3 Days in Elton Natural Park

Sorry we have been off the grid everyone but we have been in the field observing some amazing landscapes and plants in Russia.

4/15/15
We headed to Elton Village, home of Lake Elton, a 187 sq km area salt lake located on the border of Russia and Kazakhstan, about a 4 hour drive from Volgograd. Seven rivers feed into the Lake Elton, all a different mineral content. Lake Elton is unique because it is considered a living salt lake, because the soil surrounding it has live algae.  The soil is considered to have many health benefits, this belief dates back to the time of the Tsars, who would come to this lake for health purposes. In fact we were staying at the lakes sanitarium (which is basically a Russian health spa). 

The living soil

Lake Elton at sunset this picture doesn't show how windy it was that day because the lake is completely smooth

All the salt on the shore

Around the lake there is an extensive formation of steeps. This area used to bee under the Caspian Sea. This has created over time a unique ecosystem of of salt tolerant plants. In 2001 the nature park was founded to preserve this unique ecosystem and the lake. The director Victor told us their main three goals are; conservation of plants and animals, tourism, and ecological education. They run many education programs and they struggle with conservation because of all the farm animal grazing that happens in the area.

The steeps

Igor, Maria, and Victor the director of the natural park 

They also showed us M. Lagon at 69 meters salt mountain area where you can find many fossils from the time this region was a lake .

Mt. Lagon

The lake from the the mountain at sunset

A small Festuca growing on the salt mountain

Fossil

4/16/15
Our plan that day was to spend our time traveling around the lake exploring the steeps and looking for plants. However we had a run in with border control that kept us busy for most of the morning, but that is a story for another time. We did get to see one of the contributing rivers, The Black River.

The Black River feeding into Lake Elton

We also got to see some early blooming plants

Artemisia santonica a very nice scented

Haeonemum strobilaceum  slowly creates a raised area around the rivers so other plants can grow. This is our master botanist Alex

Megacarpaea megalocarpa

Iris scariosa

Then the highlight Tulipa gesneriana 

Tulipa gesneriana with Tulipa biebersteiniana

I was crazy excited to see Tulips growing in the wild

4/17/15
We had to head back to Volgograd today.  We did get to stop by a Russian and Kazakhstan museum that highlights the old ways of life. Our guide Samgul actually created this museum to preserve the history in this village.
He had a replica of a traditional Russian house, an Izba. These low ceiling wooden houses have no windows on the north side, because this brings bad luck.

The table is said to be the palm of God and men sit on one side and the women on the other.

Of course they had traditional clothes they insisted we dress up.

Jim also got to wear traditional Kazakh robes.

They also had the structure of a Kazakh home, a Yurt that has the fabric in the summer time.

Jim and Maria

In addition he had a small museum on the Village Elton including the creation of the sanitarium.

Salt weight

Scientist who studied this region

We got to meet his camel

Then we drove back to Volgograd and we got to see the second half of the Volgograd Botanical Garden. They showed us their extensive greenhouse facility. They are currently converting 4 greenhouses to display greenhouses for the public. They also showed us their enormous production system they are producing half a million plants for sale each year.

Plants Oleg collected in Missouri in propagation

The first greenhouse they are converting into a display area, they are building a pond

60 year old greenhouses they are preserving because they are the only Soviet era greenhouses left in the region

Plants for sale

We then had dinner in one of the offices which was amazing we got to sit down with staff and discuss the life working at a botanical garden. They asked us many questions and we asked them many questions. They also showed us the master plan for their botanical garden which is very exciting for the future. Oleg and his staffs enthusiasm was so much fun to be around. 

Oleg and all of his staff with me and Jim

And because I'm obsessed

We will be out in the field for another couple of days so no contact for awhile again!