Lake Elton

Lake Elton
Эльтон

Lake Elton, as seen from space.
Location Volgograd Oblast
Coordinates 49°8′0″N 46°40′0″E / 49.13333°N 46.66667°E / 49.13333; 46.66667Coordinates: 49°8′0″N 46°40′0″E / 49.13333°N 46.66667°E / 49.13333; 46.66667
Type salt lake
Basin countries Russia
Surface area 150 km²
Max. depth 0.6 m

Lake Elton (Russian: Эльтон) is a salt lake in Volgograd Oblast, Russia, near the border with Kazakhstan. It has an area of 150 km² and is from 0.3 to 0.6 m deep.

Transportation

A bus ride can be taken from Volgograd (6 hours mostly because of long stops in rural towns) and also by train from Saratov and Astrakhan (also 6 hours) can lead travelers to the area.

History

Salt was excavated from Elton since the times of Ivan the Terrible through the end of the 19th century.[1] Before 1865 the government was the excavate and in 1865-1882 the lake was heavily used by private businesses.

Image of the surface of the lake showing salt deposites.

There is a spa resort near the lake since 1910 and a sanatorium since 1945. Rapa (salty water) from Elton is believed to help curing diseases of different cause, for example gynecological problems.

References

  1. "Lake Elton". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2013-10-18.

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, September 21, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.