It flows through the European part of the country, and its mouth is located in the Caspian Sea. It is officially believed that the length of the Volga is 3,530 km. But if we add some more reservoirs to this figure, it turns out that the length of the queen of Russian rivers will be 3,692 km. Volga is longest river throughout Europe.

The area of its basin is 1 million 380 thousand square meters. km. It is interesting that there are mentions of the Volga already in the works of the ancient Greek scientist Ptolemy. He calls it “Ra” in his studies. And the Arabs once called the Volga the word “Itil”, which means “river”.

Barge Haulers and Volga

The Volga has gone down in history for all times due to the use of heavy burlatsky labor. It was necessary only at a time when the movement of ships turned out to be impossible against its current, that is, during floods. During the day, the Burlatsky artel could travel up to ten kilometers. A total the number of working barge haulers for the entire season could reach six hundred.

Sources of the great river

The river originates at Not far from the village of Volgoverkhovye, several springs gush out from under the ground. One of these springs is recognized as the source of the great Volga. This spring is surrounded by a chapel. All the springs in this area flow into a small lake, from which, in turn, flows a stream no more than a meter wide. The depth of the Volga (if we conventionally designate this stream as the beginning of a great river) here is only 25-30 cm.

It is believed that the Volga exists mainly thanks to snow. About 60% of its total nutrition comes from melting snow. Another third of the Volga is provided groundwater. And rain nutrition accounts for only 10%.

Upper Volga: depth and other characteristics

Moving further, the stream becomes wider and then flows into a lake called Sterzh. Its length is 12 km, width - 1.5 km. A total area is 18 km². Sterzh is part of the Upper Volga reservoir, total length which is 85 km. And already beyond the reservoir, the name Verkhnyaya begins. The depth of the Volga here averages from 1.5 to 2.1 m.

The Volga, like most other rivers, is conventionally divided into three parts - Upper, Middle and Lower. First Big city on the way of this river is Rzhev. Followed by ancient city Tver. In this area there is the Ivankovskoye Reservoir, which stretches for 146 km. In his area the depth of the river increases to 23 m. The Volga in the Tver region stretches for 685 km.

There is a section of the river in the Moscow region, but in this territory it occupies no more than 9 km. Not far from it is the city of Dubna. And next to the Ivankovskaya dam, its largest tributary in the Moscow region, the one of the same name, flows into the Volga. Here, in the 30s of the 20th century, the canal named after. Moscow, connecting the Moscow River and the Ivankovskoye Reservoir, the waters of which are indispensable for the economy of the capital.

Further downstream is its length of 146 km. The depth of the Volga at the Uglich reservoir is 5 meters. which is the most northern point Volga, has a depth of 5.6 m. Beyond it, the river changes its direction from northeast to southeast.

Depth of the Volga and other indicators in the middle and lower sections

The section of the Middle Volga begins at the point where the Oka, the largest right tributary of the river, flows into it. At this place it stands Nizhny Novgorod- one of the largest settlements in Russia. The width and depth of the Volga here are as follows:

the width of the channel ranges from 600 m to 2 km;
maximum depth is about 2 m.

After merging with the Oka, the bed of the Volga becomes increasingly wider. Near Cheboksary, the great river encounters an obstacle - the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station. The length of the Cheboksary reservoir is 341 m, width is about 16 km. Its greatest depth is 35 m, the average is 6 m. And the river becomes even larger and more powerful when the Kama River flows into it.

From this point the section of the Lower Volga begins, and now it flows into the Caspian Sea. Even higher upstream, after the Volga bends around the Tolyatti Mountains, the largest of all its reservoirs is located - Kuibyshevskoye. Its length is 500 m, width - 40 km, and depth - 8 m.

What is the depth of the Volga in its delta? Features of the Great River Delta

The length of the delta near the Caspian Sea is about 160 km. Width - about 40 km. The delta includes about 500 canals and small rivers. It is believed that the mouth of the Volga is the largest in all of Europe. Here you can meet unique representatives of the animal and flora- pelicans, flamingos, and even see a lotus. Here it is already difficult to talk about such a parameter as the depth of the Volga. Maximum depth The river in its delta is, according to various estimates, up to 2.5 m. The minimum is 1-1.7 m.

In size, this section of the Volga exceeds even the deltas of such rivers as the Terek, Kuban, Rhine and Meuse. He, like the river itself, played very important role in the formation of the first settlements in these territories. Passed here trade routes, which connected the Lower Volga with Persia and others Arab countries. Tribes of the Khazars and Polovtsians settled here. Presumably in the 13th century. here a Tatar settlement called Ashtarkhan first appeared, which eventually became the beginning of Astrakhan.

What is unusual about the Volga delta

The peculiarity of the Volga delta is that, unlike other deltas, it is not sea, but lacustrine. After all, the Caspian Sea is essentially a large lake, since it is not connected to the World Ocean. The Caspian is called a sea only due to its impressive size, which makes it look like a sea.

The Volga flows through the territory of 15 constituent entities Russian Federation and is one of the most important waterways for industry, shipping, energy and other important areas of the state.

On our territory huge country There is unique region, a real fishing Eldorado. There is more water here than land. Here reeds stand in a thick wall along the banks, and lotuses bloom in the backwaters. Here is the kingdom of waterfowl and fish. Here the waters of the mighty Volga River meet the gray waves of the Caspian Sea, and they are inhabited by more than 120 species of fish. It always bites here... Below Astrakhan, the Volga overflows into numerous channels, and only one of the watercourses, and far from the deepest, continues to bear the name of the great Russian river.

