Yangantau is one of the most unique and famous places in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Coordinates for GPS navigator

55.298610, 58.131670

Yangantau on the map

The word “Yangantau” is translated from Bashkir as “burnt mountain” and this is not without reason. The fact is that this mysterious mountain has actually been burning for several centuries!

The height of Mount Yangantau is small - only 504 meters above sea level. It became famous for the fact that hot streams of steam always come out of the cracks at the top of the mountain. Hot gases rise to the surface through cracks in the mountain, the outlet temperature of which ranges from +37 to +150 degrees, and in a well drilled to a depth of 90 meters the temperature reaches 380 degrees! In total, five “hot” spots were found on the mountain. Researchers have found that the highest temperatures are on the southern slope of the mountain. This is despite the fact that there is no volcanic activity in these places. There is still no consensus among scientists to explain the phenomenon of the mysterious Yangantau Mountain.

According to the most common hypothesis, bituminous shale is oxidizing inside the mountain. The chemical reaction that occurs releases heat, which heats the water, which then rises in the form of hot steam to the surface of the mountain.

The Bashkirs explain the phenomenon of the mountain in their own way. According to legend, several centuries ago a tree on the top of a mountain was struck by lightning. The tree burned completely, then the fire spread along the roots deep into the mountain. Since then, an unquenchable fire has been burning inside her. The Bashkirs considered the fire inside the mountain sacred, divine.

According to another legend, one autumn, a wet and chilled shepherd, exhausted, took refuge from the rain on the mountainside in a hole at the root of an old tree. The tired shepherd fell fast asleep, and when he woke up, he noticed that warm steam was rising from the bottom of the pit. Subsequently, the middle-aged shepherd came here more than once. Soon his painful joints stopped tormenting him and his strength noticeably increased...

In 1770, an academic expedition led by academician P.S. visited Mount Yamantau. Pallas. Shocked by what he saw, the scientist wrote:

“From open cracks (cracks) a thin, hot steam constantly rises, trembling against the sun, which is impossible to touch with your hand, but birch bark or dry wood chips thrown there caught fire in one minute, in bad weather and on dark nights it seems like a thin red flame or a fireball several arshins high. But behind all this, nowhere on the mountain is there a sulfur or coal smell, and the steam coming out of the pits does not have any odorous properties... The Bashkirs say that in these burnt places not only is there no snow in winter, but that the whole surrounding area is also constantly turning green ..."

Currently, Mount Yangantau has the status of a natural monument.

The Yuryuzan River, popular for tourist rafting, flows under the mountain. It is widely known for its picturesque rocks, caves, and archaeological finds. This river is associated with the Bashkir national hero Salavat Yulaev.

On the mountain there is the famous balneological resort “Yangantau” - the largest in Bashkiria. The sanatorium has water and thermal baths that use the natural healing properties of the mountain burning inside. For treatment, hot vapors and gases released through cracks from the depths of the mountain are used. Water vapor from the depths of the mountain contains resins, phenols and ammonia. In this case, the gases may not even be noticed - they have neither color nor odor.

The sanatorium was founded in April 1937, when the first clinical station was opened here. At that time the sanatorium looked very modest. Here they simply placed small wooden booths in the places where gases escaped, in which patients were seated on chairs.

An invaluable contribution to the study of the healing properties of the “burning mountain” was made by the Soviet doctor Geniatulla Teregulov. He was one of the founders of the scientific school of balneologists.

Natural thermal baths have a multifaceted effect on the entire body: analgesic, anti-inflammatory, improve muscle tone, and help increase range of motion in the joints. They have a positive effect on microcirculation of internal organs.

Patients are successfully treated for polyarthritis, respiratory diseases, urological, gynecological and nervous diseases and others.

Also in the resort-sanatorium "Yangantau" they actively use radon hydrocarbonate water from the nearby Kurgazak spring. Water from a healing spring comes here through a pipeline.

The sanatorium has a gym and fitness rooms, a stadium, and you can always play badminton, volleyball, table tennis, billiards, and bowling. In winter there is a ski slope and an ice skating rink. You can also go snowmobiling and horseback riding.

