Interesting facts about the swamp is a small project. Interesting facts about the Manchaca swamp. Why do swamps form?

Glows in the swamps.

On a warm summer night, during particularly dark hours, you can witness amazing phenomenon- glow of faintly flickering bluish lights. They do not stand still, but seem to be spinning and dancing, tracing a complex trajectory, now moving away from the observer, now approaching him again.

For a long time there have been many traditions and legends trying to explain the essence of this phenomenon. Basically, our superstitious ancestors associated their appearance with the souls of people who drowned in the swamp.

Nowadays, of course, no one believes in the otherworldly nature of this phenomenon. But, nevertheless, a definite answer regarding the origin of swamp lights has not yet been given. There are several theories: the ignition of methane released from the swamp, the light of rotting plants, phosphorescent organisms, radioactive mineral deposits, the result of the interaction of hydrogen phosphide and methane, etc.

However, attempts to recreate will-o'-the-wisps under artificial conditions have ended. a complete failure. So, while scientists are struggling to unravel the mystery of the swamp glows, we, perhaps, will believe in the restless spirits of the swamps.

Mummifying effect of swamps.

Swamp water contains high percent peat acids. In this environment, the growth of bacteria that contribute to the decomposition of organic bodies drowned in the swamp slows down. This fact in combination with a lack of oxygen and low temperatures has a tanning effect on the leather, giving it a dark brown tint. Also, thanks to the acid of peat, which is a powerful preservative, and the lack of oxygen in the depths of the swamp, the bodies of people and animals caught in the bog are perfectly preserved.

Over the past 300 years, many bodies of ancient people dating back to the 1st century have been found in the swamps of Europe. BC e. - IV century n. e. The most famous and well-preserved mummy is the "Man of Tollund". His head is so well preserved that the smallest network of wrinkles on his face is visible.

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This was the article Interesting properties swamps Secrets of the swamps. " Read more: Myths and legends about swamps.

Articles on the topic "Swamps":

• General characteristics and description of swamps.
• Formation of swamps. High and lowland swamps. Swamp diagrams.
• Types and types of swamps. What types of swamps are there?
• Swamp plants. Names and descriptions of marsh plants.
• The meaning of swamps and the role of swamps.

Why swamps “gurgle” and burn: 10 facts

Editor's response

On February 2, 1971, the Convention on Wetlands with international significance. AiF.ru has collected interesting facts about such lands.

The largest swamp in Russia and Europe

The most big swamp Russia and Europe - Vasyuganskoe. It occupies 53 thousand square meters. km between large rivers Siberia - Irtysh and Ob, and is located on the territory of three regions - Tomsk, Novosibirsk and Omsk. Vasyugan swamp formed approximately 10 thousand years ago. The process of swamping the territory continues and, perhaps, the land will soon become the largest in the world. In the meantime, the Pantanal in the center is considered the largest swamp on the planet South America, the total area of ​​which is 150 thousand square meters. km.

In total, there are currently 35 swamps in Russia - their total area is 10.7 million hectares. All of them, according to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 13, 1994 No. 1050, are of international importance and are located on the territory of 21 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Swamps are reservoirs of clean water

Swamps are repositories clean water. Contrary to popular belief, the water in swamps is not stagnant: if in lakes the water is completely renewed on average in 17 years, then in swamps it takes five years. Swamp moss (sphagnum) is an excellent antiseptic; it prevents the development of even those bacteria that can exist without oxygen. In addition, peat in the thickness of the swamp binds harmful substances into insoluble compounds, thanks to which the swamp system is a natural filter fresh water. Today, in swamps around the world there is a reserve of 11.5 thousand km³ of fresh water - five times more than in all the rivers of the world.

