{{short description|Lake in Russia}} {{Infobox lake | name = | image = File:Таватуй.JPG | caption = | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia | coordinates = {{coord|57|08|00|N|60|10|59|E}} | type = Freshwater | inflow = | outflow = |pushpin_map=Russia Sverdlovsk Oblast | catchment = | basin_countries = | length = {{cvt|10|km}} | width = {{cvt|3-3.5|km}} | area = | depth = | max-depth = {{cvt|9|m}} | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = | frozen = | islands = | sections = | cities = | website = | reference = }}
'''Lake Tavatui''', also known as '''Lake Tavatuy''', is a freshwater lake in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Several communities surround the lake and the nearest major city is Yekaterinburg. The lake is known for its high water quality and is a popular tourist attraction. The a website operated by the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism calls it "the pearl of the Middle Urals".<ref name=":0" />
== Description == The lake basin was formed by the gradual movement of plate tectonics, and lies on top of a thick bed of granite, the Verh-Isetskiy granite massif. Core samples taken from the lakebed show evidence of the lake's granite foundation forming during the Late Pleistocene into the Early Pliocene era.<ref>V. N. Anfilogov, Maslennikova, A. V., V. N. Udachin,, and V. V. Deryagin. "Reflection of global late glacial and Holocene paleoclimate oscillations in the palynological record from bottom sediments of Tavatui Lake (Middle Urals)." In ''Doklady Earth Sciences'', vol. 468, no. 2, pp. 553-556. Pleiades Publishing, 2016.</ref> Lake Tavatui is bordered by a number of tall hills and parts of the lake's shore is interspersed with granite outcroppings. Though geographically old, the lake's body of water is relatively young, having been formed by retreating glaciers between 10 and 20 thousand years ago.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Lake Tavatuy|url=https://eng.russia.travel/objects/307847/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=eng.russia.travel}}</ref> The glaciers' retreat also left a rich sedimentary bed of clay in the lake, and this sediment has been used to study the state of the ancient environment of the Holocene era.<ref>Maslennikova, A. V., V. N. Udachin, D. V. Pirogov, and P. V. Khvorov. "Paleolimnological reconstruction of Late Glacial and Holocene environments of Middle Urals." ''LITHOSPHERE (Russia)'' 6 (2016): 166-176.</ref>
Lake Tavatui has an elongated shape running north to south, as it is {{cvt|10|km}} and only {{cvt|3-3.5|km}} wide; the total area of the lake is around {{cvt|21|sqkm}}.<ref name=":0" /> The lake is around {{cvt|9|m}} deep, and contains several islands. The lake is well known for its high water quality and clarity, with the lake bed being visible from the surface in some conditions.<ref name=":0" /> The lake is warmest during the early summer months, cools during later summer months into the Ural fall, and freezes over between October and May during the intense Ural winter.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Lake Tavatui - uVisitRussia|url=https://www.uvisitrussia.com/lake-tavatui/|access-date=2020-11-13|website=www.uvisitrussia.com}}</ref>
Human activity at Lake Tavatui likely began in the Holocene era, soon after the glaciers had begun to retreat. According to one source, the lake's name likely derives from several words in the Tartar language, ''tau'' (translating to ''mountain'') and ''tui'' translating to ''feast''. Other sources attribute the name of the lake to the Permians and Komi, with the peoples' word for waterway ''ta wa tui'' being translatable to ''waterway''.<ref name=":1" />
== References == {{reflist}}
== See also == *Lake Iset
Category:Lakes of Sverdlovsk Oblast Category:Tourist attractions in Sverdlovsk Oblast