The Big Stone river is probably the most interesting sight of the Taganai national park. You can see mountains and rocks, including the ones with most fantastical shapes, in many places. And it is the only such river in the world. A similar rock river of smaller size is only in India.
The Big Stone river is a conglomeration of huge boulders. Some of them weigh up to 10 tonnes, with a volume of 30 m3. But the average weight of the boulders is 3-4 tonnes. The boulders are at a depth of 4-6 meters, so they lie in 4 layers. That is why you can see no trees in the middle of the river, excepting two strong pines growing nearer the Otkliknoy Crest.
The length of the Big Stone river is 6 kilometers. It begins from several small «streams», with the width of about 20 meters, joining into a big river. The average width of the river is 250 meters, but in one place near the Otkliknoy Crest its width reaches 700 meters.
All boulders contain aventurine, a variety of quartz. Scientists think that millions of years ago they broke off from the ancient, higher peaks of the Taganai and began to slide in the valleys. According to a version, it was a small glacier. The Big Stone river is in the valley between the mountain ridges of Great and Middle Taganai, which are substantially lower than they were in the ancient time. Now the Big Stone river is motionless as it is in the lower point of the valley.
The easiest way to get to the Big Stone river from Zlatoust will be the lower path (old Kilaimskaya road). It is about 12 kilometers from the entrance to the park. However, you must remember that you can only see the other sights of the Taganai such as the Otkliknoy Crest, the Sandy Gorky, the Fairy Tales Glade, as well as the most beautiful views, if you will go on the upper path. Therefore, you should go to the Taganai on the upper path and return to Zlatoust on the lower path where you can see the Big Stone river.
