Tambukan Lake () is a lake with bitter-salt water on

Northern Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

in Stavropol Krai (about 33% surface) and the

Kabardino-Balkar Republic Kabardino-Balkaria (), officially the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. As of the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census, its population was 904,200. Its capital is Nalchik ...

(about 66% surface) of Russia, located eight kilometers from

Pyatigorsk Pyatigorsk (; Circassian languages, Circassian: Псыхуабэ, ''Psıxwabæ'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on the Podkumok River, about from the town of Mineralnye Vody, which has an i ...

. The lake's surface area is 1.87 square kilometers, and its depth ranges between 1.5 and 3.1 meters. The lake bed is a thick layer of silt, which has been used since 1886 in institutions for mud cures in

Yessentuki Yessentuki ( rus, Ессентуки́, p=jɪsɪntʊˈkʲiˑ) is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located in the shadow of Mount Elbrus at the base of the Caucasus Mountains. The city serves as a railway station in the Mineralnye Vody— Kisl ...

and other therapeutic mud baths in the region of

Caucasian Mineral Waters The Caucasian Mineral Waters is a group of spa resorts, located in the North Caucasus, Northern Caucasus region of Russia. It includes the towns of Pyatigorsk, Zheleznovodsk, Yessentuki, and Kislovodsk. The region features over 130 sanatorium ...

. These mud baths have been used by famous individuals such as

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɨˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; 12 April 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voic ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

, and

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

Notable events

In 1395, the warlord

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

took a bath in Tambukan Lake. In 1709,

Kabard The Kabardians ( Kabardian: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; ) or Kabardinians are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Cir ...

ian prince Murzarbek Tambiev defeated the Crimean-Turkish army near this lake . The word ''Tambukan'' comes from Turkic words ''Tambu qanı'' and means ''Tambiev’s blood'' or ''Tambiev’s asylum''. In 1717,

Peter The Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

sent his physician Shober on an expedition to Tambukan Lake to obtain medicinal water and mud. The first scientific description of Tambukan Lake was by Guldenschtedt in 1773.

References

Lakes of Stavropol Krai Lakes of Kabardino-Balkaria Lakes of the Caucasus Caspian Sea basin {{StavropolKrai-geo-stub