Pallas Mountain

Pallas Mountain is a 1,236-metre summit of the Yablonovy Range in the Chitinsky municipal district of Zabaikalsky Krai, about 35–40 km northwest of Chita, within the Ivano-Arakhleysky nature reserve. It is also known as Vodorazdelnaya Mountain (Watershed Mountain) or the Great Source — here the watersheds of three major rivers of Eastern Siberia meet: the Yenisei, the Lena and the Amur.

World watershed

On Pallas Mountain two ocean basins are conventionally divided: water flowing through the Yenisei and the Lena reaches the Arctic Ocean, while water of the Amur basin reaches the Pacific. Locally the mountain is called the "mountain of five seas"; tourists often say it is the only summit in the world where three rivers' watersheds meet, though this claim has not been strictly verified. Nearby lies Lake Arakhley, fed from the mountain's slopes through the Gryaznukha river.

History

In 1772 Peter Simon Pallas, a German encyclopedist scientist in Russian service after whom the mountain was later named, crossed the Yablonovy Range. For a long time the point where three watersheds meet was known only to a few local residents. In 1977 researcher Timur Zhalsarain re-described it, drawing attention to the summit's unique position. On the initiative of local historian Yuri Rudenko the mountain was declared a nature monument in 1983 — a status that limits economic activity here and calls for careful treatment of the landscape. In 2012 the summit was officially named after Pallas. Today a memorial plaque dedicated to Yuri Rudenko and an information board about the world watershed stand at the top.

Nature

The mountain stands within the Ivano-Arakhleysky nature reserve, a protected area created to preserve the lake-and-taiga landscapes of Zabaikalye. In places the slopes have been burned by forest fires, so part of the way up passes through stands of dead trees. From the summit there is a view of Lake Arakhley and the surrounding taiga.

Getting there

Pallas Mountain lies about 35–40 km northwest of Chita. It can be reached by an off-road vehicle — necessary because of snow in winter or boggy ground in summer — or on foot. One route goes through the village of Kadala and then along a dirt road, another through the village of Arakhley, from where an all-terrain vehicle can reach the mountain. Every March organized mass ascents of Pallas Mountain take place, drawing tourists and local history enthusiasts from across Zabaikalsky Krai.