Welwitschia amazing (lat. Welwitschia mirabilis). Velvichia is amazing - a relic tree of the Namib Desert. Photo, description of Velvichia Velvichia is amazing on which mainland it grows

There are also relic trees in the world, one of which is velvichia amazing. This plant is on the verge of extinction and is protected by law. The species belongs to the family Gnetov.
The root of the plant is taproot, wide, its length is about 3 meters. Previously, people believed that the root reaches groundwater, but excavations have shown that this is not so. The stem is wooden, its dimensions are small, it has the shape of an inverted cone. The lower part of the stem fuses with the root over the years. The two-lobed tip reaches a diameter of 90-100 cm. Above the ground, we can see only 40 cm of the stem. thick layer cork covers a layer. The layer thickness is 2 meters.
After seed germination, the lobes reach a length of 3 cm, after which the period of development of the two main leaves begins. Cotyledons persist for three years, after which they fall off. This does not interfere with the leaves, they continue their growth, leaving the center of the top, which consists of two lobes, and live for the rest of the time until someone cuts down the plant or natural conditions affect its death. Also, the sheet may age - this can be seen by the fact that it gradually dies off from the top and is separated by ribbons. The supracotyledonal part of the plant is not fully developed - its trunk corresponds to the internode, which is located on the stem. Therefore, this part carries only 2 sheets.
In one year, velvichia leaves can grow by 15 cm. In general, the optimal leaf growth is about 4 meters, in width, as a rule, it grows up to one meter. The leaves are brown-green in color, the veins are parallel to each other. If you touch the sheet, it will seem to you that you are holding on to the board.

The leaves have a large number of stomata - per 1 sq.cm. about 22 thousand. This is due to the fact that the plant receives moisture from the fog that the ocean brings from the western side. In the habitats of the plant, the west wind blows about 300 days a year. After water enters, a condensation process occurs, after which moisture passes into the leaves through the stomata. The process occurs when the plant receives at least 5 cm of precipitation.
Velvichia amazing is a dioecious plant, which means that it can be both male and female. The fruits are cones that hang from the stems and emerge from the disk as if from leafy sinuses. Branching stems form a complex of branched assemblies. At first, the cones are green in color, then gradually turn red, and at the final stage dark crimson. Female cones are called megastrobiles - seeds are located under their scales. Male cones (microstrobiles) are much smaller in size than female fruits.
The plant is pollinated by the wind. It is long-term - leaves grow for about 25 years, after which they still age for about the same time.
You can meet Velvichia only on the territory of Angola and Namibia on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

perennial evergreen, with a short, no more than 50 cm, wide trunk, similar to a stump. With age, the trunk diameter can reach 1.5 m. The root is thick, taproot, grows vertically down to a depth of 1.5 - 3 m, it mainly acts as an anchor, holding the plant in the sand when strong wind. On the surface, there are often several thread-like roots that absorb moisture from the soil surface. For the entire long life of the plant, which is several hundred years, it has only 2 true opposite leathery leaves. The first 2 cotyledon leaves fall off only after 1.5 - 2 years. Real leaves grow very slowly, lengthening only 8-15 cm per year, depending on environmental conditions, and reaching a length of several meters (plants with a leaf length of more than 8 m were found). Under the influence of strong winds, adult leaves are torn lengthwise into long strips, their ends dry up. Seedlings bloom at the age of 3-5 years. Flowers are collected in cone-shaped inflorescences. Male inflorescences are elongated, salmon-colored, female ones are wider, cone-shaped, blue-green. The plant is dioecious - male and female inflorescences are on different plants.

Family:

Velvichiaceae (Welwitschiaceae)

Origin:

South West Africa (Namibia)

Number of seeds:

Velvichia is called the paradox of the desert. It is found only on a narrow coastal strip of the hottest and most sultry Namib desert, going into the depths of the mainland no further than 100 km. And nowhere else in the world. At the same time, it never grows in groups, all plants are located at a decent distance from each other, and this despite the fact that the plant is dioecious and reproduces only by seeds. It is amazing that it has survived to this day. In addition, its leaves are quite edible, they are eaten not only by animals, but also by the local population, calling it "desert onion". The way of feeding velvichia is also paradoxical: it receives moisture not due to its long root, but exclusively due to the numerous stomata on both sides of the leaves. Welwitschia has more of these stomata than any other plant in the world.

Location:

sunny

Watering:

in nature, the plant receives moisture from coastal fogs, absorbing it with numerous stomata located on both leaf surfaces. Therefore, regular spraying is necessary. The soil should also be constantly slightly moist. Between watering the soil

Fertilizer:

feed occasionally with complex fertilizers for succulents.

