places in the region.

Entertainment and attractions in Elton

The main attractions of Elton, in addition to the lake, are a national park and an ethnographic center.

Eltonsky National Natural Park

This park was created in the early 2000s to protect the nature and cultural monuments of Elton. Its main attractions are the lake and Mount Ulagan. Here you can find many unusual plants, some of which are protected.

The park has a beautiful landscape: everywhere you look there are steppes, feather grass and chamomile.

And in the park, in addition to the wonderful nature, there are many cultural and historical sites. For example, ancient burials that archaeologists periodically find. Or the remains of settlements of salt miners who worked on the lake in the 17th-19th centuries.

Ulagan

Ulagan is a mountain with a salt dome, located in Eltonsky Park. It consists of different layers, the oldest appeared in the Jurassic period.

Every year Ulagan grows by several millimeters due to the addition of salt. Walking along it, you can find various fossils, for example, ancient mollusks and vulture shells. From the top of the mountain there is a beautiful view of the lake and the national park.

Altyn-nur

One of the main attractions of the village of Elton is the ethnographic center “Altyn-nur”. This is a real find for historians and art critics. The center talks about the culture of two large nations - Russian and Kazakh. How they lived together and separately for many centuries, how they lived their lives and divided the lands.

In addition to excursions, the center offers camel riding and authentic Kazakh dishes. You definitely need to try them - when else will there be an opportunity to get to a neighboring country?