Taimyr is the largest peninsula of Russia. It is located in the northern part of the mainland, between the Khatanga Bay in the Laptev Sea and the Yenisei Bay in the Kara Sea on the outskirts of the Arctic Ocean. The southern part of the peninsula is limited by the ledge of the Putorana plateau. It is here that the Khantayskoye lake is located, which will be described in the article.
Description
This lake in area is not the largest on the peninsula, but the deepest. Its depth reaches 420 meters, which puts Lake Khantaysky in third place in the ranking of the deepest lakes in Russia after Baikal (1642 meters) and the Caspian Sea (1025 meters).
The length of the reservoir, which is described in the article, is 80 km, the width is 25 km, and the area is 822 km sq. The reservoir stretches from west to east, spreads into two arms on the east side, which locals call "pants". The western part of the lake is the source for the Khantayki River, which flows through the Small Khantai Lake from the right into the mighty Yenisei.
Also on the west side there are many small lakes adjacent to the lake:
- Nekangde.
- Delichi.
- Hakanachi.
- Small Conchi.
- Cum
- Tolga.
- Delimacid.
- Todody.
- Small Khantai.
- Yuyul.
- Nonermakit.
- Kapchuk.
- Arbuckle.
- Chatkaul.
This is not a single system of lakes, as some of them are interconnected, while others are separate enclosed bodies of water.
For the first time, the Khantai Lake was investigated and described by the members of the expedition A.A. Sotnikov in 1915. Research continued in 1919 by an expedition led by N. N. Urvantsev
Climate and hydrology (lake nutrition)
Khantayskoe Lake (Krasnoyarsk Territory) lies in the climatic zone of the tundra and forest-tundra, at the southern border of the Arctic Circle, where permafrost begins to spread. The severity of weather conditions here is estimated at 4.8 points out of 5. For almost 9 months the earth is covered with snow, spring is fast, summer is very hot - the air warms up to +30 degrees. In late August, frosts already come at night, the Khantayskoe Lake completely freezes in October, and the first ice breaks only in June. This leads to the fact that the water supply of the reservoir is mainly (90%) glacial, only 8-12% of the filling is provided by precipitation.
Flora and fauna
The climate of the area where the Khantayskoye lake is located is severe and cold. The water temperature even in July does not exceed + 10 … + 12 degrees. On all sides it is surrounded by taiga, and the hills of the nearby mountains are surrounded by tundra vegetation. The flora here is typical: spruce, pine and larch grow along the banks, firs are found, juniper and honeysuckle, undersized currants are common from shrubs, undergrowth and bilberry bushes and herbs such as sorrel and pear tree are forming undergrowth. Mountains cover mosses and lichens, polar poppies, dryad, dwarf willow and birch, blueberries, cloudberries.
In the foothills there are brown bears, foxes, wolves, hares, squirrels, moose, roe deer, deer, sables, wolverines, weasels, ermines, minks, martens, and many small rodents. Those who are in the area during the summer months are very annoyed by vultures, horseflies, midges.
The kingdom of birds is represented by crossbills, common grouse, woodpeckers, owls, Siberian thrushes, hazel grouse, pine nutcracker, partridge, The Khantaysky Lake is full of fish, and not only its quantity, but also species diversity is striking. Whitefish, vendace, huge pike weighing up to 6-8 kg, peled, teal, muksun, omuli, char, taimen, which are listed in the Red Book, are found here.
Infrastructure
In the vicinity of this lake there is only one settlement - the village of Khantaysky Lake. It is located on the southwestern shore of the reservoir, according to the 2010 census, 490 people live in it, of which 443 are indigenous people of Taimyr (Enets, Dolgans, Nenets). At first it was just an Aboriginal camp without major buildings, but from 1952 to 1959. exiles were sent here, who laid the foundation of this village. There is a kindergarten, school, medical center, post office, shop, bakery, administration, 4-apartment buildings.
Traditional activities of local residents - hunting for fur animals, fishing, reindeer herding. You can get to the mainland either through an extensive water network on a boat or by helicopter.
In 240 km from the village, on the right bank of the Yenisei, is the city of Dudinka with a population of almost 22 thousand people. Travelers who spent time on Lake Khantai said that for a month you can not meet a single person!
