Lake Elton is salty or fresh. The Dead Sea of the Russian Federation is Lake Elton in the Volgograd region. The healing power of salt waters and relaxation by the lake
Our nature has special treasures. Some of them await travelers where Lake Elton is located. Many publicists have dubbed this salt marsh “the charm of the semi-desert.” It changes its colors depending on the time of day and season. In addition, its different parts are not the same in shades. After reading local history literature, you will see that Elton’s story is further proof that people considered him handsome and useful. Nomadic peoples came up with vivid myths about it, and salt carriers came up with warning stories about “devil” places on the salt tract (passing through some rivers flowing into the “salt tank”). Russian balneology experts devoted interesting research to this natural object.
The location of Lake Elton dictates a long journey for us. Many Russians will have to spend more than a day to get to this desert area, which has truly alien landscape. The Elton Lowland and the only railway station on its territory lie far from cities and strategic highways. On the map of Russia, Lake Elton is found on a patch Volgograd region, strongly “deepening” into Kazakhstan (one of the 5 most accessible CIS countries for recreation). From Russia there is only one highway and the only railway that directly connects the Saratov and Astrakhan regions. But the difficulties of your path will be worth it.
In this review, you will also learn that the Elton brine and its silt deposits promote health improvement, in the settlement of the same name you can rent hotel rooms and housing in the private sector, and you can actually use it for traveling here shuttle bus, hitch ride or train to Elton, running from one of the cities of the Saratov region to Astrakhan. It makes sense to use a sightseeing bus (which takes people interested in the nature of the Eltonsky Nature Reserve on exciting tours).
Lake Elton. Historical sketch
The history of Lake Elton is closely connected with the Kazakhs and Kalmyks living here, who consider this “sea” (the bowl has an area of 180 square kilometers) sacred and for a long time did not allow any strangers to approach it. The neighboring hordes lost many people in battle, trying to capture local nomads from the aborigines.
Having agreed with the nomads, the government of Ivan the Terrible established salt production on this salt marsh. It was entrusted to Chumakov professionals, originating from Little Russia. But the Russian farm laborers had a hard time here. The salt severely corroded the skin, and the poor fellows had to stay in the brine (breaking off pieces of it with a special stick and putting it in a huge basket) from dawn to dusk. Many even died from such work. Over time, a village was formed on the salt marsh, named after the reservoir.
Where Lake Elton is located, there were not only salt tracts (transferred to private hands in 1865). In 1904, the first “salt resort” appeared here. The buildings of the Elton dispensary now stand in its place. We will talk about it in the next chapter.
The legends of Lake Elton, first of all, explain to us its current name. The peoples of the Mongolian linguistic group called this place Altyn-Nor (“Golden Bottom”). The fact is that an algae and a variety of crustacean that has lived here for thousands of years contain hematochrome - a pigment that “gives birth” (when the algae blooms and the crustacean reproduces) five shades of a warm range - from golden to pink (including orange). The nomads who lived here in the Middle Ages admired the “gilding”. And “Elton” is a Russian-language phonetic simplification of the “gold-bearing” hydronym.
Treatment on Elton
The climate on Elton allows you to relax in the deep lake basin during the 3 summer months (as long as there is no rain). Where Elton is located, the air is literally saturated with useful minerals. All of them are contained in the salt of this huge reservoir.
Seven streams flow into the water bowl. The only one of them that does not look like a stream is Samaroda. It contains iron and radon gas. The named elements of Mendeleev's periodic system tone the skin and cure us of some diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. They also improve blood circulation. Washing in this water gives you freshness and strength for a whole hour. And swimming is for the whole day (if you are young). True, the water flow is so weak that you can immerse your entire body only in a storage spring located on the section of the riverbed that is closest to the above-mentioned village (you can ask any local about the trail). And it is often almost empty.
This river passes just a couple of kilometers from the center of the settlement (in which the buildings are located sanatorium complex, named after the lake). By the way, about this medical institution. The brine and mud of Lake Elton are the main medicines used here (after all, in some areas of the “natural capacity” the saturation with minerals is 1.5 times stronger than in the Dead Sea). Wherein maximum depth reservoir - only one and a half meters, and not always. There is a rare component in rivers, which is contained only in the Essentuki-17 mineral water. It restores the peripheral nervous system.
