The sad story of a shartash. Ekaterinburg, Lake Shartash. Rest on Lake Shartash

One of the favorite vacation spots for residents of Yekaterinburg is Lake Shartash, located on the northeastern outskirts. It covers an area of ​​7.4 sq. km., has a slightly elongated shape with a slightly indented coastline. Currently, Lake Shartash is drainless; you can catch crucian carp, ruffe, chebak and perch in it. Nearby is the swampy lake Maly Shartash (the approaches to it are very difficult). Lake Shartash has interesting story. Its age is determined to be 1 million years. Since the late Neolithic era, people settled along the shores of the lake, as a result archaeological excavations Neolithic and Bronze Age sites were found at Cape Runduk and on the eastern shore, in the Krasnaya Gorka tract. In 1662, the Old Believer village of Shartash was built on the northern coast of the island, which became one of the organizational centers of the Old Believers. In 1745, the Berezovskoye gold deposit was discovered in the vicinity of Lake Shartash. For the purpose of exploration and gold mining, in 1756, the Alexander Ditch was dug from the Alexander Pond in the upper reaches of the Berezovka River to the northeastern part of the lake. Over time, the ditch silted up and began to overgrow, now all that remains is the area from Lake Shartash to Fabrichnaya Street. By the 1820s, the Berezovsky mines began to be flooded with groundwater. To divert them, it was decided to drain Lake Shartash into Pyshma; for this, an underground adit and a Humboldt ditch were built from the center of the lake to the northern shore, through which water began to drain from the lake to Pyshma. As a result, the surface of the lake decreased by 16 times, and the mountainous Cape Runduk opened on the western shore. After 1.5 years, the underground adit was silted, and further drainage of Shartash stopped. Gradually, the volume of water in the lake was replenished naturally, and by the 1880s the surface of Lake Shartash had reached its original size. At the beginning of the 20th century, the old Shartash drainage, which was the natural drain of Shartash into the Iset River, was blocked by a bank embankment made of sand, pebbles, clay and shells. A road was laid along the top of the shaft. In 1910, the village of Peski was built behind the road, the history of which ended in 1987 with flooding after a temporary rise in water in the lake. Quartz sands from the eastern and southeastern beaches of Lake Shartash were delivered to Yekaterinburg factories. Since 1910, construction sand began to be mined from the bottom of the lake. To this day, there are deep dangerous holes at the bottom of the lake, and on the shore there are excavations from sand mining. The silt of Lake Shatrash is heavily contaminated with heavy metals from a granite quarry being mined nearby. The water in the lake is opaque due to its drainage. There are about 50 springs around the lake that feed it, in addition to precipitation.

On the shores of Lake Shartash there are wild (on the eastern shore) and equipped beaches. Recreation centers have been built sports facilities, recreation areas. Rentals are available for vacationers water transport and a cafe, children's attractions and slides were built. In the southwestern environs of the lake there is the Shartashsky forest park. Behind it, across the road, are the Stone Tents - picturesque granite rock outcrops and the forest park of the same name.

Lake Big Shartash is one of the few of its kind in the world! It was formed, according to the reasonable opinion of scientists, about 1 million years ago. And, interestingly, the shape of the lake, reminiscent of a bean reel (with its convex side facing the east), and located in a basin, has practically not changed since those distant eras. Only on its banks did flora and fauna change, giant ferns were replaced by coniferous and flowering plants, and lizards different types gave way to bears, moose, and wolves on the wooded shores of the lake. It is believed that not only the vegetation and fauna. The cultures of the human tribes that inhabited the shores in different historical eras changed, and, perhaps, there was once a center of some ancient civilization, traces and indications of which no, no, and will appear to the inquisitive gaze of researchers of the mysterious...

Over the millennia, the lake basin has accumulated large number sapropel deposits. Until the 20th century, the lake was flowing and had a flow into the Iset River. The Shartash drainage was located west of the modern village of Peski. Currently, it is drainless, and the lake level is maintained by springs (springs), of which about fifty are known.

On the northern shore of the lake there is the village of Shartash (known since the 17th century!), on the eastern shore - the village. Isoplit, in the south - the village. Sands.

Toponymy

The hydronym “Shartash” is of Turkic (Bashkir or Tatar) origin; it is usually explained as the result of the fusion of two roots: Sarah - “yellow”/“white” and tash - “stone”, connecting the meaning of the toponym with the shade of coastal rocks. This is how the famous toponymist A.K. explains the meaning of the word. Matveev in his dictionaries, however, he also adds that the origin of this toponym is possibly connected with the Bashkir word ball - “swamp” (probably used in relation to the Maloshartashsky swamp). It is possible that there are other readings of this toponym.

