Transbaikal Resorts

Transbaikal Resorts, one of the largest geographical groups among the resorts of the USSR. The classification of the Transbaikal resorts as a special group is justified by the basic principles of classification of our resorts: 1) hydrogeological origin, 2) physicochemical features, 3) combination in a geographical area, 4) commonality of organizational, administrative, and economic conditions, 5) degree of therapeutic significance and therapeutic adaptability, and 6) common features in the history of discovery and development of the resorts. 1. The mineral springs of Transbaikalia, as well as the few mineral lakes in this region, are connected in their origin with geological revolutions. Suess establishes among other areas of geological genetics two Siberian regions: the Altai and the Baikalian. The latter region is crossed by concentric arcs of low Transbaikal mountain ranges, extending in waves (according to geological hypotheses) further - up to the arc of the Japanese islands. In this folded mountain system between the ranges, deep mineral springs (probably of juvenile origin) emerge through cracks in the earth's crust. Their physicochemical characteristics speak for this (see below). The overwhelming majority of Transbaikal mineral springs are located in rows in the valleys between the ranges, and only 2 groups (Verkhino-Chikoy and Verkhino-Ingoda) are located near the high mountain node 'Sokhondo'. The latter groups are distinguished by the high temperature of the water, while the springs emerging in the mountain valleys have a very low temperature. This is due to the fact that Transbaikalia is covered by permafrost, which in deep soil layers (from 2 m to 15 m) does not have time to thaw in summer and although it does not have a harmful effect on the green cover, it cools the deep strata of mineral springs to +1°, +3°. Among the valley springs, only the Barguzin valley, not covered by permafrost, gives rise to uncooled hot springs. 2. The above-mentioned hydrogeological conditions of the origin of Transbaikal mineral springs are reflected in their physicochemical features: a) The temperature of the vast majority of them fluctuates between +1°, +3°, +7°, depending on heating in the upper layers of the soil, since in depth they all, passing through permafrost, are close to the freezing point. The exception is the three groups of hot springs mentioned above (Verkhino-Chikoy, Verkhino-Ingoda, and Barguzin); their temperature is close to that typical for acratotherms (see) and ranges from +40° to +75° (Turkinsky, Garginsky). b) The chemical composition of the springs is distinguished by weak mineralization (from 0.537 g to 2.085 g per 1 liter), abundance of free carbon dioxide (up to 2.98 g per 1 liter), small amounts of chlorine and sulfur anhydride (up to 0.007% Cl and 0.017% SO₃), predominance of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium carbonate salts (up to 0.130%), and varying iron content (sometimes up to 0.2746 g per 1 liter). This chemical character of the springs and the constancy of their composition can be explained in two ways: either by the low content of soluble salts in the primary rocks of Transbaikalia - granites, syenites, crystalline schists - or by the juvenile nature of the springs. c) The third original feature of Transbaikal mineral springs is their high radioactivity. Without dwelling here on the assessment of the therapeutic role of radon emanation, it should be purely objectively noted that Transbaikal mineral springs are among the first, reaching 246 and 290 Mache units. This phenomenon is easily understood when considering the geological features of Transbaikalia - folded mountains of ancient origin, rich in silver-lead ore deposits. The flow rate of Transbaikal mineral springs is inconsistent; many springs belong to the category of 'wandering' due to uneven thawing of the soil, and there are almost no catchments anywhere. The daily amount of water varies in different springs from 2,400 to 576,000 liters. The water in the springs is transparent and very pleasant in taste (due to carbon dioxide); taiga and mountain-steppe springs are free from bacterial contamination. 3. The geographical area uniting the Transbaikal resorts occupies a definite place in the general series of resort areas of the USSR, if arranged in a natural sequence. The geological origin, physico-geographical and climatic features have influenced the combination of Transbaikal resorts into one natural group, which is geographically connected with Lake Baikal. The vast majority of sources are located beyond Baikal, with only a few in the Pribaikal region (Usolye, Arshan, Nilovskie waters) - therefore all sources can be included in the geographical group of Transbaikal resorts (see below). Almost all these resorts are balneological, and only recently have climatic and kumis therapy stations begun to emerge; among balneological resorts, mineral springs predominate, while lakes constitute a minority, and there are no well-developed lake and mud resorts. All Transbaikal resorts, united in a geographical area, can be divided historically into three groups: former, present, and future, i.e. a) those that existed in previous years in use by local residents, temporarily abandoned and awaiting restoration, b) those currently serving as resorts of local or regional significance, and c) unstudied and undeveloped sources that are only noted in geographical works and await balneological processing. The total number of sources and generally therapeutic localities of Transbaikalia and Pribaikalia is expressed by the number 202. They occupy an area of over 500,000 km² and are administratively divided between the Transbaikal Governorate, the Irkutsk District, and the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Republic. 4. Natural conditions and geographical position have united the Transbaikal resorts into a complete group; the same reasons, in connection with the historical process (see below), have given these resorts a uniform position in organizational, administrative, and economic terms. Currently, Transbaikal resorts are organized according to the general plan of state resort construction. Among the Transbaikal resorts (in a distant, hard-to-reach region, in a harsh climate, in a sparsely populated area) there are no resorts of state significance; two resorts (former Transbaikal Governorate) - Darasun and Olentuy and three resorts of the Buryat-Mongolian Republic (Goryachinsk, Arshan, and Kumis Therapy) are recognized as resorts of local significance; the rest are divided into two groups: localities of therapeutic significance (with primitive equipment) and places with natural healing forces (awaiting study and development in the more or less distant future). The management of the few resorts and therapeutic localities is united in the Resort Administration of the People's Commissariat of Health of the Buryat-Mongolian Republic (MAP COMPILED BY I. A. BAGASHEV) f Settlements

