Olon-Nur Lakes

The Olon-Nur Lakes (Озёра Олон-Нур) are a group of five shallow lakes set in the bed of the Zhom-Bolok River, within the Oka municipal district of the Republic of Buryatia. The lakes sit at an elevation of 1,500–1,525 meters above sea level in the Eastern Sayan Mountains, inside the Valley of Volcanoes — one of the most remote and sparsely visited corners of the region.

How the lakes formed

The Olon-Nur Lakes owe their existence to volcanic activity: they lie within a 60-kilometer lava corridor carved by the Zhom-Bolok River after ancient eruptions in the Valley of Volcanoes. The five lakes are linked by short channels 50–100 meters long, some of which are themselves formed from solidified lava flows. Their shoreline is heavily indented, following the uneven relief of the lava fields, and volcanic pumice can be seen on the lake beds in places. The group's total water surface area is 1.33 square kilometers.

Nature

The lakes are surrounded by extinct volcanoes, including Kropotkin Volcano. The slopes are made up of outcrops of metamorphic bedrock and scree, interspersed with volcanic fields. The shores are covered with cedar-larch forest mixed with spruce, and the understory includes Altai honeysuckle growing up to three meters tall. Ferns push up through cracks in the lava substrate, while wormwood grows on open ground. The water of the Zhom-Bolok River that feeds the lakes is very clean, but it holds almost no fish.

Getting there

The Olon-Nur Lakes lie well off any road: they can be reached by off-road vehicle, with the final stretch covered on foot. Many maps do not show the lakes, and the access tracks leading to them are not marked. The lakes often serve as a starting point for hiking routes into the Valley of Volcanoes or to Lake Khara-Nur.

Legends and stories

Travelers who have visited the lakes describe the landscape as resembling an uninhabited planet, so empty and unfamiliar does the terrain look here. The only people who occasionally pass through are shepherds driving their livestock, who come by about once a week.