Between the Ryazan villages of Dubrovka and Tarnovo, there is a one and a half kilometer anomalous area called a drunken forest. Even in good years, there are no mushrooms or berries in it. Not a single young tree can be found in such a forest. They call a strange place and dancing, and crooked, and witch and even devilish forest.
Such fame is not accidental. People who find themselves in such a forest complain of discomfort. According to legend, bizarre woody "figures" appeared after a fight between two witches. Almost at the base, the pines deviate strongly, then rushing to the sky. There are trees twisted into a ram's horn, and there are real arches made of trunks.
Amazing anomaly
Tourists often visit the Shilovsky district to see an amazing natural phenomenon. It seems to visitors that they are in a fairy tale. It is also surprising that the crooked forest is surrounded by normal-looking trees.
The trunks of dozens of pines are directed towards the Oka, to the west. Another version claims that the curvatures of the river are parallel. The arcs end a couple of meters from the ground. Further, the trunk is even. Not only pines were deformed, but also birches. The plants were planted half a century ago in the place of an oak grove.
There are proposals to make the witch's forest a natural monument, including it in the regional list of natural heritage sites. A special commission will have to decide whether the amazing trees are of scientific value or not.
At the Yesenin Russian State University, it was established by the annual rings that since 1980 the pines have grown correctly. This means that the factor that has been in effect for 5-6 years then ceased to influence them. However, not all trees straightened up.
Origin hypotheses
Scientists believe that the drunken forest is a common occurrence. It was described in forestry textbooks a century ago. Such sites are not uncommon. The anomaly lies in an incomprehensible change in the life of a plant at a certain period. There is no mysticism in this. For example, the growth point is damaged by insects, hurricane, freezing rain. In an unusual way, trees simply adapted to harsh conditions, nothing more.
Old-timers assure that the forest became unusual after the hurricane of 1971, which severely bent young trees. But, according to scientists, such a single effect could not give such a result.
Biologists call the abnormality tropism, directed growth relative to stimuli. After encountering such a phenomenon, plant tissues are displaced in its direction. With the weakening of the stimulus or termination of its action, normal growth resumes.
Scientific versions
Often, the curvature is caused by powerful electromagnetic radiation. Only in the Shilovsky region, not a single source of energy was found. The anomaly is explained by an unknown geological fault.
According to the “quicksand theory”, crooked forests are the result of climatic causes. Due to the abnormal humidity in the seventies, young pine trees began to slide on a clay cushion with a layer of damp sand. Wet snow complemented the picture, pressing on the trees from above. However, opponents of the theory are sure that the center of radial curvature in the forest is not the only one.
Whatever it is, the locals are actively attracting tourists with stories that fabulous psoglavians wander in a drunken forest, and witches spend their Sabbaths here.