Location of the resorts: 1 Arshan. 2 Gorjachinsk. 3 Zharasun. 4 Koltoykon. 5 Kukinsky. 6 Makovyevsky. 7 Molokovka. 8 Olentuy. 9 Usolye. 10 Yamarovka. 11 Yamkun. 12 Aginsky. 13 Alenguysky. 14 Allinsky. 15 Arkhiya. 16 Bylyrinsky. 17 Borzinskoye Lake. 18 Verkhino-Chikoyisky. 19 V.-Ingodinsky. 20 Darasun-Nerchinsky. 21 Dzhergeysky. 22 Duminsky. 23 Karginsky. 24 Karpovsky. 25 Kudzhir-Nugu. 26 Kutomarsky. 27 Larginsky. 28 Olekan. 29 Solonchny. 30 Shivanda and under Dal'krayzdrav. - Attendance at the Transbaikal resorts is expressed by modest numbers - from 20-30 people (in remote taiga areas) to 200-300 people (in ordinary unorganized resorts) and up to 2,000-3,000 people and more at the primary local resorts (Darasun and Gorjachinsk). 5. The therapeutic value of the resorts consists of two elements: the healing powers of nature and the therapeutic facilities of the resort. The first - for the Transbaikal resorts - are the same for all: a) mineral waters of the springs with high activity in terms of their origin and physicochemical character (juvenile waters, low temperature, much carbonic acid, etc.), b) mountain (of the alpine type) climate with dry air and high solar radiation intensity in clear skies and c) hygienic advantages of sparsely populated areas of forest and steppe character. The second (therapeutic facilities) can be divided by their nature into two groups. 1) Simple homemade baths of tin, wood, from a split barrel, and even carved into rocky soil; simple wooden log cabins over the spring; a simple pump, often replaced by just a birch bark dipper; a small room in a wooden hut for examining patients by occasionally visiting doctors or paramedics; habitual constant food without following dietary prescriptions; temperature dosing - 'as much as the hand can tolerate' and drinking water - 'as much as one wants'. 2) Gradually improving equipment of bathhouses, wellheads and pavilions according to the latest word in balneotechnics (drilling wells, enameled baths, steam coils for heating - in Darasun); well-appointed, spacious bathhouses, outpatient and pharmacy separate houses, dormitories for patients; organized medical supervision, selection of patients and proper diet, medical statistics and reporting - at the main resorts. Along with the development of medical practice, scientific work also grows: local doctors and visiting university workers (Irkutsk and Tomsk) have placed the natural science and clinical study of Transbaikal resorts on a solid foundation. The literature on the Transbaikal resorts, rich since the time of Pallas and Georgi, is supplemented by new works in the pages of medical and specialized resort publications. 6. In an interesting chapter in the history of Russian medicine - in the history of the development of our resorts - there is a special department - the history of Transbaikal resorts. The remoteness of the region, difficulty of communication with the center, harsh climate, conditions, ethnographic and historical peculiarities in the development of regional culture, comparative poverty of nature and population - all this has been reflected in the history of the development of therapeutic localities and resorts of Transbaikalia. 1) The discovery of a healing spring is almost always associated with some accident: a hunter notices its effect on animals or on a dog, a herdsman, following the animals, stumbles upon a salt lick or a mineral spring. 2) The local population of recent times, and even more often the old-timers - aborigines - begin to use the healing spring in the simplest setting, combining rational application with various superstitions and mixing the benefit from the healing power of nature with the harm from improper methodology. 3) Local enterprising people begin to equip roads, housing and therapeutic facilities - baths, wells, etc. - by simple, artisanal methods. 4) The crude empirical experience is corrected by medical workers (doctors, and more often by middle medical personnel) and is introduced into simple, more or less rational norms. 5) Gradually, from the general mass of such 'primitive resorts', a few more convenient in cultural and therapeutic terms are singled out, and on them the organizing attention of administrative centers, medical forces and finally scientific workers is concentrated. Such is the scheme of the history of an individual, so to speak 'elected' resort (Turkinskiye waters, Darasun, Arshan), and according to this scheme, the entire mass of therapeutic localities and healing springs of Transbaikalia can be arranged. This scheme of historical development unites the Transbaikal resorts into a special group with typical local features. The most important, well-equipped and sufficiently adapted for treatment are considered the following resorts: Arshan, Gorjachinsk (Turkinsky), Darasun, Koltoykon, Kukinsky, Makyevsky, Molokovka, Olentuy, Usolye, Yamarovka, Yamkun. The following sources are more or less known among the local population, even in the form of the most simplified equipment and use: Aginsky, Alenguysky, Allinsky, Arkhiya, Bylyrinsky, Borzinskoye Lake, Verkhino-Chikoyisky, V.-Ingodinsky, Darasun Yerchinsky, Dzhergeysky, Duminsky, Karginsky (or Garginsky), Karpovsky, Kudzhir-Nugu, Kutomarsky, Larginsky, Olekan, Solonchny, Shivanda, Shiviya. The total number of sources known from geographical works and local data reaches 202 (according to Lezhnin's list).