Altai mountains names. Altai mountains map with cities

Altai will certainly be of interest to many tourists. This is a truly unique beauty country, known for its majestic mountains, vast valleys and deep rivers. The Altai Mountains are a rather complex system of mountain ranges. For more than a hundred years, the Altai mountains have been attracting artists, scientists, climbers, photographers and simply those who like to relax in nature.

Mountains of gold

In 1998, the Altai Republic was included by UNESCO in the World Heritage List. In total, there are three objects in this list: Altai and Katunsky reserves, as well as the Ukok plateau. In a protected area exceeding 16,000 km 2, there are Teletskoye Lake and Belukha Mountain. Several Pazyryk burial grounds can also be found here.

All these places were not chosen by chance. It is here that you can find such rare animals as the Altai argali, snow leopard, and irbis. Unfortunately, despite the efforts made to protect this site, poaching continues to flourish here.

Mount Belukha

Mount Belukha is the highest point in Siberia. The height of this grandiose peak is 4506 meters above sea level. It is represented by two pointed pyramids of irregular shape, Eastern and Western Belukha. There is a small drop between the peaks called the Belukha Saddle.

For the first time, Professor Sapozhnikov managed to measure the height of Belukha. The barometer showed the following results: the height of the Eastern peak is 4542 meters, the Western one is 4437, and the saddle height is 4065 meters above sea level. The subsequent measurement of the mountain took place in 1935 by the climber D.I. Gushchin. He managed to climb to the top of Eastern Belukha and get very unexpected barometer results - 4630 meters.

It should be noted that the Belukha region is located in a zone of increased seismic activity, so small earthquakes are not uncommon here. As a result of this, avalanches are often observed, landslides occur, and the ice shell breaks. The Belukha territory is characterized by a tectonic uplift that continues to this day.

Belukha climate

Belukha's climate is rather harsh. The winters are long and cold and the summers are short and rainy. Depending on the altitude zoning, it varies, starting from the top of the mountain and up to the glacial climate. At the moment, instrumental observations are being carried out by two meteorological stations at once - Akkem and Karatyurek. Previously, another weather station, Katun, operated near the Gebler glacier. According to the research results, in summer time on the top of Belukha the weather is rather cold, reaching -20 0 С.

In the winter period of time, negative temperatures can reach 48 degrees. Temperature inversions are quite common here. The annual precipitation rate, according to weather station data, is 533 mm. In the nival-glacial zone of the mountain, hair dryers and mountain winds are widespread. At the moment, it is known about 169 glaciers located on the slopes and valleys of Belukha.

Rivers, vegetation and wildlife

Most of the rivers of the Altai mountains belong to the river basin. Katun, which originates on the southern slope of the Gebler glacier. The rivers Akkem, Kucherla, Idygem, Bukhtarma and others also flow here. Rivers that were born near glaciers belong to a special type of Altai rivers. The precipitation that falls here does not play a special role in the feeding of the rivers, in contrast to snow and melt water from glaciers.

Rivers in Altai are distinguished by their transience. Waterfalls are common - for example, the magnificent Rossypnaya waterfall, located on the right tributary of the Katun. In the valleys of Altai, there are numerous lakes that appeared in connection with the activity of ancient glaciers. The largest and most picturesque of them are Nizhnee Akkemskoe and Bolshoye Kucherlinskoe.

The fauna of the Altai Territory is truly unique. Very rare species of birds and animals can be found here. The greatest variety is presented by birds. Here you can often find ptarmigan, chough, alpine jackdaw. Much less often - the Siberian mountain finch and even quite exotic species, such as the juniper grosbeak. You can also see the golden eagle, large lentil and Altai snowcock - all these birds are listed in the Red Book.

The Altai mountains are characterized by variegated vegetation. The forests are mainly represented by dark coniferous species - Siberian spruce, fir, cedar. Deciduous species such as mountain ash, larch and birch are found everywhere here. Among the shrubs, the most popular are meadowsweet, caragana and honeysuckle. Lingonberry is more and more common with height.

There are many tourist routes and destinations in Altai; horseback riding and hiking are very popular. The beauty and diversity of the nature of mountain Altai will not leave anyone indifferent: quiet lakes and fast rivers, high mountains and mysterious caves - all this has attracted numerous tourists and travelers from all over the world for many decades.

Argamdzhi is a mountain peak located in Russia, in the southern part of the Altai Republic, in the southeast of the Ukok plateau, three kilometers from the border with the state of Mongolia.

The absolute height of the summit is 3.511 meters. The mountain is part of the Saylyugem mountain system. The Argamdzhi river, which belongs to the Ak-Alakhi basin, originates on its territory. The mountain offers a magnificent view of the peaks and glaciers of the Argamdzhi massif.

The slopes of the summit are covered with tundra. The nearest settlement is the village of Belyashi (Jazater). This territory belongs to the "Mongolian" border sector.

Mountains "Lamb's foreheads"

The Sheep Foreheads are two smooth-topped cliffs that have been polished by glacier activity. More than 20 years ago, the glacier passed over the rocks, joining its right arm and forming a common channel.

Currently, the glacier has retreated, and a waterfall has appeared between the mountains, carrying the waters of the melting glacier to Aktru.

Now this place is extremely popular among tourists who want to hike among the picturesque nature of Altai. "Lamb foreheads" are considered a difficult place for travelers, because there is a very steep ascent with gravel crumbling underfoot.