Earth:

the soil is breathable, containing a large proportion of coarse sand, fine gravel (1 mm), coarse perlite or basalt chips.

Reproduction:

only seeds. Before sowing, treat the seeds with a fungicide, as they are prone to fungal diseases. Plant in a slightly moist soilless mixture of sand, perlite, vermiculite at a shallow depth (2 - 3 mm). The temperature should be around 25-28°C. A slight decrease in night temperature by 5-8°C will speed up germination. Seeds should be inspected daily, monitor soil moisture (do not overmoisten!), Spray with a fungicide solution. First, the root sprouts, and after a while the cotyledons appear

This name was given to her by the English botanist Joseph Hooker: generic - in honor of the Austrian botanist and traveler Friedrich Velvich, who discovered this plant in the south of Angola in 1860, and species - apparently, in memory of the feelings that this plant evoked, because in it everything is unusual.
The trunk of velvichia looks like a stump or stump, low and thick, almost completely hidden in the ground. Its aerial part rarely exceeds half a meter in height. From top to bottom, the trunk narrows cone-shaped and smoothly passes into a taproot up to 3 meters long. In the upper part, the trunk is more or less saddle-bilobed, covered with a dense layer of cork up to 2 cm thick.
In the adult state, velvichia has two (and only two!) Leaves, which is its unique feature. At the same time, the leaves are able to grow indefinitely at a rate of 8–15 cm per year and reach a length of up to 3 meters. But that's usually. The literature describes simply giant specimens with leaves up to 6 meters and a width of 1.8 meters!

Welwitschia leaf can be divided into three parts

Close-up of the top of a female plant with inflorescences

At its base, the processes of cell divisions and the actual growth in length take place, the middle part is responsible for photosynthesis, and the ends of the leaves gradually die off, dry out and break into thin strips, creating a feeling of untidy shaggyness. The leaves are very hard to the touch and look more like boards than living plant organs. Their color is brown-green. In internal structure there are mucus passages, like those of the cycads (Cycadaceae), a very ancient group of gymnosperms. And the stomata are exactly like those of the Bennettitaceae, not only an even more ancient, but also a completely extinct group of plants. These facts clearly indicate that the origins of the origin of velvichia should be sought in the mists of time.

The described pair of leaves appears immediately behind the cotyledons, which subsequently fall off. And then the development of the plant stops! The trunk grows only in breadth, and the leaves - in length. Therefore, Velvichia can be called an “adult teenager”, since in fact it always remains at the same age in its structure. But the life span of our heroine is extremely long! There are no annual rings on its trunk, but the age of some specimens was determined by radiocarbon dating - it was about two thousand years old! Here is such a thousand-year-old "baby".

Velvichia grows in the barren rocky deserts of Angola and southwestern tropical Africa, in the rocky Namib Desert, stretching along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is rarely found further than a hundred kilometers from the coast, and this is due to another of its unique specifics. The fact is that the Namib Desert is characterized by extreme aridity and sultryness. For months, not a drop of rain falls here, and at the same time, Velvichia quietly grows on open places and it feels pretty good. Where does she get the moisture she needs?

It was previously believed that its rather long root could reach groundwater, but later it turned out that this was not the case. Almost the only source of moisture in this desert is the dense fog that shrouds the coast in the morning for 300 days a year, and ocean breezes drive its life-giving drops far inland. The mist condenses on the huge leaves of the Welwitschia and water is absorbed through the stomata. Therefore, it is not surprising that velvichia leaves have an exceptionally large number of stomata - 22,000 stomata per 1 cm2!

Velvichia is a dioecious plant.

Close-up of the top of a male plant with inflorescences

Velvichia is sometimes grown in greenhouses, though not because of its decorative qualities, but by virtue of absolute exclusivity. By the way, its cultivation requires great skill and patience on the part of gardeners, since, like many extraordinary personalities, it is quite capricious and sensitive to even minor changes in the regime.

At home, Velvichia is especially protected and enjoys a well-deserved honor. She was even honored to be placed on the coat of arms of Namibia, as a symbol of national fortitude. And the Bushmen tribes call it "otji tumbo", which means "big master". And, it should be noted - absolutely right!

For the vast majority desert plants characterized by small size, lack of leaves and, basically, involvement in the succulent family. But as you know, there is an exception to every rule. This exception is .

Velvichia completely unlike the usual desert plants, moreover, it is not like any other plant in the world. Velvichia amazing has only 2 leaves that grow in opposite directions from a rosette raised above the ground by 30 - 50 cm. The lack of leaves is more than compensated for by their size: up to 8 meters in length and up to 2 meters in width. Two leaves of velvichia grow all his life, their number never increases.