Lake Maly Shartash

This is a small, inaccessible lake, located southeast of Bolshoy Shartash among the swampy lowlands of the Maloshartash swamp, and is now overgrown with sedge and cattail. Once upon a time, a canal was dug here connecting Maly Shartash with Bolshoy, but now it is practically covered with sediments and overgrown.

The shape of the lake no longer resembles the “bean” of Big Shartash, but rather a grain of wheat, and its size is noticeably smaller. Streams flow out of the lake, feeding the river at The source is the left tributary of the Iset. The western bank is bordered by granite outcrops - “tents” like the large Shartash stone tents.

During the New Stone Age and the Iron Age, the surroundings of Maly Shartash were also inhabited by ancient people, as were the shores of Big Shartash, as evidenced by traces of settlements on its northwestern shore.

They explored Shartash

Over the past 300 years, the Shartash tents and Lake Shartash have been studied by many famous world-class scientists.

Pallas, Peter Simon (Peter Simon Pallas; 1741-1811) - famous German and Russian encyclopedist, naturalist, geographer and traveler of the 18th-19th centuries. He became famous for his scientific expeditions across Russia, including an expedition to the Urals - in the second half of the 18th century. He made a significant contribution to world and Russian science - biology, geography, geology, philology and ethnography.

Lepekhin Ivan Ivanovich (1740-1802), state councilor and cavalier, traveler and naturalist, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He participated in many scientific expeditions that explored various Russian provinces from natural history and ethnographic points of view: in 1768-1772 he traveled, partly alone, partly with Pallas, through the Urals, the Volga region, Western Siberia, across the Russian North and Western Russian provinces of Russia.

Von Humboldt, Friedrich Alexander (Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt, 1769-1859, Berlin) - German encyclopedist, physicist, meteorologist, geographer, botanist, zoologist and traveler. Thanks to Humboldt's research, the scientific foundations of geomagnetism were laid. Member of the Berlin (1800), Prussian and Bavarian Academies of Sciences. Honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1818).

Hoffmann, Ernest Karlovich (Ernst Reinhold Hofmann, 1801 -1871) - famous Russian (born in Dorpat (Tartu) - in present-day Estonia) geologist, geographer, traveler. In 1828, he explored the Southern Urals, together with Helmersen, publishing the work “Geognostische Untersuchung der Süd-Uralgebirges” (1831) in Berlin. In 1843 he went to Eastern Siberia for the study of gold placers; report on this trip [...]

Rose, Gustav (Gustav Rose, 1798 - 1873) - German mineralogist and geologist; Professor of Mineralogy at the University of Berlin. Rose accompanied Alexander von Humboldt on his journey through the Urals and Siberia. In the field of mineralogy, Rose established the crystallochemical system of minerals. For the first time he gave a description of gold-bearing rocks - beresite and listvenite (after the name of the Berezovsky factories and the Listvyanoy mountain in the vicinity of Shartash and […]

Claire Onisim Egorovich (1845-1920). Born in Switzerland, in the city of Corcelles (canton Bern). Educator, local historian, founder of UOLE - the Ural Society of Natural History Lovers, its scientific secretary and president. He graduated from the industrial school in Neuchâtel in Switzerland (1862).

Claire Modest Onisimovich (1879-1966) - Russian geologist, paleontologist, hydrogeologist, local historian. Author of more than 60 works on geology, hydrogeology, paleontology and local history. The son of Ekaterinburg local historian, founder O. E. Kler. Associate Professor at the Ural Mining Institute (since 1918). He taught at universities in Sverdlovsk until 1951.

In the mid-late 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. The Shartash tents attracted the attention of a number of scientists: geographers, geologists, archaeologists, as well as local historians (Golovko V.K. and others) and tourists. Shartash was studied and described in their books by famous Ural scientists.

Lake Shartash and its surroundings in Sverdlovsk region- it's unique nature reserve. Researchers have found that it was formed about 1 million years ago. In fact, the reserve consists of two reservoirs - the Big and Small Shartash, but it is the large main lake that arouses the greatest interest among tourists and scientists.

This is located natural park on the outskirts of the city of Yekaterinburg. Lake Shartash is shaped like a huge bean tree, located in the middle of a huge pit.