On the slope behind the "Lamb Foreheads" it is best to watch a very impressive spectacle - a solar eclipse.

Mount Anyytaiga

Anyytaiga is a mountain that belongs to the Karlygan ridge and is part of the Western Sayan mountain system. It is located on the territory of Russia, in the Tashtyp region of the Republic of Khakassia.

The height of the mountain peak reaches 2,834 meters above sea level. The rocky cliffs of the summit are pronounced, they are facing to the west, they lack all kinds of vegetation. On the western side, the slopes are covered with cedar and spruce-fir forests. Anyytaiga is the highest height of the Karlygan mountain range. Tectonic uplifts are still continuing here, and the relief is subject to the destructive effect of wind erosion.

General information

The relief of the Altai Mountains is diverse, here are distinguished: sections of ancient plains, alpine-type glacial high-mountainous relief, mountains of medium (1800-2000 meters) and low altitude (500-600 meters), deep hollows. The ridges are cut by numerous snow-fed rivers. Rough streams of water flow into the famous for their beauty lakes, lying in picturesque valleys. In the Altai mountains, the Biya and Katun rivers arise, which, merging, form the Ob, one of the deepest and most extended rivers in Russia.

The highest ridge of the Altai Mountains is the Katunsky. With its snowy slopes, sharp peaks, picturesque lakes and glaciers, this part of the Altai mountain system is similar to the Alps.

The Altai Mountains are famous for caves, of which there are more than 300, especially in the basin of the Katun, Anui and Charysh rivers. Gorny Altai is the land of waterfalls, the highest of which is the 60-meter high Tekelu, which flows into the Akkem River.

The weather in the Altai Mountains is unpredictable, so you should not rely on forecasts of weather forecasters. While in the mountains on a warm, clear day, you can witness the sudden birth of a cloud and visit its very thick.

The climate of the region is sharply continental with cold winters and warm summers. The weather in any particular location depends on its altitude and prevailing winds. In Gorny Altai, there is both the warmest place in Siberia and its pole of cold. The climate is formed under the influence of arctic masses, warm and humid winds of the Atlantic and hot air of Central Asia. Winter in the region lasts from 3 to 5 months, one of the coldest places is the Chui Valley, where the temperature drops to -32 °. It is much warmer in the southern regions of the Altai Mountains - for example, in the area of \u200b\u200bLake Teletskoye, winter pleases with a comfortable ten degrees of frost. In spring and autumn, cold snaps and frosts are frequent, continuing until mid-June in the highlands. The warmest month is July with an average temperature of +14 to + 16 °; in the highlands - from +5 to + 8 °, here the temperature drops by 0.6 ° with an increase in altitude for every 100 meters.

In summer, daylight hours in the region lasts 17 hours, which is more than in Yalta or Sochi.

Gorny Altai is famous for its rich flora and fauna. Almost all types of vegetation in Asia, Kazakhstan and the European part of Russia grow in a relatively small area of \u200b\u200bthe region. Taiga, steppe, mountain tundra and alpine meadows are located on Altai mountains of different heights.

Each natural zone is inhabited by animals adapted to certain environmental conditions. Some of them - bears, red deer, sable - wander from one area to another. Elk, musk deer, roe deer, ground squirrel, fox, wolverine, squirrel, ermine are also found in Gorny Altai. In the highlands, the rarest animal on Earth lives - the irbis (snow leopard), as well as the Siberian goat and the red wolf.

In the Altai Mountains, endemic species that live only here have formed: mountain turkey, tundra partridge, Altai sarych. Other birds of the region are gray goose, mallard duck, gray crane, snipe, eagle owl, nutcracker.

sights

Lake Teletskoye is a true gem in the Altai lakes placer. The purest waters, framed by mountains and age-old cedars, alpine meadows and magnificent waterfalls, remoteness from civilization are the sources of the charm of the famous lake.

Teletskoye lake

The Ukok Plateau is a protected natural area, a place of concentration of burial mounds of different chronological eras. Local residents believe that the plateau is the threshold of the firmament, “the end of everything,” a special sacred place that they trust the bodies of the dead. In many kurgans cooled by permafrost, perfectly preserved household items of great historical value were found. The unique nature of the plateau and the surrounding Altai Mountains inspired the artist Nicholas Roerich to create world-famous paintings. In the village of Verkhniy Uimon there is a house-museum of the painter, where you can see his paintings and purchase copies of them.

Ukok plateau

Chemal is a picturesque area of \u200b\u200bGorny Altai, where the Katun carries its waters past the rocky mountains mesmerizing with its inaccessibility.

The Katun River near the village of Chemal

Karakol lakes - 7 reservoirs of amazing beauty, stretching in a chain along the western slope of the Iolgo ridge. To admire the lakes at an altitude of 2000 meters, you will have to use horses or a specially equipped vehicle.

Karakol lakes

Lower Shavlinskoe Lake is surrounded by the Dream, Fairy Tale and Krasavitsa mountains in the vicinity of the Chibit village. Pagan idols are installed on the shore of the reservoir.

Lower Shavlinskoe lake

The discovery of the Denisova Cave, located in the valley of the Anui River, Soloneshsky District, became a notable event in world archeology. The remains of a man 42,000 years old were found in the cave. In addition, the oldest cultural layer inhabited by people who lived in the cave 282,000 years ago was discovered here. At the site of the ancient man's site, more than 80,000 various stone household items, iron products of the XIV century, bronze knives of later periods were found. The cave is accessible to anyone with any level of physical fitness. Before the eyes of a tourist who was not too lazy to get here, a unique so-called "puff cake" appears, consisting of more than 20 cultural layers formed in different eras of human existence.

