Mount Shihan in Bashkiria. Shikhana Mountains.

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Just 60 years ago, Shikhany consisted of four mountains: Toratau, Shakhtau, Yuraktau and Kushtau. But in the 1950s, limestone began to be mined on the site of Shakhtau and the mountain practically disappeared.

Toratau

Translated from Bashkir, “Toratau” means “fortress-mountain.” There is a version that at its foot there was a fortress of the Nogai Khan. This is the most famous mountain of the Bashkir Shihans. Since ancient times, it was nicknamed “The Land of Yurmaty” after the same name of the tribe that lived here. The mountain was considered sacred; religious ceremonies were held here, praising the deity of the Turkic peoples - the sky god Kuk-Tarahe. To the north of the mountain there is a transparent lake Tugar-Salgan, and on the southern side there are two barracks from the GULAG era, where prisoners were exiled for the construction of the city of Salavat.

Yuraktau

Translated from Bashkir, “Yuraktau” means “heart-mountain”. The second name is “Bald Mountain”, because there are trees on one side and only grass on the other. At the foot of Yuraktau there are springs, in one of them the water is rich in sulfur. More than a hundred plant species are found here, including rare ones: onosma, Siberian cornflower, celandine and many others.

In 1707, at the foot of Mount Yuraktau, a battle took place between the rebel Bashkirs and the troops of Peter I. This event was called the “Kuzyukov Rebellion.”

Kushtau

From Bashkir “Kushtau” is translated as “Double Mountain”. The mountain is a double-humped ridge. On the eastern slope of the mountain there is a ski slope of the Kushtau complex, and at the foot there is a rest house “Shikhany”.

Legends of Shihan

According to the legend, which local residents pass on from generation to generation, the Shihans grew up on the site of an ancient love tragedy. The horseman Ashak unrequitedly fell in love with the young girl Agidel. He confessed his love to her and gave her gifts, but Agidel suffered from the annoying attention of the young man and decided to run away from home. Ashak caught up with her and hit her with a whip, and then the girl’s father, Ural, turned her river to protect Agidel. The young man found out about this and tore out his heart. In this place four Shihans and a thin river appeared.

Mount Shikhan in Bashkiria is an amazing geological natural monument. This ancient formation consists of four components - Yurak-tau, Kush-tau, Shah-tau and Tra-tau. Isolated hills, forming a narrow chain, stretch for twenty kilometers along the river. White.

Wonders of nature

In ancient times, the territory of modern Bashkiria was occupied by the ocean. At that time, Mount Shihan was nothing more than a reef. And you can still see imprints made by mollusks on the hill. The accumulation of fossils became a kind of repository for a variety of representatives of the ancient organic world. Among them are sponges, corals, bryozoans, algae, echinoderms, foraminifera and brachiopods.

Yurak-tau

Mount Shikhan (Sterlitamak is nearby) is the remnant of a reef that was once part of the Lower Permian massif. It is attributed to the late Paleozoic. The approximate period of formation is about 230 million years ago. Mount Shihan has a cone-shaped shape. The slopes are quite steep - about twenty to thirty degrees, but they do not form rocky ledges. The lower part is covered with scree. At the base of the slope on the northern side there are springs, one of which is sulphurous. The length of Yurak-tau is 1000 m, width - 850 m. The height above ocean level is 338 meters, above soil level - 200 m, and above the Belaya River - 220 meters. At the foot is located about. Moksha.

Kush-tau

This Mount Shikhan is located three kilometers from Yurak-tau. It is 140 km from Ufa and 18 km from Sterlitamak. In shape it is a two-humped ridge, elongated from north to south. At the foot of the mountain there is a holiday home called “Shikhany”. The eastern slope is occupied by the slopes of the famous ski resort. Like other shihans in Bashkiria, Kush-tau is a remnant of the Lower Permian reef massif.

Shah-tau

This Mount Shikhan rises five kilometers from Sterlitamak. Its length is 1.3 kilometers. Shah-tau is extended towards the southwest. The absolute height until the start of the development process was 336 meters. The interest of researchers is attracted by large limestone ledges, where in the frozen rocks one can find shells of marine animals that died out millions of years ago, soaked in semi-liquid oil or tar.

The mountain's limestones are being mined to obtain raw materials produced by the Sterlitamak production association "Soda". When this process had not yet begun, broad-leaved maple and oak forests grew on the slopes on the north side.