Smearing with mud, rubbing and taking brine and radon baths improve the health of patients of the institution owned by Elton-Med LLC. Not entirely healthy Russians experience some skin diseases, abnormalities in the functioning of the cardiovascular system and respiratory tract. It is asthmatics, allergy sufferers and patients with various bronchitis who place their greatest hopes on this sanatorium. In order not to wait for the day when serious treatment is needed, healthy people who have a strong tendency to cough are also engaged in prevention at Lake Elton. The local air itself soothes the nasopharyngeal mucosa. After all, she receives all the microelements.
Speaking of the skin, the “richness of the lake” makes it less sensitive to irritation and inflammatory processes - through the effect of hyperthermia (warming up) of the skin.
It has long been proven that the specific sulfide mud of Elton (a peloid similar in composition to sediments Dead Sea) is quite saturated with hydrogen sulfide, active acids and useful minerals. By “warming” you, it helps well with skin diseases, loss of general immunity and circulatory disorders.
Basically, brine and sludge solve the same problems, but in different ways. Treatment at Lake Elton associated with peloids is carried out using the application method, and the over-mineralized salt penetrates into our body through bathing and inhalation.
In case of psoriasis, mud from Elton can be a significant addition to the procedures prescribed by doctors, and in mild stages of this disease, treatment on Elton will generally become the only set of health-improving measures. After all, the local peloid will make the skin insensitive to certain types of fungus that cause this disease in a few weeks.
However, Elton's salt and mud can also have side effects. These “medicines” are contraindicated for heart patients, people with malignant tumors, overly sensitive skin, those with hyperthermia, as well as patients suffering from salt deposits in the joints. Swimming in the lake for more than 30 minutes is dangerous for healthy people, especially pregnant women. So what is its danger? The fact is that the substances described above, actively penetrating the skin, increase the speed of blood circulation. In heart patients and pregnant women, the pulse and breathing will increase, which is unacceptable for obvious reasons. Those who suffer from overheating (hyperthermia) will have an even higher temperature increase. For the same reason, the rate of tumor formation in those with cancer will increase. Elton's brine will corrode sensitive (very white) skin too much and will play a cruel joke on bathers who already have excess salt in their bodies (meaning bones and joints). The same applies to river radon.
Holidays on Lake Elton
It is not only the treatment at Elton that draws thousands of Russians and citizens of Kazakhstan to the lowlands. After all, this area is also an excellent recreation. The weather in Elton (as well as the surrounding landscape) can have a significant impact on your mood. Holidays on Lake Elton mean enjoying the fantastic landscapes of the small hill Ulagan, studying the fossilized prehistoric fauna of the Elton Lowland, which lies even deeper than the Caspian. Convenient observation of some birds and plants - from the Red Book of Russia. Eltonsky Park is at your service.
Holidays on Elton are sometimes associated with heat, but at sunset the air cools down greatly, and the local landscape becomes an inspiring subject for artists and photographers. The fact is that Elton’s brine attracts not only those who suffer from skin and pulmonary diseases, but also creators who are able to amazingly capture this mysterious surface using a professional camera lens. Know that the salt layer is not white everywhere. In some areas the reservoir has a pinkish and even orange tint... The weather on Elton gives the opportunity to get unusual shots at sunrise and sunset, it is the background for romantic dates sanatorium patients...
Holidays on Elton by savages are well worth attention. There are plenty of parking places. Sources fresh water They are so shallow here that night flooding of their riverbeds is impossible in principle. But a tent city on the specially protected hill of Ulagan can become a reason for a clash with the guards of the reserve. It is best to rent an inexpensive room, which will be mentioned in the following text. There are also shops and cafes here, so you can really do without a custom tour.
