Bolshoye Bogdo Mountain

Bolshoye Bogdo (Большое Богдо) rises in Russia's Astrakhan Region, in Akhtubinsky District, on the western shore of Lake Baskunchak, within the Bogdinsko-Baskunchaksky nature reserve. The mountain is 152 metres high, the highest point of the Caspian Depression, standing out abruptly from the flat semi-desert steppe around it.

Geology and history

Bogdo is a salt dome with a monolithic core formed back in the Triassic period: a mass of rock pushed upward by plastic salt layers, older than most other landforms in this part of the Lower Volga region. Its slopes are made of limestone and clay, cut through with karst sinkholes, caves and grottoes; the longest of the caves runs for about 1.5 kilometres. One side of the mountain is noticeably redder than the rest, due to a high concentration of metals in the rock.

The first scientific descriptions of the mountain date to the 18th century: the naturalist Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin studied it in 1769, and Peter Simon Pallas in 1774, both as part of academic expeditions exploring the Lower Volga region.

Legends

The Kalmyk name of the mountain, Bogdo-Ola, translates as "sacred mountain." Several legends are tied to it. In one, two righteous Kalmyk women were carrying the mountain from the Ural steppes, but because of a sinful thought by one of their companions the load collapsed to the ground, and the women's blood stained the slope red. In another version, the Dalai Lama ordered the mountain to be moved to the Kalmyks from far away, from the Tien Shan. The same cycle of legends is linked to the origin of the salt lake Baskunchak nearby: it is said to have formed from the tears of the Buddha, who wept for the dead. There is also a story that a Kalmyk guardian spirit lives on the summit, barring people from reaching it and casting down into the abyss anyone who defies it.

On the south-western slope are the "singing rocks" — sections of rock with cavities that, in a strong wind, produce sounds resembling a whisper, or the whistle of a flute or a horn. The same spot carries another tale: a small lizard, the Caspian pygmy gecko, is said to have stayed to live at the foot of the mountain because Bogdo once stood up for it.

Nature

The reserve that includes the mountain is known for fauna that is rich and, in many respects, unique for the region: about 1,500 species of invertebrates, 225 bird species, 47 mammal species and 13 reptile species have been recorded here. The Caspian pygmy gecko is one of the few gecko species found in Russia, and in Europe it occurs only on Bolshoye Bogdo. The reserve is also home to Coelpinia, a plant whose only known location in Russia is tied to this area.

An unusual natural phenomenon of the mountain is thermal inversion: as you climb toward the summit, the air does not get cooler, as it usually would, but warmer.

Getting there

The mountain lies next to the village of Nizhny Baskunchak and can be reached by car; alternatively, take a train to Verkhny Baskunchak station and continue by taxi. Excursions are also organised from Volgograd. Entry to the reserve is paid: 250 rubles for adults and 150 rubles for children.