Source of the Ural River, Natural spring in Ural Mountains, Russia
The Source of the Ural River is a mountain spring located at Mount Kruglaya in the southern Ural Mountains, where water rises from rocky ground and begins a journey of roughly 1,500 miles (about 2,400 km). The spring sits in open terrain, surrounded by the low peaks and wide slopes typical of this part of the range.
In the 10th century, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII wrote about the river under the name Geich, placing it within the wider awareness of the medieval world. Centuries later, Catherine the Great renamed it the Ural River after a Cossack uprising that had taken place along its banks.
The Bashkirs call this source Yayiq, while the Kazakhs know it as Zhayiq, and both names are still used today by communities on either side of the mountains. Visitors who arrive here sometimes find small offerings or markers left by locals who consider the spot meaningful.
The site is easiest to reach in summer, when the snow has cleared from the mountain paths that lead up to it. Solid footwear is a good idea, as the ground around the spring is rocky and uneven.
The Ural is one of the few rivers in the world that serves as a natural boundary between two continents, and this spring marks the very beginning of that line. Standing here, a visitor is at the edge of Europe, with Asia beginning just a short walk away across the ridge.
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