Historical background

The lake, which appeared in prehistoric times, surrounded by high banks, has remained virtually unchanged throughout the history of its existence. The flora and fauna of its shores, of course, have undergone some changes. And the giant ferns gave way to pine needles and flowers, and the habitat of the lizards is now inhabited by moose and bears. The cultures of the tribes that settled on the shores in different eras also changed. Archaeologists and historians do not rule out that somewhere in the vicinity of Shartash there is the ancestral home of an ancient civilization...

Geography and geology

Now, on the site of ancient sites, the beautiful city of Yekaterinburg is located. Lake Shartash stores a huge amount of sapropel in its depths. Until the last century, this reservoir was flowing and had a drainage into the nearby one. This drainage was located just west of the village of Peski. Nowadays, the water level in the lake is maintained by fifty springs.

The village of Shartash is located on the northern shore of the reservoir. The first mentions of it date back to the 17th century. The village of Izoplit is located in the east. By the way, the eastern shore of Lake Shartash (Ekaterinburg) is open for swimming.

IN south direction located locality Sands.

Origin of the name

Hydronym "Shartash" Turkic (Bashkir or Many researchers suggest that it is based on the fusion of two roots: "sary" (yellow, white, light) and "tash" (stone). In this case, the toponym is associated with the shade of the rocks surrounding the lake. The famous toponymist A.K. Matveev gives another version. In his opinion, the triplet “ball” may be associated with the Bashkir word “swamp”. Perhaps there are other versions of the origin of the toponym.

younger brother

The nature reserve we mentioned is not only famous for this reservoir. Another attraction that Yekaterinburg is famous for is Lake Shartash Maly. Although it does not have such glory, it is no less amazing place. Once both reservoirs were connected by a canal, but now they are swampy and overgrown.

The shape of the Small Shartash resembles a grain and is quite modest in size. Streams flow from the lake and flow into the Istok River (a tributary of the Iset). The western shore of the reservoir is bordered by granite outcrops, which are also called “tents”.

The coasts of this lake also keep traces of the habitation of ancient people. According to historical sources, it was inhabited in the Stone and Iron Ages.

Shartash Forest Park

The southern and southeastern shores of Lake Shartash are covered with mixed forest. It contains both traditionally wild and urban plant species. The pearl of the forest park is the historical and geological monument “Stone Tents”.

On the territory of the forest park there are several other attractions of interest to tourists and researchers. For example, an ancient altar, an archaeological site. And in 2012, on the shore of Shartash, near the boat station, scientists from the Institute of History and Archeology discovered another object - traces of a Neolithic settlement.

Yekaterinburg, Lake Shartash, the forest park and the "Stone Tents" are also of interest to sports fans. Tourists and athletes come here not only from all over Russian Federation, but from abroad. Climbers are attracted by unique megaliths. The forest park's sports trails are open to cyclists and rollerbladers. And the eastern shore of Lake Shartash (Ekaterinburg) is equipped with wonderful beaches. In different years, depending on conditions, other coasts are open for swimming. In addition, there is a boat station on the lake.

Swimming in the lake

The place is considered very clean, at least, most residents of the city are sure of this. The reservoir that Yekaterinburg is so proud of, Lake Shartash, pleases the eye with blue iridescent water. But, apparently, the composition of water is to the liking of not only humans. Sanitary doctors regularly take samples, periodically identifying pathogens of dangerous diseases.

Most of the bottom surface is silted. Here and there there are quite sharp protruding rocky fragments. The average depth of the lake is only 3 meters, but in some places there are depressions up to 5.5 meters deep.

The eastern shore of Lake Shartash (Ekaterinburg) has a less muddy bottom, and the water there is cleaner. But even this zone sometimes comes under the close attention of the sanitation station. During periods of threat of infection with infectious diseases, the beaches of the lake are closed.

Tourist infrastructure

The welcoming Lake Shartash (Ekaterinburg) awaits guests all year round. Holidays on its shores can be both active and relaxing. Hospitable tourist centers await those who are tired of the bustle of the city and just want peace. There are many small restaurants and cozy cafes on the shore of the lake.

Local residents living in nearby villages rent out housing to lovers of green tourism. Such a vacation may seem especially attractive to those who decide to travel with children.

All necessary for tourists can be easily found in stores located almost everywhere.

