Description of the attraction
"Devonian outcrops on the Oredezh River near the village of Belogorka" is a geological natural monument. Located in the Gatchinsky region on the Oredezh river, 2-3 km from the Siverskaya railway station. The area of this natural monument is 120 hectares. Its southern border is located perpendicular to the Oredezh channel and runs along the bridge in the village of Novo-Siverskaya and continues along the border of the water protection zone. Eastern and northern borders - along the water protection zone to the extreme northern point. The western border runs perpendicular to the Oredezh river bed 200 m from the pumping station in the village of Belogorka downstream.
The main goals of creating a natural monument are to protect the outcrops of geological rocks of the Ordovinian and Devonian age, as well as to preserve the fossil remains of shell fish in the Devonian sediments.
The Devonian Outcrops on the Oredezh River was organized in 1976. These outcrops in the village of Belogorka are located on the right bank of the Oredezh and extend for about 200 m. Weakly cemented sandstones with thin layers of brown and red clays and red sands are exposed under Quaternary loams. The apparent height of these outcrops is from 2 to 8 m, they are 15-55 m long. In geological terms, they are referred to the Upper Devonian strata. Almost vertically, the outcrops go under the water's edge. The outcrops contain the fossilized remains of cross-finned fish, which are the ancestors of vertebrates living on earth. This natural monument is one of the key points of the North-West region.
Due to the proximity of settlements, the vegetation of the natural monument is exposed to significant anthropogenic impact. The forest vegetation is almost not preserved here: you can find only individual specimens of shrubs and trees, some of them belong to introduced species. On the right bank of the Oredezh, there are calciphilic species: umbula and oregano. On the upper parts of the limestone slopes of the meadows, you can see carnation, grass, sweet spikelet, wormwood and others. If you go down the slope, you can find such hygrophilous species as European bather, Phrygian cornflower, meadow sivets, common loosestrife, marsh geranium and others. The meadows on the banks of the river are highly susceptible to anthropogenic impact: disturbance of the soil cover and trampling.
In the meadows of the natural monument, alien plant species are not rare, most of which have penetrated here from summer cottages located near the natural monument. On the banks of the river grows a moisture-loving herb of naked and elm-leaved meadowsweet, marsh bluegrass, poisonous milestones, forest reeds and others. In the waters of Oredezh, you can see floating pond and cereal pond, vodokras and whorled urut. On the very shores, in small quantities, the common mulberry and duckweed, the yellow egg capsule, the pemphigus and other plants are noted. On unseeded open limestone outcrops, the brittle fern grows.
On the territory of a natural object, land reclamation and mining work, all types of construction work, littering of the territory, plowing of land, deforestation, and laying of all kinds of communications are prohibited. It is allowed to conduct research and educational excursions here.
The natural monument "Outcrops of the Devonian on the Oredezh River near the village of Belogorka" can be promising for excursions to protected natural areas and organizing tourist routes to the Oredezh River.
