Dead Lake Baskunchak

Lake Baskunchak is a salt lake located on the territory of the Bogdinsko-Baskunchaksky Reserve. At its core, this lake is a depression on the top of the Big Bogdo salt mountain, which goes thousands of meters underground and is covered by a layer of sedimentary rocks. Every year the mountain gets higher. The fact is that inside it there is a salt dome, which increases by about 1 mm per year. And the lake is fed by springs gushing out of the ground. They also saturate the lake with salts. They bring more than 2.5 tons of salt per day. By the way, the degree of salinity of Baskunchak is 300%.

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1. In 1884, a railway was laid from Baskunchak to Vladimirovskaya pier on the Volga. Since that time, the industrial production of salt began. And for the first time Lake Baskunchak was officially mentioned in the XVIII century in the "Book of the Big Drawing".

2. In the 20s of the last century, manual breaking of rock salt was replaced by a mechanical one, for which a special harvester - "salt pump" was designed. It works simply: a cutter-ripper destroys the surface of the salt layer and drives salt porridge - brine - through pipes to the warehouse. Removing more than a meter of the surface of the salt layer, the fishery depletes it. One can ask a reasonable question: why hasn't the reservoir disappeared over the years? The answer is simple: rock salt, oddly enough, is plastic. Like ice, it "flows" under the weight of the earth. Salt flows into the Baskunchak depression from the powerful salt domes adjacent to it. Therefore, the industry can exist indefinitely, allowing not to resort to the construction of mines for underground mining.

3. The Soviet "salt pump" by our time has been replaced by four generations of modern salt mining combines. Highly mechanized production operates from spring to autumn, and in winter, complex equipment that constantly works in an aggressive environment is repaired and prepared for the new season.

4. The share of salt production on Lake Baskunchak is up to 80% of all salt production in Russia today. For the export of salt, the Baskunchak railway was built, part of the tracks of which are now abandoned. All tracks are electrified.

5. From 1960 to 1963, a 20-kilometer ring track was organized on Lake Baskunchak to set All-Union speed records. During the races on Lake Baskunchak, 29 all-Union speed records were set (19 of them surpassed international ones), including an absolute all-Union record of 311.4 km/h. But due to the increase in salt production and the subsequent deterioration of the hydrogeological situation, the surface of the lake became unsuitable for record races, and domestic racers lost a unique place for competitions, which was not much inferior to the legendary track on Lake Bonneville.

6. In addition to the salt solution, there are deposits of therapeutic mud on the coast of Lake Baskunchak.

7. The blackest is especially valued, which contributes to the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system and skin diseases.

8. Dirt can be found everywhere here. One has only to dig salt at the pillar, as a dark slurry comes to the surface with seething.

9. On the beach you can find garbage left by tourists - for example, slippers and bottles. Everything that enters the lake is overgrown with a thick layer of salt.

10. At first glance, it may seem that it is snow or even ice, but in fact it is salt.

11. Anyone can visit the lake - it is located 50 kilometers from the city of Akhtubinsk. In the parking lot by the lake, you will be met by a lot of annoying teenagers who, upon seeing a tourist, immediately offer him the services of guides. The cost of parking is 50 rubles per car.

12. They also offer transportation to the beach - an original motorcycle with a bench for passengers.

13. Although travel is officially prohibited, from time to time you can see cars with Moscow numbers on the territory. When moving to the lake across the steppe, you need to watch out for herds of horses that run out into the road with the whole herd quite unexpectedly.