"Stone Tents"

Lake Shartash (Ekaterinburg), whose photos look like illustrations from old Russian fairy tales, is also beautiful with its surroundings. Unique "Stone Tents" - great for that confirmation. These are outlier rocks made of granite, located not far from the reservoir we are considering, almost within the city limits (Kirovsky district). In the Middle Urals, this object is considered the most unusual, picturesque, monumental and accessible monument natural beauty and ancient culture.

According to the latest archaeological information, there were up to 10 sites and settlements on the banks of the Shartash ancient man. The earliest known to date date back to the 3rd millennium BC. e., and even to even earlier historical periods. Researchers note that these settlements, apparently, had elements and signs of an ancient religious cult. There is evidence of commercial production. The surface of the “Stone Tents” bears traces of the fact that there was once a sacrificial place here, apparently related to one of the ancient pagan cults.

It must be no wonder that Lake Shartash, Yekaterinburg, the beach on its shore, and green spaces around attract vacationers here. All these places have been favored by man almost since prehistoric times.

Today, the stones of Shartash keep a lot of evidence of ancient times. It’s sad that not all modern visitors to this unique park understand the importance and value of this. They leave evidence of their stay in the reserve on ancient stones, sometimes irreversibly destroying priceless exhibits.

Directions

For those who decide to visit amazing lake Shartash (Ekaterinburg), it’s better to find out how to get there in advance.

If you plan to travel by car, it is better to get there through Yekaterinburg. On the street Blucher, you need to head towards the exit out of town. Further through road bridge get to st. Driving through. Approximately 600 m from the bridge, a T-shaped uncontrolled intersection will be visible. On it you need to turn right (towards the Hermitage Hotel). From this place the coast is already visible. Further movement occurs along it. You can get to the lake and public transport, departing from the side of concrete goods or Shefskaya.

It’s also better to get to “Stone Tents” from Yekaterinburg. Trams go there on routes No. 8, 13, 15, 23, 32, as well as Shuttle Buses No. 25, 27, 61, 157. The stop is called “Stone Tents”. Car owners need to follow the street. Malysheva on the street that continues it. Vysotsky. The reserve is located directly opposite the end of the Rossiya building.

Shartash is a small lake located on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region - within the city of Yekaterinburg (on its eastern outskirts). Since October 23, 2014 it has been a natural monument of regional significance. Very popular place recreation for townspeople, also held in high esteem by local fishermen.

Toponymy

• Origin of the name: There are two versions of the origin of the hydronym. The first is Mansi, according to it - the name of the lake is derived from the words “sor that”, which translated means “lake on a channel”. The second version is Turkic, there are three variants: from the words “sary tash” - “yellow stone”, from “shor tash” - bare stone (a dialect variant characteristic of the area where the lake is located), or from the words “shar tash” - “swamp stone” (in this version, “ball” is a slightly modified borrowing from Bashkir language Mansky word “litter”).

Morphometry

• Catchment area: 41 km².
• Length: 3.8 km.
• Width: 2.8 km.
• Mirror area: 7.4 km².
• Coastline length: 12.1 km.
• Volume: 22,000,000 m³.
• Average depth: 3 m.
• Maximum depth: 4.7 m.

Hydrology

• Availability of permanent flow: Yes, waste.
• Source: Shartashsky River Source.
• Bottom: muddy, rocky in places.

Chemical composition

• Water: fresh.

Geography

• Coordinates: 56°51′49″ n. latitude, 60°42′21″ e. d.
• Altitude: 275.8 m.
• Coastal landscape: The Ekaterinburg microdistrict Shartashsky is adjacent to the lake from the north, and Izoplit from the east. The rest of the coast is the territory of the Shartash Forest Park.
• Settlements on the banks: Ekaterinburg

Territorial location

Interactive map

Ecology

The ecological situation on Lake Shartash cannot be called favorable: in the past, water was poured into it from a nearby granite quarry, which is why a fair amount of heavy metal compounds accumulated in the bottom sediments. On top of that, in the 90s of the 20th century, dirty snow from the city was repeatedly transported to the reservoir in winter. The lake is also polluted by garbage, which is left behind by vacationers and fishermen (especially on the ice in winter time), according to some information - in some places its bottom is already quite cluttered.

