Lake Chuybekkol ( Dead Lake) is located in the upper reaches of the Chibit River at an altitude of 1949 meters above sea level near the Aktash-Ust-Ulagan road (on the 12th kilometer of the Ulagan tract), to the left of the road four kilometers after the Red Gate .
The lake is long and relatively narrow, stretched along the road a kilometer by two and a half. Chuybekkol is a freshwater lake, has a crustal origin, feeds on precipitation, underground and thawed waters, and the Cibitki River, which flows into it, and from it also flows. Because of the high altitude the lake freezes early, and thaws late, ice on it happens even in the beginning of summer.
The lake with many names (Dead, Cheybek-Kol and Chuybekkol) rises almost 2 km above sea level and is located in the valley of the river Chibit (or Cibitka). Nearby is the Aktash-Ust-Ulagan road.At 2, 5 km along the road stretched a pond, more like a narrow water path (at this length its width does not exceed 80 m). This fresh lake feeds on sediments, underground and thawed waters, and passes through the Cibitku River. High location led to the fact that the ice quickly binds the water of Cheybekkel and does not let it go until the middle of summer.
The name "Cheybek-Kol" or its variation "Chuybekkol" is translated as "an elongated, long lake". Another name - Dead - appeared thanks to the imagination of tourists, which local residents soon "picked up". The fact is that the fish does not live in the lake, plants do not grow, and even representatives of families of water birds refuse to sit down. It is believed that this is due to the content of mercury in the water. But what is interesting, according to the results of the research of Tomsk scientists, the mercury content in Chuybekkol does not exceed the norm.
Nevertheless, native Altaians ascribe to the lake a dark aura and believe that there are storms or at least earlier evil spirits were rampaging. It was these rumors that inspired Ivan Efremov, the famous writer and creator of the novel The Constellation of Andromeda, to write the story "Lake of Mountain Spirits."
The same employees of Tomsk University have established that the lower organisms and some vegetation along the shores of the mysterious reservoir still exist. And in general for fish would be a real feast, if they decided to settle here. The explorers explain their absence by the inconvenient location of the lake - the fish were unable to climb to such heights, having overcome the stubborn course of the Cibitki River.
Cool lake water has no taste or smell and is colored in a dark blue color. Look at the depth through this shroud can not be more than 5 m. Tourists are very attracted by the mysterious pond, the secret which they so much want, but yet can not be uncovered.
A few kilometers from the lake there is another interesting attraction - the Red Gate.
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