As of 1975, the peak of “Tsar Mountain” (the literal translation of the name) became thirty-five meters lower. Currently, practically nothing remains of this shihan.

Tra-tau

This mountain is located eight kilometers south of Shakh-tau. In shape it is a regular truncated cone. The southwestern slope is very steep. This shihan is an unspoken symbol of the Ishimbay region. Since 1965, it has the status of Tra-tau, rising 280 meters above ground level. It is noteworthy that more than a hundred species of herbaceous plants grow in a relatively small area of ​​the mountain. Small caves can be found in the upper parts of the western and southwestern slopes. At the foot is Lake Tugar-Salgan.

Yurmatians have long considered Tra-tau theirs. The territory around this shihan was considered forbidden for many centuries. It was there that all the most important rituals were held.

Beautiful legends

There are many legends about the ancient mountains, passed down from mouth to mouth for more than one generation. One of them tells us about the unrequited feelings that flared up among the horseman Ashak for the beautiful Agidel. For a long time, the young man tried to gain the favor of his beloved, but the girl did not pay attention to expensive gifts or confessions. In the end, Agidel secretly left her parents' house, never to see Ashak again. The news of this made the young man very angry. He rushed in pursuit of the shrew. When Ashak caught up with Agidel, he hit the girl painfully with a whip. The father of the young beauty, Ural, did not want anyone to raise a hand against his daughter. In order to protect his child, he turned Agidel into a river. When Ashak realized what he had done, he tore out his heart. Since then, at the site of the sad events, a thin river, like a young maiden, flows and four shikhans stand.

There are many other beliefs that tell about the incredible history of the origin of these mountains. Indeed, it is difficult to believe that such a miracle of nature appeared without the intervention of magical forces.

The result of painstaking work

What was once hidden in the depths of rocks can now be admired in the museum. It was discovered thanks to the efforts of Ivan Albertovich Skuin, a geologist who has been collecting the collection for more than twenty years. The museum is located in the quarry of Mount Shakh-tau. Most of all, tourists want to look at beautiful stones of different sizes and shapes. Analogues of this collection cannot be found anywhere else in the world. This museum attracts not only ordinary travelers, but also geologists. The latter are given the opportunity to study reefs of the Lower Permian period exposed on the earth's surface.

Recreation opportunities

Mount Shikhan forms a unique place. You can have a wonderful rest there either in a large company or in a close family circle by pitching a tent on one of the many suitable sites.

Mount Shikhan. Chelyabinsk region

This granite rock massif is located in the Middle Urals. The town of Verkhniy Ufaley is located nearby, and the Silach station is six kilometers away. Mount Shikhan was formed in the intermountain depression, stretching for two kilometers from north to south. The maximum width of the chain ranges from forty to fifty meters. Peak - Chamberlain (80 m).

The journey from Chelyabinsk to this natural monument will take about two and a half hours. Tourists are advised to stock up on repellents, as there are really a lot of mosquitoes in these places.

Conclusion

Mountains are unique creations of nature. They give us the purest air and offer us magnificent views. The massifs, which appeared millions of years ago, have not only aesthetic, but also practical value, becoming a source of extraction of various minerals, precious metals and much more.

Some alternative researchers are looking for traces of ancient highly developed civilizations in places where historical monuments have been preserved: the Middle East, South America. And they declare with 100% confidence that there are no such traces on Russian territory. But many do not agree with this opinion. Maybe we're not paying attention to that? Yes, we don’t have megalithic polygonal masonry. After all, if our territory suffered much more during a cataclysm (and maybe more than one) than Europe and the near-Mediterranean territories, then polygonal masonry (or traces thereof) may not be found under the clay soon, if at all. But we can also search differently, turning our gaze differently to those objects that we consider natural. After all, in 30-50 years, many wastes (dumps) of modern mining and processing industries will no longer be distinguishable from natural ones. They will become overgrown and we will only have to guess about their artificiality based on indirect signs and historical references. So, let's see.

Shikhan Yuraktayu, Bashkiria

evgen9 left a comment:
Near the village of Urman-Bishkadak, Ishimbay district in Bashkortostan, there is Mount Toratau, the locals call it Shikhan. I even climbed this mountain a couple of times. But only this year, I learned that there is a deep lake next to the mountain, after one local entrepreneur improved it for recreation. When I found out about the lake, and even 15 meters deep, I immediately thought about the artificial origin of the mountain, especially since the gentle slope is located on the side of the lake.