It is easy to see in the photographs that the leaves of the plant are clearly more than two, but this is just a cunning adaptation of velvichia. Trying to shade as much of the ground around the roots as possible, the plant begins to gall (separate) the leaves into narrow ribbon-like pieces up to 1.5 meters long. Over time, the tapes dry out and die off, but at the same time they fully cope with the task assigned to them - they create a shadow and do not waste precious moisture.

in fact, the plant has only two leaves, divided into ribbon-like pieces

Velvichia grows amazing in the western part of the desert Namib in Angola and Namibia. Namib is one of the most severe deserts in the world, no more than 15 mm of precipitation falls here per year, and all 15 mm fall in 2 months, the remaining 10 months of the year in the coastal part of the Namib are dry as hell. How then does a plant with such large leaves as velvichia manage to survive? How and where does it get the water it needs to live? The discoverer of this plant is a botanist Friedrich Velvich suggested that it takes water from underground groundwater. But as it turned out later, the groundwater here is so deep that only camel thorns can reach them, the roots of which go 40 meters down. In Velvichia, the roots are relatively short - 2-3 meters, no more. The secret of velvichia was found in its special leaves. The entire surface of the leaves, hard as a tree, is densely dotted with stomata, capable of incredibly efficiently collecting moisture from the morning and evening coming from the Atlantic Ocean mists. The amount of moisture collected from fogs is equivalent to 50 mm of rain daily. This ability was investigated only in the middle of the 20th century, before that no one could have imagined that such tough, practically wooden leaves are capable of something similar.

Velvichia is amazing - it's real dinosaur plant, on Earth it appeared long before the appearance of man and even before mammals. In addition, it can also boast of a very long life - about 1200-1300 years, and the oldest individual has recently turned 1500 years old.

The largest known specimen of Velvichia, 1.4 m high and over 4 m in diameter, over 1500 years old

A common misconception is that velvichia is often mistaken for herbaceous plant is actually a tree. The trunk, although not high - up to 80 cm in height, about half of which are underground, but can reach 120 cm in diameter. It is covered with strong and dense bark 2 cm thick. The rosette and, accordingly, the top of the trunk can be wider than 1.5 meters in diameter.

That's it unique plant this velvichia. Thanks to an incredible urge to live, it has found a way to survive in one of the harshest places on our planet. It is unlike any other plant. It is truly amazing in every way.

“This is without a doubt the most amazing and ugliest plant ever brought to our country,” one of the greatest English botanists of the 19th century, Joseph Dalton Hooker, spoke about Velvichia in 1862 in a letter to Thomas Huxley. It was he who happened to give her the first scientific description and assign a modern binary name: amazing velvichia ( Welwitschia mirabilis).

In his name, Hooker paid tribute to both the Austrian botanist Friedrich Velvich, who discovered this plant in 1859, and the ability of Velvichia to surprise even experienced biologists. Among its unique features are a bizarre appearance, and a strange lifestyle, and even an age that, according to some estimates, can reach 2000 years. In addition, Velvichia has no relatives at all. The phrase "one of a kind" in relation to her is not just a figure of speech, but an exact classification fact.

The only one in the family

As it turned out back in the time of Hooker, taxonomically, Welwitschia is an orphan. She is the last living representative of her botanical genus and family; all the rest of her relatives died out a long time ago.

Judging by the fossil finds, even at the beginning of the Cretaceous period in southern Africa there was a whole family of Velvichievs, whose representatives flourished in a much wetter climate than today. When at the beginning of the Cenozoic era it began to change and become more and more arid, almost all of them gradually disappeared. The only species that managed to adapt and survive was the amazing velvichia.

A female specimen of Welwitschia amazing in the Namib Desert. Velvichia is found on the territory of only two countries of the world - Angola and Namibia, and is depicted on the state emblem of the latter.

The exact taxonomy of this relict plant is still controversial. The latest classifications place the Velvichiev family in the small order of the Gnetovs, which, in addition to it, includes two more homogeneous families of at least strange plants. All of them are evolutionarily very far from each other, but it is velvichia that occupies the most isolated position in this motley company.

Today it is found only in the specific conditions of the Namib Desert, where Friedrich Velwich discovered it in 1859.

Discovery history

European science learned about Velvichia thanks to the Austrian botanist Friedrich Velvich (1806 - 1872), who from 1853 to 1861, commissioned by the Portuguese government, studied the flora and fauna of Angola (at that time - a Portuguese colony). During this time, he collected samples of approximately five thousand species of native plants, of which about a thousand were new to science. Some of them were subsequently named after him.

