!!!Salt Lake Elton

Photos by Sergey Semenov and
Stas Sedov,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

17 June 2022

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

The northern Caspian Depression of the Volgograd Region, Russia, is home
to a drainless salt lake called Elton. It is almost perfectly circular,
and a virtual walk with AirPano proves it!

The lake is 15 m (49 ft) below sea level. It is 18 km long and 13 km
wide and has an area of 1 640 km2 (633 mi2). The lake is fed by
meltwater, so it is deepest, down to a meter and a half (4.9 ft), in
spring, while in summer it is almost dried up, and even the seven
mineral streams flowing into the lake are unable to raise the water
level.

[{Image src='01_Elton Lake.jpg' caption='Elton lake reflections\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='506'}]

Salt has been a valued commodity at all times and has been mined here
for centuries. The microalgae that saturate the water give it a red
color, so the salt becomes multicolored: pink, crimson, and purple.
Nomadic peoples called the lake Altyn-Nor, which means "golden bottom":
the sun's rays change color from golden to scarlet, and the crystals
sparkle like gems. And this is one of the explanations for the name of
the lake. Alternatively, it could also have been named after English
Lieutenant Elton, a member of Vasily Tatishchev's Orenburg expedition to
explore the steppe regions of Russia.

[{Image src='02_Elton Lake.jpg' caption='Salt in the lake\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='813'}]

The lake has been considered holy and healing since the dawn of time.
Legend has it that Tengri Khan, god of heaven, comes down here from time
to time to prolong his eternal youth. The story has a rationale behind
it: the water and mud of Lake Elton are rich in healthful elements and
can rival the therapeutic clay of the Dead Sea. Moreover, the salt
concentration here is even higher, which means that the water is even
"denser"!

[{Image src='03_Elton Lake.jpg' caption='Elton lake\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='422'}]

Elton's unique salt has always been valued above regular salt: it is
known that at least 100 poods (3,611 lb) were sent to the court of
Catherine II each year! The first mud and balneotherapy resort was
opened on the shores of the lake in 1910, and a few decades later, a
sanitarium (which is basically a Russian health spa) of the same name
began operating nearby. Then the entire area became part of the Eltonsky
Nature Park; in addition, the lake is listed as a biosphere reserve on
the UNESCO World Heritage List. The water body is the largest mineral
lake in Europe. In the surrounding virgin steppes you can meet golden
eagles, eagles, cranes, saigas, badgers, Pallas's cats, and other
wildlife.

[{Image src='04_Elton Lake.jpg' caption='On the Elton lake\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

Let's enjoy this amazing creation of nature - a habitat for many birds
and animals, a healing place for humans, and an incredibly picturesque
landscape!

[{Image src='05_Elton Lake.jpg' caption='Patterns of Elton Lake\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

\\ \\
[12 panoramas of Elton Lake|Geography/Asia/Russia/Pictures/Elton-Lake]

[{SET customtitle='Elton Lake (AP)'}]












[{Metadata Suchbegriff='Salt Lake Elton' Kontrolle='Nein'}]