Geologicheskii Vestnik

Shikhan (single hill, Turk.) Toratau (fortress-mountain, Bashk.) — a single mountain that stands out well in the relief. The name of the mountain is also etymologized from the Bulgar language as God-mountain or Mountain-sanctuary. This object is a complex natural monument of republican significance, formed by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Bashkir ASSR on August 17, 1965 No. 465. Shikhan Toratau is part of the geopark of the same name, founded by Decree of the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan R. Khabirov on December 12, 2018 No. UN-308. Since March 2021, the Toratau Geopark is an Aspiring UNESCO Global Geoparks. Shikhan Toratau is located on the territory of the Ishimbai municipal district of the Bashkortostan Republic, 13.6 km southeast of the railway station in Sterlitamak city. The flattened top of the shikhan with a maximum absolute elevation of 406.4 m rises above the main river drain — the Belaya River at 280 m. In terms of landscapes, Shikhan Toratau is located on the eastern outskirts of the Pribelskaya hilly plains of the Southern Cis-Urals. In geological and tectonical terms, it is confined to the eastern side of the Cis-Urals trough and is a reef of bioherm limestones of the Asselian and Sakmarian ages of the Early Permian Sea. In the geomorphological terms, Shikhan Toratau is located at the foot of the right slope of the Belaya river valley, to the east of which stretch the structural-denudation foothills of the western slope of the Southern Urals. Despite more than 200 years of research on early Permian reefs along the eastern side of the Cis-Urals trough, almost no attention has been paid to karst and its landforms so far. The studies of the authors of the Shikhan Toratau” karst using the standard karstological survey method in 2022 characterized its surface manifestations and a number of previously unknown underground caves that are associated with both sulfate and carbonate karst. The patterns of distribution of underground karst manifestations are established, represented as typical karst caves, as well as grottoes and numerous niches. An analysis of the nature of their distribution, morphometry, morphology and genesis was made, which made it possible to detail the geodynamics of the development of the Shikhan” karst. The study of speleological objects on the shikhan increases its scientific and practical significance. On their basis, scientific and educational excursions can be organized to get acquainted with the manifestations of karst.

Southern Cis-Urals, Bashkortostan Republic, Ishimbai municipal district, sulfate karst, carbonate karst, cave, grotto, geopark, natural monument

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