These surprisingly beautiful places of fantastic rocks with untouched original flora and fauna are located in a northeast part of ridge Ulan-Burgasy, in 40 kilometers from Lake Baikal. The ensemble of picturesque cliffed rocks reminds a majestic fortress.
Khara-Shibir Stolby has been formed during Baikal orogenesis, nearby 2 million years ago. Now this range strongly differs from the protogenic shape. During millions years terrible underground forces were resisted with ground destructive forces - aeration and water erosion which cut deep valleys and gorges.
Cliff Ulan-Baysa is the highest point of this territory-1672 meters.
Now on a surface there are magmatic breeds, such as granite, basalt and others.
This process of rocks destruction goes continuously. The range which earlier was integral, is dismembered by tectonic valleys on separate blocks, similar to columns (Stolby).
Granite slopes are cut up by deep lateral fault trace rifts. Some rocks rise on 20-30 meters. Stolby were stretched on top of a ridge on 7-10 kilometers.
Here prevail closely pressed to each other flat-top steep rocks in the form of towers, with the caves connected with each other by passes, tunnels of the various sizes, deep cracks-precipices.
At tops of rocks there are numerous "dishes" of small depth with fresh, transparent water.
The climate on Ulan-Burgasy mountain range is sharply continental with large fluctuations of temperature within day and year.
The winter (November-April) is cold, multisnow. Average temperature in the afternoon is -13-22°, at night -25-28°. The steady snow cover appears in the beginning of November and reaches by the end of winter of height of 0,5 m., in coombes up to 1 m. The snow cover descends in April-May..
The spring (April-May) is short, dry, windy. The daytime temperature usually is 8-10°, there are frosts up to -3-5° at night. Sometimes there are fallouts in the form of short-term rains and snows.
The summer is dry and short. The daytime temperature usually is 20-28°, at night up to 6°. Fallouts happen in the form of storm rains with thunder-storms.
The autumn (September-October) is windless and clear. In the afternoon the temperature is 5-15°, at night from 5-8°. Fallouts in the form of a snow are possible in September.
In a basis of a forest stand of Ulan-Burgasy mountain range a pine-larch, pine-cedar and a frutescent woods, with mountain-taiga vegetation prevails. From deciduous an aspen, an alder, a birch are most widespread.
Khara-Shibir Stolby are in authorities of winds and trees get similar to a flag, outspread forms.
Semi-goltsy shrub vegetation dominate here among which cedar elfin wood is widely widespread growing midst granite blocks on poor stoneloach-turfen organic soils.
The fauna of a ridge is omnifarious. A moose, a maral, a roe, siberian musk deer, a bear, a lynx, a fiber can be found here. And birds - a nutcracker, a woodpecker, a partridge, a wood-grouse, a cuckoo, and others.
This nature sanctuary is situated in 70 km from Ulan-Ude city.
The distance to the nearest settlement of village Shuluta is 15 kilometers.
Under certificates of many tourists, Khara-Shibir Stolby are not worse than well-known Krasnoyarsk Stolby.