Altai cave, one of the deepest and longest in Siberia and Altai, goes down 240 meters, and its length is 2540 meters. This natural landmark, protected as a geological natural monument, is located in the village of Cheremshanka in the Altai Territory. The Altai cave is actively visited by amateur tourists and professional speleologists.

Mount Belukha, part of the Katunsky ridge and revered by the locals as sacred, is the highest point in Siberia and Altai, towering 4509 meters above the picturesque valleys of the Ukok plateau. Belukha is located at an equidistant distance from the world's four oceans and is the geographical center of Eurasia. Many who have visited Belukha or near it admit that they felt the enlightenment of consciousness and the incredible energy of these places. A special atmosphere reigns here, setting you in a philosophical mood. And this is not self-hypnosis, many scientists argue that powerful bioenergetic fields do exist around the mountain. Buddhists believe that somewhere on the top of the mountain there is an entrance to the fabulous land of Shambhala, which only a select few can see. The sources of the main Altai river Katun originate in the Belukha glaciers.

Chapel of Archangel Michael at the foot of Mount Belukha

Chuisky tract is the Novosibirsk-Tashanta motorway, which ends at the borders of Mongolia. Having driven along it, you can get to know the Altai Mountains better and see all their diversity.

Chuisky tract

Other sights of the Altai Mountains, worthy of attention:

• Lake Aya;
• Multinskie lakes;
• Kucherlinsky lakes;
• Lake Manzherok;
• Rock paintings of primitive people in the Kalbak-Tash tract;
• Scythian burial mounds of Pazyryk;
• Mountain Altyn-Tu;
• Patmos Island on Chemal with the Church of St. John the Evangelist;
• Tsarsky Kurgan - burial over 2000 years old;
• Chulyshman river valley with numerous waterfalls.

This is only a small part of those natural and man-made wonders that the Altai mountains are rich in.

Why go

Adherents of sports tourism have known and have been visiting Gorny Altai for several decades. Altai mountain rivers are ideal for rafting on them. Cavers descend into mysterious caves, climbers storm mountain peaks, paragliders soar over picturesque landscapes, nature has prepared countless places of stunning beauty for hikers. Equestrian tourism is well developed in Altai, which makes it possible to visit the most inaccessible corners of the region, where you can see argali rams, lakes of unreal beauty, hear the inimitable and heartbreaking cries of marals during the rut.

Fishing in Gorny Altai traditionally attracts many tourists not only from neighboring regions, but also from the European part of Russia, as well as from abroad. The waters of local rivers are rich in valuable fish - grayling, taimen, whitefish, rainbow trout, burbot, pike and other species.

People go to Altai to get medical treatment and rest in one of the most ecologically clean places on Earth. The seismically active region is rich in healing thermal springs, the local radon waters are especially appreciated. Belokurikha is the most popular Altai balneological resort, famous for its unique microclimate, modern sanatorium and medical facilities and excellent opportunities for active recreation. Vacationers get an unforgettable pleasure walking along the terrenkur along the turbulent Belokurikha river, rushing through the forest gorge. At the service of tourists is a chair-lift that lifts the guests of the resort to Mount Tserkovka (height 815 meters), from the top of which a stunning view of the Altai expanses opens.

One of the visiting cards of the Altai Mountains is marals, on the treatment of antlers of which a whole medical industry is based. Antlers are young, non-ossified deer antlers, cut off only from males in June-July. Male individuals provide a unique medicinal product saturated with amino acids and microelements, a recognized elixir of health and longevity. To obtain valuable raw materials, reindeer are bred in captivity - the animals live on the vast territory of the maral, where they are protected from predators and poachers. Only once a year are red deer disturbed in order to cut off their horns. On the basis of many maralniks, medical bases have been created, where vacationers strengthen their health among the mountains and forests, enjoying peace and quiet in the bosom of Altai nature.

In winter, the Altai ski resorts - Manzherok, Belokurikha, Turquoise Katun, Seminsky pass - await visitors.

Recently, the tourist infrastructure in the mountainous regions of Altai has been rapidly developing: modern hotels and recreation centers are being built, new excursion routes are being developed, new roads are being laid and old ones are being improved. The number of agencies offering various tours to Altai has grown significantly.

Information for tourists

It is not difficult to find suitable accommodation in the tourist zones of the Altai Mountains - there are tourist centers of different levels of comfort, hotels and boarding houses everywhere. Many locals offer private accommodation for a very reasonable fee.

Communication in Gorny Altai is available in all major tourist destinations. It will not be superfluous to have with you SIM cards of two or three operators, tk. in some zones, communication is better with Beeline, and in others - with Megafon.

Going to Altai even at the height of summer, be sure to stock up on warm clothes - in mountainous areas the night temperature can drop to + 5 °.

Popular souvenirs from Gorny Altai are honey, antlers, pine nuts, teas from alpine herbs, original wooden products of local residents, amulets, national musical instruments and household items.

In places that are sacred to the Altaians, one should not indulge in fun, shout and litter. Do not indulge your vanity - do not leave the ugly inscriptions "There was ..." on the man-made and natural sights of Altai. Local residents expect from tourists a respectful attitude towards their land, ancestors and fauna.

