The Sakmara River flows through two regions of the Urals: the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Orenburg Region. It originates in the mountains, on the picturesque slopes of the Ural-Tau. The name of this river is well known to travelers, water tourists, nature photographers.
Geographic features
The Sakmara River flows from north to south through a spacious mountain valley. It goes around the Zilair plateau, and breaking through into a deep mountain gorge, it picks up speed. The river then turns west.
Sakmara is one of the most significant tributaries of the Urals and flows into it on the right near the city of Orenburg. The total length of the river is almost 800 km, and the area of its basin exceeds 30,000 km². The water level in the Sakmara river depends on the season. It reaches its maximum in spring, although strong floods can occur in other seasons.
Name
Toponymists believe that the name comes from the words of Bashkir origin "sak" ("carefully") and "bar" ("go", "move"). Literally, this name most likely means "the river along which you need to gocarefully". And this is due not only to geographical features, but also to the fact that in ancient times these places were border areas - the southern line of the border of Bashkiria ran along Sakmara.
Inflows and feeding
Zilair, Big Ik and Salmysh flow into the river Sakmaru. The largest tributary is the Big Ik, its length is 341 km. But the main source of food for Sakmara is snow cover, its share is 77% of the annual runoff. Rain provides 11% and groundwater 12% runoff.
Character of the water regime
Sakmara has an Eastern European type with a predominance of spring runoff. In summer and autumn, the level of the Sakmara River rises due to rains. In early April, the spring flood comes into force. It gradually subsides by the middle of summer, interspersed with one-time floods under the influence of precipitation. However, these drops rarely raise the level by more than 0.5 meters.
Autumn rises, caused by an increase in precipitation and a decrease in evaporation, often reach rises of 0.9 m above the boundary. Winter is characterized by even more drops - up to 1 measure.
Localities
There are several cities and small towns on Sakmara. The most significant of them are Kuvandyk, Nikolskoye, Saraktash, Sakmara, Black Spur, Tatarskaya Kargala. Most of the settlements are affected by annual floods, which are caused by an increased water level in the Sakmara River. Orenburg, near which the river flows into the Urals, suffers from the violence of the elements to a lesser extent.
Difficult character
Experienced tourists say that Sakmara is the onestill a slut. Its waters are cold, and the current is fast, especially near the drain. It is the coldest river in Bashkortostan. Its channel is winding, the right bank is dotted with tributaries, and the left bank is steep and steep.
But if this can scare or alarm someone, then only not water tourists!
Nature
If you decide to go to these parts and personally see what it is like, the Sakmara River in Orenburg, be sure to take care of your photo equipment! Believe me, there are a lot of plots for filming here. The banks of the river are very picturesque, in some places steep cliffs protrude above the water. Caves, grottoes, karst wells are not uncommon for them.
Rafting on Sakmara
These places attract kayakers and brave rafters. Although a small part of the river is suitable for rafting, near its very mouth.
The upper areas are the most attractive for kayakers. Tourist rafting often starts in the village of Yuldybaevo, where there are excellent places for gathering boats not far from the bridge. Experienced tourists are advised to take everything you need with you, and not to hope to buy food locally. These places are a real wilderness, rafting, here you can not meet a single settlement for several days.
The best time to travel is May and June. The speed of the current in spring often exceeds 2 m/sec, while in summer it drops to 0.5 m/sec. The width of the river in these places is small - 10-20 meters.
Rafting requires experience. The river carries many dangers, it is characterized by rapids, rifts, dams, pinches.
The most dangerous obstacle is the Yamantas threshold. It is about 15 km from Yuldybaev to it. The threshold stretches for one and a half kilometers and consists of three difficult steps with rifts. Some prefer to cross it by land, and the words that it is not worth climbing into the water without reconnaissance of the ford are especially relevant in these places. Some brave souls who tried to conquer Yamantash paid with their lives.
The next difficult rift with protruding stones is also not easy. But after 10 kilometers the river will become calmer. The rocks on the banks look like fairytale castles.
Another difficult threshold is located near the confluence of the tributary - the river Barakal. He appears suddenly just around the corner. The waterfall reaches about a meter in height, and a huge rock protrudes in the middle of the river. After the mouth of Zilair, Sakmara calms down again. After Yantyshevo or Kuvandyk station, where many people complete their rafting, the Sakmara takes on the calm character of a flat river.
Fishing in Sakmara
This river attracts fishing enthusiasts too. The Sakmara River is rich in fish. Chub, perch, podust are found here. Professionals catch huge catfish from its waters. The queen of rivers is also found here - pike.
