For many years, I have not been able to get used to this place, so that it does not cause goosebumps and take my breath away from the power of vertical layered walls!
These are Opoki, which translates as rocks. It is all located on the banks of the Sukhona River in the village of Porog, Velikoustyugsky district, Vologda region.

![image.png](https://images.hive.blog/DQmc1yEhqLvXNG1W54dv1PD89NDbqMPekEEjbLZBgPa9pQD/image.png)

Rocks of the Permian period are exposed here – mainly limestones and clays.
https://sun9-51.userapi.com/impg/IMTjmdBtIo0z8V5qgcSr2GGn1oQd3I3bFJfV9w/FnSNsBpUKA4.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=74848acb2b706e80e100f03a914a1fdc&type=album

I have been here many times in winter and summer, spring and autumn, but absolutely every time this place is a delight.
https://sun9-74.userapi.com/impg/vdbIUnJlKo2khp2q0BhUwo9eRU8xDrUYNvAlNw/bBdg7Irp58I.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=c6ae09e17e545d3b8463b71c77f2219b&type=album

I even spent the night under the layered banks a couple of times and even tried to ride along the shore on a bicycle.
https://sun9-72.userapi.com/impg/MJOdU-T8jP-oFEWT9wHvMxWyvfa_LXYbLXssHw/ASVO0ovLvbo.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=23e5242104830ca57acc598d20b0d378&type=album

Lots of stories, gigabytes of pictures, all the places have been passed more than a dozen times and still pulls here.
https://sun9-18.userapi.com/impg/ZvQD6IDLq04MtKFnGEdi4TPI3KVu3qw4R8JYSg/x4KLSpkVeIQ.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=21e126e184edc51d1beedd92373961b1&type=album

It's not every day you see a riverbank the height of a ten-story house!
https://sun9-28.userapi.com/impg/aPvQJlL7_i2Nz93NGR6K0BgA2rTRNLkSuIOPQg/ia8Hv4UrdiU.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=80a0feeea87f467b1ddebb1ad2228986&type=album

From a distance, the height of the shore does not seem so huge, but this is because there is nothing to compare it with.
https://sun9-50.userapi.com/impg/Nj3igF7R8fLjMos24JUJ20PeE0Wkx6AdVdjAdg/ER_oZK18huw.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=ebe358688128672c7408822d04a4f4e7&type=album

Although it can be estimated by the pines and fir trees standing at the top.
https://sun9-72.userapi.com/impg/MJOdU-T8jP-oFEWT9wHvMxWyvfa_LXYbLXssHw/ASVO0ovLvbo.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=23e5242104830ca57acc598d20b0d378&type=album

Officially, the height of the shores ranges from 40 to 60 meters. 
https://sun9-54.userapi.com/impg/heofaXznPWerIB5q1Yegf3YZ88LCBsq3X3QeBw/LSJQQVTouP4.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=e72c323ca215f9358fcc3e4b96c85555&type=album

And the steepness of the "walls" reaches 70 degrees.
https://sun9-64.userapi.com/impg/3vLjEd2cIKLV8JPocnrDlt-epZpCHItGW4vSjQ/be00Pxu-ifY.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=debd13f47caf5f1047bace786f85151e&type=album

But nothing has power over water!
https://sun9-39.userapi.com/impg/K67ZIrhWVVBGROZZCu8li3eFWtjfIuAUr-L--w/dY2teb6233s.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=3f40a98e3dec59da48670a6b9598b23a&type=album

Small streams have been cutting through multimillion-dollar rocks for centuries and creating gorges.
https://sun9-49.userapi.com/impg/d17ARJPTmmS_Ri8TYwfEjMqdvb8OtIWvpEh_lw/a8cZ_SLBwi0.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=df12258bbfce9e297f2a05051e6de974&type=album

The walls of the shores look like brickwork up close, and in places like layers of tiles.
https://sun9-25.userapi.com/impg/4ZtBsrXv43CcqH77xMci_F8T3hzd4IXPu79tAw/oO2hwe_BmVg.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=32e83e55aac9f0d04e8bad672b250ae9&type=album

It all looks massive, but it's very fragile – just touch it with your finger and everything crumbles.
https://sun9-11.userapi.com/impg/sRFLOhpT-Id9FjNCfzZN-xMsz5ZEMXG_ykelFw/2_nKkUh0184.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=4317442f29e6b5db4553b7aa8e704c93&type=album

And if you pick up a bigger brick, then the fun can turn into a dangerous activity: a bigger piece will break off and you will fly down with it to the rest of the bricks lying below. But about the danger a little later.
https://sun9-40.userapi.com/impg/KDPJItVZ0uHSQbWLzwsNEKga6CJuvrRW5mp2iw/8DNMxKH7jd0.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=73d8320e4f18c1f5fcc387cf73f66e28&type=album

Forest rivers and streams have many rapids and waterfalls before merging with Sukhona.
https://sun9-52.userapi.com/impg/7TMUfmtxdAgRjNkLYaAUQiLIGaqE7EQkVUdcQg/LqsMhwW9dzg.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=09cafcd9a6260b2ee2bf095c161e6c61&type=album

I wonder how many hundreds of years these shores will be cut by gorges?
https://sun9-4.userapi.com/impg/M-1MMhDK4nrgowE4ZSMdEhu0vQGsTQhCqg4Jfg/VYRIEsSqlpk.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=d7eb5cc00bb785587322d88fddb9fa2f&type=album

They say water sharpens a stone...and such a fragile rock as clay with limestone, which break in the hands, will be turned out very quickly!
https://sun9-7.userapi.com/impg/JRKTRXFeEiipgqHOx1fiQiHdICJOhgQvasoQqQ/qTaDg7Th_Vw.jpg?size=2560x1707&quality=95&sign=99ba26b28b1fb9d178fef2b24a51b66c&type=album

To be continued...