How to get there

The most convenient way to get to Altai from Novosibirsk is by train or bus to Barnaul or Biysk. There are several daily flights from these cities to Gorno-Altaysk and other settlements in the region. If you are traveling by car, then from Novosibirsk you should go along the M-52 highway (Chuisky tract).

Altai, view of the Belukha massif

: 48 ° 45 ′ N sh. 89 ° 36 ′ east etc. /  48.750 ° N sh. 89.600 ° E etc. / 48.750; 89.600 (G) (I)

CountryRussia, Russia
PRC PRC

Square741,569 km² Length1847 km Width1282 km Highest peakBelukha Highest point4509 m

Etymology

Name Altai ancient, hypotheses about its origin are different. According to one of them, the name is formed by the Mongolian colloquial word "Altai", which means "a mountainous country with alpine meadows; nomadic camps in the high mountains ”. But it is also likely that this term is secondary, that is, on the contrary, it comes from the name of the mountains. According to G. Ramstedt, the name Altai comes from the Mongolian word alt - "gold" and pronominal formant -ty, that is, from the word Altay - "gold-bearing", "a place where there is gold." This version is confirmed by the fact that the Chinese used to call Altai "Jinshan" - "golden mountains", obviously, this is a tracing paper from Mongolian. There is also an explanation of the origin from the Turkic alatau - "motley mountains", which is associated with the color of the Altai highlands, where there are areas with white snow, black stony placers and green vegetation nearby. Radlov put forward a hypothesis about the origin from Turkic words al - "tall", thai - "mountain", which is rejected by modern data.

Geological structure

Geologists believe that the mountains were formed in the Caledonian era, but experienced a secondary uplift during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.

According to the modern concept of tectonics of lithospheric plates, the beginning of the formation of the Altai mountain-fold system could be associated with the collision of oceanic islands and uplifts (Kuraiskoye, Bisko-Katunskoye) with tectonic blocks of the paleo-island arc (Uymensko-Lebedskaya, Gorno-Shorsky, Teletsky, Chulyshmansky). In the Cambrian, Gorny Altai blocks were a mature island arc system. Since the Middle Cambrian, collisions of the Gorno-Altai block with the adjacent structures of the Salair, Kuznetsk Alatau, and Western Sayan could have occurred, accompanied by intense shear deformations. In the areas of the eastern part of Gorny Altai, these deformation events are expressed by interruptions in sedimentation and volcanism, as well as local manifestations of adakite, subalkaline granitoid and syenite intrusive magmatism. The sea still existed in the southwest at this time. In the Caledonian epoch (Late Cambrian - Ordovician), the structure containing Gorny Altai was attached to Siberia, but this deformation stage was practically not reflected in the geology of the region, except for an interruption in sedimentation and a widespread cessation of volcanism. In the Ordovician and Early Silurian, the region was flooded with a shallow basin. Apparently, an opening of the oceanic basin to the west of Gorny Altai took place. In the Hercynian time (Devonian-Permian), the ocean located to the south and west of Gorny Altai began to close. In Gorny Altai, the process was accompanied by the formation of subduction zones, intense volcanism, similar to the modern Andean active continental margin. Since the Late Devonian, there have been numerous accretion-collisional events: the attachment of the island-arc blocks of the Rudny Altai, the oblique collision of the Altai-Mongolian microcontinent, and the repeated collision with the Kazakhstan composite terrane. In the Mesozoic era, the Altai mountains were gradually destroyed under the influence of the sun, wind and other natural forces; nevertheless, the manifestations of Jurassic intraplate magmatism and associated deposits are known in the region. Over millions of years, the former mountainous country has turned into a plain with elevated areas. In the Cenozoic era, tectonic processes of alpine mountain building reappear in Altai, which formed the modern relief.

Altai mountain building continues at the present time: evidence of this is the earthquake of 2003 and the tremors continuing after it.

Relief

In Altai, three main types of relief are distinguished: the surface of the residual ancient peneplain, the alpine glacial high-mountainous relief and the mid-mountain relief.

The ancient peneplain is a high mountain massif with a wide development of flattening surfaces and steep, stepped slopes changed by regressive erosion. Separate peaks and small ridges, composed of harder rocks with relative elevations of 200-400 m rise above the alignment surfaces. The remnants of the peneplain with heights of more than 2000 m have been modified by the activity of ancient glaciers - they are indented by carats, abound with moraine hills and lake basins.

The leveled surfaces of the ancient peneplain occupy about 1/3 of the entire territory of Altai. These are mainly the southern and southeastern regions of the mountainous region - the Ukok plateau, the Chulyshman plateau, the Ulagan plateau. There are peneplain areas in the middle mountains (Korgonsky, Tigiretsky, Terektinsky ridges, etc.) and in the low mountains.

Alpine relief in Altai rises above the surface of the ancient peneplain and occupies the higher parts of the Katunsky, Chuisky, Kuraisky, Saylyugem, Chikhachev, Shapshalsky, Southern Altai, Sarymsakty ridges. Alpine relief is less common than the surface of the ancient peneplain. Alpine ridges are the most elevated axial parts (up to 4000-4500 m), strongly dissected by erosion and frost weathering. The main landforms here are peaked peaks and carlings, kars, trough valleys with lake depressions, moraine hills and ridges, landslides, talus, frost-solifluction formations. The general regularity of the high-mountainous alpine relief in Altai is the alignment of interfluves and a decrease in the depth of the valleys with distance from the axial parts of the ridges to their periphery.

