When the high tourist season in Altai ends, travelers can seevery special Katun... Transparent and piercing turquoise - it is impossible to tear yourself away from this sight! In autumn, the landscapes along the Katun are striking with a riot of colors - the rich turquoise of the water is framed by crimson and orange-gold foliage along the banks. The onset of cold weather makes the picture in sharp contrast: the emerald color of Katun seems simply fantastic against the background of darkening mountains. And when the snow falls, its dazzling whiteness becomes a wonderful fur edge on the turquoise dress of the beautiful Kadyn (this is the name of the river in the language of the indigenous population).

The mesmerizing color of Katun in autumn and winter is explained in different ways. Some say that when the temperature drops, the melting of snowfields and glaciers stops and the abundance of precipitation, which in the warm season mainly feeds the Katun, stops. And if so, its bed is not clouded by washed out soil and debris. With a cooling snap, 80% of the water enters the river from crystal clear underground sources, so its channel becomes transparent. And tiny particles of greenish sandstones and shales in the upper and middle reaches of the Katun give it an amazingly beautiful color. Another version of the origin of the Katunskaya turquoise indicates a greenish-blue rock, which is dragged and frayed by glaciers. Its smallest suspension gives the river a rich emerald color when the sun's rays fall on the ground at a certain angle, which happens precisely in autumn and winter. But sometimes it happens that the turquoise hue remains at Katun even at the beginning of summer ... If you see such a picture, you should know: you managed to become an eyewitnessrare natural phenomenon.

Photo: Valery Stepanyuk