Ushkany islands are one of the most beautiful places in Buryatia. They are located approximately in the middle of Lake Baikal, 7 km west of the Holy Nose Peninsula. These islands are included in the register of natural monuments, the state monitors the protection of their unique nature.
Geographic features
Geographers explain that the archipelago is the tops of an underwater ridge called the Academic.
The total area of the islands of the Ushkan archipelago is 10 km 2. There are four islands in total: Big, Round, Thin, Long. As you might guess, the names of the islands owe their forms.
Title
The origin of the name "Ushkany Islands" is interesting. Philologists testify that the word "ushkan" the inhabitants of Siberia once called rabbits. However, there were never any hares on the islands of the archipelago in the middle of Lake Baikal. But, as it turned out, ordinary hares have nothing to do with the Ushkany Islands.
This name came from the northern edges. Pomors living on the shores of the White Sea are called sea hares of seals. And there are a great many of them in Baikal. Russian natives of the North, who visited Baikal for the first time, saw a seal - the Baikal seal. So this nickname “ushkan” stuck to the seal, although this beast cannot boast of any outstanding ears. And the islands on which seals climb to bask in the sun and relax, dubbed Hare. This is the name that the archipelago bears on the map of the researcher Semyon Remezov in 1701. Subsequently, the name "Hare" was redone in the local fashion, and the islands became known as Ushkany. This name fell into official literature, geographical atlases and maps.
Seals
But what happened to the seals? Have the changes also affected them? Oddly enough, the population lives and thrives today. Moreover - Ushkany islands on Lake Baikal are protected by the state.
There are many seals here, as in antiquity. They are an integral part of the history of the Ushkany Islands, and everyone who visits these amazing places have the opportunity to see (well, shoot on camera, of course) their pretty faces and thick carcasses shimmering in the sun.
Most seals live on the island of Thin. According to biologists, the population fluctuates around 2000 heads.
Islands of the archipelago
Bolshoi Ushkaniy Island rises like a mountain above the water level by more than 200 meters. Its length is 5 kilometers in length and 3 in width. The Big Island is famous for its unique three caves, which are located on the northeast coast at the foot of limestone cliffs. In these caves, archaeologists have discovered traces of the sites of a man of the New Stone Age, whose age is about 4-5 thousand years. The pristine coniferous forest, in which tall larch and pine trees grow, covers almost the entire Big Ushkany island. Baikal saturates the soil with moisture sufficient for the growth of these giants.
The remaining three islands have not such impressive dimensions. They rise above the level of Baikal waters by only 20-22 meters.
Flora
The cleanest air and fertile soils always bear excellent fruit. Ushkany islands are famous for their beautiful nature. Thickets of Daurian rhododendron extend under tall trees. This shrub in spring is covered with many bright purple flowers. The steep coast of the islands is covered with an unusual sea kale, which blooms rapidly since June. Rocks have become wonderful soil for brown lichens, spreading almost throughout the archipelago.
Some species of plants growing here have unique characteristics. On the Big Island, Daurian larch grows, which has a bottle-shaped thickening of the bark on the lower part of the trunk. A unique plant that is not found anywhere else in the world is the ushanka of birch, covered with bark of black color. Its leaves are also unusual - with sharp-toothed edges. The crowns of some local trees are flag-shaped.
Animal world
Ushanka islands are cut off from the big world by the waters of the ancient lake, and this isolation could not but affect the fauna. One of the most remarkable local phenomena is anthills.
By the number of anthills, no other corner of Russia can be compared with Ushkaniy Big Island, and in the world such a high density is very rare. On one hectare of the surface there are about two dozen ant settlements.