The mid-mountain relief has heights from 800 to 1800-2000 m and occupies more than half of the Altai territory. The upper limit of the distribution of the mid-mountainous relief is limited by the plane of the ancient peneplain, but this border is not sharp. The relief here is characterized by smooth, rounded shapes of low ridges and their spurs, separated by river valleys. The extensive, dense hydrographic network contributed to the strong erosional dissection of the middle mountains. The depth of the river valleys reaches 300-800 m. The mid-mountain erosional relief is distributed mainly in the northern, north-western and western parts of Altai. In the range of heights from 1000 to 2000 m, it is characterized by massive rocky ridges, with a predominance of steep slopes and narrow V-shaped or terraced valleys (Katun, Biya). In the range of heights of 500-1200 m, the upper parts of the slopes of the ridges are softer, leveled. The valleys are wider with well-developed floodplains and meandering channels.

The plain relief in Altai also stands out, which covers the peripheral part of the mountainous region and occupies the space between the foothill plains and the middle mountains. The absolute heights range from 400 to 800 m, and in some peaks they reach 1000 m. The relief of the low mountains is characterized by flattened or domed interfluves and gentle deluvial slopes. In the vicinity of large valleys and the northern "face" of Altai, the dissection of the low-mountainous relief is especially fractional. In some places it looks like a rocky "badland" - hummocks.

A characteristic feature of the Altai relief is the wide distribution of intramontane basins of different heights. They occupy latitudinal graben valleys and belong to areas of tectonic subsidence. These are Chuyskaya, Kuraiskaya, Dzhulukulskaya, Bertekskaya, Samokhinskaya, Uimonskaya, Abay, Kanskaya intramontane basins. Some of them are located at a significant height and therefore were exposed to the action of ancient glaciers that formed the relief of their bottoms, others are at low (medium-altitude) levels and were more exposed to accumulative activity, being the receptacles of ancient lake basins.

The Russian Altai is divided into Southern Altai (Southwest), Southeast Altai and Eastern Altai, Central Altai, Northern and Northeastern Altai, and Northwestern Altai.

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Sources of

• Altai Mountains // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov... - 3rd ed. - M. : Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. (Retrieved October 30, 2009)
• in the book: N. A. Gvozdetsky, N. I. Mikhailov. Physical geography of the USSR. M., 1978.
• on the site

Literature

• Murzaev E. M. Dictionary of folk geographic terms. 1st ed. - M., Thought, 1984.
• Murzaev E. M. Turkic place names. - M., Vost. lit., 1996.
• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

Links

Mountain systems of Asia

An excerpt characterizing the Altai Mountains

“I’m very glad that you came,” Princess Marya began, without looking up and feeling how quickly and strongly her heart was beating. - Dronushka told me that the war ruined you. This is our common grief, and I will spare nothing to help you. I myself am going, because it is already dangerous here and the enemy is close ... because ... I give you everything, my friends, and I ask you to take everything, all our bread, so that you have no need. And if you were told that I am giving you bread so that you stay here, then that is not true. On the contrary, I ask you to leave with all your property to our Moscow region, and there I take it upon myself and promise you that you will not need it. You will be given both houses and bread. The princess stopped. There were only sighs in the crowd.
“I’m not doing this on my own,” the princess continued, “I’m doing it in the name of my late father, who was a good master for you, and for my brother and his son.
She stopped again. No one broke her silence.
- Our common grief, and we will divide everything in half. All that is mine is yours, ”she said, looking around the faces in front of her.
All eyes looked at her with the same expression, the meaning of which she could not understand. Whether it was curiosity, devotion, gratitude, or fear and disbelief, the expression on all faces was the same.
“Many are satisfied with your grace, only we don't have to take the master's bread,” said a voice from behind.
- But why? - said the princess.
No one answered, and Princess Marya, looking around the crowd, noticed that now all the eyes with which she met immediately dropped.
- Why don't you want? She asked again.
Nobody answered.
Princess Marya felt heavy from this silence; she tried to catch someone's gaze.
- Why don't you speak? - turned the princess to the old man, who, leaning on a stick, stood in front of her. - Tell me if you think you need anything else. I'll do anything, ”she said, catching his gaze. But he, as if angry for this, lowered his head completely and said:
- Why agree, we do not need bread.
- Well, shall we give it all up? Do not agree. Disagree ... We do not agree. We pity you, but our consent is not. Go on your own, alone ... - was heard in the crowd from different directions. And again the same expression appeared on all the faces of this crowd, and now it was probably no longer an expression of curiosity and gratitude, but an expression of embittered determination.
“You don’t understand, you’re right,” Princess Marya said with a sad smile. - Why don't you want to go? I promise to lodge you, feed you. And here the enemy will ruin you ...
But her voice was drowned out by the voices of the crowd.
- There is no our consent, let it ruin! We do not take your bread, there is no consent of ours!
Princess Marya tried to catch again someone's glance from the crowd, but not a single glance was fixed on her; the eyes were obviously avoiding her. She felt strange and embarrassed.
- See, she taught deftly, follow her to the fortress! Bust your houses and go into bondage. How! I’ll give the bread, they say! - heard voices in the crowd.
Princess Marya, bowing her head, left the circle and went into the house. After repeating to Drona the order that there were horses tomorrow for departure, she went to her room and was left alone with her thoughts.