Channels washing countless islands, eriks, as well as lakes, ilmens, and rivers occupy an area of more than 2.5 thousand square meters. km. and extend from Astrakhan to the Caspian Sea.

The Volga Delta is inhabited by more than 120 species of fish. Among them: catfish, asp, pike perch, pike, bream, carp, crucian carp, rudd, roach, roach, bluefish, silver bream, tench, sabrefish, silver carp, sturgeon, beluga, stellate sturgeon and others. Season fishing begins in early April, when the pre-spawning run of the famous Volga roach begins. They catch it with worms, maggots and corn using fishing rods or bottoms. Together with roach they take silver bream, white bream, rudd, crucian carp and carp. At this time, spinners are hunting for large asp, catfish that have just emerged from winter torpor, and spawned thick perch. At the very edge of the reeds stands a pike, heavy before spawning.

The climate of the delta thanks to its geographical location and the proximity of the sea is warm and humid, but sharply continental. In summer the thermometer reaches +40°C. In winter, sometimes it drops below -20-25°C. At the end of March, the delta channels are completely free of ice. A little later, the “upper” Akhtuba and Volga ice passes through them, coming from Volgograd itself.

At the end of April, the landscape of the delta changes every day - the centuries-old willows, hanging with branches over the yellowish-gray wall of last year's reeds, turn green, and young shoots of fresh emerald growth are already making their way from below. Life is waking up and picking up pace. Winter is gone, and a whole long summer lies ahead.

At the beginning of May the flood begins. In Volgograd, the doors of a huge dam are opened, and millions of cubic meters of melt water, collected from the very sources of Mother Volga, poured down into the open spaces in order to reach the rumbles along one of the delta channels, merge with the salty waters of the Caspian Sea and finish its nearly four-year run.

There were times when Volga water covered many kilometers from source to mouth in just forty days. Caspian sturgeon and beluga rose to Tver and entered the Moscow River, and near Kuzminki Caspian salmon was caught - whitefish. Much water has flown under the bridge since that time. Blocked by numerous dams, the great river rotates the turbines of power plants. The famous Russian sturgeon is no longer found either near Tver or Moscow, not even beyond Volgograd, beyond the first dam from the mouth; it is rare.

Only in the Volga delta can you see nature in its original form. Here you can come across two-meter-long sturgeons, and two-hundred-kilogram beluga sturgeons feed their sides during the peals. Having reached a noticeable weight, this sturgeon fish becomes an active predator. In the spring, she will not miss either a large roach or a small asp, impaled on the hook of a powerful donkey. The fight with the beluga will remain in the memory for a long time. Beluga fishing is licensed, carried out according to the “catch and release” principle, but it’s not a pity to release such a king fish. Enough of those unique moments of excitement when your heart sank and your hands went numb in the fight with the river giant.

In May, during high water, the fish are at their peak. From the fishermen hot time- Putin. There is the famous Caspian herring (grass), sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, roach, bream. Sport fishing in May is not easy, but very interesting. In just a day or two, the water can rise several meters, and in the morning you can hardly recognize the outlines of yesterday’s shores. By the end of May, the water rises at one, high, but still constant level, and then, already in June, it begins to gradually fall. This is where the main trouble awaits fishermen: in the lakes, swamps, backwaters and even puddles left over from the flood, myriads of blood-sucking mosquitoes and midges are born - without mosquito nets and repellents there is nothing to do on the river. In June, asp, perch, pike perch, and catfish are excellently caught with a spinning rod. If you settle down with a bottom equipped with a feeder, somewhere at the exit of a hole with snags or under the edge of a bank overgrown with reeds, you can catch a large carp.

In July, summer fully comes into its own. The hot southern sun heats everything around to an enveloping faintness. There is no escape either day or night, only at dawn in the evening and in the morning it becomes a little easier to breathe, and you can fish for an hour or two. But even she feels that lethargy and drowsiness that covers all living things in the unbearable heat, when every movement turns into torture. It is at dawn that annoying mosquitoes, hidden somewhere from the heat of the day, appear and happily eat our brother the fisherman. Only the carp doesn’t care at all. Even in sultry afternoon When the sun goes off scale at 50°C, the carp splashes, frolics, and its appetite does not diminish at all - it bites on a worm, and on porridge, and on cake.

At sunset there is a riot of greenery - lotus, reeds, water lilies, and among them schools of golden rudd, striped perch, bronze carp, and spotted pike lurking in ambush. All this can be seen if you have a mask and fins. The water is warm, 22-24°C, settled after the flood and visibility is already one and a half to two meters.

Closer to August, mosquitoes, which were waiting for swimmers right at the exit from the water and pestering fishermen, almost disappear. It's still very hot though light wind breathing becomes easier every day, and by the end of the month the heat begins to subside.

In August, the predator's bite becomes more active, large asp become more active, and pike perch and large catfish are more often found along the edges of the pits. Golden rudd is caught using a spinner on the rumbles. Often a carp sits on a small spoon, and defeating a strong man weighing about ten kilograms, with thin perch tackle, is not only pleasant, but also an honor. They still take large bream and carp on the bottom - on a worm, a shell and on cake. Exciting, exciting fishing!

