Samara Luka

Satellite image of Samara onion

Samara Luka is the largest, significantly pronounced and famous bend of the Volga River in its lower reaches between the village of Usolye and the city of Syzran . It is washed by the waters of the Kuibyshev and Saratov reservoirs . Envelopes the Zhiguli Upland (Zhiguli Mountains) .

Samara Luka is one of the unique corners of Russia . The toponym “Samara Luka” includes several concepts: a bend of the Volga near the Zhiguli Mountains; eastern section of the Volga Upland ; Peninsular territory surrounded by the Volga bend of the same name and the Usinsky Bay of the Kuibyshev Reservoir ^[1] .

Borders of Samara Luke - 53 ° 08 's. w. in the south, 53 ° 26 's. w. in the north, 48 ° 32 'in. d. in the west and 50 ° 91 'in. d. in the east. The length of Bolshaya Samarskaya Luka from west to east is about 60 km, from north to south - up to 33 km. The total area of its territory is 155 thousand ha.

In the vicinity of the village of Perevoloki, there is a narrow isthmus 2 km wide between the Usinsky Bay and the Saratov Reservoir, which divides the peninsula into two parts: the well-delimited eastern (Bolshaya Samarskaya Luka) and the smaller western (Malaya), distinguished with sufficient convention on geological boundaries and passing into the Pre-Volga . In some areas (Usolsko-Berezovskaya ridge, Guba heights), these boundaries are expressed in relief. Malaya Samarskaya Luka is divided by the valley of the Usa River, turned into the bay of the Kuibyshev Reservoir.

The length of the coastline of the entire Samara Luka is approximately estimated by the distance between Usolye and Syzran along the Volga channel and is 230 km, of which 20 km is located within the Kuibyshev reservoir.

The maximum heights are confined to the Zhiguli Mountains: 381.2 m in the eastern part, 232 m on the Usolsk-Beryozovskiy ridge (west of the mouth of the Usa River). In the southwestern part, they reach 193 m. To the south, heights drop to 80-100 m.

Content

Geology

Rocky terrain

The origin of the Zhiguli Mountains is associated with the tectonic uplift (Zhiguli dislocation), which was activated in the Middle Devonian and continued in the Carboniferous . The maximal uplifts were manifested at the end of the Paleogene, the beginning of the Neogene and in the Middle Pliocene , then the height of the Zhiguli Mountains reached 900 m. ^[2]

In subsequent geological periods, the territory was subjected to intense erosion processes, as a result of which a significant part of the Mesozoic rocks were destroyed. As a result, carbonate deposits of the Carboniferous and Permian systems were exposed over significant areas. The surface significantly decreased and turned out to be a strongly dissected network of narrow canyon-like valleys. And the intensified karst processes contributed to the reduction of surface erosion.

As a result, Samara Luka was formed - a unique place for the Russian plain . Nowhere else on the plain are such young and intense uplifts observed as within the limits of this tectonic anomaly. The surrounding territories are entirely composed of rocks of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic age. Samara Luke is composed mainly of Paleozoic rocks.

Samara Luka was not captured by the Quaternary glaciations, and the territory retained its pristine mountain appearance, therefore, despite the small height, even in special literature Zhiguli are called mountains. The mountains are in the northern part of Samara Luka, gently descending to the south and southeast.

Landscape

Mountainous relief of Lada

The northern part of Samara Luke — the Zhiguli Mountains proper — has a characteristic mountainous terrain: significant absolute heights (the maximum height is Mount Observer - 381.2 m), rocky, almost vertical cliffs, and mountainous ruggedness of the slopes. However, most of Samara Luke is occupied by a undulating plateau plain with a general bias to the south.

The territory of Samara Luka is depleted in reservoirs and waterways due to the almost complete absence of water-resistant horizons in the Paleozoic strata with the prevalence of karst phenomena. Most of the lakes are concentrated in the area of the Rozhdestvenskaya (Shelekhmet) and Mordovinian floodplains. According to the Blue Book of the Samara Region (2007) ^[3] , in the central part there are more than 60 different types of water bodies, of which 35 are ponds and 22 are karst lakes. On Samarskaya Luka, there are two “small rivers", according to the definition of the local population, these are Morkvashka (a stream enveloping Mount Mogutovaya, the city of Zhigulevsk) and Brusyanka (Brusyansk ravine). Most of the streams of Samara Luka are formed due to melt snow water and are temporary streams characteristic of the bottoms of large ravines (Brusyansky, Askulsky, Vinnovsky and some others). But there are also a number of permanent springs that form streams, which are mentioned in the books “The Green Book of the Volga Region” (1995) ^[4] and “Pearl of Russia - Samarskaya Luka”: Shiryaevskie springs / streams (in the upper reaches of the Shiryaevsky ravine ), Apple Springs (upper Apple ravine), Aleksandrovsky springs (the upper reaches of the Aleksandrovsky ravine), Anuryevsky spring (near the village of Anuryevka), Askulsky springs (the upper part of the Askulsky ravine), Vlisokamennye springs (near the Visly Stone mountain) and some others (Chistova, Saksonov, 2004; Fadeeva, 2007 )

The Samara Luka passes the southern border of the forest-steppe .

