Lake Kalkan

Lake Kalkan lies in the Uchalinsky district of Bashkortostan, about 20 km north of the town of Uchaly and 3.6 km north of the village of Kalkanovo. The name comes from the Bashkir word "kalkan", meaning "shield" — a reference to the lake's elongated shape. The water surface covers about 1.8 square km (171 hectares), the lake is 2.6 km long, with an average width of 0.6 km.

Nature

The lake is fed by numerous springs, so its water stays cold even in summer, although it is clear. The bottom is gently sloping and muddy. The shores differ from one another: the eastern shore is covered with birch and larch forest, while meadow steppe dominates elsewhere, and the northern and southern parts of the shoreline are marshy. A holiday camp and a children's camp stand on the northeastern shore.

Jasper and history

In the 18th and 19th centuries gold and a decorative stone, jasper, were mined in the area around the lake. Kalkan jasper became known far beyond the Southern Urals: objects made from it, including vases, are kept in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Mount Kalkan-Tau rises next to the lake, holding deposits of this stone. On the lake's southwestern shore stand the ruins of an old steam mill built in the same period.

Legends

Several legends are tied to the lake. According to one, the peninsula in the middle of the lake is a sunken gold dredge: two brothers mined gold here, and one, out of envy, locked the other inside the machine. In the struggle a hole broke through the hull, water poured in, the dredge sank, and over time it turned into a forested peninsula. According to another story, three brothers were carrying gold they had mined to the town when they were attacked by robbers; the gold itself was never found — legend has it that they had hidden it inside the harness collars.

Recreation and fishing

Today Lake Kalkan is a place for fishing and water recreation. It is home to crucian carp, perch, roach, carp, pike-perch, bream, silver carp and grass carp. Every year, on the last weekend of July, the lake's shore hosts the "Kalkan" bard song festival.

Getting there

The road to the lake runs through the town of Uchaly toward the village of Kalkanovo; before reaching the village, turn right toward the village of Rysaevo — this road runs along the lake's shore.