However, if your company is still fans of bivouacs, set up a tent camp at least 500 meters from the lake itself and from the Samarodinsky (Smorogdinsky) radon source. Motorists who enter the protected area on wheels face a fine of 5,000 rubles. Believe me, the inspectors of the protected area are not asleep. It's easy to avoid trouble - just follow the huge signposts... Spend the night near the sand pits near the village - a proven place.
How to get to Elton
How to get to Elton? For lovers of treatment on Elton and those who are eager to experience the conditions of the classic semi-desert, we will explain some methods of transportation.
Are you going to Elton by car? Then each of them will suit you. You can get to Elton from the cities of the Volgograd, Saratov and Astrakhan regions, as well as from Kazakhstan (if you are coming from Siberia).
Don't have a car? Use commuter flights from Bykovo or Nikolaevsk (via Pallasovka). As for the Saratov region, you can get to the salty “miracle of the world” from Krasny Kut or Rovny. There is also a train to Elton (passing, of course).
To Elton from Volgograd
One of the routes starts from the hero city on the Volga, where you can fly from Moscow in just an hour and a half. Most often, tours to Elton are sold in this unusually elongated metropolis. You can also rent a car. You can get to Elton from Volgograd through two regional centers, administratively subordinate to the 34th region.
From Bykovo the road is newer. You get to the village itself along the Volgograd-Engels highway. It passes through 1st Prodolnaya, through a hydroelectric power station and an industrial site in the city of Volzhsky. After the regional center of Bykovo, you pass 5 more settlements. The last one (Kaysatskoye) opens up the railway for you. How to get to Elton from the “meeting point” of the described highway with the Pushkino-Krasny Kut-Pallasovka-Verkhniy Baskunchak-Astrakhan railway (which is where the train goes to Elton)? There is only one way. Follow the road that runs along this railway line - due south. Here and there they diverge, but not for long.
From Volgograd they go to Elton via Nikolaevsk and (further) through Pallasovka. This refers to the old (“Chumak”) path, filled with asphalt. It is convenient for those who live in the north of the 34th region or in settlements located on the borderland of the Volgograd and Saratov region. We are talking about the Left Bank - Nikolaevsk, Staraya Poltavka, Krasny Kut, Rovny, Privolzhsky and Engels. In winter, residents of the Volgograd Right Bank cross the Volga on foot, ending up in Nikolaevsk.
To Elton from Saratov
The road to Lake Elton is laid according to the navigator from Saratov (via Engels and then through Volgograd Pallasovka). From Saratov airport (the flight from Moscow is only one hour) you immediately head to Engels (Simbirskaya and Sokolovaya streets lead to the satellite city). The latter crosses the bridge across the Volga, which connects both cities. From Engels there is a path to Pushkino, from which there is an exit onto a “tolerable” asphalt road to Krasny Kut. The town communicates with Pallasovka. The route is acceptable.
You can also travel to Elton from Saratov by train if the train passes through Pushkino. The fact is that a branch line to Astrakhan-Makhachkala goes through this junction.
To Elton from other cities
By the way, about this railway track. Siberians, Muscovites or residents of St. Petersburg follow it (trains numbered 109A, 109ZH, 085S, 250N, 546S, 549E, 573S, 249N, 545U, 147E, 005ZH, 086V, 373E, 147ZH, ). The Elton station is located right on the line (if you time it, “starting” from the Saratov town of Pushkino, you will reach the desired station in 4 hours).
It is worth saying that in these parts it is not so difficult to hitch a ride knowing how to hitchhike correctly. Russian residents of the semi-desert do not abandon people in trouble. For the most part, these are good-natured pastoral entrepreneurs.
Moving to Elton from Saratov (starting from the branch passing through Pushkino and Krasny Kut), the railway train passes some sections of Kazakhstan. The only railway track is the fastest of all ways to reach our goal.
Knowing how to hitchhike correctly in Russia and the CIS countries, you can get to Elton by other roads - from Astrakhan or Orenburg. But in the latter case, you will find yourself shaking on some bad tracks, sometimes inferior in quality even to dirt roads.
