Lake Krivoye: the hydrological reserve in Belarus and the urban settlement in Ukraine

In the post-Soviet space there are at least two geographical objects with the name "Crooked Lake", each of which is interesting and attractive in its own way! One of them is located in the Republic of Belarus, and the other one is in the south of Ukraine.

Beauty of the Belarusian Poozerie

Not only Poland or Finland can boast of their lake regions. There is also a lake in Belarus. It is located in the north of the country, mainly within the Vitebsk region. Deep pits of lakes here are adjacent to moraine ridges and low flat hills of glacial origin.

A total of at least 11,000 lakes of different sizes and forms are concentrated in the Belarusian Poozerie. And each of them looks very picturesque! The names of these lakes are mostly no less beautiful and mysterious: Suja, Snudy, Shchyty, Velia and Zavlelya ...

The landscapes of the Byelorussian Poozerie are so good that many travelers compare them to the Bavarian. In this article, we will pay special attention to only one of the 11,000 of these marvelous water bodies.

Lake Krivoye: location and description

In 70 kilometers to the west of Vitebsk, not far from the P113 highway, is a miracle of nature. The whole photo of the Crooked Lake is very difficult to make. To do this, you need to go up into the sky, because its outlines are bizarre and unusually original.

The complex shape of the basin of the reservoir is easily explained by its origin. The modern lake Krivoye is the result of the interaction of thermokarst and glacial processes, a real work of art in the performance of Mother Nature. If you walk along its banks, you can see numerous bays, beaches, islets and narrow channels. The lake is deep enough (in the western part of the reservoir the depth reaches 20-30 meters).

Due to the difficult terrain and complex configuration of the shores, absolutely different natural conditions have formed in different parts of this reservoir. So, in one area here you can see the real marshes, on the next - sandy, and on the third - stone-pebble deposits.

Rest on the Crooked Lake

In 1979, Lake Krivoye was declared a hydrological reserve. Wild, unsettled beaches, the lack of near towns and any industrial enterprises attract a large number of tourists to this pond. In addition, practically from all sides the lake is surrounded by a dense forest belt, which creates additional conditions for recreation.

Both air and water here are distinguished by crystal purity. Along the coastline you can find beautiful places for sunbathing and swimming. In the waters of the lake pike, perch, roach, pike perch, eel and other fish species are found. In the plankton of the reservoir there is a relict species of the crustacean - Limnocalanus macrurus.

The shores of Lake Crooked are ideal for small ecological walks and real treks. Any path here is capable of giving a lot of pleasant impressions to those who will walk along it. The coastline of the lake is quite free from vegetation, in many places it is possible to calmly approach directly to the water mirror. The water is almost everywhere clean and transparent, and on the banks you can find a rare plant - a lake half lake, which is listed in the Red Data Book of Belarus.

That's it - Lake Crooked! One of the natural pearls of Belarus, an ideal place for eco-tourism and recreation from the city bustle.

Crooked lake of Mykolaiv region: a provincial, but very interesting village

Now we will move 800 km to the south, to another Curved lake. This is a small town of the Nikolayev region with a population of about 8000 people. It looks rather provincial and at first glance boring. But if you look carefully, here you can find more than one interesting attraction.

The history of Lake Krivoy is no less fascinating. The village in the southern Ukrainian steppes was founded in 1762 by Moldovans. In the future, the Zaporozhye Cossacks, Jews and Poles joined in his active development. By the end of the XIX century in Krivoye Lake already lived more than 4 thousand people.

Surprisingly, the village in the Mykolayiv region is closely connected with the strikers - the ethnos, historically lived 500 km from here. In 1951, the entire Carpathian village of Skorodnoe (in the framework of the post-war exchange of territories between Poland and the Soviet Union) was forcibly transferred to Krivoje Lake. Bombs with great difficulty, but still adapted to the "bare steppe" and the arid climate of Nikolaev region.

A tourist in the village of Krivoye Lake will find several attractions at once. These are two Orthodox churches of the XIX century with a rather unusual architecture, the Catholic Church of St. Louis and a dozen beautiful brick buildings of pre-revolutionary age.