Ivan Dementievich Chersky (1845-1892)

The works of Ivan Dementievich Chersky are devoted to the study of Siberia. Together with A. L. Chekanovsky he completed the most important works to study the relief and geological structure of a significant part of this vast country. A. L. Chekanovsky compiled the first geological map the southern part of the Irkutsk province and carried out daring expeditions along the Lower Tunguska, Lena and Olenek rivers. I. D. Chersky examined the shores of Lake Baikal along their entire length, studied part of the river basin. Selenga, a postal route from Irkutsk to the Urals, described an extensive collection of Quaternary mammals from the islands of New Siberia and began a large expedition from Yakutsk through the ridges in the upper reaches of the river. Indigirki on the river Kolyma, during which he died. Both researchers laid the foundation for our modern knowledge on the geology of Eastern Siberia, and more and more detailed studies of later times were based on the results of their work.

Ivan Dementievich Chersky was born on May 15, 1845 in the family estate of the Drissensky district of the Vilna province, studied at the Vilna gymnasium, and then at the Vilna Noble Institute. IN Last year stay at the institute, when a calm, prosperous life already awaited him farmer, began Polish uprising 1863 It captivated an 18-year-old boy. Captured among the rebels, he was condemned to exile and enlisted as a private in the 1st West Siberian Line Battalion in Omsk.

Ivan Dementievich Chersky spent five years in difficult conditions of barracks life. simple soldier of that time, went on guard duty, stood guard, but despite this, he began to study scientific research. In Omsk, he found a fellow countryman, V.I. Kvyatkovsky, who supplied him with books. He also met the famous Russian traveler G.N. Potanin, who had just returned from an expedition to Southern Altai and Tarbagatai. Potanin pointed out to him the best manuals on natural science known at that time, in particular on geology, for which I. D. Chersky showed a special inclination. G.N. Potanin supervised his studies. On his instructions, he studied the surroundings of the city geologically and collected material for his first scientific work.

In 1869, I. D. Chersky was dismissed from military service due to illness, but lived in Omsk for another two years, interrupting his lessons. He visited the city hospital, where he studied practical anatomy.

At the end of 1871, I. D. Chersky received permission to move to Irkutsk, where he was attracted by the opportunity to work in the Siberian department Geographical Society. Here he met with two other exiles, participants in the uprising - zoologist Dybovsky and geologist Chekanovsky, who greatly helped him in his scientific studies. A.L. Chekanovsky, on behalf of the Siberian Department, carried out geological research in the south of the Irkutsk province, and Dybovsky began studying the fauna of Lake Baikal. I. D. Chersky set about putting in order the collection of fossil animal bones in the Department’s museum and also began studying the dental system of modern mammals. Both gave him material for a series scientific articles, published in Izvestia of the Department in 1872-1876. In addition, he began field research in the vicinity of Irkutsk to collect fossil fauna, later visited the Chinese and Tunka Alps, found out their connection with the Sayan Mountains, and studied in detail the cave on the river. Ude in the foothills of the Sayan Mountains near the city of Nizhneudinsk, where he collected a rich fauna of extinct Quaternary animals, which he described in detail. He also examined the question of how seals penetrate from Arctic Ocean into Lake Baikal and the question of the age of rocks developed in the Irkutsk province, and also examined the gorge part of the river valley. Irkut from the Torskaya Duma to the mouth.

All these studies prepared I. D. Chersky for more serious work entrusted to him by the Siberian Department, namely detailed study shoreline of Lake Baikal. This lake attracted the attention of naturalists already in the second half of the 18th century. its size, enormous depth and original fauna and flora with the presence of seals characteristic of the polar seas, flint sponge, as well as earthquakes and thick oil thrown up by the waves. The first study of the shores of Lake Baikal was carried out in the 18th century. Academician Georgi, but his map of the coast a hundred years ago, of course, was very imperfect and required reworking. Four years, 1877-1880, I. D. Chersky from spring to late autumn was engaged in studying the shoreline of Lake Baikal with the meager funds that the Siberian Department was able to allocate to him. He sailed on a boat with 2-3 oarsmen along the shore, studied the coastal cliffs from the boat if they fell into the water, or on foot if they did not reach the water. We spent the night in a tent on the shore, eating mainly crackers and fish that we caught during the night. In stormy weather it was necessary to pull the boat ashore and wait; on such days, I. D. Chersky, together with one of the rowers, made walking excursions into the depths of the coastal mountains along stream valleys or dry falls, sometimes 10-15 kilometers from the coast, in order to better study their geological structure. Returning to Irkutsk for the winter, he processed diary entries and collected collections rocks and compiled a detailed report on summer job, in which he described the composition and structure of the coastal strip and often considered related tertiary issues of geology. Therefore it annual reports contain a lot of interesting data and have not yet lost their significance.

Having completed this research, I. D. Chersky in 1881 made a long trip through the southern part of Western Transbaikalia in the river basin. Selenga from the river Kiki in the north to the Mongolian border in the south for first-hand views of the high plateau East Asia, the presence of which had previously been established by P. A. Kropotkin. This trip is also described by him in a detailed report containing many instructive data and comparisons.

In 1882, I. D. Chersky left for a whole year in the village. Preobrazhenskoye on the river Lower Tunguska, where he conducted meteorological observations and examined the valley of the upper reaches of this river, collected the remains of the Quaternary fauna and primitive man. He also described the path from Irkutsk to this place and observations there in a large report.

