Yakutia is rich in lakes, there are about a million lakes on its territory. Everyone knows the legendary Labynkyr lake in the Oymyakon ulus, in which, according to legend, an unknown relic animal is found. But not only Lake Labynkyr is known for its secret, there are other equally mystical lakes in Yakutia.
Lake Khayyr (Pestsovoye)
In the north of Yakutia, in the polar tundra, there is one of the most interesting lakes - Khayyr, named after a nearby village of the same name. Strange reports of a massive, long-necked animal, possibly of relic origin, began to appear in the late 1930s.
According to popular beliefs among the local population, a giant bull pike lives in Lake Khayyr, which is quite capable of swallowing a fishing boat.
The polar pilot Valentin Akkuratov was the first to report a mysterious and unknown animal to science, who, flying over the lake, noticed two strange gray oblong spots above the water surface. Having become interested in unusual objects of such a large shape that they were clearly distinguishable from a height of 700 m, the pilot made a circle over the lake at an altitude of 50 m. the noise of the plane, hurried to hide under water. However, the war, and then the restoration of the country, postponed the study of this mysterious lake for 25 years.
In 1964, interest in Khayyr was awakened with renewed vigor after one of the Moscow scientists G. Rukosuev said that he saw strange large inhabitants with snake-like heads on long massive necks in a tundra lake.
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An expeditionary detachment was equipped on the lake, which included a representative of the Yakutsk branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, who also saw a strange animal with a body 4 m long and a huge one and a half meter neck. The head of this creature was relatively small, its skin was dark blue, and its general appearance resembled a giant raptor with shiny smooth skin. True, later, after an expedition of submarine athletes, as well as all thrill-seekers, sent to the lake explored the lake and found no one, a researcher at the Academy of Sciences retracted his words, declaring them a hoax.
After the conclusion made based on the results of the reconnaissance expedition, it was believed for a long time that there were no mysterious inhabitants in the lake, especially of ancient origin. However, 30 years later, interest in the lake revived: in the 1990s, a research expedition set up a camp on the lake's shore, conducting a geological study of the Kular Range. Some researchers clearly saw how the head of an unusual lizard appeared above the surface of the lake, then a back with a fin and a long tail, several times the animal hit its tail hard on the water, and then disappeared into the depths.
Further questioning of local residents showed that they quite often hear deaf, but strong blows from the side of the lake - this is exactly how a blow with a tail on the water surface of the lake would sound at a distance. Thus, Lake Khayyr again asked a riddle, proving that not all of its secrets could be solved in the distant 1960s.
Lake Gate
A small mountain lake called the Gate, only 4 km long, became known due to its proximity to the legendary Oymyakon Lake Labynkyr, which was explored in the 1950s – 1960s. and were repeated at the beginning of the 21st century.
These lakes are separated by only 20 km, and, according to the testimony of local residents, a huge animal lives in the Gate, which makes trumpet sounds of enormous power. Since the lakes are separated by high hills, it turned out to be much more difficult to get to the Gate than to Labynkyr, but V. Tverdokhlebov, a researcher from the East Siberian branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, in the distant 1950s. managed to spend several days on the shore of the lake. It is his testimonies that remain today the only weighty evidence that a strange animal lives or lived in the lake.
According to the records of the researcher in his diary, made on the Sordonnoh plateau overlooking the lake, he managed to see a certain living creature that swam along the lake, but then, as if sensing people, turned right towards them.
At the approach of this log-like creature, the researcher was overcome with a numbness, as if someone had shackled his legs and filled his soul with cold. Judging by the part protruding above the water, the animal was huge in size, light spots of eyes stood out on the gray head. It moved with throws, first rising above the water, and then again sinking into it up to its head, and large waves spread out from its massive neck in all directions. There is practically no other evidence, apart from local legends, that hunters and reindeer herders had to see the back, neck and head of a huge animal resembling a large snake on the surface of the lake.
In the 21st century, new attempts were made to reach this lake, but a full-fledged study was never carried out. Nevertheless, an observation was made that made it possible to assume that both lakes - Vorota and Labynkyr - are connected by an underground tunnel, and there are no traces of fish in the place where the tunnel was found, as if they were afraid to approach there because of a large predator.
