There are many legends about the place with the telling name "Death Valley" in Yakutia. Every inhabitant of the republic has heard stories about lost hunters who, after spending the night there, returned home, fell ill and died.
They also talk about the bodies of members of the geological expedition found, whose cause of death has not been clarified, a strange fire, underground rooms in which it is warm, as in a heated house, and other incomprehensible and frightening things.
The Yakuts call this place l Chrkchkh (Yelyuyu Cherkecheh) - translated as “Valley of Death”. According to initial sources, the right bank of the Vilyui River was named as its location, while no more specific landmarks were indicated. In later testimonies, the Olguidah River (translated as "river with a cauldron") appears - the right tributary of the Vilyui River, they say that mystical and strange things began to happen there.
According to the official version, the "Valley of Death" is located in the region of the Vilyui reservoir on the territory of the Mirninsky ulus. Descriptions of the area are also contradictory. According to some sources, this is a lost place, surrounded by swamps and dead trees, where birds do not fly and animals do not enter. As for the people, according to the same sources, in the old years they died in the valley of death in dozens.
A completely different description is found in the only document relating to the "Valley of Death" - a letter from a certain Mikhail Koretsky from Vladivostok, who, according to his own statement, visited there. In particular, he notes that "there is more lush vegetation, huge burdocks and grass taller than human growth."
Andrey I, author of the program "Seekers of Yakutia", winner of the TEFI award, filming a story about "Valley of Death"
According to the stories, in the "Valley of Death" there are cauldrons of unknown origin - olguyi. Their diameter is about 10 m, and inside them there is “summer warmth even in severe frosts”, so local hunters who wandered here used these boilers as a place to stay overnight. But the strangest thing happened after they returned home - almost immediately they fell ill and died.
Another legend is the aforementioned letter from Mikhail Koretsky, the text of which is given in all articles on the Valley of Death.
From a letter of the traveler Mikhail Koretsky
Promotional video:
However, this is perhaps the only documentary evidence about the mysterious cauldrons, to which all authors of the articles refer, raises legitimate doubts, and here is why. It is alleged that this document exists and is in the archives of the National Library of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), however, when asked by the correspondent, the library workers said that they had not heard of anything like this.
Employee of the National Library of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
Of course, this does not yet prove that the letter does not exist, but it does not confirm its existence either. The second fact that cast doubt on its authenticity is that in further sources it was again presented in a slightly modified form as eyewitness testimony.
Andrey I, author of the program "Seekers of Yakutia", winner of the TEFI award, filming a story about "Valley of Death"
Nevertheless, the legend of the giant boilers is still very popular today. Someone believes that this is a former base of aliens, someone considers the cauldrons to be the works of human hands, some believe that these are domes of huge underground structures, and even cite stories about hunters who allegedly descended there, the most advanced explain these strange formations and destructive the impact of the terrain with the discharge of spent stages of missiles and underground atomic explosions.
Researchers of the Yakut epic "Olonkho" believe that the battle of the demons of the lower world with the heavenly heroes, which happens once every 100 years, takes place in this place. By the way, the description of the battle is very similar to the picture of atomic explosions.
Andrey I, author of the program "Searchers of Yakutia", winner of the TEFI prize, filming a story about "Valley of Death"
Vitaly Kalashnikov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Geology and Subsoil Use of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
So what is really going on in this strange place? Is it really an inexplicable natural anomaly or just idle gossip and speculation? It is difficult to answer, but, be that as it may, the phenomenon of "Eluyu Circassian" is included in many encyclopedias of anomalous zones of the planet.
Vitaly Kalashnikov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Geology and Subsoil Use of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
