Diving in the Ural Federal District
The Ural Mountains essentially divide the vast landmass of Russia into European and Asian sides. The Ural Region surrounds this massive mountain chain, with its highest point being Mount Narodnaya at 1895 meters. On the east side of the mountains sits this region’s capital city, Yekaterinburg, a popular tourist destination for all things related to the Romanovs, Russia’s last royal family.
The Ural is home to many rivers, the largest of which are Belaya, Kama, and Tobol Rivers. As such, this area is rich in underground springs and cave systems. It has become a hot spot for adventurous cave divers. In fact, this region of the world is fast becoming a cave diving mecca, with divers coming from all over the globe to explore this intriguing, crystal-clear, unexplored cave system.
The most popular Ural cave dive is the Orda Cave, one of the longest caves in the world. It has emerged recently on the cave diving scene and is now considered one of the world’s best cave dives due to its gin-clear water and stunning gypsum bedrock. Geologists are still studying this spectacular cave, and professional cave divers are still mapping it out.