The exception is the Kazakhstan highway (Taskala-Kaztalovka-Zhanibek). There are no difficulties in getting around this road. Having departed from Orenburg, you go through a quick procedure at the Ilek checkpoint (Kazakhstan is part of the Customs Union). By the way, not far from Ilek there is a salt lake (Razval in Sol-Iletsk). Then you drive through Kazakh Uralsk along the beautiful A-30 and only in Tazkal get on the highway to Kazakh Zhanibek. Road troubles begin only on the Zhanibek-Elton section. After passing the next checkpoint, alas, you will have to be shocked.
Difficulties of the way
It is worth understanding a few nuances. No matter where you start your trip, the few asphalt roads leading to the water tract pass through the neutral zone of the Russian-Kazakh border. Therefore, on your way (whether you are in your own car or in excursion bus) border guards can stop you at any time to ask a couple of formal questions and inspect the car. They are the local traffic police.
Speaking about those “spikes in the wheels” that nature itself inserts, it is necessary to talk about such cruel factors as mud and metal corrosion. The first one prevents your “iron horse” from passing in the spring and autumn (with the exception of the roads from Bykovo and Pallasovka). The 2nd is capable of damaging the car body. Sometimes the winds are strong. And on the way, salt and sand are sprayed onto the body, scratching it. The chassis and other important components may become clogged. It is worth following the weather forecasts or choosing an “extreme” jeep.
Excursions to Elton
The healing mud of Elton is not the only source of income for residents of the village of the same name and guides from nearby regions. In the summer, and sometimes throughout May, the weather on Elton will allow you to take part in many educational excursions.
For many Russians (especially the enterprising ones), excursions to Elton mean purchasing high-quality, but unusually cheap Kazakh alcohol, which is sold in abundance in the settlement of the same name. We are talking about cognacs and vodka.
The natural attractions of Elton and the review of a local historian on the way to it attract already inquisitive Russians. Often tours to Elton become part of a trip to all the salt lakes of the Pallasovsky region, equal in size to Israel!
The sights of Elton are concentrated on the lowlands around the lake itself (this place is called “Semirechye”), as well as on the small Ulagan plateau (this is a growing salt dome, the top of which is marked “69 meters above sea level” and the relief is dissected by bizarre canyons). Its slopes and surface have a very fabulous configuration, caused by erosion and the release of the rocks lying here. Most tourists associate them with the lunar or Martian landscape. Underfoot, visitors will find many unusual shells (ammonites). This is the oldest fauna of these places (once swimming, crawling, running and even flying...). There are canopies for rest and visual communication signs. Sorocha Balka has no less amazing geological formations... Finally, visitors will be amazed by the view of the Devil's Bridge - a long-standing obstacle on the way of the Chumaks. Talk about the most difficult section of the channel of the “unpredictable” Khara River. During the day the water appeared and then disappeared.
Trips here are organized by many agencies from Volgograd, Volzhsky, Kamyshin, Engels, Saratov, Astrakhan, as well as Kazakh Zhanibek.
Elton Hotels
Even those who do not have enough money to arrange accommodation on Elton still flock to this famous body of water. Lake Elton attracts Russians very much. Treatment is sometimes unorganized. Sick people, and simply curious visitors, smear themselves with mud, and in the evening they find a place to sleep. Elton hotels, as a rule, are private and employ hired staff originally from neighboring Kazakhstan. The guides of the local reserve are also Russians of Kazakh blood.
Elton hotels offer rooms of different classes - from “Budget” to “Lux”. Excursions to Elton can be completed comfortably in one of these room types. Prices range from 1,500 to 3,000 rubles per day of stay. It’s a pity that the hotels are not listed in any online directory (the locals generally have very poor Internet access).
Private sector on Elton
Holidays on Elton by savages favor not only tents. In the village of the same name there are also hospitable farmsteads. For vacationers in the village of Elton - private sector. Some of the Soviet mansions converted into guesthouses are not uncommon for this settlement. Therefore, Elton hotels often cannot compete with family estates (today they are not inferior to them in design).
The adventure of getting to Elton, seeing the sights of the local nature reserve and organizing decent accommodation on Elton will be quickly and easily arranged by a reputable tour operator. But, having the necessary information, you will understand that you will not need the services of an intermediary.
