Chersky's Shore

Chersky's Shore is a geological outcrop on the right bank of the Irtysh River on the southern edge of Omsk, near the village of Novaya Stanitsa. It is a regional natural monument and the highest point in Omsk above sea level, at 123 metres.

History and name The outcrop is named after the geologist and geographer Ivan Chersky, who was exiled to Omsk for taking part in the Polish uprising. Chersky was the first to describe the site, in 1867. Military camps stood on the shore during the war of 1812 and during 1941-1945. On 29 January 1979 the Omsk regional executive committee placed the outcrop under protection, but in 1994 it lost that status. The status of a regional geological natural monument was restored on 11 April 2012. In December 2008 a memorial stele to Chersky was put up at the top of the outcrop.

What the place is Chersky's Shore is a natural outcrop of Neogene deposits of the Novostanichnaya formation, roughly 1,000-2,000 metres long and about 50 metres wide, rising 16 to 20 metres above the water level of the Irtysh. The slopes are cut by ravines and shaped by suffosion processes and landslides. Fossils turn up here: shells of ancient molluscs, ostracods and bones of extinct animals, which makes the outcrop a well-known geological natural monument and a place people visit to see Omsk's palaeontological finds.

The shore and the entry to the water at the foot of the outcrop are clayey, with small stones and algae; swimming is not advisable, since the beach is neither equipped nor authorised. On the protected territory it is forbidden to light fires, leave litter, walk pets or hold unorganised recreation.

Getting there Chersky's Shore is about 20 kilometres from the Omsk railway station. It can be reached by car along the Cherlaksky highway, or by minibus to the Omsk Armoured Engineering Institute and then on foot through the village of Novaya Stanitsa toward the Irtysh, following the power line towers.