Berezovskie Utyosy

Berezovskie Utyosy (Berezovsky Cliffs) is a regional geological nature monument in the Kvarkensky District of Orenburg Oblast, near the village of Beryozovka. It is a group of cliffs on both the right and left banks of the Ural River, covering a total area of 69.5 hectares: the northern section lies 1.5 km northeast of the village, the central section 0.3 km southeast, and the southern section 2 km south of it. The almost vertical rock walls reach up to 30 meters in height.

Geology

The cliffs are stratigraphic sections of volcanogenic-sedimentary and sedimentary rocks of the so-called Berezovskaya formation of the Lower Carboniferous — mainly andesite-basalt tuffs and lavas, tuffaceous sandstones, and clayey and clay-siliceous shales. The formation corresponds to the Tournaisian stage (mainly its upper part) and the lowest part of the Visean stage; the typical fauna of this horizon is ammonites and belemnites. The rocks were first and most thoroughly studied by the geologist L. S. Librovich in 1936.

Nature

Typical petrophytes grow on the steep, rocky slopes of the cliffs: Jovibarba sobolifera (gornokolosnik), Sedum hybridum, and Thymus mugodzharicus. In the inaccessible lower parts of the cliffs, in rock crevices, grows a small fern, Woodsia ilvensis. On the turf-covered sections of the slopes, the grass cover is dominated by Artemisia austriaca and feather grass (Stipa capillata). At the foot of the cliffs, deep pools have formed in the bed of the Ural River, home to bream, pikeperch, burbot, and ide.

Getting there

The cliffs lie next to the village of Beryozovka in Kvarkensky District, about 59 km in a straight line from the village of Kvarkeno, the district's administrative center. Beryozovka itself stands at an elevation of 273 meters above sea level; until 2018 it was part of the Urtazymsky rural settlement, which was abolished when rural settlements in the area were merged. Not far away is the Iriklinskoye Reservoir, a large body of water on the Ural River covering 260 square kilometers, which locals call their own sea.

As a regional nature monument, Berezovskie Utyosy has a special protection regime: visitors are allowed, but should avoid damaging the rocks and the vegetation growing on them. The area along this stretch of the Ural River holds several other rock landmarks as well — the Urtazymskiye Rocks, the Seven Caves cave complex, and Koltso Rock with its cave — which together with Berezovskie Utyosy form a chain of scenic cliffs along the riverbanks.