3 kilometers south of the sanatorium in the village of Komsomol there is the famous mineral spring Kurgazak. The mineral water of the source rises along a tectonic fault from a depth of 600-800 meters. All year round, the water coming to the surface has the same temperature: +16 degrees. The water is slightly mineralized and there is almost no taste. Nevertheless, water contains many microelements so necessary for the body, such as iron, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, copper, titanium, beryllium, molybdenum, chromium, silicon and others. Kurgazak water cleanses and strengthens the body, removes toxins, salts and even stones.

Here you can see an interesting waterworks with a working water mill.

How to get to Yangantau and the Kurgazak spring?

Mount Yangantau is located in the Salavat region of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

By car you need to drive along the Chelyabinsk - Ufa highway, then turn onto Kropachevo. Pass Karatavly, Maloyaz, Komsomol (the Kurgazak spring is located there). Next, after crossing the bridge over the Yuryuzan River in the village of Chulpan, turn right and climb up the mountain, which will be Yangantau.

By bus from Ufa (from the Northern Bus Station), Yekaterinburg or Chelyabinsk.

Yangantau
Highest point
Absolute altitude	504 m
Location
55°17′55″ n. w. 58°07′54″ E. d. HGIOL
A country
The subject of the Russian Federation	Republic of Bashkortostan
Mountain system	Southern Urals
Media files on Wikimedia Commons

Physiographic characteristics

Mount Yangantau stretches from East to West for 2.5 km along the right bank of the river. Yuryuzan. The absolute height of the mountain is 143 meters, the height above the level of the Yuryuzan River is 160m (504 meters above sea level).

The mountain is composed of rocks of the Sakmarian and Artinskian stages of the lower part of the Permian system, crushed into folds. Structurally, the territory of the GNP is located on the southern edge of the Bashkir arch, limited by a deep fault, along which the Yuryuzan River laid its valley.

Hot air saturated with water vapor emerges on the slopes of the mountain. The air temperature is from +37 to +150 degrees, and in a well drilled to a depth of 90 meters the temperature reaches 380 degrees.

In the depths of the mountain, oxidative and reduction reactions of bituminous marls occur. At a depth of 60-90 m there are hot spots. The accumulated heat in a limited area is retained for a long time due to the weak heat transfer of the surrounding rocks.

Story

Scientific research on the mountain has been carried out since the 18th century. (P. S. Pallas, 1773; F. N. Chernyshev, 1881; A. Ya. Gordyagin, 1882, 1885; E. M. Yanishevsky, 1902; A. Bikkel, 1932; G. V. Vakhrushev, 1927, 1957 and etc.)

Many hypotheses have been put forward about the nature of the thermal phenomena of the mountain: an underground fire from lightning, the reaction of the transition of ferric oxide salts into oxide salts, the combustion of low-bituminous rocks, radioactive heat, mutual friction of g.p. etc. Since the 60s of the 20th century, hypotheses about a natural nuclear reactor and a rare meteorite that became a catalyst for thermal processes have been considered (S.G. Fattakhutdinov, 1993).

Mount Yangatau is also known for its sulfur, zinc and radon springs, which became the basis for the creation of the balneological resort of Yangantau.

Birch, oak and aspen trees grow on the slopes of the mountain, alternating with meadow glades and petrophyte steppes. The surviving pines indicate primary coniferous forests. On the mountain and its surroundings there are widespread shrub meadow-steppe complexes of steppe cherry, low almond, caragana, rose hips, warty euonymus and feather grass, fescue, and thyme.

The lower slope of the mountain is covered with bird cherry and willow thickets. In 1980, on the basis of Mount Yangantau, a reserve and forestry area were organized on an area of ​​3,600 hectares.

Mount Yangantau has been a natural monument since 1965.

Jul 08 2018

Rest in "Yangan-Tau" or visiting the Burning Mountain

We recently returned from Bashkiria, rested in a sanatorium "Yangan-Tau", or rather, it is considered a resort. In general, the impressions were pleasant, I was especially impressed by the nature - the landscapes of Bashkiria. The resort itself is also beautiful, located right on Mount Yangantau, which means in Bashkir - burning mountain.