The main discovery of Velvich, which truly glorified his name, was the discovery of amazing Velvichia. He first met her on September 3, 1859, near the town of Mozamedes in southwestern Angola. According to legend, he was so amazed by the find that he knelt down and just looked at it for some time, fearing that the velvichia would disappear, being a figment of his imagination.

Welwich wrote about his discovery to Sir William Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London. He handed the letter to his son, a member of the Linnean Society, Joseph Dalton Hooker, who began to deal with an unusual new look.

In a letter, Velvich gave short description plant he found and offered to name it Tumboa by local Angolan name ( n'tumbo).

In the autumn of 1861, William Hooker received new mail from distant Africa. This time it was a package from the famous English artist Thomas Baynes (1820 - 1875), who was then traveling around Damaraland (a region in the northwest of modern Namibia). The package contained a drawing and poorly preserved buds from a plant that Joseph Dalton Hooker immediately identified as matching Welwich's find.

Because the cover letter Baines did not bother to attach to his package, Hooker at first was not sure which of his correspondents was the first to discover the new kind. So he gave the plant a temporary name Tumboa bainesii. Soon, however, the situation cleared up, and with the consent of Velvich, he changed it to Welwitschia mirabilis. Since 1863, when Joseph Dalton Hooker published the first scientific description of velvichia, this nomenclature designation has become official.

creative survival

Hooker's publication quickly attracted the attention of botanists. Velvichia has been the object of close study, and researchers have revealed new details of its structure and lifestyle.

It turned out that it is endemic to the Namib Desert in southwestern Africa, where it grows on a narrow strip of land about 150 kilometers wide and 1000 kilometers long along the Atlantic coast, starting from the Kuiseb River in central Namibia and ending with the Bentyaba River in southern Angola.

The priority of the discovery of Welwitschia belongs to the Austrian botanist Friedrich Velvich, who discovered it in Angola on October 3, 1859. The second was the Englishman Thomas Baines, who met this plant in a dry bed of the Swakop River in Namibia in 1861.

The natural conditions here are very harsh. In summer, the air temperature can exceed 45 ° C, and the surface of the earth can heat up to 70 degrees. Often at night in winter sub-zero temperatures. But the main problem that Velvichia has to deal with is the lack of water.

Rainfall in these places is unpredictable and scarce. On average, the region receives less than 100 mm of precipitation per year, and in some places near the coast it does not get even 20. In some years, there is no rain at all. There are practically no rivers either, and those that do exist either flow underground or form seasonally and dry up before reaching the ocean.

Surprisingly, being in such arid conditions, the Welwitschia did not develop the ability to accumulate water in reserve, as all "normal" desert plants do. She “choosed” a different survival strategy, and over the long millions of years of evolution she learned to extract moisture literally from the air.

The fact is that the places where velvichia grows are famous for thick fogs that form when air masses cooled by the cold Benguela current meet the hot air of the Namib Desert. Unlike the local extremely rare and irregular rains, they occur about 300 days a year, and, according to scientists, add about 50 mm of water to the meager annual amount of local precipitation.

Fog shrouds the desert coast of Namibia and Angola approximately 80 kilometers inland. It is in this "life zone" that most specimens of Welwitschia grow, which survive only thanks to their regular moisture.

Welwitschia extracts the water of fogs mainly with its leaves. Unlike most representatives of the desert flora, they are long, wide and thin, and are more similar to those that the plants of the tropics and other plants have. wet places. For every square centimeter of their surface, there are up to 22 thousand stomata (pores), which remain open during fogs and rains and absorb their life-giving water. This is what allows Welwitschia to exist in the extremely arid conditions of the Namib Desert.

Female specimen of velvichia close-up. With its unusually large leaves for desert plants, Velvichia traps water. On hot days, the stomata close on them, reducing the evaporation of moisture.

In addition to directly absorbing water, velvichia uses its large leaves and in another interesting way. The dew that forms on their surface during fogs flows down them to the ground, thanks to which the plant, as it were, “waters” its own roots.

The root system of Velvichia is also designed in such a way as to extract all available moisture to the maximum. Rainwater is collected by an extensive network of fine, absorbent roots that extend into top layer soil up to 30 meters around the plant. Groundwater is absorbed by a long tap root, which in large specimens of Velvichia can go to a depth of 8 meters.

The longest living leaves in the world

The huge size and the presence of a large number of pores, which are not typical for deserts, are not the only unique features velvichia leaves. Even more striking is that, despite the whole heap of green and gray-brown ribbons over adult plants, there are only two pieces, and velvichia retains them all its long life. They appear shortly after the seed germinates and then, like two conveyor belts, endlessly exit the plant to the outside.