In Irkutsk, I. D. Chersky lived very modestly, on the small remuneration he received as a museum curator. But in 1879, a huge fire in the city destroyed the building of the Siberian Department with its museum and library, and for some time I. D. Chersky had to live on the earnings of a clerk in a small shop. All the collections he had collected up to this year were also burned in the fire. Therefore, I.D. Chersky was able to finally process and compile a complete report on the study of the shoreline of Lake Baikal only based on observations and collections of the last two years concerning the eastern shore of this lake. The full report was published by the Siberian Department in 1886. But I. D. Chersky also prepared a detailed geological map of the lake shoreline on a scale of 10 versts in 1 inch on 2 sheets with a general explanatory note, which was published in 1886 by the Geographical and Mineralogical Societies.

In 1885, I. D. Chersky received from the Academy of Sciences, which drew attention to large scientific results his research, an order to carry out a geological study along the entire Siberian postal route from Irkutsk to the Urals. He completed the task over the summer, making more side excursions from the highway to the north to the Padunsky threshold on the river. Angara and south to Minusinsk. A description of this research was published in Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences. He established a connection between geological data between the Urals and the shores of Lake Baikal using new observations for the first time after large-scale work expeditions XVIII V.

For almost seven years (1885-1892), I. D. Chersky lived in St. Petersburg, working in the museum of the Academy of Sciences. He completed an essay on the geology of the shores of Baikal and, based on all Siberian observations, made a report on tectonics at the Society of Naturalists ( geological structure) mountainous country, part of the northwestern edge of inner Asia. This report, small in volume but very valuable in content, outlines the main features of the structure of the southern part of Siberia, accepted later and further developed by the famous Austrian geologist Suess in his “Face of the Earth”. On behalf of the Geographical Society, I. D. Chersky compiled two volumes of additions to volume V of Ritter’s “Asia”, which concerned the Baikal region, Baikal, Sayan and Transbaikalia. In these additions he included his observations in the Sayan and Baikal region, some of which had not yet been published anywhere. On behalf of the same Society, he processed the materials collected by A. L. Chekanovsky during an expedition along the river. Lower Tunguska, and prepared this work for publication.

At the Museum of the Academy of Sciences, he was entrusted with the processing and description of extensive collections of bones of Quaternary mammals collected in 1885-1886. expedition of Bunge and Toll in the north of the Yakut region and the islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago. I. D. Chersky studied not only this collection, but also all the others on the Quaternary fauna available in the museums of the Academy, Geological Committee, Mining Institute and universities of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Their description was big volume“Notes of the Academy of Sciences,” in which I. D. Chersky also summarized all his literary data on the Quaternary deposits of all of Siberia and gave them a new division, described the living conditions of the disappeared fauna in the north and on the polar islands. This great work is about geological history north of Siberia in Quaternary times prompted the Academy of Sciences to equip new expedition to this little-known area under the leadership of I. D. Chersky.

Everyone who knew the state of health of I. D. Chersky was concerned about this proposal. It was necessary to fear that he would not withstand the extremely difficult conditions of the expedition to the distant Yakut region with its harsh climate. But I. D. Chersky himself spoke about this journey with such enthusiasm and with such youthful fervor he strove for research work on the outskirts of Siberia, for new scientific tasks that no one dared to seriously warn him about the dangers of this decision.

In the spring of 1891, I. D. Chersky and his wife left St. Petersburg. At the end of May he was in Irkutsk, where he visited the author of these lines, who was at that time a geologist of the Mining Department, the only full-time geologist in Siberia who continued work in the Baikal region and the Baikal Highlands. I. D. Chersky impressed me as a scientist-enthusiast. Our conversation, naturally, touched upon the question of the former glaciation of Siberia, the possibility of which he denied, based on the modern dry continental climate, which does not allow large accumulations of snow. He tried to explain the clear signs of glaciation discovered by Kropotkin in the Lena gold-bearing region by natural forces or the mistakes of an inexperienced observer, and the same signs in the Sayan Mountains, which he also saw himself - the existence of local small glaciers. Speaking with enthusiasm about the tasks of his expedition to the Yakut region, he hoped that there would be evidence of the impossibility of the previous strong glaciation even under the Arctic Circle.

The first reports of I. D. Chersky from Yakutsk and Verkhnekolymsk, received by the Academy of Sciences, were imbued with a cheerful spirit and contained very interesting data about the high ridges that he discovered between the upper reaches of the Indigirka and Kolyma rivers, and about clear, contrary to his expectations, traces of former glaciation in the form of terminal moraines on the bottom of valleys. They also included interesting information about the life and customs of the local population, about the prices of imported products - sugar, flour, candles, soap - and in connection with this about the meager food of the expedition. During the winter in Verkhnekolymsk in a very difficult situation, I. D. Chersky wrote a detailed report on the results of the journey from Yakutsk with characteristics of the relief and structure of the four ridges he crossed along the way, with the appendix of route surveys, cross sections and a corrected map of the area.

