Hanging stone - a whim of nature

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Nature never ceases to amaze with its unusual structures. The hanging stone is one of the sights of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Every year the unusual monolith attracts hundreds of tourists. The non-standard location on the slope gives rise to many versions of its appearance. Locals tell numerous legends and myths related to the stone.

Location

Ergaki Nature Park, which is of regional importance, is located in the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. It received the status of a specially protected natural area with an area of 342,873 hectares in April 2005. It became a member of the Association of National Parks and Reserves of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion. The West Sayan Highlands includes several ranges:

• Borus;
• Jebash;
• Kulumys;
• Kurtushubinsky;
• Oisky;
• Sayan;
• Tazarama.

Among them is the amazing natural park Ergaki. In the specially protected area of the Aradan forestry (FGU "Usinsky forestry") in the eastern part of the Ermakovsky districtthere is a hanging stone.

The Ergaki massif is located in the central part of the Western Sayans. This is a relatively small section, about 80 km long and no more than 70 km wide. It includes a group of mountain ranges Baldyr-Taiga, Ergaki, Metugul-Taiga, Sheshpir-Taiga. Basically, this is a mid-mountain relief, with a height of 1400-2000 meters above sea level, the highest point is 2281 meters (the Baldyr-Taiga ridge). Very beautiful places that abound with rocky peaks, steep slopes, scree, cliffs. The river valleys are deep and narrow.

You can get to the place where the hanging stone is located on your own from the Abakan-Kyzyl highway (M-54). Following the signs to the place, you can walk at a leisurely pace in about 3 hours.

Description

A huge piece of rock, weighing about 600 tons, "holds" to the edge of a kilometer cliff with a small area of 1m². Old-timers say that until the mid-70s of the last century, it was swinging. An ordinary person, with a little effort, can swing a giant.

Today, the hanging stone of Ergaki (photo below) is completely motionless. The reason was not found. It is assumed that either this is a natural phenomenon - under the weight of the block, the granite under it compacted - or people made a backfill so that it really did not fall down. Over the years, neither numerous earthquakes, nor weathering and washing out of the rock, nor the efforts of people can move it even a millimeter.

In all likelihood, soThe granite block owes its unusual location to the glacier. During its movement, it moved huge fragments of a mountain range made of coarse-grained granite. As you know, it is easily destroyed by glacial erosion. Thanks to this phenomenon, today hundreds of people can admire the original "decoration" of the slope.

Tourism object

Ergaki Natural Park is the most visited area of the Western Sayan Mountains. It is not for nothing that it is called the pearl of Siberia. There is something to see here. From the Khudozhnikov pass, a stunning view of the central part of the Ergaki massif opens up. The famous peaks Brothers (Parabola), Starry, Mirror, Dragon's Tooth, Cone, Bird are perfectly visible. Numerous lakes (Rainbow, Zolotarnoe, Marble, Mountain Spirits) of glacial origin captivate with their beauty. The largest ones are Svetloe, Bolshoye Bezrybnoe and Bolshoe Buibinskoye.

The route to the hanging stone is one of the most popular among tourists. To visit a monolithic giant and take a photo as a keepsake is almost a ritual. Each tourist considers it his duty to try to push the block into the abyss. No one even managed to move him, including a group of 30 people. Route information:

• length - 14 kilometers;
• duration - about 9 hours;
• recommended age - from 10 years old;
• physical fitness level - average;
• period - June, July, August.

When climbing the hanging stone, tourists visit Rainbow Lake, Oisky Pass, Sleeping Sayan. The amazing landscapes of the route, the grandeur of the surrounding nature,neat subalpine meadows, colorful watersheds - a real visiting card of the famous natural park.

Myths

They say that if the scales with evil significantly outweigh the level of good and the balance in the whole world is disturbed, then the Stone Bird will come to life - the peak at the feet of the Sleeping Sayan. This rocky ridge is reminiscent of a person sleeping on his back. It is curious that this is clearly visible from any point of view. The bird will fly in and sit on the edge of the hanging stone. That's enough to send him off the slope.

The most popular myth claims that when a hanging stone falls from a kilometer height into Rainbow Lake, the Sleeping Sayan will wake up. The splash from the fall of the block into the lake will wash his face, and he will wake up. The beginning of a new era is associated with his awakening, although there is no clear understanding of what exactly the Sleeping Saiyan will do. Locals believe that his main task is to protect the we alth of his native land.