Attractions

Shartash stone tents

Geomorphological and historical and cultural monument nature, and also a popular vacation spot for residents of Yekaterinburg. It is a rather impressive rock complex of horizontally located granite blocks, rounded during the weathering process - 25 meters in height (together with the earthen rampart, the height of the rocks themselves is 12 m). Shartashsky stone tents known to people from the distant past - the earliest archaeological finds date back to the third millennium BC - during these times the rock complex was a cult place. Stone tents are also known for the fact that before the revolution, meetings and May Day meetings of workers and Bolsheviks were held on them.

Shartash megaliths

Some archaeological studies carried out on the eastern and southeastern shores of the lake indicate clear human intervention in the local rocky landscape in order to erect structures that probably had cult significance. Researchers found traces of stone processing, which were characteristic of ancient times. This territory has not yet been assigned a special status.

Alexander's ditch

The remains of an artificially dug canal through which in the 19th century they repeatedly tried to drain Lake Shartash by draining its waters into the Pyshma River. This project was never implemented.

Fishing on Lake Shartash

Fishing spots

You can fish all over the lake - both from the shore and from a boat, but recently the northern part of the reservoir has been most popular among fishermen.

Fishing Features

Despite environmental problems and strong fishing pressure, fish in Lake Shartash are found in decent quantities, and not small ones at all, thanks to a good food supply. True, it requires a certain “approach”, as in any urban, frequently visited body of water, which somewhat complicates fishing.

The easiest way to catch small bass and roach on the lake (which is quite good in size here), and also ruffe, which has become rare lately. But the bream fisherman needs to know the special places on the lake - where his fishing target is usually concentrated, and the season should be taken into account, because the Shartash bream tends to migrate from winter to summer (by the way, other fish also do not neglect this). However, fishermen who know the reservoir well almost never return with empty cages, and catching ten kilograms of silver “plywood” in a day is a common thing for them (the largest bronze, handsome breams, as a rule, bite at night). A lot here also depends on the gear - a high-quality feeder works best for bream - in the summer, and a winter float rod - in the freeze-up.

The next most frequently caught fish after bream is pike perch, which recently formed a stable population in the lake. But at the moment, he and the perch are actually the only predators that spinning anglers catch. There is pike in Shartash, but in small numbers and is distinguished by its increased “learning” - it does not bite on artificial baits, only on live bait, and then mainly in the fall - when its feeding is most active.

Crucian carp, carp, tench are found in fishing cages, but not as often as we would like, but sometimes the size of the caught specimens is amazing (for example, carp, reaching almost one and a half pounds of weight). Whitefishes have hardly been caught lately, although in the past there were fishermen who specialized in them, in particular in ripus (among urban fishermen these had the honorary nickname “whitefish”).

Recreation centers

The recreational infrastructure on the lake is quite developed - beach complexes, several recreation centers (the most famous are “Shartash”, “Sands”) and a boat station have been built on its shores.

How to get there (get there)

West coast (Cape Runduk, via Blucher)

Lake Shartash was formed about 1 million years ago.
Around the world, 15 lakes are under UNESCO protection, including Shartash Island.
Near the lake - unique natural monument- Shartash stone tents located in the middle of a pine forest.
The name of the lake itself comes from two words of Turkic origin: “sor” - “tash”, which means “round stone”.
Round, flat granite boulders, polished by water and wind, are found throughout the coast. They surprise with their geometrically correct shape.
What are these stone boulders? What kind of energy do they carry?
Who created them? Why are these places called places of power?
What is known......
For a long time northern shores Lake Big Shartash there was only one Old Believer village of Shartash. At the beginning of the 20th century south coast a small settlement of Peski appeared, and in the 30s, at some distance from eastern shore the village of Izoplit arose - with a factory for the production of peat insulating boards (currently there is no peat production; on the site of the factory there is a floriculture farm "Flowers of the Urals"). On the south-eastern side of the lake in the 1980s, on the site of the Shartash swamp, the Komsomolsky microdistrict was built.

Nowadays Shartash is an endorheic reservoir. The lake has an almost regular bean-shaped shape, with the convex side facing east. It extends from North to South for 4 km, from West to East – for 2-2.5 km and has a mirror area of ​​7.0 sq. km. Modern coastline, about 12 km long, slightly indented. The bottom of the lake slopes down towards the center. Most of it is covered with dark olive-colored silt - sapropel, and has become heavily littered in recent years. The average depth of the lake is 3 m, and the greatest in the center of the reservoir is 4.7 m.

"Round Lake" or "Yellow Stone"?