In addition, during exploration work on Labynkyr, all the researchers who went to study the lake by boat noted that they heard strange sounds from the east, from behind a large hill where Lake Vorota is located. According to eyewitnesses, at first there was a sound like a shot, then some kind of humming was heard, as if a turbine had been started. There are no settlements of people in this region, so the sounds could only be of natural origin, but what it was: the wind or really was blowing a huge beast, the researchers never established.
According to the assumptions made, animals living in distant lakes may be mammoths that have switched to a semi-aquatic lifestyle, ancient lizards who managed to survive in extreme conditions, plesiosaurs that have been strangely preserved to this day, or chronomirages. In the latter case, in the lake, researchers and eyewitnesses did not see the animals themselves, but only their images preserved in time, so it is almost impossible to find their remains or living creatures.
Residents of Oymyakon often see UFOs flying over this area, some hover in place or fly so slowly that they even managed to be carefully examined and sketched. In their opinion, it was a UFO, and not a giant animal at all, that the researcher saw on the lake in 1953, and later all the local residents, but, not knowing how to interpret what they saw, they took the unidentified object for a rare animal. However, whatever versions are built about the Gate, one thing is clear: the lake is full of secrets, unusually beautiful and certainly deserves close attention.
Ygyatta river
The Ygyatta River is a tributary of the Vilyui. This is a rather big river 601 km long and up to 10 meters deep at the mouth.
The banks are rocky, the water is cold and clear. Emeralds, rubies, aquamarines, jasper are found on sandy shoals. In general, the places are still distinguished by the true beauty of nature.
The known diamondiferous areas of the Mirny region are located somewhat to the west. But researchers of the unknown, these places are known from a different point of view. They say that UFOs periodically "dive" into the river, which is why even the name Ygyatt watering place appeared.
The Vilyui tributaries are also intertwined with another mysterious place, possibly connected with the Ygyatt watering hole. This is the Valley of Death, in Yakut it is called "Elyuya Cherkechekh". There is no point in repeating what is written in all available sources - you can read about this in the encyclopedia of anomalous places on Earth by the famous researcher Vadim Chernobrov. Until now, there are no official results of any expeditions that would confirm the existence of huge "cauldrons" of durable metal embedded in the ground.
The location of the Valley of Boilers is controversial. Some authors are no longer talking about Yakutia, but about the Evenkia region located northwest of the city, others mention one of the Vilyui tributaries southeast of the Ygyatta River. Still others advise you to explore the Vilyui ulus more deeply. Perhaps the last point of view is the most justified, since it is in the Vilyui ulus that there is the Algy Timirbit river, which means “the big cauldron drowned”.
When they talk about the great antiquity of the "boilers", it is easy to argue that the ancestors of the Yakuts came to their lands about five hundred years ago. But in this case, the anomalies allegedly observed in recent decades in the region of the Ygyatta River can theoretically be associated with the same source as the Valley of Boilers.
Often, all metal hemispheres that have fallen from the sky are attributed to parts of launch vehicles launched from Russian and other cosmodromes. In fact, the trajectory of the missiles launched from Baikonur is such that debris may well fall, say, in Altai. And further - in the direction northeast of Altai.
Let us pay attention to the fact that the Vilyui ulus of Yakutia and the other, Suntarsky ulus, with which the reports about the Ygyatt watering place are associated, are located along a completely different trajectory - not from the southwest to the northeast, but from the southeast to the northwest. If we assume for a moment that the "boilers" are a consequence of an accident of some apparatus from the same series as those diving into the Ygyatta River, then both places will fall on a possible trajectory, not just takeoff, but landing.
Let me remind you of this historical fact: launched on April 12, 1961 from the Baikonur cosmodrome (more precisely, from the site in the Tyura-Tam area) into orbit around the Earth, the Vostok spacecraft, after one orbit around the Earth, landed in the Volga region. Yuri Gagarin went down by parachute in the Saratov region.
After the technology of landing ships launched from Baikonur was improved, they began to land on the territory of Kazakhstan, with the exception of a few "abnormal" cases. The Saratov region, as you know, is located in the northwest of the Dzhezkazgan region of Kazakhstan, where later Soviet and Russian ships were most often landed.
Enthusiasts have the right to assume something similar when comparing the location of the Valley of Cauldrons and the Ygyatt waterhole.
Lake Baliktaakh-Ebe
An article about this lake was published in the newspaper "Eder Saas" in 2000.
In the summer of the outgoing year (2000-29-07), an unusual natural phenomenon was recorded in the village of Nayakhi in the Ust-Aldan ulus on Lake Balyktaakh-Ebe.