The mountain is not high, the absolute height is 143 m. It stretches from east to west for 2.5 km along the right bank of the Yuryuzan River.

We are vacationing in Bashkiria for the second time; our first acquaintance with this republic took place in 2013 during a vacation at the Karagay sanatorium (I wrote about this). The nature of Bashkortostan captivated us then.

The Yangan-Tau resort is much larger than the Karagay sanatorium. Modern, beautiful buildings of the main complex, successful landscape design, which especially delighted me in the first days of my vacation.

Nowadays, even in the Southern Urals, lilacs bloomed only towards the end of June.

Then, however, we began to notice some of the nuances of that design that seemed strange to us. Quite a lot of large trees were cut down, as evidenced by the low stumps, less than 10 cm. Perhaps this was done so that distant landscapes could be seen from the windows of the buildings. Maybe the landscape architecture of the Yangan-Tau resort is still being formed. Small spruce trees are planted along the paths, making it impossible to hide from the scorching sun on the main alley. And the lawn in front of the buildings looks like a golf course.

View of the leisure center.

Large green lawn.

However, to be fair, there are also a lot of shady “paradises” in Yangan-Tau.

Deer (sculptures) hid among the tall pines.

Young spruce trees among the birches.

Behind the main buildings there is a park area with fountains,

artificial waterfalls and ponds where live fish swim, although the ducks swimming on the surface of the water of these reservoirs turned out to be plastic.

A pond with live fish is located near the dry air hospital.

The main healing factor of “Yangan-Tau” is the steam and hot gases coming out of the depths of the mountain. Actually, that’s why the mountain was called Burning. The Bashkirs have a legend about the Burning Mountain, according to which the first to discover the amazing properties of the mountain was an old shepherd who grazed his sheep on its slope.

“One chilly autumn day, he took refuge from the rain in a small hole at the root of a century-old tree and fell asleep. And when I woke up, I was surprised to find warm steam rising from the bottom of the crevice. The old man remembered this pit and began to visit it often to warm the old bones. After some time, he was amazed to notice that the joints of his arms and legs stopped hurting. Soon other local residents learned about this source of health. Since then the mountain has been called Yangantau. The Bashkirs began to consider it sacred, and a pilgrimage of the sick began to the Burning Mountain.”

The sculptural composition “The Legend of the Shepherd” was installed in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Yangan-Tau sanatorium.

And even earlier, the mountain was called Karakostau (Golden Eagle Mountain), because there were many golden eagles here. In fact, they are still here today; we often watched them circling over the mountain with their wings spread.

Sculpture Berkutova Gora.

There are many sculptures dedicated to the Bashkir epic in Yangan-Tau.

Sculpture "Ural Batyr".

Bas-reliefs dedicated to the most famous Bashkir epic “Ural Batyr”.

Next to each sculpture there are signs not only with the title and name of the sculptor, but also legends and explanations for what is depicted are briefly described. So, while walking around the resort park, we got a little acquainted with Bashkir epic tales.

Totem pole “Heart of the Urals”.

In ancient times, the Bashkirs had several clans, each clan had its own sign - tamga. The pillar depicts tamgas of clans close to the Salavat region (“Yangan-Tau” is located in the Salavat region of the Republic of Bashkortostan). There is a specific sign on each side of the pillar.

Sculpture of a polar bear - the king of animals. This is a character from another Bashkir epic tale “Aldar and Zukhra”.

Another interesting sculpture is called “The Heart of Love between the Ai and Yuryuzan Rivers.”