This long and difficult route from Yakutsk to Verkhnekolymsk undermined weak forces I.D. Chersky, and wintering in a harsh climate with long frosts of 40-55° in the environment of a Yakut yurt completely ruined his health and caused severe pulmonary disease. Anticipating that he would not be able to complete the expedition, I. D. Chersky, overcoming his illness, put the collected collections in order to send them to the Academy and compiled the detailed reports mentioned above. He had a presentiment that his days were numbered, and already in Verkhnekolymsk he made orders regarding the continuation of the expedition after his death and the fate of his wife and son, a 12-year-old boy, who accompanied him. He outlined these orders in writing and left them with priest V.I. Suchkovsky in Verkhnekolymsk, and he himself left on May 31, 1892 down the river. Kolyma on a karbaz (a large boat with a cabin) in order to complete the expedition program as fully as possible. He did not spare himself at all and spent whole days and bright polar nights on a narrow seat in the bow of the carbaz in order to conduct continuous observations of the nature of the river banks. Only during layovers did he move to the cabin, where a heavy cough allowed him to fall asleep only in a sitting position and intermittently. V. I. Suchkovsky, who visited I. D. Chersky on June 3 at a parking lot in Sien-Tomaja, said that the body was thin, like a sliver, yellow sallow faces and trembling hands indicated that his days were numbered. Nevertheless, he was cheerful, calmly talked about his approaching death, was interested in the life of the population of the region and said that the unfortunate natives (Yakuts and Lamuts) suffer from all kinds of fists much more than from the harsh conditions of the country. He only mourned that the expedition, on which the Academy of Sciences had spent so much money, would not be completed, but he certainly wanted to bring his research to at least Nizhnekolymsk.

On June 10, 1892, the expedition arrived in Srednekolymsk, where it stayed for three days, which I. D. Chersky spent in the cabin without getting up; Throat spasms did not allow him to speak. Along the way, his wife led the observations, and he recorded them in his diary. Since June 20, he could not do this either, entrusting the work to his son, and he remained in the cabin in a sitting position: spasms did not allow him to lie down.

July 7, 1892 in the evening, near the mouth of the river. Prorvy, I.D. Chersky died. He was buried on the bank of the river. Kolyma, in the Omolon tract, 30 kilometers below Prorva, where it took 3 days to dig a grave in permafrost soil. Message from priest V.I. Suchkovsky about last days I. D. Chersky, published in the "Notes of the Academy of Sciences", shows the dedication of this scientist, who served before last bit of strength science and on the brink of the grave caring only about the safety of the collected observations.

The observations of I. D. Chersky were later used in new, more detailed studies in the Yakut region, and his name was assigned, by decree of the Geographical Society, mountain system a series of high ridges forming a large arc north of the Verkhoyansk ridge, crossing the Indigirka and Kolyma rivers, three chains of which were first discovered and studied by him on the route between these rivers.

Among scientific works I. D. Chersky highest value His studies on the shores of Lake Baikal and in the mountains of the Baikal region laid the foundation for our modern knowledge about the structure of this high-mountainous part of Siberia, composed of the most ancient layered crystalline and metamorphic rocks of the Precambrian with their extensive intrusions and from deposits of the ancient Paleozoic. The detailed zoological map of the shoreline of Lake Baikal compiled by him still remains the only one and has not been replaced by a newer and more advanced one (although it is, of course, partly outdated). The great significance of the great work of I. D. Chersky, which contains a description of the fauna of Quaternary mammals of Siberia and characteristics of deposits of this period. His observations in the Near-Baikal region and on the high plateau of Transbaikalia, considerations about the tectonics of the latter and its northwestern border laid the basis for our modern knowledge of this area, from which all further, more detailed studies of modern times have proceeded.

The most important works of I. D. Chersky: Report on the study of the Nizhneudinskaya cave, "Izvestia of the East-Sib. Department of the Russian Geogr. Society.", Irkutsk, 1876, vol. VII, No. 2-3; Geological excursion to the high plateau and shore of Lake Baikal between the mouths of pp. Selenga and Kiki, in the same place, 1882, vol. XIII, No. 1-2; Natural-historical observations and notes made on the way from Irkutsk to the village. Preobrazhensky on the river. Nizhnyaya Tunguska, in the same place, 1885, vol. XVI, No. 1-3; Report on geological research shoreline of Lake Baikal, part 1. "Notes of the East-Siberian department. Russian Geographical Society.", Irkutsk, 1886, vol. XII; On the results of the study of Lake Baikal, "Notes of the Russian Geographical Society" general geography", St. Petersburg, 1886, vol. XV, No. 3; On the tectonics of a mountainous country that is part of the northwestern outskirts of inner Asia. "Proceedings of the Society of Natural Scientists", St. Petersburg, 1886, vol. XVII, century 2; Geological research Siberian postal route from Lake Baikal to the eastern slope of the Urals, as well as routes leading to the Padunsky threshold on the Angara River and in the city of Minusinsk, "Notes of the Academy of Sciences", St. Petersburg, 1888, vol. LIX, appendix. collections of post-Tertiary mammals collected by the New Siberian expedition of 1885-1880, ibid., 1891, vol. LXV, appendix No. 1; Preliminary report on research in the area of the Kolyma, Indigirka and Yana rivers, ibid. 1893, vol. LXXVI, appendix no. 5.

About I. D. Chersky:Yadrinnev N., In memory of I. D. Chersky, "Russian Gazette", 1892, No. 248 of September 8; Pleske F. D., Ivan Dementievich Chersky (obituary), "Notes of the Academy of Sciences", St. Petersburg, 1893, vol. XXI; About the last days of the traveler in Siberia Iv. Dem. Chersky, in the same place, 1893, vol. XXII, book. 1; Chernyshev F. and Nikitin, Ivan Dementievich Chersky (obituary and list of works), "News of the Geological Committee", 1892, No. 9-10; Obruchev V., I. D. Chersky (obituary), "Izvestia of the East-Sib. Department of the Russian Geographical Society.", Irkutsk, 1892, vol. XXIII, No. 3.