Arriving in Elton, housing in the private sector is not difficult to find. The fact is that treatment and housing in the Elton sanatorium are quite expensive (a week’s stay in the Standard will cost 21,000 rubles, and in the most expensive option, the Apartments, 84,000 rubles). That is why the private sector on Elton is especially popular among insolvent people. Even in high season(when the lake begins to turn red due to “waking up” algae) the price for daily use of the extension of a wooden (stone) house does not exceed 500 rubles. You can often find housing for 300 rubles (just check with the owners of local cafes - everyone knows each other here). For 1,500 – 2,000 rubles you can rent an entire hut, placing your entire family at the “salty” resort. A well-equipped cottage will cost 3,000 – 5,000 rubles. Yes Yes. There are even such proposals here.
We are confident that you have realized what a holiday on Lake Elton is worth. Interested? Don't think twice about it. The weather in Elton is beautiful from the end of May to the end of August inclusive (for residents of the Central Federal District, only an unusually strong wind can create a problem). However, the mud of Elton (as well as the rest of the riches of the Eltonsky Nature Reserve) awaits you every month. The local sanatorium keeps them in reserve.
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 - unique phenomenon nature, a real miracle, one of the most interesting natural sites in the Volgograd region, the pearl of the Volga steppe. Salt Lake enormous in size, comparable only to the Israeli Dead Sea, located in the middle of the Pallasovskaya 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, it has been 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. The removal of salt from the lake was carried out in a simple way, using crowbars, picks and shovels, and delivering it 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.
The name of the lake comes from the Kazakh “Altyn-Nur”, which means “Golden Lake” because of the purple-red color of its water (brine), which turns golden, which happens temporarily, usually in the afternoon, when the sun leans towards the west.
Several fresh springs and rivers with bitter-salty water flow into the lake. The hot sun evaporates the water, leaving a salty residue - brine. In addition to table salt, brine contains other bitter salts. 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.
Along the shore there is a deep layer of salty mud, characterized by high healing properties. At the bottom of Elton there are deposits of salts and hydrogen sulfide mud, which are used to treat the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. Therapeutic resources are: silt mineral mud of Lake Elton, brine, mineral waters of a very rare chloride-sodium-magnesium type, which have a rejuvenating effect, stimulate blood circulation, accelerate skin renewal, improve metabolism and strengthen the nervous system. Silt mineral mud and brine of Lake Elton in their own way medicinal properties are not inferior to the mud of the Dead Sea. Even the ancient nomads knew about the healing properties of Elton mud. The traditional treatment of that time looked like this: a hole was dug in the coastal soil layers, where the patient was placed, whose body was covered with mud. An hour later he was washed in the brine of the lake. Several similar procedures, and the ailments receded. The fame of the miraculous lake was spread around the world by salt carriers from the local mines.
At a distance of 3 km from the sanatorium there is mineral spring, whose water is chemical composition similar to the well-known “Essentuki-17” and Smirnovskaya (Caucasian Mineral Waters). It’s not only mud and brine that heals here, mineral water. Nature itself heals - calm, unhurried, pacifying.
The Elton mud contains impurities of iodine, iron salts, hydrogen sulfide, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and amine bases. Elton mud is thicker than Odessa mud and therefore more convenient for export; it is suitable for preparing mud baths and poultices immediately without preliminary processing, as is necessary with Franzensbad, Lipetsk and others. Elton mud retains its external properties and healing properties for more than a year. The spectacular and extremely rapid healing of patients led doctors to the conviction that Elton mud was, apparently, the most effective of all others. Climatic conditions here are very favorable for treatment. The air above the lake is remarkably clean, you can breathe unusually easily and you feel a special vigor and surge of strength. There is no loss of morning or evening dew here, which is important for patients prone to colds. In the past, holidays and treatment on Elton were considered very prestigious and expensive. At the beginning of the 20th century, the construction of the Astrakhan line of the Ryazan-Ural Railway passed through this area, and a mud bath was created on the lake. Representatives of the Russian aristocracy and members of the royal family came here to the desert to improve their health. The famous doctor, founder of Russian gynecology, Snegirev, wrote about the steppe resort: “I have never seen such brilliant results from treatment with healing springs as in Elton, neither in Russia, nor in the Caucasus, nor abroad.” A unique combination of natural therapeutic factors brings healing from many diseases. Nowadays, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, musculoskeletal system, skin, nervous system, respiratory system, genitourinary system, digestive system, consequences of injuries, and metabolic disorders are successfully treated here.