There are many legends about Yuryuzani, one of which says:

“There lived in the southern regions of the Urals a girl of extraordinary beauty and her name was Yuryuzan. Everyone wanted to ask for her hand in marriage - she was so beautiful. The girl loved to communicate with nature and often walked through the forest, picking berries and flowers. And then one day, also walking through her favorite places, she didn’t even notice how lost she was. She began to call for help, but no one responded. And then the young girl heard the sweet songs of the shepherd. She followed the voice and saw a beautiful young man, his name was Ai. He helped her find her way home and they have not parted since then. The young man and the girl fell in love with each other so much that they could not live even a day apart. But Aya’s father, Yaman, was against a girl from a foreign tribe and turned to the sorcerer to separate the lovers. And so it happened. Once again, when Ai came to his beloved, she cried bitterly and her tears formed streams. Ai shouted: “I have come, my love!” “Darling,” the girl answered. They met their gazes and suddenly turned into rivers. And Yaman goes up the mountain, thereby separating the lovers. Thus the evil spell of the sorcerer came true. And the evil Yaman still stands among the Ural Mountains, never allowing the lovers to meet. And on both sides of it flow two rivers – Ai and Yuryuzan.”

Source: https://yu-news.ru/legend-of-the-river-Yuryuzan.

It is no coincidence that the sculpture “The Heart of Love between the Ai and Yuryuzan Rivers” was installed on the Burning Mountain. After all, right at the foot of Yangantau flows the fast Yuryuzan, and behind the mountain, a little over 9 kilometers away, flows. If you look at the map, then in this place Ai and Yuryuzan come closest to each other.

The bend of the Yuryuzan River, closest to the Ai River.

And such divine views open from numerous observation platforms at Yangan-Tau.

One of the observation platforms with a stone gazebo.

Or this observation deck with a lover’s bench in the shape of a heart.

Isn’t it nice to stroll through such a park and sit in a “piece of paradise”.

Watch a video of the panorama from the observation deck of the steam hospital.

Another decoration of the resort park is the drinking pump room in the form of a rotunda.

In the drinking pump room.

A staircase of 1000 steps descends the slope of Burning Mountain to the river bank.

The park has a large playground for children with swings, carousels, slides, various climbing frames and figures of cartoon and fairy-tale characters.

What other recreation does the Yangan-Tau resort offer to its guests besides walking and swimming? There is a sports complex with a stadium and football, volleyball and tennis courts, rental of sports equipment, bowling, billiards, a restaurant and cafe bars, a concert hall and summer stages, two museums: a history museum and (I will also talk about museums separately).

In "Yangan-Tau" there is a ski complex "Berkut" and just a ski base, so in winter you can have a fairly active holiday here.

The Yangan-Tau resort is large, now I have only shown the Main Complex. There is another one and a half kilometers away, on the same mountain, a Tourist complex, where we lived and the Yurtak Equestrian Sports Complex, and 3 km away at the foot of Mount Karatau - a health complex with artificial ponds, where royal rainbow trout are found, which You can fish with a fishing rod, and swans swim. I will also talk about these complexes separately ().

I liked the service at the Yangan-Tau sanatorium literally from the first minutes. There is a 24-hour delivery service for guests. We arrived in Yangan-Tau by bus at night. The bus station is right next to the entrance. The security guard called us a car, took us first to registration, and then to the Tourist Complex, where we were checked into a room.

During the day, sanatorium buses run between the Tourist and Main complexes and between the Health and Main complexes. Basically, all the procedures were in the Main Complex; in the Tourist Complex we only had a massage, as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner. When time allowed, we walked to procedures, but more often we had to take the bus to make it on time.

Everywhere is clean and tidy, both indoors and outdoors. I also liked the food.

The sanatorium offers vacationers interesting trips and rafting along the Ai and Yuryuzan rivers, as well as bus trips. The biggest disappointment for us was that there was no rafting during our holiday. As they explained to us, the beginning of summer was cold and rainy, and the water in the rivers was “cold, high and dirty.” If I had known about this situation in advance, I would have booked a trip a week or two later. But I managed to visit the caves, I will also tell you about them separately.

But we walked around the paths, admiring the views from the Burning Mountain and listening to the amazing singing of birds, I even called it sound therapy. We rode horses and admired sunsets and foggy sunrises.

Evening on Burning Mountain.

And yet, 12 days of rest in “Yangan-Tau” without rafting was too much for us, we got bored in the end. However, visiting Burning Mountain We liked it, the nature there is amazing.

