Description of the attraction
The complex natural monument “The origins of the Oredezh River in the Dontso tract” was created in 1976. Located in the Volosovsky district in the vicinity of the villages of Dontso and the Fifth Mountain. The area of the natural monument is 950 hectares. The natural monument is organized to preserve the outlets of underground artesian waters on the day surface, which give rise to the Oredezh River, habitats of river trout, alvars with rare species of steppe plants. This area is attractive for families and recreational fishing.
The natural monument is located on the territory of the Ordovician plateau. On this site there are many outlets of underground waters of the Ordovician aquifer complex. Merging, weakly pressure head springs of the ascending type give rise to streams that form the source of the Oredezh River. The underground waters also fill the Kurlevsky quarry (now abandoned). The water here is clean, fresh, transparent, and tastes good.
The main types of vegetation on the territory of the natural monument are forests, as well as steppe meadows on limestone. These are alvars not found anywhere else in the Leningrad Region. In places they are covered with juniper. In the herbaceous layer, there are about 80 species of plants, among them - numerous orchids, willow leaf elecampane, mountain clover, broadleaf veronica, oregano, chicory and other calciphilous species.
Of interest is a meadow with an autumn crocus, a tall primrose, a highlander serpentine, a cruciform gentian, located near the former village of Bolshoye Zarechye. In the north and north-east of the natural monument, spruce forests are noted, in which nemoral plant species grow. Especially here there is a lot of honeysuckle, hazel, and among herbaceous species - liverwort. There are also gray alder forests and boggy birch forests. Where the springs go out on the shores of the lakes, there are sedge bogs, where rare species of sedges, zhiryanka are found. In the waters of the quarry, a lot of charo algae grows. On the dumps of the quarries there are willows.
The vegetation of the natural monument is quite rich due to the limestone soils. On the territory of the natural monument, there are four species of plants listed in the Red Book of Russia, 38 species that are protected in the Leningrad region.
The upper reaches of the Oredezh are the last habitat of the common sculpin and the well-known Oredezh brook trout. Its spawning grounds have been preserved in the area of the village of Bolshoye Zarechye.
The avifauna of the natural monument is distinguished by a large number of southern species. Among them: corncrake, harrier, common turtledove, quail, nuthatch, kingfisher. In these places, quarries during the migration period stop: crested ducks, gulls, river ducks, gogol. Of the mammals, the hedgehog and the European hare are common in these places.
Specially protected objects on the territory of the natural monument are: the sources of the Oredezh River, spawning grounds for brook trout, alvars with rare plants, rare species of plants: helmeted orchis, true slipper, autumn crocus, single-tuber, red pollen head, dark red dremlik, gentian cruciform garlic, rare species of animals: gray partridge, corncrake, quail and fish, among which are common sculpin and brook trout.
It is prohibited to fish on the territory of a natural monument, to carry out reclamation works that violate the hydrological regime of this territory; use pesticides and pesticides; arrange a garbage dump and litter the territory; collect, extract and collect rare and specially protected species of animals and plants; kindle bonfires; drive vehicles off public roads; remove the humus layer; organize tourist parking.