They tell a story that there was a museum of “Abandoned Crutches” at the sanatorium. People came on crutches and returned home after a month or two, leaving their crutches at the sanatorium. After some time, so many of them accumulated that it was decided to get rid of the museum. One of the village residents made a fence for his house-garden from the released crutches.
In the vicinity there is Mount Ulagan with a rarely seen landform - a salt dome corresponding to the depression of Lake Elton. Translated from Turkic, its name sounds like “mountain with gentle slopes.” Characteristic of these formations are outcrops of rocks of different ages, starting from the Jurassic period, with fossil flora and fauna. The Elton region has preserved the almost pristine appearance of virgin feather grass and chamomile steppes and semi-deserts, meadows on estuaries and depressions, herb and reed swamps in floodplains and on the coast.
Mount Ulagan is a growing salt dome, which annually adds several millimeters in its height. Walking around the mountain and doing virtually no excavation, you can find fossils of various ancient mollusks, for example, ammonites, named after the ancient Egyptian god Amun, and vulture shells, so called for their resemblance to the beaks of vultures. Moreover, archaeologists find them far beyond the Elton steppes. And, by the way, the nomads used griffins instead of spoons. From the top of Ulagan an extraordinary beautiful view of Lake Elton opens.
But this is not the end of the amazing sights near Elton. On the other side of the road from Mount Ulagan is the Grand Canyon.
Lake Elton - a miracle of nature in our Russian expanses - is the topic of today's article.
Lakes are different: large and small, forest, mountain and steppe. And lakes are also salty.
Not far from the city of Volgograd there is the largest salt lake in Europe, Elton - a real miracle of nature, a unique asset of the Volga steppe.
Unusual places in the world always attract special attention. And this reservoir is no exception. The water in the lake is a thick solution of mineral salts. This solution is called brine. It is not transparent like water, but has a reddish tint.
On a bright sunny day, the water in the lake looks pink, and at sunset the lake appears golden. On the tongue local residents The lake is called Altan-Nor (“Golden Bottom”). 
Along the shores, dazzling white salty beaches sparkle in the sun, very similar to snow. 
Salt is present everywhere. 
It is felt on the skin and in the hair. Its crystals are visible in the cracks of the earth and even the wind has a salty taste. 
Even in the photograph taken from Sputnik, the pond appears pink. 
In 1741, the lake began to be called Eltonsky in honor of its first explorer, an English sea captain. The Englishman Elton described in detail that the area of the lake is 152 square meters. km, which is fed by several fresh springs and eight rivers with bitter-salty water.
Salt lakes are usually shallow, so the huge lake is only ten centimeters deep. And only in the spring, when meltwater flows into the lake, the level of brine in it rises, in some places reaching eighty centimeters.
The bottom of Elton is a crust of salt with prickly growths, as fragile as glass. Water washes more and more new layers, one per year. The layer between them is black silty and oily mud, saturated with minerals and beneficial salts. The layers of salt under the lake go several kilometers deep into the earth. Its reserves amount to billions of tons.
Since the mid-seventeenth century, salt from the lake has been extracted for sale. For almost one hundred and twenty years, these works were financed from the treasury. But by 1882, salt mining on Elton had died out and the healing properties of the local land and water came to the fore. 
Even the ancient nomads knew about the healing properties of Elton mud and salt. The treatment looked like this: a crust of salt was broken through near the shore. The patient was placed in the resulting hole, as if in a bath, and after an hour they were taken out and the dirt was washed off with brine from the lake. All ailments, they say, disappeared as if by hand.