Wetlands reduce the greenhouse effect

Wetlands are climate regulators. The only ecosystem on the planet that counteracts the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere and, accordingly, the greenhouse effect is swamps. One hectare of such land is 10 times more effective in harvesting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than a forest of the same area. Swamps accumulate peat, which consists mainly of carbon, and swamps, by removing it from the atmosphere and accumulating it, are natural “traps” for this gas. Thus, bogs protect the atmosphere from overheating, reduce Greenhouse effect and cool the planet.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com Small bubbles constantly appear on the surface of the swamp. This is swamp gas that accumulates under the silt. It is formed as a result of the rotting of plants, which at the bottom of the swamp do not have access to oxygen. The composition of swamp gas mainly includes methane. The formation of methane is continuous and its presence can be proven if you touch the swamp silt with a stick - gas bubbles immediately float to the surface of the water.

Swamps may burn due to underground flames

Peat in wetlands is a flammable material. When water is replaced by air in its thickness, the peat layer after some time acquires the ability to burn throughout its entire depth. The depth can be two, 10 or even 20 meters. Therefore, it is useless to pour a flame from above - water stops the fire only on the surface, and in the depths the peat continues to smolder, burning out huge voids. Only nature itself can extinguish the underground fire, when after prolonged rains the groundwater level rises and the swamps are filled with moisture again.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Swamps prevent floods

Swamps maintain water balance. By storing water, they prevent floods and save money on the construction of expensive dams and reservoirs. Unlike mineral soils, peat deposits have greater moisture capacity and water-holding capacity.

Rivers disappear after swamps are drained

Draining swamps disrupts the nutrition of small rivers flowing from the swamp. As a result of the massive drainage of swamps, many rivers disappeared and dried up. One of the properties of the bog is the collection of rain and melt water. Consuming it gradually during the dry season, the swamps prevent the rivers flowing through them from becoming shallow, and also feed the streams through groundwater.

Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The myth about fertile lands

At the beginning of the 20th century, swamps were considered completely unnecessary and, if possible, they sought to drain them in order to use the vacated lands for arable land, pastures and hayfields. However, it soon became clear that the drained swamps were completely unsuitable for Agriculture without lengthy tillage and application large quantity mineral fertilizers.

Swamps are an excellent preservative

The swamp environment slows down the growth of bacteria, causing bodies organic origin, drowned in a swamp, are not destroyed. Over hundreds of millions of years, layers of peat have preserved various strange animals and plants. If there were no swamps, people would hardly know that magnolias and palm trees once upon a time grew in Greenland and Spitsbergen. Over the past 300 years, well-preserved human bodies have been discovered in abandoned peat bogs in Britain and Ireland. Most of These mummies date back to the 1st century. BC e. - IV century n. e.

A relic of the Ice Age - the butterwort plant (Pinguicula vulgaris) Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Swamps preserved Ice Age plant

Thanks to the swamps, the only relic of the Ice Age still remains on earth - the butterwort plant (Pinguicula vulgaris). It grows in the Northern Hemisphere in tundra and forest zones on wet rocky slopes and swamps. In Russia it is found in Western Siberia, in Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands.

Zhiryanka leaves prevent rotting, so the plants are widely used to make bactericidal agents that stop the growth of harmful microflora. Shepherds have long applied the plant to the wounds of large cattle to prevent the development of infections.

• 
  © / Shrek 2001 DreamWorks Animation
• 
  The Adventures of Pinocchio 1975
• 
  © / Flying ship 1979 Soyuzmultfilm
• 
  © Flickr.com/mafue
• 
  © / The Adventures of Pig Funtik 1986 TO “Ekran”
• 
  Marya the Mistress 1959 Gorky Studio

Today is World Wetlands Day! Therefore, it’s time to find out why swamps are unique, why it is so important not to disturb their ecosystem and many other interesting facts, as well as look at beautiful photographs. Facts borrowed from AiF.

1) The largest swamp in Russia and Europe

Photo: etosibir.ru
The largest swamp in Russia and Europe is Vasyugan. It occupies 53 thousand square meters. km between the major rivers of Siberia - the Irtysh and Ob, and is located on the territory of three regions - Tomsk, Novosibirsk and Omsk. The Vasyugan swamp was formed approximately 10 thousand years ago. The process of swamping the territory continues and, perhaps, the land will soon become the largest in the world. In the meantime, the largest swamp on the planet is considered to be the Pantanal in the center of South America, the total area of ​​which is 150 thousand square meters. km.