Samara Luke in historical chronicles

1636 - Adam Olearius , a German traveler, geographer, orientalist , historian, mathematician, and physicist, went down the Volga to Persia as part of the German embassy. On the way, he described the fortress of Samara , made some notes about the nature of Samara Luke.

1647 - One of the first references to the village of Morkvashi , consisting of two houses belonging to the landowner Poretsky.

1695 - Peter I, during a trip to the Turkish fortress of Azov, made a stop in the village of Morkvasi due to bad weather. There is a legend that Peter climbed the Bald Mountain and carved an inscription on the rock. That is why the cliff located in the center of the western slope is called Petrov Kamen, aka Sokol.

1792 - A map of the Simbirsk governorate was published, which used to belong to the Samara region.

1841 - The emergence of the village of Valiant (now Zhigulevsk ) at the foot of the Mogutovaya Mountain .

1870 - Ilya Efimovich Repin works in Zhiguli on the painting " Barge Haulers on the Volga ". Visits the surroundings of Mogutovaya Mountain

1926 - I.I. Sprygin visits the Mogutovaya and Lysaya mountains as part of an expedition to select a site for organizing the Zhigulevsky Reserve.

1935 - The book of Zhigulevsky Round-the-World by Mikhail Andreevich Emelyanov was published (Kuibyshev: Kuibyshev Regional Publishing House. 145 pp.), Which, among other things, describes Mogutov Mountain.

1950 - The Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On the construction of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric complex on the Volga River” was adopted.

1958 - The Government Commission approved the acceptance certificate of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric station .

1984 - By the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR (No. 161), the Samarskaya Luka National Park was created.

2006 - UNESCO decided to organize the Middle Volga Integrated Biosphere Reserve in the Samara Region ^[5] .

Climate

The climate of the territory belongs to the temperate continental , although softened by the waters of two reservoirs washing Luka. In the northern part of Luka, at a weather station in Bakhilova Polyana , the average annual rainfall is 566 mm, the average annual air temperature is 4.8 ° C, the average January temperature is −10 ° C, and July 20 ° C. The mountainous terrain significantly affects the climate in the northern part: various slope expositions create a very diverse picture of microclimatic conditions, especially temperature and humidity conditions.

In the area of the Sosnovy Solonets weather station in the southern part of Luka, 610 mm of precipitation is observed per year, the average annual temperature is 4.5 ° C, the average January –12 ° C, July 21 ° C. In general, the territory of the elevated undulating plateau has a colder climate than in the northern part.

Throughout the territory, the differences in annual temperatures are about 70-72 ° C and more.

Flora

Zhaskuleka Zhiguli

For more than 200 years, the floristic composition of Samara Luke has been studied in detail by outstanding scientists and natural scientists, including P. S. Pallas , I. I. Lepyokhin , I. G. Falk, M. N. Bogdanov, O. O. Baum, S I. Korzhinsky, V. I. Smirnov, A. F. Flerov, D. I. Litvinov, R. I. Abolin , V. N. Sukachev , I. I. Sprygin, A. A. Uranov, B. P Satserdotov, A. N. Goncharova, M. V. Zolotovsky, A. A. Bulavkina-Onchukova , L. M. Cherepnin, A. F. Terekhov, Ya. I. Prokhanov , A. M. Semenova-Tyan-Shanskaya , JS Sidoruk, SV Sidoruk, VI Matveev, V. Ignatenko, TI Plaksina , NN Tsvelov , SV Saxons and muc s.

1302 species of vascular plants were identified in the flora of Samara Luka (Saxonov, 2006), including narrow-local endemic species - Saksonov’s bluegrass ( Poa saksonovii Tzvelev), Yusepchuk ( Gypsophila juzepczukii Ikonn.), Euphoris zhigule ( Euphorbia zhigule ), Euphoris zhigule . Helianthemum zhegulensis Juz. Ex Tzvelev), Zhiguli thyme ( Thymus zhegulensis Klokov et Shost.), Subendemic and relics.