Elton mud does not need to be processed at all. Nature itself prepared it for therapeutic baths and compresses. The mineral mud of the lake is not inferior in its healing properties to the famous mud of the Dead Sea. The hot steppe climate is also favorable for treatment. The air over the lake is very clean, the wind is saturated with tiny particles of medicinal salts, and there is never dew here in the morning or evening. This is very important for people who get cold easily.
All this led to the fact that already at the beginning of the twentieth century a mud bath was created on Elton, which was considered a very prestigious and expensive resort. Members of the royal family and other Russian nobility came here for treatment. Until now, diseases of the joints and musculoskeletal system are successfully treated here.
Now the area adjacent to the lake is one of three national parks located in the Volgograd region. Here, among the steppes and semi-deserts, you can see real sand dunes and bizarre salt mountains. You can taste the bitter water from the mineral river, admire the red-violet grass and take pictures of strange landscapes, more like the scenery of science fiction films about other planets. 
And also: due to the fact that over a vast space, on the surface of the earth, there is water, and in the thinnest layer. It reflects the sky incredibly beautifully. Considered by photographers to be one of the most the most beautiful places. The photos there look as if a person is soaring in the sky! 
Sochi astrotour club "Orion" invites astrophotographers, travel photographers and just amateurs unusual places and nature on an astrophoto expedition to this incredible lake.
Purpose: photographing night and day landscapes, exchange of experiences, communication.
The venue is Lake Elton. (Volgograd region)
If there are three people willing to take part in the event, we will leave Sochi in a passenger car.
Date of arrival in Sochi: May 3.
Plan:
We reach the village of Elton and meet with participants from other cities. On the spot, we park the car in the sanatorium parking lot or negotiate with one of the local residents to park the car at his home for money and under protection, then we proceed to the event site by hiking, the distance will not be very large and it will not be difficult to walk it with backpacks .
Accommodation on the shore of the Elton salt lake: camping and field method.
You must have: warm clothes, a sleeping bag, gas for the burner, a backpack. soft canister.
Back to Sochi, also on foot to the car, and then transfer to Sochi with it.
It is also necessary to have a passport with you - the border zone.
Along the way you will have to stop overnight in the Rostov region (camping or motel)
Departure date from Sochi: April 23.
Date of arrival in Sochi: May 3.
What the participant receives: transportation by car in both directions, use of a gas burner, fire equipment. Training in astro and landscape photography. Tent-place, double sleeping area.
Not included: sleeping bag (tour equipment can be rented or a ski suit can be used. One sleeping bag t -6g can be given for use free of charge), accommodation in intermediate motels or camping (Rostov region and Elton village).
Meals: cook yourself on a gas burner.
Yura Zvezdny's report on the location.
Lake Elton- a salty, drainless, self-sedating lake in the north of the Caspian Lowland. Administratively located on the territory of the Elton rural settlement in the Pallasovsky district of the Volgograd region, not far from the border with Kazakhstan.
The largest lake in the Volgograd region and the largest mineral lake in Europe (one of the most mineralized in the world). It plays an important role as a stopping place during the autumn migration of migrating birds, especially waders and cranes.
A unique symbol of Elton are Gesner (schrenk) tulips - large red tulips that bloom by the end of April. They can only be seen in hard-to-reach places in the Volgograd region. Flowers are listed in the Red Book.
Boundless as the sea itself, it remains absolutely calm even in strong winds. It’s as if it’s not a lake, but a huge piece of polished precious stone of an unearthly crimson-golden color. And during the famous Elton sunset it looks like a bowl of molten gold.
It is amazing beautiful lake surrounded by a white, snow-like ring of salt sparkling in the sun, which also pleasantly resembles snow flakes to the touch. It is difficult to find a place that could compare with Elton in terms of beauty and diversity of landscapes.
Tatars, Kalmyks and Kazakhs call Lake Elton Altan - nor (Altyn - Nur), which translates as “Golden Bottom” or “Golden Lake”. It was named so not by chance - for its beauty and iridescent play of color from red-hot gold to soft pink. However, there is a version that it was named after the English navigator Elton, who was invited in 1741 by the Astrakhan governor Tatishchev to explore the lake.