For a long time that night, Princess Marya sat by the open window in her room, listening to the sounds of the peasants' dialect coming from the village, but she did not think about them. She felt that no matter how much she thought about them, she could not understand them. She thought all about one thing - about her grief, which now, after a break, produced by worries about the present, had already become past for her. She could now remember, she could cry and she could pray. As the sun went down, the wind died down. The night was calm and crisp. At twelve o'clock the voices began to subside, a rooster crowed, the full moon began to emerge from behind the lindens, a fresh, white mist of dew rose, and silence reigned over the village and over the house.
One after another, she saw pictures of a close past - illness and the last moments of her father. And with sad joy she now dwelt on these images, driving away from herself with horror only one last representation of his death, which - she felt - she was unable to contemplate even in her imagination at this quiet and mysterious hour of the night. And these pictures appeared to her with such clarity and with such details that they seemed to her now reality, now past, now future.
Then she vividly imagined the moment when he received a blow and was dragged from the garden in the Bald Mountains under the arms and he muttered something with his impotent tongue, twitched his gray eyebrows and looked at her uneasily and timidly.
“Even then he wanted to tell me what he told me on the day of his death,” she thought. "He always thought what he told me." And so she remembered with all the details that night in Bald Hills on the eve of the blow that struck him, when Princess Marya, anticipating trouble, remained with him against his will. She did not sleep, and at night she tiptoed downstairs and, going up to the door to the flower room in which her father slept that night, she listened to his voice. He said something to Tikhon in an exhausted, tired voice. He evidently wanted to talk. “And why didn't he call me? Why didn't he let me be here in Tikhon's place? - thought then and now Princess Marya. - He will never tell anyone now all that was in his soul. This minute will never return for him and for me, when he would say everything that he wanted to express, and I, and not Tikhon, would listen and understand him. Why didn't I enter the room then? She thought. “Maybe he would then have told me what he said on the day of his death. Even then, in a conversation with Tikhon, he asked twice about me. He wanted to see me, and I was standing there, outside the door. He was sad, hard to talk to Tikhon, who did not understand him. I remember how he started talking to him about Liza as alive - he forgot that she was dead, and Tikhon reminded him that she was no longer there, and he shouted: "Fool." It was hard for him. I heard from behind the door how he, groaning, lay down on the bed and shouted loudly: "My God! Why didn't I come up then?" What would he do to me? What would I have lost? Or maybe then he would have consoled himself, he would have said this word to me. " And Princess Marya spoke out loud that kind word that he had spoken to her on the day of his death. “Du she n ka! - Princess Marya repeated this word and sobbed with tears relieving her soul. She now saw his face before her. And not the face that she knew from the time she remembered herself, and which she always saw from afar; and that face - timid and weak, which on the last day, bending down to his mouth to hear what he was saying, for the first time examined it up close with all its wrinkles and details.
"Darling," she repeated.
“What was he thinking when he said that word? What is he thinking now? - suddenly a question came to her, and in response to this she saw him in front of her with the expression on his face that he had in the coffin on his face tied with a white kerchief. And the horror that gripped her when she touched him and made sure that it was not only not him, but something mysterious and repulsive, seized her now. She wanted to think about something else, wanted to pray and could do nothing. She gazed at the moonlight and shadows with large open eyes, waited every second to see his dead face and felt that the silence that stood over the house and in the house was shackling her.
- Dunyasha! She whispered. - Dunyasha! - She cried out in a wild voice and, breaking free from the silence, ran to the girl's, towards the nanny and girls running towards her.