The weather was sunny and calm that day. In the evening between 19.00 and 20.00 clouds thickened sharply over the northern part of the lake. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, but everything quickly subsided. All that remained was a constant hum, as if a jet had been flying high in the sky. From the cloud onto the surface of the lake, a light strip fell, similar to the trunk of a tornado. At the place where the strip fell, the water in a small square boiled (according to an eyewitness, "boiled"), and it was seen how the water, seething, rose up the trunk, while the trunk, bending, buzzed with tension.
Those who were near this phenomenon felt a strong wind, which brought invisible tiny splashes of water, like near a fountain. Observers from the eastern shore saw the calm surface of the lake, neither the wind nor the spray of water reached them. They saw a cloud with a light streak and heard a hum. Meanwhile, the cloud from the northern bank went to the western one, but, before reaching it, it turned sharply to the middle of the lake, where the trunk, as it were, "broke away" from the cloud and disappeared. The weather was calm and clear again. All this lasted for about 20 minutes.
Children swimming on the southern shore explained this phenomenon in their own way: as if a white dragon sucked water from the lake with its trunk. In the water vapor, the rays of the sun painted multicolored blue, violet, blue-violet and pink highlights, which were recorded as flowers by the children. Local residents interpreted this: firstly, as a rare natural phenomenon, and secondly, as a result of a strong tornado wind. However, after 12 days it became clear that this phenomenon could not be explained only by the laws of nature, since it was repeated. The roofs of many houses were damaged and torn off by a strong thunderstorm with continuous thunderous peals, accompanied by a hurricane wind. At the end of September, employees of the Anastasia Ecological and Spiritual Center left the city of Yakutsk for the village of Nayakhi to study the lake. The group was headed by the head of the center,Deputy Chairman of the Republican Society for Nature Conservation Anastasia Savvinova.
At the scene, they first of all familiarized themselves with eyewitness accounts, watched video footage of this phenomenon.
Upon examination by staff, it was discovered that there is another larger lake under the lake. Later it turned out that earlier geological studies were carried out here and the presence of a second lake was established.
Ulusnaya SES made a chemical analysis of the water immediately after the incident. The water was saline and contained blue suspended solids, which subsequently settled along the banks. The employees of the center believe that water pollution comes from deep processes occurring in the waters of both lakes, over time the water will be purified and become usable.
Lake Devil's Eye
The emergence of Lake Devil's Eye near Olekminsk is associated with the fall of a meteorite.
The Devil's Eye is located directly opposite Olekminsk, a few meters from the Lena River, in an open place. It is very round, about 30 meters in diameter. The coast is steep, a small rampart is visible above the swampy meadow.
In Yakutia, rich in lakes, there are many perfectly round reservoirs, but the Devil's Eye stands out even among them all and looks too much like a huge crater from the explosion of an unusually large artillery shell.
Researchers of anomalous phenomena first learned about the lake from Pavel Serkin, a native of Olekminsk, now a resident of Yaroslavl. He, like all boys, loved to fish and one day, together with friends, went to the lake, which was popularly notorious. No, no one drowned in it, and no evil spirits seemed to be found. But every year in late July - early August, strange lights were seen over the lake - always in the same place in the earthly firmament. Knowledgeable people used to say that this happens, “when the planet Earth, moving in its orbit, falls into a certain zone of space,” then lightning occurs over the areas of the earth's surface that are strained due to different densities (above geological faults); and the pipe of the lake at this time sends its "signals", which in the evenings were reflected in the cumulus clouds by blurred lightning. This could be easily seen from the slopes of the main river terrace, from the windows of houses on Maiskaya Street, from the city embankment.