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Legends say that once upon a time a huge tree grew on Mount Yangantau in Bashkiria. One day lightning struck it, the tree caught fire, and the fire went deep down its roots and everything burned there and burned...

The fire burns without going out

To be honest, it is difficult to call this elevation a mountain: the height of Yangantau above the valley of the Yuryuzan River flowing nearby is 160 meters. Rather, it is an elongated hill. But there are plenty of tall ones, but there probably isn’t one like this anymore.

The famous scientist and traveler Peter Simon Pallas, who visited here 250 years ago, was amazed: hot steam rises from the cracks, which at night is illuminated by fire from the depths of the mountain. If you throw dry wood chips into a crevice, they will burn on the fly!

“An ordinary sleeping volcano,” you might shrug. But the fact of the matter is that, as they say, there is no smell of a volcano here. Mount Yangantau lies far from all seismically active zones; no traces of ancient eruptions have been found either on it or in the region. Nevertheless…

Something inside her has been burning for centuries. Scientists have found out that the main “firebox” lies at a depth of 60-90 meters. The temperature in it reaches 380°, and the steam coming out reaches 150°. By placing a pot or frying pan on the crevice, you could cook dinner!

Why and from what?

Intrigued specialists have been conducting research and observations here for many years. We are no closer to a solution, although up to a dozen hypotheses have been put forward.

Some believe that layers of porous rocks are burning - shale, which contains mountain resins. Others talk about some kind of vigorous oxidation of iron salts. Still others talk about a natural nuclear reaction.

The current name Yangantau (translated from Bashkir as “burning or burnt mountain”) is not the first. Some old-timers call it in the old way - Karagosh-Tau (Berkut Mountain). They say that in 1758, lightning struck the mountain and a fire broke out on the slope, which spread deeper into the area. So the legend with which we began the story may have a basis in reality.

However, there is no consensus among experts. Geologists do not rule out heating by underground radioactive heat and even the fall of a meteorite, which could also ignite the underground “furnace.”

At a depth of seven meters, scientists discovered a massive ingot of cast iron. There was probably a very hot fireplace here, which smelted the metal from the surrounding ore. Then, as it cooled, the hearth went deeper and deeper.

In winter, combustion intensifies, in summer it weakens. For some reason, hot gases on one slope come out mixed with water vapor, and on the other side of the mountain there are the same gases, but devoid of moisture. It seems that the aquifer in the depths is heating up, or even an underground stream is boiling away.

Cold-hot

A children's game with this name is reminiscent of walking on a fire-breathing mountain.

Almost half a century ago, the pearl of Bashkortostan was declared a natural monument. But even before that, tourists and lovers of unusual phenomena did not forget it. Moreover, it is easily accessible - only one and a half hundred kilometers from Ufa.

In addition, Yuryuzan is one of the most famous water tourism routes. A stop at the foot of the mountain and a hike along its “heated” slopes give the route a special appeal. The slopes of the mountain are picturesque all year round - meadows, forests, rocky steppes. There is no snow here, as you might guess: when it falls, it immediately melts.

For a long time, local residents considered the heat emanating from the depths of the mountain to be healing. Having dug up the soil, they lay down on hot areas, warming the body to the bones. Doctors also confirmed the healing effect of warm water vapor - it turned out to contain a whole “bouquet” of chemicals.

In 1937, the Yangan-Tau sanatorium was founded on the slope. At first it was a modest hospital. Sitting on chairs in wooden cabins, patients warmed up their joints and muscles. Over the years, the sanatorium gained strength and popularity. Wells have been installed that intercept hot gases already at depth and supply them to steam baths. Water rich in hydrogen sulfide and radon was brought in from nearby springs. Nowadays there is a real year-round resort here, where people can recover and treat a variety of diseases.

Since Mount Yangantau does not have an underground supply of fire and “fuel,” then, most likely, the time will come when its furnaces will burn out and go out. Let's hope this doesn't happen very, very soon.

Did you know, where is Lake Huron, which is one of the five great lakes of the United States?