Several fresh springs and 7 mineral rivers with bitter-salty water flow into it, of which the largest is the Khar, up to 40 km long (from the north-west), and small ones: two currants, Solyanka, Lantsut, Chernavka, Quarantine. These rivers carry water into the lake throughout the year, but most of all in the spring.
Even from space Elton looks pinkish. Scientists could not understand the source of such an unusual color for a long time, until... late XIX V. They did not discover the presence of tiny microorganisms in water that survive in a thick oily brine and in which all living things instantly die.
History of Lake Elton
Lake Elton was known long before it became popular resort. Already during the time of Ivan the Terrible, after his conquest of the Astrakhan Khanate, regular salt mining began in the salt lakes of those places. At that time, the fame of the Astrakhan salt lakes was so great that it gave rise to fantastic stories about their inexhaustibility and high quality of salt. The development of salt began most actively during the time of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. During these years, two salt tracts were laid from Lake Elton to Nikolaevskaya Sloboda and to Pokrovskaya Sloboda, along which salt flowed to Russian provinces.
On February 27, 1747, the Governing Senate issued a decree establishing a commission for salt extraction on Lake Elton.
Since 1865, state salt production was stopped and transferred to the hands of private entrepreneurs. Most of them rushed to lakes Elton and Baskunchak. Due to heavy loads and unplanned developments that lasted more than a century, salt production there was stopped in the late 1880s. Approximately from this time, the countdown to the resort destination of the lake can begin.
Geology and climate of Lake Elton
It is a depression between large salt domes in the far north of the Caspian lowland.
- Area - 152 km², shape is close to a circle.
- Depth - 5-7 cm in summer; up to 1.5 m in spring.
- The level is 15 meters below sea level. The most high point Prieltonya, Mount Ulagan (salt dome), 68 m above sea level.
- It is fed mainly by snow, through 7 mineralized rivers. There are salty springs at the bottom.
The lake is filled with a saturated saline solution (brine), which desalinates in the spring. Mineralization is 200-500 g/l, which is 1.5 times higher than the concentration in the Dead Sea. The water contains Dunaliella salina algae, which gives the lake a reddish tint. At the bottom of the lake there are deposits of salts (mainly NaCl, KCl) and under them a layer of mineral hydrogen sulfide mud.
The climate is sharply continental, arid: hot summers ( average temperature July 25 °C), winter is moderately cold (average January temperature is −11 °C); precipitation is about 300 mm per year; constant winds throughout the year.
Until 1882, salt was mined on Elton; in 1910, the Elton medical sanatorium was founded on its shores (moved to a new location in 1945). In 2001, the lake and the adjacent territories of virgin steppes (106 thousand hectares) became part of the State Institution " Natural Park"Eltonsky"
Legends of Lake Elton
There is still a legend among the Kazakhs, according to which the heavenly ruler Tengri Khan descends into the waters of Lake Elton to prolong eternal youth. Another legend that has survived to this day tells that the Tatar-Mongol Khan Mamai, having been defeated on the Kulikovo field and returning to the Golden Horde, hid gold and jewelry in the waters of Lake Elton. Over time, salt corroded them, and that is why the water in the lake acquired a golden hue. There is a folk legend associated with the activities of the Elton sanatorium, which was founded in 1910 and was located on the lake itself, and in 1945 moved to the village of the same name.
They say that at the sanatorium there was a museum of abandoned crutches. People came on crutches and after a month or two returned home, leaving their crutches at the sanatorium. After some time, so many of them accumulated that it was decided to get rid of the museum. One of the village residents took the crutches and used them to make a fence around his garden.
Elton to this day is a balneological resort that has no analogues in all of Russia. Nowadays, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, skin, nervous system, respiratory system, genitourinary system, digestive system, consequences of injuries, and metabolic disorders are successfully treated here. However, it is not only mud, brine and mineral water that heal here. Here nature itself heals - calm, leisurely, peaceful.