And this is what I managed to find through Google Planet Earth:

Link on the map
In the floodplain of the Belaya River near the city of Sterlitamak there is such a hill (shihan).

Yuraktau Hill. Sterlitamak district, Rep. Bashkortostan

Hill and hill, only without covering with sedimentary products of erosion or clay and without vegetation, i.e. geologically it is a very young formation.

Although on the other side there is vegetation

But the hill stands out very much against the background of the flat landscape. Moreover, it is strange that it is located in the floodplain of the river

Yuraktayu is laid with lime masses

A little further downstream is the next shihan - Kushtau:

Are in direct line of sight

Side view

And here is the modern production in this territory, the settling tanks of Soda OJSC (now Bashkir Soda Company OJSC), producing more than 20 types of chemical products and household chemicals, including: soda ash, purified sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), soot white, calcium chloride, lime, series of washing powders:

In 1936, geologists discovered that the Sterlitamak Shikhany Mountains had huge reserves of limestone - the raw material for the production of cement and soda. At the same time, during exploration of oil fields in the area of ​​the modern city of Ishimbaya, large deposits of rock salt were discovered - the second most important component of the chemical production of soda.
The site for the construction of the Sterlitamak soda plant was chosen in 1939.
In 1941, construction of a soda plant began. Evacuated equipment from Ukraine from the Slavyansk and Donetsk soda factories began to arrive here. In March 1945, the first batch of caustic soda was received.

OJSC Soda mines limestone at the Shakhtau Mountain deposit (also belongs to the Shikhany ridge), 90% of the initial reserves of which have already been developed. According to the company's forecasts, reserves will be completely depleted in 2017. The company has already completed geological exploration of the Tratau and Yuraktau mountains.
OJSC Soda asked the government of the Republic to allow the extraction of limestone from these mountains. But since this territory has the status of a natural monument, the Bashkir authorities are forced to refuse the company.

Mount Shakhtau has been completely mined out. But for some reason they don’t drip into the depths. Is there no lime below? It’s strange, because according to geology in the ancient past, this place was the Tethys Sea. And modern Shihans were islands in this sea. This means there should be lime below. But apparently she is not.

Let's go further south:

Shikhan Toratau and a deep lake to the north. Link on the map

View from a distance. Height 406m

Hill rock

Absolutely flat landscape (view from the shihan)

This video contains views of Toratau from above

So what am I showing all this about again?

Fluxes (fluxes) in metallurgy are inorganic substances that are added to ore during smelting of non-metals in order to reduce its melting point and facilitate the separation of metal from waste rock.
Fluxes, or fluxes, are impurities added during the smelting of metals in order to form slag of the proper degree of fusibility. However, often fluxes also refer to impurities added with the purpose of decomposing one or another metal compound or dissolving the metal or its compounds in the mass of the added substance, etc. (see slag and charge). The choice of flux depends on the type of smelting and the composition of the ores. For example, if the ore is rich in alumina and silica, the flux should be calcareous (containing lime) or magnesia (containing magnesia) - this is the case in 9 out of 10 all iron smelters. Pure limestone consists of 56% lime and 44% carbonic acid. To introduce 100 parts of lime into the mixture, 178.6 parts of limestone are required. Of course, you can add lime directly to the stove, but this is done relatively rarely. Fossil-bearing limestones are sometimes high in phosphorus, which is often undesirable. Therefore, preliminary analysis of limestones is essential. The best are marble-like, crystalline limestones; chalk is rarely used. Dolomite, containing on average 60% calcium carbonate and 40% magnesium carbonate, also finds use in smelting - it produces slag that is more fusible than pure limestone. In blast furnace production, the main purpose of using fluxes is to bind iron ore with silica. Naturally, the less limestone itself contains silica, the better.

When finishing smelting in open-hearth furnaces, lime can be used in pieces up to 150 mm in size. When smelting steel in converters, it is recommended to use lime in pieces 10–50 mm in size, which ensures fairly complete dissolution of it in the slag and reduces carryover during blowing.

Those. a certain fraction of limestone is used. I will add that Sterlitamak is located almost 50 km from the western ranges of the Ural Mountains. And to the east of the mountains is Magnitogorsk. It’s clear what I’m getting at – to the places of iron mining and smelting. Without lime, as is already clear, this smelting process on an industrial scale is impossible.

Shikhans are often located in river valleys and rise 150-200 m.

In the Urals, rocky mountain peaks are called shihans.

