Sarva: a mysterious spring lake in Bashkiria, into which an underground river flows

Looking at this small lake near the Bashkir village of Sarva, it is difficult to even imagine that there, under water, at a depth of more than 30 meters, there is an outlet of a powerful underground river. The exact depth of this unique reservoir has not yet been established, and even divers who often immerse themselves in the waters of this clear spring lake cannot help solve this problem.

Lake Sarva is located in the northern part of the Republic of Bashkiria, in the Nurimanov district. It is a small pond, reaching only 35 meters in width and 80 - in length. The lake is of karst origin, hence its impressive depth compared to its small size. And although there is no exact data on the depth of the reservoir, it is believed that this value ranges from 35-50 meters.

The underground river flowing into the lake is not surprising for this region. The fact is that in this region of Bashkiria there are a lot of karst dips and cracks, with which the formation of an underground river is associated. In all likelihood, the river that forms Lake Sarva originates in the foothills of the Urals, on the border of the republic and the Chelyabinsk region. In the upper reaches the river goes underground, into one of the cracks in the earth’s surface and reappears on the surface, flowing out of the lake.

Due to the incredibly cold water, the animal world of the reservoir is rather poor. There is no abundance of fish here, as in other lakes of Bashkiria, but in Sarva there is a very rare species of fish listed in the Red Book of Russia - European grayling. And near Lake Sarva there is a village of the same name, in which there is an enterprise for bottling pure spring water.