Lake Tavatuy

Tavatuy lies 50 kilometres north-west of Yekaterinburg and stands out among Ural water bodies: its basin is tectonic, tied to young crustal movements within the Verkh-Isetsky granite massif. The water is clear to a depth of 4–5 metres — a rarity for the Urals. The lake stretches 8.5 kilometres at up to 3.75 wide, covers 21.2 square kilometres and reaches a maximum depth of 9 metres. About 30 rivers and streams flow in, the largest being the Bolshaya Shamanikha and Bolshaya Vitilka. On the water are the hilly islands of Makaryonok and Golubev and the low-lying Splyven. The Tavatuy shores have been inhabited since ancient times, and the name is explained in different ways: from the Komi-Permyak 'ta va tui' — 'this water way' — or the Tatar 'tau tui', 'feast of the mountains'. Since the 1970s the lake with its coastal forests has been protected as a nature monument; with the forests the protected area reaches 3,900 hectares. Today it is Yekaterinburg's favourite lake weekend: the villages of Kalinovo and Tavatuy, sandy beaches, kayaks and SUPs, and on the eastern shore the famous Kalinovye Razrezy — colourful outcrops of granites and pegmatite veins.