On August 17, Rostov and Ilyin, accompanied by Lavrushka and the messenger hussar, who had just returned from captivity, from their camp at Yankovo, fifteen miles from Bogucharov, went for a ride - to try a new horse bought by Ilyin and find out if there was any hay in the villages.
Bogucharovo was the last three days between the two enemy armies, so the Russian rearguard could just as easily enter there as the French vanguard, and therefore Rostov, as a caring squadron commander, wanted before the French to use the provisions that remained in Bogucharovo.
Rostov and Ilyin were in the most cheerful frame of mind. On their way to Bogucharovo, to the prince's estate with an estate, where they hoped to find a large courtyard and pretty girls, they sometimes asked Lavrushka about Napoleon and laughed at his stories, then they drove off, trying Ilyin's horse.
Rostov neither knew nor thought that this village to which he was traveling was the estate of that very Bolkonsky, who was his sister's fiancé.
Rostov and Ilyin were released for the last time to drive the horses into a drag in front of Bogucharov, and Rostov, who overtook Ilyin, was the first to jump into the street of the village of Bogucharov.
“You took it ahead,” said Ilyin, flushed.
- Yes, everything forward, and ahead in the meadow, and here, - answered Rostov, stroking his soaked bottom with his hand.
“And I’m in French, your Excellency,” Lavrushka said from behind, calling his harness nag French, “I would have surpassed it, but I just didn’t want to shame.
They walked up to the barn, which was surrounded by a large crowd of peasants.
Some of the men took off their hats, some, without taking off their hats, looked at those who had arrived. Two old long peasants, with wrinkled faces and sparse beards, came out of the tavern and with smiles, swaying and singing some awkward song, approached the officers.
- Well done! - said Rostov, laughing. - What, there is hay?
- And what are the same ... - said Ilyin.
- Weigh ... oo ... ooo ... barking dese ... dese ... - the men sang with happy smiles.
One man left the crowd and went up to Rostov.
- What will you be from? - he asked.
- The French, - answered, laughing, Ilyin. “Here is Napoleon himself,” he said, pointing to Lavrushka.
- So you will be Russians? - asked the man.
- How much of your strength is there? - Asked another small man, coming up to them.
“Many, many,” answered Rostov. - Why are you gathered here? He added. - A holiday, eh?
- The old men gathered for worldly business, - answered the peasant, moving away from him.
At that time, two women and a man in a white hat appeared on the road from the manor house, walking towards the officers.
- In my pink, mind you not beating! - said Ilyin, noticing Dunyasha decisively moving towards him.
- Ours will be! - Lavrushka said to Ilyin with a wink.
- What, my beauty, do you need? - said Ilyin, smiling.
- The princess was ordered to find out what regiment you are and your surnames?
- This is Count Rostov, squadron commander, and I am your humble servant.
- Be ... se ... e ... du ... shka! - the drunk man chanted, smiling happily and looking at Ilyin, talking with the girl. Alpatych followed Dunyasha up to Rostov, taking off his hat from a distance.
“I dare to disturb you, your honor,” he said with respect, but with relative disdain for the officer’s youth, and clasped his hand in his bosom. - My mistress, the daughter of the general in chief of Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky, who died on the fifteenth of this day, being in difficulty due to the ignorance of these persons, - he pointed to the men, - he asks you to welcome ... would you please, - Alpatych said with a sad smile, - drive off a little, but it’s not so convenient when ... - Alpatych pointed to two men who were running around behind him like horseflies near a horse.
- Ah! .. Alpatych ... Huh? Yakov Alpatych! .. Important! forgive for Christ's sake. Important! Huh? .. - said the men, smiling happily at him. Rostov looked at the drunken old men and smiled.
- Or, perhaps, this is consoling your Excellency? - said Yakov Alpatych with a sedate air, pointing out the old people with his hand not tucked in his bosom.
"No, there is little consolation here," said Rostov and drove off. - What's the matter? - he asked.
- I dare to report to your Excellency that the rude local people do not want to release the mistress from the estate and threaten to reject the horses, so that in the morning everything is packed and her Excellency cannot leave.
- Can not be! - Rostov cried out.
- I have the honor to report to you the real truth, - repeated Alpatych.
Rostov dismounted from his horse and, handing it over to the messenger, went with Alpatych to the house, asking him about the details of the case. Indeed, yesterday's offer of the princess to the peasants of bread, her explanation with Dron and with the gathering spoiled the matter so much that Dron finally handed over the keys, joined the peasants and did not appear at the request of Alpatych, and that in the morning, when the princess ordered to lay in order to go, the peasants came out in a large crowd to the barn and sent to say that they would not let the princess out of the village, that there was an order not to be taken out, and they would unharness the horses. Alpatych went out to them, advising them, but they answered him (Karp spoke most of all; Dron did not appear from the crowd) that the princess could not be released, that there was an order for that; and that let the princess stay, and they will serve her in the old way and obey her in everything.

Mount Belukha is a symbol of Altai, a transboundary object at the junction of the borders of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. This is the highest mountain in Altai and Siberia (4506 m.), Its slopes are covered with eternal snow and glaciers. This is the realm of snow, ice, rumbling avalanches and sparkling waterfalls. Since time immemorial, it has attracted tourists from all over the world like a magnet.

Excerpts from the photo diary of a trip to Belukha ...

1. We pass the last 50 km to the destination of our trip on foot, otherwise it is impossible to get there (except by helicopter). We carefully cross the bridge over the Belaya Berel river, built in 1938.

The river originates a little higher from the Berel glaciers at the foot of the Belukha mountain, flowing out of the ice grotto. It got its name from the milky white color of the water of dissolved minerals.

2. The bridge over the Belaya Berel river is a rather complex engineering structure that has been in service for over 75 years. It was built of larch and hammered with forged nails.

3. Approaching the Lower Camp (at the foot of Belukha), the first thing you hear is the noise of the Kokkol waterfall, the largest in Altai. At the confluence with Belaya Berel, the bed of the Bolshaya Kokkol River approaches a sharp ledge about 80 meters high with a steepness of 60-70 degrees. From here, a water stream over 10 meters wide rushes down from the wall of the Berel spur with a deafening roar, heard far away.

On the ridge and rocks of the left and right sides it does not fall down, but flows down in narrow, swift 'snakes'. When dropped from a great height, fine water dust is formed, ionizing the air in the valley. On sunny days, rising above the waterfall, it is painted with all the colors of the rainbow. A powerful waterfall, a picturesque gorge overgrown with a beautiful cedar and spruce forest, give extraordinary beauty and charm to this corner of Altai nature.

4. Majestically beautiful, impregnable two-headed queen of the Altai mountains Belukha, represented by two peaks in the form of irregular pyramids - Eastern (4506 m) and Western Belukha (4435 m).

5. Eastern Belukha (4506 m).

6. Western Belukha (4435 m). The depression between the peaks, called the 'Belukha Saddle' (4000 m), also drops abruptly to the north to the Akkem glacier (the so-called Akkem wall) and descends more gently to the south to the Katun river.