In Bashkiria, four single mountains are called shikhans: Tratau, Shakhtau, Yuraktau and Kushtau. These shikhans are located near the city of Sterlitamak. Today they are unique natural monuments - the remains of ancient reefs formed in the warm sea of ​​the Devonian period. The stones from which these shikhans are made contain imprints of ancient plants and animals. Traces of the ocean may indicate the origin of the soil, not the shihan.

SHIKHAN m. Bashkirsk. eastern hill, knoll, esp. steep, peaked, tented; crown, top of a mountain. Shihans in the sand, steep hillocks in ridges, ridges. Shikhany puts, casp. sea ​​ice is broken by the wind and hummocked, piled up, set up as a tent; This is an ominous sign for fishermen (who walk dozens of miles across the ice into the sea): after the shikhans there is a breaking and then the ice is carried into the sea. Mar na shihan, orenb. astrakh. storage of stones on the mountain. The Kirghiz went to the shikhans for the winter, to the Karakum, under the protection of sandy hillocks. Arrange the boards like a shikhan and cover them with a tent. Shikhannik, kuchegurnik, hillock, dry hummock, sandy hillock.

see also

Links

• Along the paths of the Southern Urals (Russian). Archived from the original on February 22, 2012.

Wikimedia Foundation.

Synonyms

See what “Shikhan” is in other dictionaries: Male, Tatar, Eastern hill, knoll, esp. steep, peaked, tented; | crown, top of a mountain. Shihans in the sand, steep hillocks in ridges, ridges. Shikhany puts, casp. sea ​​ice is broken by the wind and hummocked, piled up, set up as a tent; this is ominous for... ...

Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary A single hill on the river bank, a hill with a well-defined peak (Middle and Lower Volga region) ...

Big Encyclopedic Dictionary SHIKHAN, shihana, husband. (region, mountain). Pointed hill, sharp peak of a mountain. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ...

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

- (Volga) a separate hill on the river bank, not flooded by spring waters. Samoilov K.I. Marine dictionary. M. L.: State Naval Publishing House of the NKVMF of the USSR, 1941 ... Marine Dictionary Noun, number of synonyms: 6 hillock (53) peak (213) hill (57) ...

Synonym dictionary SHIKHAN - Ivan Filipievich Shikhan, otchinnik of Kargopol. XVI century (1 half). A. Yu. 128. Ivan Parfeniev, son of Shikhan, peasant of the Tavrensky volost. 1590. A. Yu. 383 ...

Biographical Dictionary A; m. Nar. decomposition Pointed hill, sharp peak of a mountain. * * * shihan is a single hill on the river bank, a hill with a well-defined peak (Middle and Lower Volga region). * * * SHIKHAN SHIKHAN, a single hill (see HIGHWAY) on the shore... ...

Steep hill, top of the mountain, ice floes piled up by the wind (Melnikov 7.17), east. Russian (Dal), wilderness, with ravines, Vyatsk. (Vasn.). Dont clear … Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language by Max Vasmer

M. local A pointed mountain peak, a pointed hill. Ephraim's explanatory dictionary. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

Shihan, shihan, shihan, shikhanov, shihan, shihan, shihan, shihan, shihan, shihan, shihan, shihan (Source: “Full accentuated paradigm according to A. A. Zaliznyak”) ... Forms of words

Books

• Blue Shihan. Vitim Zolotoy, Pavel Fedorov, The dilogy “Blue Shikhan” and “Vitim Zolotoy” is written on specific historical material. The book takes place at the beginning of the 20th century. On the pages of the first novel there is an epically wide representation of... Category: Adventure novels Publisher: Voenizdat,
• A revolution in consciousness = a revolution in business, Shihan Peter, In this book, which destroys all stereotypes and traditional models of leadership, the author talks about new thinking - a real revolution in consciousness, which changes the rules before our eyes... Category:

Shikhany Mountains- a unique and inimitable natural monument in Bashkiria. In ancient times, there was a sea in this place, and the Shikhans were reefs. To this day, they retain imprints of mollusks on themselves. The fossil assemblage contains remains of corals, sponges and algae.

The Shikhans consist of 4 single mountains: Toratau, Shakhtau, Yuraktau and Kushtau, forming a narrow chain stretched along the Belaya River for 20 km. They are located near the cities of Sterlitamak, Ishimbay and Salavat.