Lake Shartash It is difficult to determine where the name of the lake and the village came from. If we take as a basis the main components - “shar” and “tash” from the Turkic language, we can translate “shartash” as a lake of “yellow stone”. A similar explanation is given in his toponymic dictionaries by the famous Ural toponymist A.K. Matveev. He associates this translation with the fact that when granites, within which the lake basin is located, are destroyed, yellow-brown crushed stone and yellow sand are formed.
A loose translation of the name of the village as “Round Stone” or “Whetstone” is scientifically incorrect, although the name “Round Stone” or “Round Lake” most closely matches the shape of the reservoir.

Shartash and the “most ancient” man.

Shartash Stone TentsThe relationship between the lake and man began in ancient times, in the Neolithic (5-7 thousand years ago) and Bronze Age (2-3 thousand years ago). Ancient man appreciated the favorable conditions of the area and built camps and settlements (unfortified settlements) along the ancient shores of the lake.
Archaeologists have found several Neolithic and Bronze Age sites on the capes of the western coast of Shartash (Cape Runduk) and its eastern coast, in the Krasnaya Gorka tract. Later, during the Iron Age (2300-2700 years ago), primitive people found places for religious rituals - altars, which were usually located in the mountains, on high cliffs. Scientists claim that the Shartash Stone Tents were such a sacrificial place.

Village Shartash.

The village of Shartash, founded in 1662, at the beginning of the 18th century acquired all-Russian fame as one of the organizational centers of the Old Believers. It was a reliable refuge and transit point to Siberia for persecuted schismatics. The main occupation of the residents of Shartash was trade, and every year they traveled to the Nizhny Novgorod fair, Moscow and even Little Russia. Most of the Shartash residents had Moscow roots.

Shartash and the “gold rush”.

In 1745, in the area of ​​the Berezovka River, a tributary of the Pyshma, a famous miner, a resident of the village of Shartash, Erofei Markov discovered the first indigenous gold in Russia. Since 1748 (the year the village of Berezovsky was founded), the deposit has been continuously developed and, as the mines deepen, it “struggles” with groundwater.
Aleksandrovsky Ditch on ShartashIn 1756, as historical sources testify, from the northeastern part of the lake to the upper reaches of the Berezovka River (where the first dam already stood and the Alexander Pond was formed), a ditch was dug 7-10 m deep, up to 5-7 m wide, with a length 7 versts. In the most difficult conditions, without any equipment, gold mine workers - exiled settlers, some of them convicts and recruits, urged on by shouts and whips - crushed granite with a pick, pick and shovel and transported it in wheelbarrows, forming high banks above the ditch. However, this ditch, called the “Alexandrovsky Ditch,” did not provide a large influx of water into the mines, and over time it became silted and began to overgrow.
In 1824, mining engineer O.S. Osipov proposed a new plan, a very original one: through dams and canals, it was necessary to connect the Bolshoi and Small Shartash lakes into a single reservoir in order to raise the water level in it by several meters. This would increase the flow of water along the Alexander Ditch to the upper reaches of the Berezovka River. This plan included making three ledges of water along the Alexander Ditch, each 10 m lower than the other, and installing water wheels under the ledges that would drive the mine pumps. But this plan was rejected by the mining authorities as expensive and time-consuming.
In our time, the Alexander Ditch has been preserved in a small area: from the lake to Fabrichnaya Street, and the rest of the area has long been filled in and occupied by collective gardens. Water accumulates in the preserved section of the ditch only after the snow melts. There is no connection with the lake, because there is a road near the shore.
Thus, in the middle of the 18th century, the lake experienced its first noticeable economic impact from humans.

Humboldt's plan failed.