In total, there are currently 35 swamps in Russia - their total area is 10.7 million hectares. All of them, according to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 13, 1994 No. 1050, are of international importance and are located on the territory of 21 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

2) Swamps are reservoirs of clean water.

Contrary to popular belief, the water in swamps is not stagnant: if in lakes the water is completely renewed on average in 17 years, then in swamps it takes five years. Swamp moss (sphagnum) is an excellent antiseptic; it prevents the development of even those bacteria that can exist without oxygen. In addition, peat in the thickness of the swamp binds harmful substances into insoluble compounds, thanks to which the swamp system is a natural filter for fresh water. Today, in swamps around the world there is a reserve of 11.5 thousand km³ of fresh water - five times more than in all the rivers of the world.

3) Wetlands reduce the greenhouse effect

Wetlands are climate regulators. The only ecosystem on the planet that counteracts the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere and, accordingly, the greenhouse effect is swamps. One hectare of such land is 10 times more effective at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than a forest of the same area. Swamps accumulate peat, which consists mainly of carbon, and swamps, by removing it from the atmosphere and accumulating it, are natural “traps” for this gas. Thus, bogs protect the atmosphere from overheating, reduce the greenhouse effect and cool the planet.

Small bubbles constantly appear on the surface of the swamp. This is swamp gas that accumulates under the silt. It is formed as a result of the rotting of plants, which at the bottom of the swamp do not have access to oxygen. The composition of swamp gas mainly includes methane. The formation of methane is continuous and its presence can be proven if you touch the swamp silt with a stick - gas bubbles immediately float to the surface of the water.

6) Swamps prevent floods

Swamps maintain water balance. By storing water, they prevent floods and save money on the construction of expensive dams and reservoirs. Unlike mineral soils, peat deposits have greater moisture capacity and water-holding capacity.

7) After the swamps are drained, the rivers disappear

Draining swamps disrupts the nutrition of small rivers flowing from the swamp. As a result of the massive drainage of swamps, many rivers disappeared and dried up. One of the properties of the bog is the collection of rain and melt water. Consuming it gradually during the dry season, the swamps prevent the rivers flowing through them from becoming shallow, and also feed the streams through groundwater.

8) Myth about fertile lands

At the beginning of the 20th century, swamps were considered completely unnecessary and, if possible, they sought to drain them in order to use the vacated lands for arable land, pastures and hayfields. However, it soon became clear that the drained swamps were completely unsuitable for agriculture without long-term tillage and the application of large amounts of mineral fertilizers.

9) Swamps are an excellent preservative

The swamp environment slows down the growth of bacteria, which is why bodies of organic origin that drown in the swamp are not destroyed. Over hundreds of millions of years, layers of peat have preserved various strange animals and plants. If there were no swamps, people would hardly know that magnolias and palm trees once upon a time grew in Greenland and Spitsbergen. Over the past 300 years, well-preserved human bodies have been discovered in abandoned peat bogs in Britain and Ireland. Most of these mummies date back to the 1st century. BC e. - IV century n. e.

10) The swamps preserved an Ice Age plant

Thanks to the swamps, the only relic of the Ice Age still remains on earth - the butterwort plant (Pinguicula vulgaris). It grows in the Northern Hemisphere in tundra and forest zones on wet rocky slopes and swamps. In Russia it is found in Western Siberia, Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands.

Zhiryanka leaves prevent rotting, so the plants are widely used to make bactericidal agents that stop the growth of harmful microflora. Shepherds have long applied the plant to the wounds of cattle to prevent infections.

According to eastern Slavic mythology In the swamps there lives a swamp man who can lead a traveler astray.