It would seem, where do coral reefs suddenly appear in the heart of Bashkiria, among fields and forests? It's simple: many millions of years ago, on the site of the modern Urals and Bashkiria, the Ural Sea roared. A variety of creatures lived in it: brachiopods, trilobites, crinoids, algae, stromatolites and other invertebrates. They left us undeniable evidence that the sea really was here.

Modernity has made adjustments to the life of the ancient reefs called Shikhana. The development of limestone deposits for the production of building materials and raw materials for detergents is gradually destroying Shah Tau. Undoubtedly, the Shikhany Mountains are valuable both for the city-forming enterprise and for history: similar mountains remain only in Australia. We can only hope that justice will prevail, and the mountains of Yuraktau, Kushtau and Toratau will remain alive.

Nowadays these mountains are loved by tourists. Long steep slopes, heights of up to 400 m and unique nature provide ample opportunities for active recreation in Bashkiria in winter and summer. Ski resorts on Shikhany are one of the most popular holiday destinations, where residents from Bashkiria and all over the Urals flock. Sanatoriums and recreation centers take advantage of the opportunities provided by Shikhany and offer truly high-quality recreation.

There are many legends about the ancient mountains, passed down from mouth to mouth for more than one generation. One of them tells us about the unrequited feelings that flared up among the horseman Ashak for the beautiful Agidel. For a long time, the young man tried to gain the favor of his beloved, but the girl did not pay attention to expensive gifts or confessions. In the end, Agidel secretly left her parents' house, never to see Ashak again. The news of this made the young man very angry. He rushed in pursuit of the shrew. When Ashak caught up with Agidel, he hit the girl painfully with a whip. The father of the young beauty, Ural, did not want anyone to raise a hand against his daughter. In order to protect his child, he turned Agidel into a river. When Ashak realized what he had done, he tore out his heart. Since then, at the site of the sad events, a thin river, like a young maiden, flows and four shikhans stand.

Mount Yuraktau

The mountain is a remnant of a reef that was once part of the Lower Permian massif. It is attributed to the late Paleozoic. The approximate period of formation is about 230 million years ago. Mount Shihan has a cone-shaped shape. The slopes are quite steep - about 20-30 degrees, but they do not form rocky ledges. The lower part is covered with scree. At the base of the slope on the northern side there are springs, one of which is sulphurous. The length of Yurak-tau is 1000 m, width - 850 m. The height above ocean level is 338 meters, above soil level - 200 m, and above the Belaya River - 220 meters. At the foot is Lake Moksha.

Mount Toratau

The mountain is located 8 kilometers south of Shakhtau. In shape it is a regular truncated cone. The southwestern slope is very steep. This shihan is an unspoken symbol of the Ishimbay region. Since 1965 it has the status of a natural monument. Toratau rises 280 meters above ground level. It is noteworthy that more than a hundred species of herbaceous plants grow in a relatively small area of ​​the mountain. Small caves can be found in the upper parts of the western and southwestern slopes. At the foot is Lake Tugar-Salgan.

Mount Kushtau

The mountain is located 3 kilometers from Yuraktau. It is 140 km from Ufa and 18 km from Sterlitamak. In shape it is a two-humped ridge, elongated from north to south. At the foot of the mountain there is a holiday home called “Shikhany”. The eastern slope is occupied by the slopes of the famous ski resort. Like other shikhans in Bashkiria, Kushtau is a remnant of the Lower Permian reef massif.

Mount Shakhtau

The mountain rises 5 kilometers from Sterlitamak. Its length is 1.3 kilometers. The interest of researchers is attracted by large limestone ledges, where in the frozen rocks one can find shells of marine animals that died out millions of years ago, soaked in semi-liquid oil or tar. The mountain's limestones are being mined to obtain raw materials produced by the Sterlitamak production association "Soda". When this process had not yet begun, broad-leaved maple and oak forests grew on the slopes on the north side. As of 1975, the peak of “Tsar Mountain” (the literal translation of the name) became 35 meters lower. Currently, practically nothing remains of this shihan.

The Shikhany Mountains in Bashkiria are impartial witnesses to the processes that took place in this territory millions of years ago. Thanks to them, scientists learned that once upon a time there was a sea on the site of Bashkiria, and the unique mountains were reefs. On the rocks of these giants, fossils of various algae and corals and prints of sea mollusks have been preserved.

The mountains were also witnesses to historical events, of which many occurred in the Urals over the long history. They saw the uprising, which was led by Emelyan Pugachev, and fierce battles during the Civil War; Marshal Blucher, who fought against Napoleon, took place in these places.