see there everywhere. in fact i'm, i've heard that there might even be more sheep and august on then people also there tells on the road how is this a part of the culture? is it important to be economy? and what does she provide for douglas on the just on the what is the one that gets done means land of mountains of so and in such a land, sheep reading is number one for agriculture according to data, or a more than $4600000.00 sheets and gets done, we have the system where they spend the summers in the alpine meadows and come down to the step for the winter. we use this is made possible again by all unique landscape. the quality of our products is well known and recognized both in russia and abroad nicely with a major source of revenue for the republic at the move on top of the product of them. so they just don't source that. on the other hand, cheap and other domesticated animals in the mountains of food for wild animals print it as a company that actually works is what as and blackbirds please, what genre does the same time sheet to compete with wild animals for past you. so

there's a need to strike the right balance to make sure that both can strive. so feel free to swing wild doors and sheep are essential for all people here. i guess diversity in geography must mean diversity in biology, as well as a biologist. can you tell me what sort of animals that we can find here that we can find anywhere else or what makes this place unique? no, and you can guess this region is unique being in the very cells of russia, it gets really warm. and i said, i felt that right uh, further down south close to delta dental, it can get very hot. but that's why we have some of the sees that didn't live anywhere else in russia right below. they include the live on to find the give such a large and highly venomous snake. is it called some some old lizard spc screens that the greek told us he actually does a completely monitor on many bugs. of course, a great variety of them are here, almost like the blue rocks russian did. people would judge strike as the roof as tail describe world in mobile,

said many others that you won't find anywhere else in russia as a senior, because there are no other suitable habitats fold them up for the most fearsome species. but as the cool occasion, the leopard at the cell, unfortunately, poaching still exists, finding the time to come back to the person you the case still has before 11 does survive. ok. so boss is even a program now for releasing rapids into the wild some way here. in the caucasus class give us as someone who is research and this issue for us. okay, so i can argue that doug is down, still has its own extensive population. however small medium but still reproduces itself. so as we were driving through the mountains, something that seems unique to druggist on are these terraces. but they were created thousands of years ago with ancient technology, yet they still stay intact. how are they created in one problem with that gets down perennial problem after the visit, the mountains off, a little space for agriculture to supplementing body cooling and running. so i want to be in court also if that's why people have made those terraces using only manual labor, right? somebody,

they reinforce the slope to prevent erosion due to heavy rain and use them for funding for the school. and they put in and you know, somebody like to eat the arrival of new technology and equipment makes funding more efficient for them. and those terraces they neglected so solid base of mine was a monument to terrace funding. so reminder of pasta, agricultural brand decision is good for many studies about this phenomenon that goes away is about some of these. maybe people will use them again, some day. who knows somebody about the different as much as they go to. so i know that you've been studying this your entire life, specifically focused on your biologist. you or you've written books, as we've mentioned. what makes this place so interesting for you personally. what is it in the soul of august on for you? let me just fine. if not, i do i was born here. i grew up here. everything in my life is connected to that gets done. i became passionate about viola j douglas down. he is essentially daily and so unique biological lab. it has high mountain valley's lowland,

far as the sun stands, deserts the senior, and the great diversity of landscapes and dynamos which inhabit them. the one of the most fascinating things about traveling through the august time is the ever changing climate. you just don't know what you're going to see around the next mountain or field, and it's all just so beautiful and interesting to look, kenya and the crown jewel of douglas dunn field are who signed off is a geographer. and officially, one of the best teachers in russia, we asked him to help us uncover some of the secrets of this place. build our thanks for meeting me here. i think we're good. we're the luckiest people to have this view and have this conversation. so you are a teacher, you're a geographer. this is a lot of canyon, lot of people that are grand canyon, but not too many people know about this place. also, the heart of divers done. they say that this is it. so what makes this place are