Pavel's father said that the men therefore christened the lake with the Devil's Eye. In 1947, P. Serkin decided to put a 20 meter long net with heavy weights in this lake. With their nephew and friend, they dragged the boat and began to lower it along the steep bank to the lake. The bow of the boat sank into the water, then, as it pushed, it surfaced, scooping up several buckets of water. The guys did not like the place, and they went to the old lady to catch minnows. The remaining Paul tied one end of the net to a hammered peg, the other to the stern of the boat and swam to the middle of the lake, pulling the net behind him. Suddenly he felt the boat slowing down. I looked around: the rope from the stern goes down vertically, the floats are not visible. He pulled the net from the shore, untied the rope - and its end quickly disappeared into the dark depths. Returning to the shore, Paul examined the tied net:the rope at the edge of the shore also went down vertically, the first float and a light sinker were faintly visible nearby. The net hung down and folded into a narrow ribbon. The taut rope indicated that the other end of the net had not reached the bottom. Slowly, with great effort, the boy pulled her back. An eerie feeling from the dark abyss remained in the teenager's memory. Many years later, Paul gave serious thought to the old incident. What unknown force pulled the net to the bottom of the lake? What kind of "light signals" are sent every year from its depths? The steep bank with sparse grass vegetation had a multi-step appearance, which indicated that the ground was settling. But why does the circular lake shore, where there is no current, sink? This means that this round reservoir is a young formation. So Pavel suggested that the lake at that time was no more than 35-45 years old. The most interesting thing: 1947 minus 35-45 years - the time is close to the year of the fall of the Tunguska meteorite (1908). Moreover, the places of fall in degrees north latitude also almost coincide. And the distance between the places of fall of 1500 km for a foreign body (if we assume that the lake appeared as a result of the fall of a body of extraterrestrial origin) is not so great.
Recall that among the researchers of the Tunguska explosion there is an opinion that no meteorite fell into the Tunguska taiga. There were explosions, but the reasons for these explosions are still unknown. Why was it necessary to "bomb" the empty taiga, for what reason? Perhaps, P. Serkin concludes, "the foreign ship that suffered an accident initially dumped its energy resources in the Podkamennaya Tungusska area, and then fell near Olekminsk." But why did no one notice the fall of the cosmic body? How did the lake appear and why were there no rumors left in human memory about its appearance? Serkin believes that in an area where the permafrost reaches several hundred meters and has the strength of a rock, any body that falls from above will break and remain almost on the surface. But talik ribbons are preserved along the banks of large rivers.
Imagine: in late autumn or winter, a southwestern cyclone, rare for those places, brought a snow storm. It was night, and at that time something fell from the sky. The body, having broken through only the winter firmament, entered the talik. A strong wind blew away the sound of the impact from a residential area three kilometers away on the other side of the river. The formed funnel was filled with waters from the oxbow and the river bed. For 2-3 days, the surface layer froze, and it was covered with snow. The first spring flood flooded the meadow floodplain, the floating ice floe dulled the ridge, the water brought silt, the wind brought plant seeds, and by autumn the coastal ridge of the lake was covered with the first grass.
In those days, Olekminians hardly swam to the right bank, they did not mow hay there, and fishing there was bad because of the sandbanks. And the village of woodcutters Zarechny, located downstream, was founded only in 1948. So there is nothing to be surprised: the night fall and the fresh appearance of the formed crater could well have gone unnoticed by the locals. But such a possibility is not excluded, says Pavel Serkin, that "at the bottom of the lake, under a thick layer of sediment silt, there is still a large meteorite or even a deformed UFO." True, there is an important disadvantage in Serkin's version: the author forgot that in reality the Tunguska explosion did not occur in winter, but in the height of summer, and not at night, but in the morning. However, there have been no studies in this area yet. Most people familiar with Serkin's arguments believethat the connection of the Devil's Eye with the Tunguska meteorite is more than doubtful.
Lake Labynkyr
In the eastern part of Yakutia, in the Oymyakonsky ulus, there is the amazing Labynkyr lake. Everything connected with it is covered with legends and mystery. The nearest human dwelling is located hundreds of kilometers from it, and this is not surprising. Since ancient times, the surroundings of the lake have frightened people, as there is an opinion that there is a monster of unusual size in it. On this occasion, legends and traditions were composed.
The natural reservoir was formed as a result of damming the river with a large moraine. Labynkyr spread over fourteen and a half kilometers, and in width it reaches more than four kilometers. The first mystery of the reservoir is related to its depth. On average, it reaches fifty meters, but there is a rift in the middle. It goes 80 meters into the bowels of the earth. Many scientists have tried to find out what is hidden in this cold depth.
The mysterious lake has a water transparency up to 10 meters. And then the mystery lives. The second surprising fact is the frost resistance of water. The location of Labynkyr in one of the coldest regions of the country suggests its severe freezing. This is where the mystery begins. It turns out that water, which has a temperature of no higher than nine degrees in summer, freezes very badly in winter at minus fifty on the surface. No warm springs were found in the depths. Surprisingly, the water does not freeze, while the neighboring lakes are completely frozen.