Meaning of CHERSKY IVAN DEMENTIEVICH in Brief biographical encyclopedia

CHERSKY IVAN DEMENTIEVICH

Chersky (Ivan Dementievich, 1845 - 1892) - famous explorer Siberia, geologist and paleontologist. Litvin by origin, a native of the Vilna province, Chersky, being in graduating class Vilna Noble Institute, took part in the Polish uprising of 1863. Taken among the rebels, Chersky was exiled to Siberia and enlisted as a private in a line battalion located in Omsk. In 1869 he was released from military service. In 1871 he moved to Irkutsk, where he spent 15 years, interrupting his lessons and working in the East Siberian branch of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. In 1886, at the invitation of the Academy of Sciences, he came to St. Petersburg for scientific studies. Sent by the Academy as the head of a scientific expedition to Eastern Siberia to study the Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma rivers, he died in the Yakut tundra. Deprived of proper scientific training, Chersky had to self-taught to fill the gaps in his education and, moreover, under extremely unfavorable conditions. Already in Omsk, in the barracks, he studied in fits and starts, but passionately and tirelessly, finding support and guidance in some of those around him. Chersky’s scientific studies in Irkutsk became more systematic, thanks to the leadership of two outstanding fellow countrymen-naturalists, Dybovsky and Chekanovsky. In the publications of the East Siberian Branch of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, and then the Academy of Sciences, during Chersky’s stay in Irkutsk, a number of Chersky’s independent works on the geology of Siberia and on the osteology of modern and extinct vertebrates of Siberia were published; These works placed Chersky in the ranks of very knowledgeable, experienced osteologists. The appearance of the most important works Chersky refers to the St. Petersburg period of his activity. In 1886, his report on a geological study of the shoreline of Lake Baikal appeared, with a detailed geological map; in 1888 - a geological study of the Siberian postal route from Lake Baikal to the eastern slope of the Urals, and in 1891 a voluminous "Description of collections of post-Tertiary mammals collected by the New Siberian expedition", representing a complete osteological monograph of the remains of post-Tertiary mammals not only of the New Siberian Islands , but throughout Siberia.

Brief biographical encyclopedia. 2012

Biography of I.D. Chersky

early years

Ivan Dementievich Chersky was born on the family estate of the Drissen district of the Vilna province, studied at the Vilna gymnasium, and then at the Vilna Noble Institute. In the last year of his stay at the institute, when the calm, prosperous life of a rural owner already awaited him, the Polish uprising of 1863 began. It captivated the 18-year-old boy. Captured among the rebels, he was condemned to exile and enlisted as a private in the 1st West Siberian Line Battalion in Omsk.

Five years I.D. Chersky spent the barracks life of a simple soldier of that time, went on guard duty, stood guard, but despite this, he began to engage in scientific research. In Omsk he found fellow countryman V.I. Kwiatkovsky, who supplied him with books. He also met a famous Russian traveler who had just returned from an expedition to Southern Altai and Tarbagatai. Potanin pointed out to him the best manuals on natural science known at that time, in particular on geology, to which I.D. Chersky showed a special inclination.

I.D. Chersky set about putting in order the collection of fossil animal bones in the Department’s museum and also began studying the dental system of modern mammals. Both of these gave him material for a number of scientific articles published in the Department’s Izvestia in 1872-1876. In addition, he began field research in the surrounding area to collect fossil fauna, later visited the Chinese and Tunka Alps, found out their connection with the Sayan, studied in detail a cave on the Uda River in the foothills of the Sayan near the city, where he collected a rich fauna of extinct Quaternary animals, which was described in detail described. He also examined the question of the routes of penetration of seals from the Arctic Ocean into Lake Baikal and the question of the age of the rocks developed in the Irkutsk province, and also examined the gorge part of the Irkut River valley from the Torskaya Duma to the mouth.

All these studies were prepared by I.D. Chersky for more serious work entrusted to him by the Siberian Department, namely a detailed study of the shoreline of the lake. This lake attracted the attention of naturalists already in the second half of the 18th century for its size, enormous depth and original fauna and flora with the presence of seals characteristic of the polar seas, flint sponge, as well as earthquakes and thick oil thrown up by the waves. The first study of the shores was carried out in the 18th century. academician, but his map of the coast a hundred years ago was very imperfect and required reworking. Four years, 1877-1880, I.D. From spring to late autumn, Chersky studied the coastal strip with the meager funds that the Siberian Department was able to allocate to him. He sailed on a boat with 2-3 oarsmen along the shore, studied the coastal cliffs from the boat if they fell into the water, or on foot if they did not reach the water. We spent the night in a tent on the shore, eating mainly crackers and fish that we caught during the night. In stormy weather it was necessary to pull the boat ashore and wait; on days like these I.D. Chersky, together with one of the rowers, made walking excursions into the depths of the coastal mountains along stream valleys or dry falls, sometimes 10-15 kilometers from the coast, in order to better study their geological structure. Returning to the island for the winter, he processed the diary entries and collected rock collections and compiled a detailed report on the summer work, in which he described the composition and structure of the coastal strip and often considered the related tertiary issues of geology. Therefore, its annual reports contain a lot of interesting data and have not yet lost their significance.