unique when the employer and one of the most popular and most visited places and august? it's a shame and rightfully considered to be the symbol of doug a style me the suicide canyon or it is unique for many reasons. on the 1st for its size and depths, and it's often compared to the grand canyon at the you. what as and when you measure dance, even though it's important to understand what you take this, you'll bench mom is this. the sewage canyon consists of 3 pods and we've been know number one is the so called the main county and the deepest one young deal. it's its depth is about 2000 meters. just at the 11th of this is the deepest point to the city loc canyon. because these range is a very high all color, both pieces for me up right now with standing on the middle platform and that so the canyons relative dempsey, areas of mount 700 meters. but another thing that makes the suit kind of in unique is its structure that it can select as it goes through like itself given in ski is a very ancient river, even though. so how did this county and

a much swim through the 1st of the wound, any mountains around here? the area was flat to more than 10000000 years ago, but the since then, an active mountain formation is taking place. and nobody mean that has the terrain . got higher for the real, a caught a deep upon it got to thanks to bottom erosion and that's how the canyon was formed over millions of years ago. and the 5th, it's my understanding that earthquakes are happening here all the time. so does that mean that this particular canyon is always changing? always growing even getting deeper and see to the, at the yes indeed. no, i said, so this area is classified as a high seismic hasn't territory to it because it's most of that, i guess the thing is we canyon is still changing and growing as a result of geological processes or change us by the river the same time we're going to continues to deep and they sped. i mean, so the depth of the canyon is growing. i do is the geology. nothing is static c, like in a photo is seen. it's more like a video of an ongoing process most interested in the changes of microscopic those

so we can see them the slow at the nearest vista. can yonah landslide process is also take that tone right? so this quote, i think the canyons and there's always the danger of rock formations being unstable, which cause land slides squared. but this is why the canyon goes deep. um, why the us quakes happen every day here. god says this is a high seismic has a territory, but it just like most of the biggest on moving to can you the magnitude though is quite low and one yellow to 1.5 points that go with the humans con, feel for it. they used the deal with this. one of the strongest earthquakes ever to happen here was in may 1970 us. it's results can be seen on one of the bank so that you a k water reservoir. blessed us quick was followed by a major land slide us on social is got a, it seems to me that we have a sort of geological museum here because you can see the layers of the canyon and that goes back, as you said earlier, tens of millions of years. so what kind of secret can we find?

what does this kenyon tell us about the history there is uh, from a subordinate canyon. so special and beautiful is the steep slopes that this way you can trace volcanic ages go to more than uh, presidents. this tower drury used to be at the bottom of the world's ocean for a long time before the mounts. informing processes began that we mostly see sent a zoe gear, a set of entry wrongs, but no matter of a tens of millions of years to show it. while this land was at the bottom of the ocean rocks led of each other to form. this sort of tank effects which the bottle and speaking of their rage, the top of the as this 5 to 800 meters us in a zoe, look at paleo g, near g and i'm motion on the content. every periods, missiles, always, if we go deep in this vault, we can trace misa, zoe and cretaceous rule class. it's stunningly beautiful from appear. but you want to go down and take a look from the water side of the

locals. say that you can actually drink this water here. so why is it so queen? why is it so clear? are there any health benefits to this one? and this on the glass and the secret behind this want to is the fact that there along the river. so lucky and those that flow into those who lack of it, but as it was, select the using it, that it, there were several hydro electric power plants and they've got the dams slow down there. flow detroit, as they slow the particles in the water central, both of the water color becomes bryan to as it gets less monday, nimble. this is how the clarity of water is achieved, mostly gonna that came over as of now you just mentioned the hydro electric power stations. this water is actually a mighty mighty force providing power too much. i just don't talk to me a little bit about that and how much power is actually coming from this rest of the so there indeed are you. when you look at the river from the mountains. uh, it looks like a tiny blue ribbon and, and it's hard to believe that its got huge power generating potential when you saw

it. but it's true that the silicon is one of the most powerful rivers in the north caucasus motion, particularly in terms of generation energy. here. this is why we have a series of power plants on the silica store and the cheer k hydro electric power plant is among the most powerful the, this capacity is 1000 megawatts in a whole 1000000 kilowatts. guess the silica is huge potential, which is exactly why we have so many pop loans built on it. so there's water is a unique color, and people are under say that water changes color as of the day moves. what gives it this unique clothing and some dealer with the always because ok, i already talked a bit about how want to hear gets its clear blue color go away. i almost took was another find to play here is a change in for lighting? yes. c, as that changes, depending on the depth of the water. so you can see different color effects flows and dozens of them. it all depends on the weather and the depth of the warranty

