The Oleshky sands are the largest sand massif in Europe, which is sometimes incorrectly called the largest European desert.
The sand arena, about 15 kilometers in diameter (161,000 hectares), consists of barkhans (kuchuguri) about 5 meters high, covered with rare vegetation. The name Oleshky sands comes from the nearby town of Oleshky.
Semi-deserts were formed in the lower reaches of the Dnipro in the 18th and 19th centuries as a result of massive uncontrolled livestock grazing, which destroyed the vegetation that bound the sands, and also as a result of almost complete deforestation. All this time, sand consolidation works were carried out. Currently, the spread of the desert has been stopped with the help of large areas of pine forest around the entire perimeter.
In ...
Last update
3/26/2025
Categories | Natural object |
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Date of foundation | XVIII-XIX centuries |
Address |
Zavodska Street, 1B
Radensk |
Coordinates |
46.62611111° N, 32.9775° E
|
Phone | +380 552 355 152, |
oleshkivski.piski@gmail.com | |
Official site |
http://nppop.gov.ua/ |
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