Zhukova Shishka Mountain

Zhukova Shishka is a rocky hill 309 metres high standing on a peninsula in the middle of the Sim Reservoir, on the edge of the town of Sim in the Asha municipal district of Chelyabinsk Oblast. The hill is part of the "Sim Reservoir" nature monument and is visible from almost anywhere in town.

What to see

A hiking trail about a kilometre long runs up the slope, fitted with stairs and footbridges, suitable for a family walk. About 30 metres below the summit, roughly 70 metres above the level of the reservoir, lies a karst cave called "Zhukova Shishka — 1": a horizontal cavity formed along a vertical tectonic fracture. At the foot of the hill stands a Monument of Glory to the residents of Sim who died in the Great Patriotic War.

Nature

The slopes are covered with relict fir, spruce and pine trees. Plants listed in the Red Book of Chelyabinsk Oblast grow here, including Sanicula uralensis, Saxifraga sibirica and the maidenhair spleenwort. The hill is also home to a two-veined thyme, a Southern Ural endemic found nowhere else in the oblast.

History

In 1770 the naturalist and traveller Peter Simon Pallas described the hill, noting its conical shape and that it was surrounded by water on three sides. In 1910 the hill appeared in a photograph from Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky's expedition, labelled on that print as "Zavodskaya Shishka" (Factory Cone). According to local tradition, the present name comes from a priest named Zhukov, who once held services here.

Getting there

The hill stands on the edge of the town of Sim, by the town reservoir. It is about 295 km from Chelyabinsk, 166 km from Ufa, 430 km from Yekaterinburg and 450 km from Perm.