Since ancient times, people have been frightened by the night glow in the swamps. Because of the characteristic location of the lights - at the height of a human hand - they are called “dead man’s candles”. It is believed that whoever saw them received a warning about imminent death, and they were carried by aliens from the other world. In Germany they said that the lights in the swamp are the ghosts of those who stole land from their neighbors - as punishment, their souls wander through the swamps in search of solid ground. The Finns called them "lecchio" and believed that they were the souls of children buried in the forest. IN Northern Europe it was believed that the lights in the swamp were the spirits of ancient warriors guarding treasures

In warm weather dark nights in the swamps there is a glow of pale bluish, faintly flickering lights, tracing a complex trajectory. Their occurrence is explained by the spontaneous combustion of methane (swamp gas) released from the swamp, the light of rotten plants (rotting plants), phosphorescent organisms, radioactive mineral deposits, and other reasons.

Attempts to imitate typical characteristics will-o'-the-wisps by creating artificial swamps and the ignition of the released methane failed. There is a version that these will-o'-the-wisps are the result of the interaction of hydrogen phosphide and methane. Phosphorus compounds, which are part of animal and human corpses, decompose under the influence of groundwater to form hydrogen phosphide. When there is a loose embankment over a grave or a small layer of water in a swamp, the gas, coming to the surface, is ignited by the vapor of liquid hydrogen phosphide.

According to English beliefs, these so-called will-o'-the-wisps try to lure a person into a swamp or other dangerous place.

In Slavic mythology, swamp kikimoras live in swamps. They lure travelers into the quagmire by loudly calling for help. Sometimes people are led into the swamp by foresters - the children of kikimora and goblin. In Slavic mythology, a swamp has its own guardian spirit, the owner is the swamp. He looks like a gray-haired old man with a wide, yellowish face. It is he who scares those walking through the swamp with sharp sounds, sighs, and loud smacking. It is he who lures the self-confident and careless into the quagmire and, on the contrary, shows a safe path to those who respect nature.

In Celtic mythology, swamps were the “gates of spirits” - in the place where the seemingly solid soil instantly disappears from under your feet, the gates open to the world of mysterious nature spirits and deities. The Celts brought sacrificial gifts in the swamps.

In one of the myths about the creation of the world, swamps arose from a devil spit out of the mouth, hidden from the God of the earth.

“Plants and animals of water bodies” - Animals and plants of swamps. Computer work. Vegetable and animal world swamps 1. There are many different bodies of water on Earth: sea, ocean. Flora and fauna of water bodies. I was most successful... Swamp, Work Plan. Stream, lake, river,

"Community swamp" - Series. Sedge. Cranberry. Plants have completely taken over the lake. The muskrat is listed in the Red Book. People tried to settle away from the swamps. Natural community"swamp". Cowberry. Large growth. House for frogs. The meaning of swamps. Predatory flower. Mallard. Sphagnum moss. Darwin Nature Reserve. Shoveler.

“Turgoyak” - In the vastness of Turgoyak there are 6 islands. The area of ​​Lake Turgoyak. Photo of Lake Turgoyak. The home of the hermit Vera. The legend about Lake Turgoyak. Lake Turgoyak is of tectonic origin. On Southern Urals scientists counted 3170 lakes. Lake. Hermit Vera. Around Lake Turgoyak will be created natural Park. Lake Turgoyak.

“Reservoirs 2nd class” - River ocean pond. Volga Ob Lena. Draw on your test sheet. Remember that there may be more than one answer. Choose geometric figure(or shapes) corresponding to your answer. Into the lake, into the sea, into the pond. 4. What is the name of the depression through which the river flows? Test on the topic “Reservoirs”. 5. What is the name of the beginning of the river?

“Why do rivers flow” - Many years in the mountains in a row It is snowing and hail pours down. What is a river? Why do lowland rivers flow? What is a source? Parts of the river. In which direction do rivers flow: towards the mouth or towards the source? The river flows because the land has a slope. Why does the river flow? A river is a constant flow of water. Observations.

“Why ships don’t sink” - Water. Buoyancy force. Experience. Plastic and wooden bodies. Case. Why ships don't sink. Magnet on an elastic band. Air is much lighter than water. The case sank. Ancient Greek scientist Archimedes. Shipbuilding. The man got tired of rowing and made a sail. Ships. Air. Streamlined shape. Metal spoon.