''Butakovsky gorge'' is located on the Northern slope of the
Zailiysky Alatau ridge in the watershed of The
Little (Malaya) Almatinka basin and the
Left Talgar,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
.
History
The local terrain was formed during the formation of the
Tien Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
about 20 million years ago. In the 19th century, it was the dacha of the first Governor of
Semirechye
Zhetysu, or Jeti-Suu ( kk, , Жетісу, pronounced ; ky, ''Jeti-Suu'', (), meaning "seven rivers"; also transcribed ''Zhetisu'', ''Jetisuw'', ''Jetysu'', ''Jeti-su'', ''Jity-su'', ''Жетысу'',, United States National Geospatial-I ...
G. A. Kolpakovsky. There is an assumption that the gorge was named after the chief of the
Cossack guard posted in this gorge in the 1860s to protect the forest from logging by migrants from
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
. The Kazakh origin of the place name is not excluded: butak (i.e. a tributary). Indeed, the Butakovka river is a right tributary of the little (Malaya) Almatinka. From here you can walk to the Kimasar range and return to
Медеу, as well as to the valley of the Left Talgar river.
Tourism
The main attraction of the Butakovsky gorge is
waterfall
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...
s. There are two of them: the lower one, 15 meters high, is the most popular among tourists. The second is smaller than the lower waterfall and is located in the upper part of the gorge at a distance of two kilometers. The vegetation of the gorge is diverse, with Tien Shan spruce,
aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
,
mountain ash Mountain ash may refer to:
* ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia
* Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus''
See also
* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf
Mountai ...
and
barberry
''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South America a ...
growing on its slopes. In winter, the gorge is decorated with red clusters of mountain ash, which grows in abundance along the riverbed and on the nearby slopes.
The gorge is located in the Medeu branch of the
Ile - Alatau state unitary enterprise. In 1996, Butakovka became the legal property of the Ile-Alatau state nature Park.
The territory of the gorge covers about 5000 hectares and is guarded by five inspectors. It has a favorable acoustic environment (silence, melodic sounds in nature). Recommended visiting periods: May–October. Inspection of the gorge is spectacular in the daytime.
Sources
Maryashev Monuments of Semirechye archeology and their use in excursions-Almaty, 2002A. P. Gorbunov Mountains Of Central Asia. Explanatory dictionary of geographical names and terms. Almaty, 2006
References
{{coord, 43.190, 76.999, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:KZ, display=title
Canyons and gorges of Kazakhstan