Nature Conservation

Praying Mantis in the Zhiguli Mountains

In 1890, academician S. I. Korzhinsky drew attention to Samarskaya Luka as the most interesting place in central Russia in the richness and diversity of steppe and forest vegetation, geology and the uniqueness of biocenoses , not inferior to the Crimea and the Caucasus ^[6] .

In 1913, V. N. Sukachev proposed the idea of protecting nature in the Zhiguli Mountains region, he also pointed out the need to describe the reserved areas in all respects, especially soil, botanical and zoological.

In 1927, the Zhigulevsky Reserve was created, and in 1984 - the Samarskaya Luka National Park

Among the plants and animals found here, many species are very rare or even endemic .

In February 2015, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, by its order No. 69, approved a new regulation on the Samarskaya Luka National Park, reducing the area of the reserved and specially protected zones of the national park by almost 7 thousand hectares. Russian citizens organized a public campaign in defense of the national park ^[7] .

Recreation

On the waterway Togliatti - Samara - Perevoloki - Togliatti passes the popular tourist route "Zhigulevskaya Circumnavigation".

Historic Roads of Samara Luke

The Orenburg Postal Route passed through the territory of the national park.

Notes

↑ Yuri Konstantinovich Roshchevsky. Samara Region. Reader in geography.
↑ Obedientova G.V. Origin of the nature of the Lada // Bulletin of the All-Union Geographical Society, 1986. V.118. Vol. one.
↑ (Collective of authors). Blue Book of the Samara Region: Rare and protected hydrobiocenoses. - Samara: Samara Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences . - 2007
↑ Green Book of the Volga Region. Protected areas of the Samara region
↑ S.V. Saxonov, S.A. Senator Mogutova Mountain: the relationship between man and nature.
↑ Korzhinsky S.I. The northern border of the chernozem-steppe region of the eastern zone of European Russia in botanical, geographical, and soil terms. II. Phytotopographic studies in the provinces of Simbirsk, Samara, Ufa, Perm and partly Vyatka // Tr. Natural Islands at Kazan. un-those. 1891.Vol. 22. Issue. five.
↑ Defend Samara Luka! Promotion on the website of the environmental organization Greenpeace

Literature

Emelyanov M.A. Samara onion and Lada. - Kuibyshev , Kuibyshev Book Publishing House, 1955. - 289 p.
Bader O.N. Samara Luke in antiquity. - Kuibyshev Book Publishing House, 1975 .-- 149 p.
O. Biryukova, M. Ryzhkova. Samara Luke. - Samara, Agni Publishing House. - 2009. - 360 p. ISBN 978-5-89850-123-5
Evgeny Abakumov, Elvira Gagarina. Soil of Samara Luke. Diversity, genesis, protection. - SPb. : Publishing House SPbU - 2008 ISBN 978-5-288-04807-4
Diptera (Diptera, Brachycera) Samara Luke. - Lambert Academic Publishing - 2012 .-- 208 p. ISBN 978-3-84737-197-7
Volga, Samara Luka and Lada through the eyes of travelers, scientists, writers, artists. - Publishing house of the Samara Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences , 2006. - 176 p.
Muravyov I.S., Grigoryeva A.D. Atlas of the fauna of the Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian of Samara Luke. - Publishing house of Kazan University , 1986. - 188 p.
Chuvashs of Samara Luke. - Chuvash State Institute of Humanities , 2003. - 154 p.
Cadastre of invertebrate animals of Samara Luke . - Samara, 2007.

Links

[1] Yuri Konstantinovich Roshchevsky. Samara Region. Reader in geography.

[2] Obedientova G.V. Origin of the nature of the Lada // Bulletin of the All-Union Geographical Society, 1986. V.118. Vol. one.

[3] (Collective of authors). Blue Book of the Samara Region: Rare and protected hydrobiocenoses. - Samara: Samara Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences . - 2007

[4] Green Book of the Volga Region. Protected areas of the Samara region

[5] S.V. Saxonov, S.A. Senator Mogutova Mountain: the relationship between man and nature.

[6] Korzhinsky S.I. The northern border of the chernozem-steppe region of the eastern zone of European Russia in botanical, geographical, and soil terms. II. Phytotopographic studies in the provinces of Simbirsk, Samara, Ufa, Perm and partly Vyatka // Tr. Natural Islands at Kazan. un-those. 1891.Vol. 22. Issue. five.

[7] Defend Samara Luka! Promotion on the website of the environmental organization Greenpeace