Upon reaching approximately two meters in length, the leaves begin to separate into separate strips, and their ends begin to fray and curl into rings. Because of this, adult Welwitschia look like giant green octopuses washed ashore.

Velvichia leaves grow at a rate of about 13.8 centimeters per year and, on average, reach 2–4 meters in length (of which more than half is dead tissue). In large old specimens, these figures can be much higher - up to 6.2 meters in length and 1.8 meters in width. The total span of the leaves lying on the ground can reach 8.7 meters.

Both the leaves and the "pedicels" of male and female plants grow from the upper edge of the trunk of Welwitschia.

Both leaves of Welwitschia grow from the upper edge of its strong fibrous unbranched trunk, which, like all Welwitschia, is also unusual. Its apical point of growth dies off very early, which is why the trunk increases with age, mainly not up, but in breadth, gradually acquiring characteristic appearance concave disc up to a meter across.

Due to this unique type of growth, the average height of the Welwitsch is small and is only about half a meter. However, there are exceptions: the largest recorded specimen from the Messum crater in Namibia has a height of 1.8 meters.

Since Welwitschia do not form annual rings, their exact lifespan is unknown. Radiocarbon dating shows that the average age of representatives of this species is 500 - 600 years. Considering that the velvichia trunk grows at a rate of only about 1 mm per year, some researchers believe that its largest specimens may be older than 1500 years, and in isolated cases even reach two thousand years of age.

Be that as it may, velvichia grows a single pair of leaves all its life, which are therefore the longest-lived in the plant world.

Reproduction features

Another oddity of Velvichia is that it is a gymnosperm plant, and all the morphological similarities inherent in it with the flowering species of the world flora arose completely independently of the latter. As genetic analysis shows, the Gnetov order, which includes velvichia, developed from the Coniferous department, and therefore, surprisingly, it is a relative of, for example, modern pines, cedars and firs.

Like these plants, for reproduction, velvichia forms male and female cones (strobili) on the respective individuals (that is, unlike most Conifers, it is dioecious).

Welwitschia populations gravitate towards the beds of drying up and underground rivers. But even here, in order not to compete with each other for water, they grow apart, single specimens or small rare groups. In the foreground is a young velvichia with female cones.

Pollen-producing male strobili have a characteristic salmon color. They are quite small and appear in groups of 2 - 3 pieces at the ends of the branches of the "pedicels". To attract insects, male cones of Velvichia secrete nectar with a 50% sugar content. Female cones are larger, reddish-brown with a lilac tint, and also form at the ends of branching reproductive processes. Like males, they produce droplets of nectar.

Recent studies have shown that the size big weight and stickiness prevent velvichia pollen from spreading effectively through the air. It is transferred from males to females different kinds wasps and other insects.

Seeds in female cones mature approximately 9 months after pollination. One female plant can carry over 100 strobili and produce 10 to 20 thousand seeds at a time. The seeds measure 25 by 36 millimeters and are equipped with two pterygoid outgrowths that allow them to be dispersed by the wind.

A large number of seeds is necessary for Velvichia to ensure the survival of the species. According to research, in nature, only 0.1% of their number sprouts. The rest die from fungal infections, are eaten by small desert animals, or simply lose their germination capacity, since they remain viable for only a few years.

Velvichia seeds germinate only after several rainy days in a row. Due to the fact that this happens quite rarely, plants of any one group are often of the same age, since they all appeared from seeds that germinated in the same successful year.

Note to the owner

At first glance, to grow on the windowsill is exotic plant like Velvichia is impossible. However, in reality, it is not much more difficult than getting an ordinary geranium.

Velvichia is easily propagated from seeds, which are easy to buy online if desired. They are sown in coarse sterile soil like coarse sand.

Germinating, each seed produces two cotyledons, gradually growing to a length of 25-35 millimeters and remaining in the plant for about one and a half years. Leaves appear soon after. After about four months, they overtake the cotyledons in size.

A large female Welwitschia plant with fully matured and crumbling buds. Wind-scattered seeds are visible around.

The most difficult period in breeding velvichia is the first eight months after germination. At this time, seedlings are susceptible to fungal diseases, and they must be treated with fungicides (adult velvichia practically do not suffer from diseases).

Another important feature plants is a rather delicate taproot that cannot be damaged during transplantation. It is very long, so Velvichia needs a tall pot.

Finally, it should be remembered that, although Velvichia is a desert inhabitant, she does not know how to store water and therefore it must be watered regularly (especially at a young age).

Environmental Issues

Today, the number of velvichia in the wild is quite large. The plant is still common in its native regions and is not in immediate danger of extinction. Nevertheless, according to the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, velvichia belongs to species close to a vulnerable position, and researchers estimate its future as far from cloudless.