In 1882 I.D. Chersky went for a whole year to the village of Preobrazhenskoye on the Nizhnyaya Tunguska River, where he conducted meteorological observations and explored the valley of the upper reaches of this river, collecting the remains of the Quaternary fauna and primitive man. He also described the path from to this place and observations in it in a large report. VIEW. Chersky lived very modestly, on the small remuneration he received as a museum curator. But in 1879 he destroyed the building of the Siberian Department with its museum and library, and for some time I.D. Chersky had to live on the earnings of a clerk in a small shop. All the collections he had collected up to this year were also burned in the fire. Therefore I.D. Chersky was able to finally process and compile a complete report on the study of the shoreline of Lake Baikal only based on observations and collections of the last two years concerning the eastern shore of this lake.

The full report was published by the Siberian Department in 1886. But I.D. Chersky also prepared a detailed geological map of the lake shoreline on a scale of 10 versts by 1 inch on 2 sheets with a general explanatory note, which was published in 1886 by the Geographical and Mineralogical Societies. In 1885 I.D. Chersky received from the Academy of Sciences, which drew attention to the major scientific results of his research, an order to carry out a geological study along the entire Siberian postal route from the Urals. He completed the task over the summer, making more side excursions from the highway north to the Padunsky rapids on the river and south to the city of Minusinsk. A description of this research was published in Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences. He established the connection of geological data between the Urals and the shores of Lake Baikal using new observations for the first time after the work of large expeditions of the 18th century.

Petersburg (1885-1892). Museum of the Academy of Sciences

Almost seven years I.D. Chersky lived in St. Petersburg, working at the Museum of the Academy of Sciences. He completed an essay on the geology of the shores of Baikal and, based on all Siberian observations, made a report to the Society of Naturalists on the tectonics (geological structure) of the mountainous country, which is part of the northwestern outskirts of inner Asia. This report, small in volume but very valuable in content, outlines the main features of the structure of the southern part of Siberia, adopted later and further developed by the famous Austrian geologist Suess in his “Face of the Earth”.

On behalf of the Geographical Society I.D. Chersky compiled two volumes of additions to volume V of Ritter’s “Asia”, which dealt with the Baikal region, Baikal, Sayan and Transbaikalia. In these additions he included his observations in the Sayan and Baikal region, some of which had not yet been published anywhere. On behalf of the same Society, he processed the materials collected by A.L. Chekanovsky during an expedition to Lower Tunguska, and prepared this work for publication.

At the Museum of the Academy of Sciences, he was entrusted with the processing and description of extensive collections of bones of Quaternary mammals collected in 1885-1886 by the expedition of Bunge and Toll in the north of the Yakut region and the islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago. I.D. Chersky studied not only this collection, but also all the others on the Quaternary fauna available in the museums of the Academy, Geological Committee, Mining Institute and universities of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Their description was made up of a large volume of “Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences”, in which I.D. Chersky also summarized all his literary data on Quaternary deposits throughout Siberia and gave a new division of them, described the living conditions of the disappeared fauna in the north and on the polar islands. This large work on the geological history of northern Siberia in Quaternary times prompted the Academy of Sciences to equip a new expedition to this little-known area under the leadership of I.D. Chersky.

Everyone who knew the state of health of I.D. Chersky was disturbed by this proposal. It was necessary to fear that he would not withstand the extremely difficult conditions of the expedition to the distant Yakut region with its harsh climate. But I.D. himself Chersky spoke about this journey with such enthusiasm and with such youthful fervor he strove for research work on the outskirts of Siberia, for new scientific tasks, that no one decided to seriously warn him about the danger of this decision.

In the spring of 1891 I.D. Chersky and his wife left St. Petersburg. At the end of May he was in .

Yakut expedition. The last days of the scientist

The first reports of I.D. Chersky from Yakutsk and Verkhnekolymsk, received by the Academy of Sciences, were imbued with a cheerful spirit and contained very interesting data about the high ridges that he discovered between the upper reaches of the Indigirka and Kolyma rivers, and about clear, contrary to his expectations, traces of former glaciation in the form of terminal moraines at the bottom valleys They also contained interesting information about the life and customs of the local population, about the prices of imported products - sugar, flour, candles, soap - and, in connection with this, about the meager food supply of the expedition. During the winter in Verkhnekolymsk in a very difficult situation, I.D. Chersky wrote a detailed report on the results of the journey from Yakutsk with characteristics of the relief and structure of the four ridges he crossed along the way, with the appendix of route surveys, cross sections and a corrected map of the area.

This long and difficult route from Yakutsk to Verkhnekolymsk undermined the weak forces of I.D. Chersky, and wintering in a harsh climate with long frosts of 40-55° in the environment of a Yakut yurt completely ruined his health and caused severe pulmonary disease.

Anticipating that he would not be able to complete the expedition, I.D. Chersky, overcoming his illness, put the collected collections in order to send them to the Academy and compiled the detailed reports mentioned above. He had a presentiment that his days were numbered, and already in Verkhnekolymsk he made orders regarding the continuation of the expedition after his death and the fate of his wife and son, a 12-year-old boy, who accompanied him. He put these orders in writing and left them with priest V.I. Suchkovsky in Verkhnekolymsk, and he himself left on May 31, 1892 down the river. Kolyma on a karbaz (a large boat with a cabin) in order to complete the expedition program as fully as possible. He did not spare himself at all and spent whole days and bright polar nights on a narrow seat in the bow of the carbaz in order to conduct continuous observations of the nature of the river banks. Only during layovers did he move to the cabin, where a heavy cough allowed him to fall asleep only in a sitting position and intermittently. IN AND. Suchkovsky, who visited I.D. Chersky on June 3 at a parking lot in Sien-Tomaja, said that his body as thin as a sliver, his yellow complexion with an earthy tint and trembling hands indicated that his days were numbered. Nevertheless, he was cheerful, calmly talked about his approaching death, was interested in the life of the population of the region and said that the unfortunate natives (Yakuts and Lamuts) suffer from all kinds of fists much more than from the harsh conditions of the country. He only mourned that the expedition, on which the Academy of Sciences had spent so much money, would not be completed, but he certainly wanted to bring his research to at least Nizhnekolymsk.

