One of the picturesque and unique places in Russia in terms of beauty, climate and natural features is the Valdai Upland. In the very center of it is the city of Valdai, whose history goes back almost five hundred years. Many tourists are willing to come here. One of the reasons for the popularity of this route among travelers is the proximity to such large cities as Moscow, Novgorod, St. Petersburg. The Valdai Upland combines several hills and ridges, the largest of which are Valdai, Vyshevolotskaya, Ostashkovskaya. The Volga, Western Dvina, Dnieper rivers originate here, there are many mineral springs, springs and springs.
Location on the map
The Valdai Upland on the map is located in the Novgorod, Smolensk, Tver regions, partly in the Pskov and Leningrad regions in the north-west of the Russian Federation. The length of the hill is about 600 km, the height varies from 150 to 250 km. The highest point is 346.9 km.
Relief of the Valdai Hills
This area is characterized by alternation of ridges, hollows and hollows. There are small plains. Mediumthe height of the hills is 20-50 m, the degree of their slope is 15-20 and higher. Basins with depressions located between the hills are often filled and form small lakes. Three forms of relief are combined on the Valdai Upland: outwash, kame, and finite moraine. The appearance of the area has developed due to the activity of glaciers. Other factors in the formation of relief are insignificant.
Valdai climate
Excessive air humidity prevails here. Short, cool summers and long, warm autumns are typical of the Valdai Upland. The climate here is temperate continental, very similar to the sea. Valdai winter is relatively warm, and spring is long and cold. Weather conditions are formed as a result of the circulation of air masses. Arctic air and air from temperate latitudes accumulate over the area. Continental air from temperate latitudes gives warmth in summer and frost in winter, while sea air sets rainy weather in summer and thaws with snowfalls in the cold season. In general, the weather in Valdai is unstable, it can change dramatically.
On an average year, the air warms up to 3.20С, in winter the temperature drops to -9..-100С, in summer the average temperature is +160С. The prevailing winds are west, south and southwest. A little more than 800 mm of precipitation falls annually, the snow cover reaches 50 cm.
Hydrological feature
On a hill is the watershed of the poolsB altic Sea, Volga and Dnieper. Here are the sources of such rivers as Msta, Tvertsa, Mologa, Syas, Pola, Lovat and others. The rivers of the Valdai Upland have rapid currents, rapids, and deep valleys. They get food from melted snow, as well as rain and groundwater. The rivers are covered with ice for about 4-5 months of the year. Freeze-up is observed in December, and ice breaking - in April, in early spring - in March and even in February.
There are a large number of different types of fish in the rivers: perch, pike, gudgeon, burbot, pike perch, bleak, silver bream, asp, bream, ide, roach and others.
The lake of the same name - Valdai - is the most beautiful, cleanest. By the way, "valda" means "pure", "light". It refers to natural monuments. The lake is located on an area of about two thousand hectares, its average depth is 15 m, but in some places it reaches 50 m. There are several islands on the surface of the reservoir. Birch and Ryabinovy are one of the largest, they divide the lake into two reaches - Valdai and Dolgoborodsky. The location on the shore of the lake of the Iversky Monastery and the Bells Museum adds beauty to this place. Indeed, initially in the city of Valdai, casting bells was the main occupation.
The Valdai Upland is rightly called the Lake District, on the map of which there are more than a dozen lakes. The largest of them are Seliger, Velye, Uzhin, Borovno, Ilmen. Many different recreation centers have been built on the shores of the lakes, where vacationers are provided with typical Russian recreation - bathing, barbecue, fishing.
Nationalparks
Valdai Upland is a very attractive territory for the location of national parks here. The Valdai National Park was established in 1990 with the aim of organizing recreation and preserving the natural conditions of the area. This natural unit occupies more than one hundred thousand hectares. On the territory of the park there are forests, lakes, rivers, various representatives of the animal world live. Many species of vegetation located here are listed in the Red Book. These are the bristly half-flower, the lady's slipper, the helmet-bearing orchis, the B altic digitorum and many others. More than a hundred species of various mosses are under state protection.
More than 150 species of birds nest here. Of the rare species were seen: black stork, peregrine falcon, golden eagle and osprey. As well as gray heron, kingfisher, yellow, some breeds of woodpeckers, bittern. The fauna is represented by mass species: squirrel, fox, brown bear, raccoon dog, lynx, mouse.
Valdai National Park is doing a lot of scientific work, one of the areas of which is educational activities among children. The park is part of the European National Parks Federation.
Valdai Upland is an excellent recreational area, where there are many places for recreation. Children's camps and recreation centers have been built on the banks of rivers and lakes. Hiking, kayaking, skiing and horse trails have been developed.
More than 20 species of fish live in the reservoirs of the Sebezhsky National Park: tench, eel, ide, pike, rare ones - peled, trout, silver carp. There are many lakes and rivers in the park, interconnected insingle water system. The largest lakes here are Sebezhskoye and Necheritsa.
Reserves
Valdai Upland also includes protected areas. These are the Polistovsky and Rdeisky reserves. Here, as well as in national parks, scientific work is carried out. Thanks to the existence of such reserves in Russia, such a direction of recreation as ecological tourism is developing. Excursions and whole expeditions are organized here with overnight stays in tents, cooking on a fire. The employees of the reserve, together with the children, make and install information boards on environmental topics.
Vegetation
Under the influence of a climate with excess moisture, sod-podzolic soils have been formed on the territory of Valdai. On these depleted lands with a small part of humus, mainly coniferous tree species grow - pine and spruce. There are also rare types of ecosystems with a predominance of northern vegetation, namely, northern oak forests with ash and hazel. There are many wetlands.
