How did the Tuim sinkhole form?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Man's economic activity often leads to the formation of the most bizarre things, some of which can compete with the majestic monuments of nature. These include the Tuim failure.

It is located in the Shirinsky district of Khakassia, and the name of this amazing formation was given by the village of Tuim, located nearby.

To put it simply, the Tuim sinkhole is a collapse of rock that formed at the site of a mine that was closed back in 1974. Tungsten was mined here, and later - copper with molybdenum.

Production took place in a mine way. The miners did not take into account the specifics of local breeds, which turned out to be highly susceptible to man-made depressions.

Until now, near the sinkhole, you can see the ruins of a processing plant, to which ore from the faces was brought by trolleys. The decision to close the mine was made after a massive collapse nearly killed several miners.

In addition, similar cases have happened before, so the management of the enterprise decided not to risk it.

Initially, the Tuim sinkhole was a small depression,whose diameter did not exceed six meters. Water gradually seeped into the failure, which turned bright blue due to the high concentration of copper compounds. Today, the diameter of the funnel is more than 200 meters, with completely sheer banks.

Somewhere you can see the remains of drifts and rails for trolleys. Some tourists say that the picture that opens from a height resembles a cut beehive or anthill.

The rock of the walls is highly susceptible to weathering, and therefore often collapses. To the surface of the lake - about 150 meters. The full depth of the Tuim sinkhole is unknown to this day, because no measurements of the lake bottom have been made.

If the height of the dip in meters does not sound very impressive, then it must be recalled that skyscrapers with 50 floors have the same height. The lake bed has never been fully explored due to the high risk of such an event.

Oddly enough, but domestic travel lovers for a long time knew absolutely nothing about this amazing place. Only after the reportage of the legendary Yuri Senkevich in 1995, a stream of astonished tourists poured here who wanted to see the Tuimsky failure with their own eyes.

Speleologists and even extreme divers often visit these places, who conduct risky dives at their own risk. We strongly do not recommend diving, but you can walk along the fortified drifts and tickle your nerves.

There is a fence along the perimeter of the huge crater, it is highly discouraged to pass through it, sincecrashes happen regularly. Here you can meet fans of base jumping and bungee jumping from all over the world.

Given that this attraction is located in Russia, it is best to explore it on your own, without resorting to the help of travel companies. It is best to leave the City of Abakan using the M-54 highway. You need to go until you see a sign for the village of Znamenka (80 km), after which you need to turn left and go to the village of Borets.

From it to the village of Shira. The village of Tuim is located 18 km from Shira. The locals will gladly show you the Tuim Gap. Khakassia, the photo of which you will leave in your photo albums, improves its tourist service every year, so you will have a great rest here.