Mount Beloshapka

Mount Beloshapka is the highest of four summits on a low watershed ridge about 800 meters long in the Kuvandyksky urban district of Orenburg Region, 4.4 km southeast of the village of Yumaguzino. The peak is made of light, nearly white reef limestone that stands out sharply against the dark surrounding rocks — serpentinites, diabases and Silurian siliceous shales. That contrast gave the mountain its name: a whitening summit visible from afar (beloshapka roughly translates as "white cap").

Geology

The limestone of the mountain is a fossilized coral reef of Middle Devonian age, roughly 390 million years old, dated from the marine fauna preserved in the rock. Recrystallized coral remains are common on the slopes of Beloshapka, evidence that a warm sea once covered what is now the Urals. Geologists A. D. Petrovsky and A. V. Khabakov were the first to study the limestone and establish the age of the reef. Limestone was once quarried on the mountain.

Yumaguzinskaya Cave

On the steep southern slope of the mountain, higher up, there is a ledge with the entrance to Yumaguzinskaya Cave. The entrance is low and narrow and cannot be seen from below; the landmark is a rocky scree slope that leads up to the ledge. Visitors have to crawl in on hands and knees at first, but after about seven meters the passage widens enough to stand upright. The cave is roughly 50 meters long overall. The cavity formed along a system of cracks and was widened by water seeping in from the surface. There is a large chamber deeper inside. Bats and butterflies can be found on the walls, along with soot and graffiti left by many visitors.

Protection status

Mount Beloshapka and Yumaguzinskaya Cave form a regional geological and geomorphological (stratigraphic and paleontological) nature monument of Orenburg Region. The status was approved by the regional government on February 25, 2015, and the protected area covers 15.8 hectares.

Getting there

From Kuvandyk, head toward the village of Yumaguzino. At the point with coordinates 51.601733, 57.589400, turn east and continue to 51.604767, 57.597233, where a car can be left in the shade of trees. From there it is a walk up the slope to the southern side of the mountain, where the cave entrance is located. The drive from Mednogorsk to the cave takes about an hour.