7. 'Saddle of Belukha' (4000 m). "Dwelling of the gods", "Great old man" - this is how the Altaians call the town of Belukha. And according to N.K. Roerich is a mountain about which even deserts whisper. Travelers who have contemplated the majesty of the sparkling two-headed peak speak of its unearthly beauty, the amazing change of colors at sunset, the stunning closeness of the sky, the lively twinkling of the stars. Belukha glaciers are the source of the Belaya Berel and Katun rivers. The name comes from the abundant snow covering Belukha from the top to the very bottom.

8. The Belukha region is located on the border of 7-8-point seismic activity zones. Micro-earthquakes are very frequent here. Their consequences are breaking of the ice shell, avalanches and landslides. Faults, cracks and thrusts of rocks testify to the tectonic instability of the Belukha territory.

9. The climate of the Belukha region is severe with long cold winters and short summers with rains and snowfalls. In winter, negative air temperatures are observed in January to -48C and remain low even in March to -5C. In summer, at the top of Belukha, frosts down to -20C are not rare.

On the slopes of the Belukha massif and in the valleys, 169 glaciers are known, with a total area of \u200b\u200b150 square kilometers. In terms of the number of glaciers and glaciation, Belukha takes the first place on the Katunsky ridge. 6 large glaciers are concentrated here, among them the Sapozhnikov glacier - one of the largest in Altai - 10.5 km long, with an area of \u200b\u200b13.2 km square, as well as the Big and Small Berel glaciers, 10 and 8 km long and an area of \u200b\u200b12.5 and 8.9 km sq. respectively.

The speed of ice movement is not the same and on average ranges from 30 to 50 m per year. The accumulation of snow on steep slopes leads to avalanches. Belukha is one of the most intense avalanche-prone regions of Altai.

10. The rivers Katun, Kucherla, Akkem, Idygem begin here. The Belaya Berel river drains the southeastern slope and belongs to the Bukhtarma river basin. Water streams born near the Belukha glaciers form a special Altai type of rivers. Melted waters of glaciers and snows take part in the feeding of rivers; rainfall is of little importance. Rivers are fleeting, often forming waterfalls. The lakes in the area of \u200b\u200bMount Belukha lie in deep pits and trough valleys.

Here you can meet rare birds: Himalayan Accentor, Siberian Mountain Finch.

11. Himalayan Accentor.

12. Siberian mountain finch.

13. From the Lower Camp at the foot of Belukha, one can clearly see the peaks Vera 2591 m, Nadezhda 2709 m, Lyubov 3039 m, in the bowl of which at an altitude of 2400 m there is Lake Equilibrium, formed by melting glaciers. The purest glacial water, everything is visible to the very bottom (3-4 m). It is interesting to take a photo of Belukha from there in the early morning, when it is reflected in the mirror of the lake.

Beluga whale is reflected in Lake Equilibrium:

14. From the lake (through a telephoto lens) the grotto is clearly visible, from which the Belaya Berel River flows out. It originates from glaciers (Big and Small Berelsky). then goes under the icy tongue and then flows out of the grotto. The ice is covered with crumbling rubble, which is dangerous to walk on - gaps, voids.

15. View of the Katunsky ridge (the Kazakh-Russian border passes along it), Belukha 4509 m, Delone peak 3869 m, Urusvati city, 3543 m.

16. Mount Urusvati, 3543 m. (Skt. "Light of the Morning Star").

17. Upper Camp. It is located about 10 km from the Lower Camp (at the foot of the Belukha mountain) with an elevation difference of more than 800 m (we go up the mountain). At about 2,600 m, there is already snow, and an almost clear border between green and white is visible.

18. Upper Camp (Kokkol Mine). Its history goes back to the 30s of the last century. This is a unique mining monument, founded in 1938 on the Kokkol pass, at an altitude of about 3000 m above sea level. In the upper reaches of the Kokkol River in the ridge part, he discovered fragments of quartz with wolframite phenocrysts. In 1937, a prospecting party was sent here, which easily discovered a series of parallel, close, low-power, steeply dipping (75-85) quartz veins with commercial contents of wolframite and molybdenite.

19. In 1938, manual ore mining began. At the mine itself on the pass (Upper Camp or Kokkol Mine) barracks, an office, an explosives warehouse, a forge, and a processing plant were built. 9 km to the west, near the Kokkol waterfall, in the forest zone, the Lower Camp was built: a horse yard, an office. The adits were passed along the ore veins. Here, ore sorting was done manually. When the processing plant was built, they began to receive a higher ore concentrate, which was brought by horse to the village of Berel. The mine operated until 1954.

Mine Valley:

20. The Upper Camp of the Kokkol mine is excellently preserved. Thanks to the cold, arid climate, all buildings and equipment: the locomotive, the diesel engine, the processing plant are in satisfactory condition and represent a wonderful open-air museum. Unique is the wonderfully preserved beneficiation plant, many of which are made from durable woods. There are also ore carts (endovka), the remains of a Ford car. There are only two houses left of the Lower Camp today.

21. Komsomol members, civilians or prisoners of the Gulag worked there, testimonies, sources and links on the Internet were divided almost equally. On my own behalf, I would add that I was holding in my hands an old map of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, where it was marked "Upper Camp of the GULAG". Later army maps (1964, 1985-87 and 2003) already read "Kokkol mine (uninhabited)".

22. Kokkol Valley.

23. Aquilegia.

24. "Warm Lake" at the foot of Belukha. Formed by the waters of melting glaciers.

25. Morning in the valley of the Belaya Berel river.