The fact is that Velvichia has very low rates of reproduction and growth, and although its habitat is wide, it covers only one single ecologically limited and vulnerable zone. Therefore, in both Namibia and Angola, velvichia is protected by the system national parks, and scientists are constantly monitoring the state of its population.

Experts are most concerned about fungal infections of female cones and seeds, which destroy up to 80% of Velvichia offspring. Other threats include damage to plants by tourist buses and SUVs, as well as illegal poaching collection.

At the same time, paradoxically, in relation to the harm caused by a person in disadvantaged Angola, velvichia is relatively more protected than in calm and prosperous Namibia. The fact is that after almost 30 years of civil war, there are many minefields left there that scare away most potential two-legged pests.

A young female plant with a pair of leaves not yet divided into separate ribbons.

In addition to anthropogenic threats, velvichia also suffers from overeating by wild animals and livestock. Oryxes, springboks, Hartmann's mountain zebras, and black rhinoceroses chew its leaves for the water they contain, sometimes nibbling them to the ground during times of extreme drought. Fortunately, this is usually not fatal to the plant, and the leaves will soon grow back.

Velvichia as an object of ecotourism

In former times, the small aboriginal population of the Namib Desert used velvichia for food. During periods of famine, representatives of the local nomadic peoples collected her female cones and ate them both raw and baked. Now this is in the past, and today the main "task" of this unique plant is to attract ecotourists with their money. In Namibia, for example, tours "to the desert to welvichia" have long been a popular tourist product.

The best way to see Welwitschia in the wild is on the so-called Welwitsch Plains in the northern part of the vast Namib-Naukluft National Park. They are located about 50 kilometers east of the Namibian coastal city of Swakopmund, from where it is not difficult to get to the plains by purchasing a tour from numerous local travel agencies. It is not forbidden, however, to drive independently. To do this, in Swakopmund you need to rent an SUV and purchase entrance tickets to national park. Included with them is a map with designated attractions and campsites (permit required for overnight stays).

Especially for those who come to the park for the sake of Velvichia, the Velvichia Drive automobile route has been laid across the plains, a trip along which takes about 4 hours. There are 13 numbered stone beacons along the route, marking its most interesting places. At each of them you can stop and explore the area. Number 12 is the so-called "Big Velvichia" with a height of 1.4 meters and a diameter of about 5 meters of leaves lying on the ground. Along the way, there are other velvichias, lined with stone circles for their easy detection.

In the Namib-Naukluft National Park, welwitschia are often marked with stone circles for ease of recognition.

Make sure you stock up on water, food, and gasoline when you're on the road, as there are no gas stations or shops on Velvichia Drive. It is also necessary to remember that the long and wide leaves of the Welwitsch give shelter to many inhabitants of the desert, including scorpions and snakes. Therefore, you need to be careful and try not to touch anything.

Today, velvichia is grown in many botanical gardens in the world, and you don’t have to go to Namibia to see it. However, this unique plant can only be truly appreciated in its natural habitat, to which Velvichia is so perfectly adapted. Therefore, once in northern Namibia, it is impossible not to get acquainted with her. She is not only the most unusual representative of the flora of this country, but also one of the most bizarre plants of the entire planet as a whole.

River bent in an arc

At first glance at this sharp bend in the Colorado River in northern Arizona, USA, it becomes clear where its name comes from - the Horseshoe. With its almost perfectly symmetrical 270 degrees of turn, this river meander really looks like a horse's "shoes". The unusual shape, picturesque cliffs over 300 meters high and comparative accessibility have made the Horseshoe an extremely popular tourist attraction. Today, it is one of the most recognizable and frequently photographed natural landmarks in the Southwest United States of America.

How to bend an entire river into an arc

According to geologists, the Arizona Horseshoe arose about 5 million years ago, when, as a result of the tectonic uplift of the Colorado Plateau, the ancient Colorado River on the border of the future states of Arizona and Utah was forced to adapt to the new terrain. Following faults in local sandstone massifs, she gradually carved a whole canyon into them. Today it is known as the Glen, and the Horseshoe is its most intricately curved section.

The color of the rocks and water at the Horseshoe changes throughout the day. Some of the best shots are taken at sunset.

In 1963, the canyon was almost completely flooded by the huge Powell Reservoir. It retained its original appearance only in the southernmost part, about 24 km long (where, in fact, the Horseshoe is located).

By the way, Glen is the northern neighbor of the famous Grand Canyon, which has a very similar geological history.

