Official actions
Underwater geography
24.07.2015 09:05
http://www.rgo.ru/en/article/underwater-geography-0
Russian Geographical Society
29 July 2014
In the framework of the “Underwater geography” project scientists and divers explore the unique waters of the”Vologda Lake District.”
Vologda regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society in cooperation with the Federation of Underwater Sports of Vologda run the project. The leader is Alexander Gubin, President of the Federation, an experienced and well-known diver, who set more than one world record for diving.
Nature of the Vologda region is beautiful and various. Its diversity is represented by 34 terrestrial landscapes and a variety of different bodies of water: there are about 20 thousand rivers and streams in this region, the total length of which exceeds 70 000 km. Thre are over 5000 lakes In Vologda, here go the Volga-Baltic and North Dvina waterways. Due to this fact the western part of the region is called the “Vologda Lake District.”
With the joint effort of the regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society, researchers from the Vologda State University, Laboratory of the State Research Institute of Lake and River Fisheries and Arctic educational and research rescue center “Vitegra” it is planned to create a database of water and recreational resources of the Vologda region. It will include data on physiographic, hydrochemical, hydrogeological and hydro-biological characteristics of water bodies, the risks of underwater tourism and recreation.
They will also create a map with the coordinates of the facilities recommended for water and underwater tourism, access roads to them and the nearest settlements. On the pages of cartographic publications one will find photos of coastal and underwater landscapes made at different depths. Due to the use of new technologies, three-dimensional cartographic objects will be created.
“This is a valuable and imortant tool for education and development of all types of eco-tourism in the Vologda region”, – Chairman of the Vologda regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society Nadejda Maksutova said.
This summer, divers together with scientists and students from the Naturally Geographical Department of the Vologda State University visited the Lake Onega. During the expedition, they studied the aquatic and coastal aquatic flora and underwater landscapes. They found rare for the Vologda region plants and underwater ”rock gardens” interesting for the development of diving.
New expedition to be held in July-August And again they will take place in Vytegorskiy area. Divers and scientists will dive to the bottom of the most interesting bodies of water. This time, the objects of study will be unique endangered karst lakes: Undozero, Ezhozero and the river of Uzhla.
The main feature of the endangered lakes is that there are sinkholes (ponors) on their bottoms, through which the water is drained periodically, and in a while the lake bowl is filled again. There are such lakes in Babaevsky and Vashkinsky areas and in some eastern districts. Uzhla River – which is also disappearing - at first in the middle reaches it goes underground through karst formations, and in the lower reaches reappears on the surface as the source. There are no many rivers and lakes like that known in the world, and all of them are the objects of tourist interest.
Support to researchers of unique natural objects on the territory of Vytegorsky district in 2014 is provided by Yuri Leonidovich Vorobyov, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Russian Union of rescuers, and Vyacheslav Pozgalev, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Vologda regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society.
Governor of the Vologda Region Oleg Kuvshinnikov has repeatedly pointed out that the tourism industry is one of the main clusters, that will build the economy of the Vologda region in the coming years.
“Eco-tourism has been and remains one of the main elements of this cluster. It is not a secret that each year beauty and richness of natural resources of Vologda attract a great many tourists – continues Nadejda Maksutova. – Along with traditional outdoor activities it is also necessary to develop new promising directions such as underwater sports and tourism, which have long been popular in many countries, and during the last decade they have been actively developing in Russia. “
Sergei Shadrunov, spokesman of the Vologda regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society.
Photo: Alexander Gubin.
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