Turgoyak, Protected lake in Miass Urban Okrug, Russia

Turgoyak is a protected lake in Miass Urban Okrug, Chelyabinsk Oblast, surrounded by forested Ural hills and dotted with several islands across its basin. The water shows exceptional transparency, and the shores alternate between shallow bays and rocky sections, covering an area of more than 2600 hectares (about 10 square miles).

Traces of prehistoric people were found on the lake, most famously the megaliths of Vera Island (Vera Peninsula, an island in high water). The lake is of tectonic origin and lies on the left bank of the upper Miass, a hydrological nature monument of regional significance. A megalithic monument and the ruins of a monastery stand on the island.

The name has several proposed origins: from Bashkir "Turge yak kul", meaning a lake on an elevation, from the old Bashkir names Turgayak and Turgayyak linked to bird worship (turgay means sparrow or lark in dialects), or from a legend about the love of Tur and Koyak. Linguist S. M. Strelnikov suggested the toponym rests on a metaphor: in Turkic languages ayak means cup, and the first part may go back to Tatar turge, front, since for nomads west of here Turgoyak was the first large lake east of the Ural-Tau ridge.

The lake can be reached from Miass by car or public transport, and several starting points for hiking or boat trips are available along the shore. The summer months work best for a visit, when the water is warm enough for swimming and the trails stay dry.

The lake's level swings by up to 2.5 metres, with the last maximum in 2007 and the last minimum in 1981; the cause of these fluctuations has not been fully established. Depending on the water level, the lake holds between 10 and 12 islands, and Vera Peninsula becomes an island in high water.