you're looking at to go. they see or to go see one color on a bright, sunny day. like now i'm chest and a completely different color at sunset at the so it depends on both the weather and the time of day. let's say you're a teacher in fact uh you are officially recognized as one of the best teachers in russia. so congratulations on that. but what i'm interested in and what you tell your pupils about this area and even about august and in general, what is important for them as opposed to by sure, thank you very much. is to that i love my job. it'd be glad i find joy working with children and this place in particular, this canyon is the best part, the kids. or if i often bring them here. as i believe it's important to give children really experiences when you're teaching things like geography, which to help them see the things you're talking about it by yourself in here, they can see the power generating capacity of the river. there's in the gym for example. there they can also see the wrong layers of different geological periods

on the screen. so i make it a point to show the kids the things that i'm talking about in class. and for you personally, not about the things of what do you like most of what brings you joy about the uh, the stuff that your son as part of my so my identity maybe i'm what i like about it is it's diversity. all sorts of different people with different preferences that you can find a place where they love those somebody, they can be on the caspian beaches, municipal somewhat deep in the mountains, being with the emotional, anyone can find a correspond for themselves. he has the children there and that's what i love about is incredibly interesting conversation. thanks very much. i appreciate the the end of course. another microclimate, a sand dune desert. it certainly looks out of place here. but

a content study. cool. a we'll mystery, surrounded by the mountains of august on the study part, some of the works at the special nature reserve here that about thank you very much for meeting me out here. i'm a bona fide doone goon. so this is a great experience for me. so let's get right into it. i'm sorry, cool. is known as one of the 8th wonders of the world. and so that has to be some legends as to why this place was created or how it's created. can you tell me some of them, the beginning of the pillow and welcome to study. man, you're right. in the old times, people would often come up with some story or legend to explain things. they found hard to understand. like how something to your tray and change. so people came up with quite a lot of stories about this place. but so i personally prefer the most romantic one . it's a legend about an unhappy lot of which is a man called abraham lincoln,

his local village, not far from here with his beautiful daughter, part of the young. the young man wanted to marry her, but she loved laughed as her father, however, refused lots of proposal. and wanted to test his level 1st, he told him to bill the sand mountains so tall that abraham's house would be visible from the top beloved. so blot started bringing piles of sand to prove his love for various deals. when he finally finished and went to see abraham, but he found a very old woman there. it was his lover's body at where she lived, he himself and turned into an old man more working. it took him so many years to complete it well, but that's the legend. but it tells us that things like this can also happen in life that are both sad and romantic. and so those of the legends talked to me about factually. how did this get here? how was it created? scientists believe that the study come itself was formed on ancient marine terraces . us cut surfaces covered with sand, will date the sands were carried here from the foremost ranges of the caucus as mountains and what they, which collapses thousands of years ago. oh,

that's the scientific explanation of that. so we know how it was created. how old is this place? uh no, extended on them. uh, scientific research indicates that the current a only and land forms we observe the next 5000 years. now the sand itself is about 100000 years old. all of the patients. yes. it is considered one of the highest and tallest standalone dunes in the world. is that true? and can you give me an idea of the size and scope of this doing this, but the place of relative height of study come from the base to the top is a 150 meters. if in the height above sea level is 244 to 246 meters according to data from the darkest on nature, reserve in full. but in terms of the area code is 3 kilometers wide and 4 kilometers long. but that's the measurements of study come now that the total area of the sam, massive is get started. come parkins is $576.00 hectares of ideas, which is part of the diag. it's 10 nature reserve and which is

a protected area. and i feel the strong winds here and sand moves with the wins. um, does this do change over time? and if so, how. and also it's kind of a miracle to me that it stays in one place. that taught me a little bit about that somebody, me only present the day started come shaped by winds, blowing continuously along congress's mountains. whatever the south west wind brings from the northwest, wind carries away because there was a sort of struggle between the 2.