On June 10, 1892, the expedition arrived in Srednekolymsk, where it stayed for three days, which I.D. Chersky spent time in the cabin without getting up; Throat spasms did not allow him to speak. Along the way, his wife led the observations, and he recorded them in his diary. Since June 20, he could not do this either, entrusting the work to his son, and he remained in the cabin in a sitting position: spasms did not allow him to lie down. July 7, 1892, in the evening, near the mouth of the Prorva River, I.D. Chersky died. He was buried on the bank of the river. Kolyma, in the Omolon tract, 30 kilometers below Prorva, where it took 3 days to dig a grave in permafrost soil. Message from priest V.I. Suchkovsky about the last days of I.D. Chersky, published in the “Notes of the Academy of Sciences”, shows the dedication of this scientist, who served science to his last strength and, on the brink of his grave, cared only about the safety of the collected observations.

Observations by I.D. Chersky were later used in new, more detailed studies in the Yakut region, and his name was assigned, by decree of the Geographical Society, to a mountain system of a number of high ridges forming a large arc north of the Verkhoyansky ridge, crossing the Indigirka and Kolyma rivers, three chains of which were first discovered and studied them on the route between these rivers.

Significance of work

Among the scientific works of I.D. Chersky's greatest significance is his research on the shores of Lake Baikal and in the mountains of the Baikal region, which laid the foundation for our modern knowledge about the structure of this high-mountainous part of Siberia, composed of the most ancient layered crystalline and metamorphic rocks of the Precambrian with their extensive intrusions and from deposits of the ancient Paleozoic. The detailed zoological map of the shoreline of Lake Baikal compiled by him still remains the only one and has not been replaced by a newer and more advanced one (although it is, of course, partly outdated). The great significance of the great work of I. D. Chersky, which contains a description of the fauna of Quaternary mammals of Siberia and characteristics of deposits of this period. His observations in the Near-Baikal region and on the high plateau of Transbaikalia, considerations about the tectonics of the latter and its northwestern border laid the basis for our modern knowledge of this area, from which all further, more detailed studies of modern times have proceeded.

The most important works of I. D. Chersky

Report on the study of the Nizhneudinskaya cave, "Izvestia of the East-Sib. Department of the Russian Geogr. Society.", Irkutsk, 1876, vol. VII, No. 2-3;
Geological excursion to the high plateau and shore of Lake Baikal between the mouths of pp. Selenga and Kiki, in the same place, 1882, vol. XIII, No. 1-2;
Natural-historical observations and notes made on the way from the city to the village. Preobrazhensky on the river. Nizhnyaya Tunguska, in the same place, 1885, vol. XVI, No. 1-3;
Report on the geological study of the shoreline of Lake Baikal, part 1. "Notes of the East Siberian Department of the Russian Geogr. Society.", Irkutsk, 1886, vol. XII;
On the results of the study of Lake Baikal, "Notes of the Russian Geographical Society on General Geography", St. Petersburg, 1886, vol. XV, No. 3;
About the tectonics of a mountainous country that is part of the northwestern edge of inner Asia. "Proceedings of the Society of Natural Scientists", St. Petersburg, 1886, vol. XVII, century. 2;
Geological study of the Siberian postal route from Lake Baikal to the eastern slope of the Urals, as well as the routes leading to the Padunsky threshold on the river. Hangar and in Minusinsk, "Notes of the Academy of Sciences", St. Petersburg, 1888, vol. LIX, appendix. No. 2;
Description of the collection of post-Tertiary mammals collected by the New Siberian expedition of 1885-1880, ibid., 1891, vol. LXV, adj. No. 1;
Preliminary report on research in the area of the Kolyma, Indigirka and Yana rivers, ibid., 1893, vol. LXXVI, appendix. No. 5.

Memory of I.D. Chersky

Was released in 1995 Postage Stamp Belarus, dedicated to Chersky.

The following are named after Jan Czerski:

The village of Chersky in Kolyma in Yakutia.

Two mountain range in Siberia:

Chersky Peak - Mountain peak on Khamar-Daban.
Mount Chersky is a mountain peak on the Baikal ridge.

Chersky Shore (Kosheli) - a shore on the shore of Lake Baikal in the Barguzinsky Nature Reserve.

Irkutsk Partnership Belarusian culture named after Yan Chersky.

Chersky passage in Moscow.

Chersky Coast ( Novaya Stanitsa) - bank of the Irtysh River, Novaya Stanitsa, Omsk region.

Read on Irkipedia:

Golenkova A. I. Jan Czerski Peak: Documentary-art. story. - Irkutsk: Vost.-Sib. book publishing house, 1980. - 128 p.
Shishanov V. A. Mavra Cherskaya: time of memories // Archival decline of Vitsebshchyna as a key to the learning of the history of the region: Materials of archival readings illuminated 150 years ago by A. P. Sapunov.- 6-7 Cherven 2002, Vitsebsk / Warehouse V. U. Skalaban and others. Mn: BelNDIDAS, 2002. P.111-120.