The third natural mystery concerns the disappearing island. There are several land areas here, one of which is located exactly in the middle. Despite the fact that the water level remains practically unchanged, the island sometimes disappears completely. There is a scientific version that this is an optical illusion, but for local residents this explanation is not the only one.
The shores of Labynkyr Lake are not the same. If from the northern side they are covered with boulders and pebbles, then in the middle rocks approach the water, and from the south it is surrounded by a plain.
The lake is covered with legends and legends. For fear of the unknown, the locals do not approach the picturesque reservoir. Not a single road has been laid in its direction, so you can get there only by all-terrain vehicles, a helicopter or on horseback. It's all the fault of the Labynkyr devil, or an incomprehensible creature living in the depths of the lake.
Something huge and alive not only floats in the water, but also comes out onto land. The animal is gray in color, and its head is so large that the distance between its huge eyes is at least half a meter. This creature attacked a Yakut fisherman on a boat and a hunting dog chasing game, as well as deer who came to drink.
It is surprising that everyone who met the Yakut monster describes it identically: huge, with a large head and light gray color, it terrifies and panics. Its approach causes numbness. The blood runs cold in my veins, and this happens on a subconscious level.
The Even family who wandered to summer pastures stopped for the night near a picturesque reservoir. The child ran to play to the stream, and the adults began to cook dinner. Suddenly they were deafened by a scream. The stream of the stream carried the boy into the lake. Before the parents had time to budge, the waters opened and a monster with a huge toothy beak emerged from them. The boy immediately disappeared along with the terrible creature. My grandfather made a homemade lure with a smoldering torch and threw it into the lake. In the morning, he pulled the rope and pulled the seven-meter monster dead. As the story goes, a small horse and rider could fit under his skull.
Local fishermen, sailing along the lake on a ten-meter long boat, were dumbfounded with horror when their boat heeled and began to rise. They could not see anything in the abyss, but argued that only something huge could have such power.
Only one local resident could stay on the Labynkyr bank for a long time. His name was Alams. Having drunk vodka on rare occasions, he told how he fed the monster with animals. When Alams ended up in the hospital, where he was taken without memory, he insisted that he must immediately go to the lake so as not to lose his life. The hunter was brought to Labynkyr, where he disappeared very quickly after his return.
The monster of Lake Labynkyr in Yakutia could not fail to interest the scientific community. Academician Viktor Tverdokhlebov and Boris Bashkatov were the first researchers of this unusual natural object. They made an expedition and published their diaries in the early 60s. They contained eyewitness accounts who were lucky enough to see the incredible creature. The description of the monster completely coincided with what the local legend claims.
For ten years, scientific expeditions were sent to the shore of the mysterious reservoir. Even curious tourists came there. Several times selfless divers descended into the depths of the lake. They claimed to have seen a huge living object, but very vaguely. At the bottom, animal bones were found, which also caused surprise.
Over the next thirty years, the Labynkyr monster was forgotten. It did not manifest itself, and interest in the unknown subsided. Scientists managed to find out that there are mines of unknown origin in the lake, which can connect it with other bodies of water. There was talk among local residents that the monster had reappeared. It now lives in Lake Gate. The expedition sent there found nothing, and the research quieted down again.
The next expedition took place at the turn of the century in 1999. Scientists examined several lakes and did not find a monster. But here, too, there were some surprises. Stalagmites of unknown origin were found on the bank of Labynkyr. One got the impression that someone came out of the water, stood for a while and then returned home. Also, a dog disappeared from the shore, which showed a clear fear of water.
As part of the TV program "Seeker" in 2005, an expedition was carried out, which was able to find a rift at the bottom of the lake and the presence of animal bones. Already in 2013, brave divers set off to conquer the depths in a frost of 46 degrees. In this case, the water temperature was plus two. The divers could not see the Labynkyr monster.
Despite the relative similarities in the descriptions of the monster, there are differences. This makes it possible to classify it among different types. Scientists put forward several main hypotheses.
In the depths of Labynkyr, a mammoth can live, which leads an amphibious lifestyle. Presumably, his descendants descended into the non-freezing waters, fleeing the extreme cold. The animal can breathe, rising to the surface. The only limiting factor for the adoption of this version is that the inhabitant of the depths is a predator.
Many scientists are inclined to think that a prehistoric lizard lives in the lake, which was able to survive thanks to the unique microclimate. If we consider this version, then we can assume that the Labynkyr monster is a plesiosaur.