Easily accessible beauty

Horseshoe is one of those few phenomenally beautiful places that travelers with almost any physical ability can reach. It is located just 6.5 km southwest of the Arizona town of Page, from which the 89th highway leads to the bend. A dirt road turns from it between milestones No. 544 and No. 545, and then almost immediately there is a special parking lot and the beginning of a hiking trail. Short climb to small gazebo on a hill, then a gentle descent - and a mighty bend of the Horseshoe opens before your eyes.

In general, a walk there and back, a distance of about a couple of kilometers, takes about 45 minutes.

You can go to the Horseshoe all year round, permits and separate tickets to visit it are not required. You will only have to pay for access to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, on whose territory the Horseshoe is located. Access costs $25 from a private car and is valid for up to seven days.

In the National Recreation Area, it is forbidden to litter, as well as to disturb wildlife in any way and leave inscriptions. You can walk dogs on a short leash (no longer than 1.8 m).

Going to the Horseshoe, it is recommended to take plenty of water with you (at least 1 liter per person), as well as sunglasses and a hat, because there is no shade on the trail except for the gazebo halfway. A must for anyone interested in photography wide angle lens- without it, the scale of the Horseshoe simply cannot be covered. Of course, you should be careful on the observation deck - there are no railings and fences on it.

The height above sea level at the observation deck of the Horseshoe is 1285 m. The height above the Colorado River is just over 300 m. There are no fences, so you need to be careful. In July 2010, a Greek tourist fell and died here.

In terms of the beauty of the landscape best time to visit the Horseshoe - from about 9:30 in the morning (when the river gets rid of a thick shadow) until noon. At noon itself, due to the lack of shadows, the view of the famous bend will be somewhat flat. Evening until sunset, inclusive, is also a good option, but in this case the sun will shine in the eyes.

In relative proximity to the Horseshoe, there are several other first-class attractions at once. So, directly north of Page is the imposing wall of the Glen Canyon Dam, 220 meters high, beyond which the Powell Reservoir begins. 45 km west of the Horseshoe lies the famous Arizona Wave - a sandstone rock formation of absolutely incredible beauty. And 12 km to reverse side(that is, to the east) is the equally famous Antelope Canyon.

And finally, southwest of the bend downstream of the Colorado River begins the Grand Canyon - one of the most unusual and impressive geological features of the globe.

Remarkable freshman

On top of one of the taiga-covered mountain ranges of the Gremyachinsky district Perm Territory there is a powerful rock mass cut up by deep cracks. Crossing it crosswise, large and not very clefts form a bizarre labyrinth, reminiscent of the streets, alleys and squares of some long abandoned settlement. This is the so-called Stone Town, one of the most popular tourist places modern Prikamye.

Three names for one place

Today Stone Town is widely known not only to Permians, but also to many guests of the region. Here, despite the remoteness, a constant flow of travelers stretches all year round. However, this was not always the case: a couple of decades ago, only a few local residents knew about Stone Town, and even then under completely different names.

Cracks in the rock mass of the Stone Town form a network of large and small "streets".

The fact is that modern tourists have already called this place Stone Town, and earlier for half a century it was called "Turtles". This name was given to it in the middle of the 20th century due to the characteristic shape of the two highest remnant rocks by residents of the neighboring mining villages of Shumikhinsky and Yubileiny, founded in 1953 and 1957, respectively. However, this name was not the original: the old-timers of the most "age" locality local places - the village of Usva - have long known these rocky outcrops as the Devil's settlement.

Such a name is not uncommon for the Ural toponymy. Not far from Yekaterinburg, for example, there is a spectacular mountain of the same name, very popular with tourists and rock climbers. In addition, objects with a similar name are also found in other regions of Russia, since rocky massifs and unusually shaped stone ridges were usually called devilish settlements. Obviously, people, not knowing the true geological reasons, attributed their construction to evil spirits.

History of appearance

How did the Permian Stone Town actually arise?

Scientists have established that 350 - 300 million years ago there was a large river delta in this place. Its mighty streams brought with them large masses of sand, which eventually turned into powerful sandstone deposits. Later, as a result of the movement of tectonic plates that caused the formation of the Ural Mountains, the territory of the future Stone Town was raised high above sea level and began to be weathered.

Quartz sandstone of the Stone Town. The brown color is due to the admixture of iron hydroxides.

Over long millions of years, water, wind, temperature changes and chemical processes have deepened and expanded the cracks in the rock that appeared during the tectonic uplift. This led to the appearance of the current "streets" and "lanes", the width of which is this moment can reach eight, and the depth - twelve meters. In other words, from a scientific point of view, the Permian Stone City is an accumulation of weathering remnants composed of fine-grained quartz sandstones.

