Among the territories with a unique landscape in our country, the Tsimlyansky Sands Natural Park stands out. It is located in the Volgograd region on the Tsimlya River, from where its name came from.
On the territory, the sands never overgrow, they constantly form hills and mounds, sandy terraces. This is facilitated by a small amount of rain and the local wind regime. The lack of moisture does not allow vegetation to develop rapidly - here you can find only those herbs that have adapted to life in the sands for hundreds of years.
General information
The Tsimlyansky Sands Nature Park is a state budgetary institution founded in 2003. The organization was created to protect the unique nature of our region.
The park is located on the territories of the Tormsky and Zakharsky village councils of the Chernyshkovsky district. The total area of the protected zone is about 70 sq. ha. The park has several zones divided by functionality:
- environmental - these are lands on which no activity can be carried out, and visiting is clearly regulated by local acts. Occupies an area of approx.48.3%;
- the recreational area accounts for about 29.1% of the entire territory, it is on it that a park is organized where everyone can relax and admire the unique nature;
- agricultural part takes only 2.5%, agriculture is carried out here to meet the needs of workers and visitors to the park;
- the remaining 20, 1% is occupied by the buffer zone.
The park also includes two hunting grounds - Sotskoye and Balabanovskoye.
Reservoir
Chernyshkovsky district of the Volgograd region is also famous for having its own "sea". The Tsimlyansk reservoir began to function in 1952 on the Don River, capturing the Rostov and Volgograd regions.
The artificial sea covers an area of about 2700 sq.m. In windy weather, the waves on the reservoir reach a height of three meters. The climate in the district has changed slightly after the appearance of "big" water: spring has become longer, and autumn is warmer.
Today, the Tsimlyansk reservoir, as it is clearly seen on the map, provides water to more than three million inhabitants of nearby areas. Also, an artificial pond allows you to irrigate the fields, fish for local residents. There is even a shipping branch here.
Interesting about the reservoir
During the formation of the water reservoir, several settlements were wiped off the face of the earth, the historical fortress of the Khazars - Sarkel was flooded. The history of the creation of the reservoir is "overgrown" with legends. The legend says that in one village people refused to leave their homes, and before the water was released, they gathered in the church and prayed to stay alive, and then ended up under water. Now that the water is receding, a cross and a glow can be seen in the middle of the reservoir, and some people can even hear the church choir singing.
There is another rumor about the reservoir that allegedly in 1964 two military planes collided over the water - a missile carrier and a tanker, which were heading to the range in the Caspian Sea. During the accident, the missile carrier lost something very similar to a nuclear warhead. Large-scale searches were carried out, all witnesses signed a non-disclosure agreement, but nothing was found. Therefore, it is still not clear whether a training or a real warhead then fell into the water. But the proximity of the nuclear power plant and the alleged presence of a nuclear warhead in the water causes mixed emotions.
Soil and relief
Natural park in the Volgograd region cannot be called rich in flora. The relief here is predominantly flat, with formed plateaus, ridges and mounds of sand. In places where the sand falls, islands of deciduous forests are located. The entire territory of the park area is difficult to access even for special vehicles. The territories between hillocks were “manually” planted with pines, so now there are mixed forests here.
Despite the so-called scarcity of vegetation, there are about 247 species of plants in the park. Pine, birch, aspen, broom, poplar, acacia grow here from trees. In some depressionsmarsh sedge, rushes and reeds manage to grow. Most of the territories are covered with feather grass and wormwood. Here you can find couch grass and wild rose, currant and hawthorn.
The Tsimlyansk Sands Natural Park can also "give" a person medicinal herbs - coltsfoot, shepherd's purse, horsetail, thyme, tansy. On the territory of the protected zone, there are even Red Book herbs, mainly 5 species of feather grass, rare species of orchids and young Russian, primroses, Schrenk and Bieberstein tulips.
Visitors to the park definitely come to one of the main attractions of the park - a huge poplar. Only 4 large men manage to grab a tree trunk.
Animal world
In the Tsimlyansky Sands, flora and fauna are considered scarce, but about 50 species of mammals live on its territory. Partially, representatives of reptiles and amphibians are included in the Red Book of the Volgograd Region.
The main attraction of the animal world is a herd of wild horses. At last count, it has 148 heads.
The Tsimlyansky Sands Natural Park is a "home" for European hares, ground squirrels, jerboas and foxes. On sandy and stony slopes one can meet steppe viper and snakes, lizard nimble.
Roe deer and wild boars, hedgehogs and elk, ferrets and pine martens live in the forests. There are a lot of birds in the park:
- tits;
- oatmeal;
- finches;
- Sparrowhawk;
- bustard;
- owls of manyspecies;
- strept;
- white-tailed eagle.
Rare insects registered in the park. These are the steppe charcoal butterfly, podalirium, stag beetle, scarab and steppe chump.
Value of the park area
On the map of the Tsimlyansk reservoir you can see places where you can relax and enjoy the unique landscape. But the park is not only picturesque places, a place for recreation and fishing - it is an opportunity to preserve the unique nature from the onset of industry. The Tsimlyansk sands make it possible to preserve, though meager, but still the diversity of the plant world and allow animals to survive. The park allows the younger generation to develop a love for nature and an understanding of the ecological value of the territory.