Fragment topographic map outskirts of Sverdlovsk. 1929 Three quarters of a century later, the lake was again “attacked” by people. At the end of the 20s of the 19th century, the Berezovsky mines noticeably deepened and began to be filled with groundwater even more. Just at this time, in June 1829, Alexander Humboldt (1769-1859, scientist, traveler, one of the founders of German natural science) arrived in the Urals, in Yekaterinburg. After examining the lake and the Berezovsky mines, he came to the conclusion that it was necessary to lower the lake to Pyshma. In his opinion, a decrease in the water level in the lake would lead to the drainage of the surrounding swamps, and this should reduce the influx groundwater into the mines. The authority of a world-famous scientist did not allow him to listen to the statements of mining masters, in particular, L.I. Brusnitsyn, who knew the geological structure of the area well and did not believe in the success of such an undertaking. And the mining authorities were of little interest in the fate of the lake: after all, it was about gold!
After Humboldt’s departure from the Urals, in 1831-1832, from the center of the lake to the north (towards the modern radio station) they began to build an underground adit and ditch (people called it the Humboldt ditch), through which water from the lake rushed into the Kalinovka river, and from there to Pyshma.
Stones near the shore of Lake Shartash Soon, a small muddy lake remained in place of Lake Shartash (the water area of ​​the lake decreased 16 times compared to its modern size), to the chagrin and disadvantage of the Shartash population, one of whose occupations was fishing. At this time, the southwestern part of the lake, which still retains the name “bay of mowings”, was completely drained and turned into a flowering meadow, and a mountainous cape on the western shore of the reservoir, Cape Runduk (Runduk - chest), was freed from under the water. So in the 17th century in Tula and other cities middle zone In Russia they called large rectangular chests with a lid for storing food). Cape Runduk, which flows into the lake, resembles such a large chest in appearance - its slopes are almost vertical, and its surface is flat, covered with pine forest.
Fortunately, the final drainage of the lake did not occur, since after 15 months the adit was filled with silt. Meanwhile, water in the mines continued to interfere with gold mining. Therefore, the idea of ​​further draining the lake was abandoned. Humboldt was wrong! Yes, it couldn’t be otherwise. The few days he spent studying the area could not give reliable results. Only in the 20th century did hydrogeologists prove that the structure of the Shartash granite massif (within which most of the lake bed is located) and the Berezovskoe ore field have different geological structure and the depth of fissure waters.
Gradually, mainly due to precipitation and snow melting, as well as underwater springs, the lake began to increase in size and in the mid-80s of the 19th century, Lake Shartash reached its previous size, and after some time - even larger than before the release of water : This is how the artificial connection of Lake Shartash with the water system of the Pyshma basin ended.

The source and the village of Peski.

Lake ShartashThe natural flow of the lake into the Iset River - Shartash old flow, as old maps of the mid-18th and early 19th centuries show, was carried out through the southern bay, somewhat west of the village of Peski. Already at the very end of the last century, the Old Stok was not distinguished by its consistency and, flowing through the swamp, did not always carry its waters to the Iset (Shartash Stok, in the past the left tributary of the Iset, had a mouth near the village, now the city of Aramil).
By the beginning of the 20th century, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthis Stock, the surf of sand, pebbles, clay and shells created a coastal rampart along which the road ran. The village of Peski arose behind the road in 1910 (it existed until 1987, when it was flooded due to a temporary rise in water).
The sand of Lake Shartash - pure quartz, with a small admixture of gray clay - was used as brewery sand - a necessary flux additive, along with lime, for blast furnace smelting of copper. The main and almost the only supplier of construction sand for Yekaterinburg factories was the beach of Lake Shartash. Since 1910, sand began to be extracted from the underwater part. In winter, work moved on ice deeper into the lake. That is why there are holes in the coastal part of the reservoir, which you need to be careful of when swimming. Evidence of intensive sand production in the past are noticeable depressions along the banks (eastern, southeastern), now overgrown with grass and bushes.

Younger brother - Maly Shartash.

Lake Small Shartash from spaceA short distance from Lake Big Shartash in southeast direction There is a small lake - Maly Shartash - among the swampy lowlands of the Maloshartash swamp.
Lake Maly Shartash is the big Shartash in miniature. The same oval shape, stretching from north to south for a length of less than one kilometer. The width of the reservoir is 400 m, average depth- 1.2 m, the largest - 1.8 m, mirror area - 3.4 hectares. This lake is located 9 m below the level of Big Shartash. Streams flow out of the lake, feeding the Istok River (the left tributary of the Iset River). On the western shore of the reservoir there are also granite rocks - Malye Shartashskiye - a copy of larger ones, but smaller in size. Their height is 8-9 m. The lake is heavily overgrown with sedge, cattail, and reeds. There is less than 2 hectares of open water left.
In the vicinity of the lake and on its northwestern shore, archaeologists have discovered traces of ancient human settlement - from the Neolithic era to the Iron Age. Despite its proximity to the metropolis, the fauna of Lake Maly Shartash is very diverse - in spring there are a lot of migratory songbirds, many waterfowl, amphibians, reptiles, including snakes and vipers; Among mammals – foxes, hares, squirrels. There is fish - chebak, perch, bream. The lake is visited only knowledgeable people, access by car is not possible.