Road to Stone Town

Given today's great popularity of the Stone Town, it is hard to believe that it is not even mentioned in the old guidebooks around the Kama region. Nevertheless, this is true - the rush demand for the Gremyachinsky remnants appeared among Perm travel enthusiasts only in the last one and a half to two decades, and before that, due to poor transport accessibility, they were practically unknown to the mass tourist.

Fortunately, the situation has changed since then, and today Stone Town can be easily reached by car. The general route is as follows: first, the road to Usva (188 kilometers from Perm, 383 from Yekaterinburg), then about two more kilometers along the highway towards Kizel. Then turn right to the villages of Shumikhinsky and Yubileiny and five kilometers along the forest dirt road to the car park. Further, turning left from the road, about a kilometer and a half march along a well-marked path and among the trees the first remnants of the Stone Town will begin to be seen.

At the top of the Rudyansky spoy

Since the Stone Town is located near the main peak of the Rudyansky spoy mountain range (526 meters above sea level), the path from the dirt road to the remains goes up a small slope. The ridge begins on the outskirts of the village of Usva and stretches 19 kilometers north to the city of Gubakha. It is named Rudyansky because of the Rudyanka river flowing in its southern part, in the basin of which at the beginning of the 19th century they mined iron ore. Spoils in the Perm Territory used to be called forest-covered long mountain ranges without pronounced peaks.

The rocky outlier Turtle is the main symbol of the Permian Stone Town.

The stone city (not counting the numerous single stones scattered around it) is divided into two unequal parts. The first rock outcrops that tourists go to belong to the so-called Big City. It is in it that the two largest local remnants rise - the Big and Small Turtles, because of which the Devil's Settlement changed its name in the 1950s.

The smaller of these remnants, due to its similarity in shape to a perched bird, is today better known to tourists as the Feathered Guardian. The larger one, accordingly, is now more commonly referred to simply as the Turtle. Between him and the Feathered Guard there is a vast and almost horizontal platform - the so-called Square. Tourists get to it along the Prospekt - the widest (up to four meters) and the longest crack in the Stone Town. The almost sheer walls of the Prospect in places reach eight meters in height.

The feathered guard, as well as the Turtle seen behind it, often becomes the object of annual rock climbing competitions held in Stone Town between rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, mountain tourists and speleologists of the Perm Territory.

To the right and to the left of the Prospect narrow cracks-streets depart. One of them (the one that goes around the Turtle) has the highest - up to 12 meters - walls in the city. On the other two, you can climb above the rock massif and from there, in all its glory, you can see both the Stone Guard and the Turtle in front of you.

About 150 meters north of the Bolshoy is the Small Town. Despite a much smaller area compared to its neighbor, it is also very interesting and picturesque. Its main "street", for example, is even more spectacular than the Prospect described above. In addition, there is a curious stone ridge with a through hole in the base. The only problem is that there is no clear path to the Small Town, and it is not always easy to find.

You can come to Stone Town at any time of the year, but it is especially beautiful here on sunny autumn days. At this time, by his drowning in bright colors the streets can be wandered endlessly. That is why at the end of August and at the beginning of autumn in the Stone Town there is the largest influx of visitors.

However, many tourists come here in winter, when both the remnants themselves and the trees growing right on them are effectively covered with snow-white caps of snowdrifts. Therefore, going to Stone Town in winter months, do not be afraid that the local paths will be impassable due to deep snow. They will certainly be well trodden by groups of previous visitors.

Stone Town is located immediately to the west of the main peak of the Rudyansky spoy ridge. From here, unforgettable views of the boundless ocean of the Ural taiga open up.

Before visiting the Stone Town, you need to stock up on water, as there are no large water sources in it. Also, since since 2008 this landscape natural monument of regional significance has received the status of a specially protected natural area, certain rules of conduct should be followed.

Firstly, it is possible to make fires in the Stone Town only in specially equipped places, using only dead wood and deadwood for this (it is forbidden to cut down living trees and shrubs). Secondly, you can not litter and leave unextinguished fires behind. Thirdly, it is forbidden to disturb animals and make inscriptions on rocks, stones and trees. Violation of these rules threatens with a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles.

Stone Town is not the only natural attraction in the vicinity of Usva village. Not far from it is, for example, such a "flagship" of the tourism industry in the Perm Territory as the Usva Pillars - a huge and extremely photogenic stone ridge with a picturesque remnant of the Devil's Finger. Rafting on the Usva River is also very popular among Permians.

In general, similar Stone city weathering remnants associated with the selective destruction of mountain ranges are among the most spectacular geomorphological objects of the Kama region. There are especially many of them on the flat peaks of the Northern Urals, such as the Chuvalsky stone, Kuryksar, Larch ridges and on the Kvarkush plateau.