Turgoyak

Turgoyak is a large freshwater lake in the Chelyabinsk region near the city of Miass. The water in the lake is considered to be second only to Lake Baikal in its purity and transparency.

There are several versions about the origin of the lake's name, the most convincing of them is that the lake used to be called "Turge yak kul", which translates from Bashkir as "lake on a hill". In general, this corresponds to reality, because the lake is sandwiched between mountain ranges and is located on a hill. According to another version, the name of the lake comes from a legend about the love of a guy named Tura and a girl named Goyak.The girl was enchanted by a witch and to remove her spell it was necessary to wash her eyes with water from Lake Baikal. The Tour guy found out about it and brought water. The girl washed her eyes and regained her sight, and a lake formed from the drops, clear as Lake Baikal.

The average depth of the lake is almost 20 meters, the maximum is 36.5 meters. The lake area is 26.5 km2. The water in the lake is one of the cleanest, so you can see the object at a distance of 10-17 meters. The water level in Turgoyak varies greatly, the drops can be up to 2.5 meters. In this case, you can see 12 islands on the lake instead of 10.

One of the most famous islands is Vera Island, which is shrouded in many legends. It is believed that the island was named after the hermit who lived on it, and it is also called Pinaevsky, since one of Pugachev's associates was hiding on it. According to legend, Old Believers and monks hid on the island, who built stone cells for themselves. But archaeological excavations have shown that stone dugouts have existed here for quite a long time, and the island has been used for worshipping the gods for several millennia. A Neanderthal site, a chapel of Old Believers, and megaliths have been found in the southwestern part of the island. Stone slabs (megaliths) It's hard not to notice. The largest slab is almost 20 meters long, and the heaviest weighs about 17 tons. There are also rocks that look like animals. According to scientists, many archaeological finds are hidden at the bottom of Lake Turgoyak, with a low water level, Vera Island becomes a peninsula.

The historical finds of Lake Turgoyak are very valuable, therefore, the issue of establishing an open-air museum on the island for regulated entry and preservation of cultural monuments is being resolved.

Two hundred meters from Turgoyak there is another lake Inyshko, which has a double bottom - ordinary bottom and peat top. One of the legends is connected with this. Yemelyan Pugachev's camp used to stand by the lake. The rich decided to appease Yemelyan and collected 2 barrels of gold for him. But the governor did not accept the gift and the order to throw the barrels into the lake, they pushed through the peat bottom and fell through. Locals say they are still stored at the bottom.

Lake Turgoyak has everything for the development of tourism, for this many recreation centers and boarding houses have been built on the shores. The lake will be a great place to relax in nature.