Verkhnyaya Pyshma
Encyclopedia
Verkhnyaya Pyshma is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Urals Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg formerly known as Sverdlovsk. Population: -Geography:...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, situated 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...

. Population: Postal code
Postal code
A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. Once postal codes were introduced, other applications became possible.In February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union had postal code systems...

: 624080. International dialing code: +7 (34368).

History

It was founded in 1660 as the village (selo) of Pyshminskoye, which was named after the Pyshma River
Pyshma River
Pyshma is a river in Sverdlovsk and Tyumen Oblasts of Russia. It is a tributary of the Tura, and is 603 km long, with a drainage basin of 19 700 km²....

. A copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 mine opened here in 1856. Town status was granted to it in 1946.

Administrative and municipal status

Administratively, along with the town of Sredneuralsk
Sredneuralsk
Sredneuralsk is a town under the administrative jurisdiction of the Town of Verkhnyaya Pyshma in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the shore of Iset Lake, at the head of the Iset River, north of Yekaterinburg...

 and twenty-seven rural localities, the town is incorporated as the Town
City of federal subject significance
City of federal subject significance is an umbrella term used to refer to a type of an administrative division of a federal subject of Russia which is equal in status to a district but is organized around a large city; occasionally with surrounding rural territories.According to the 1993...

 of Verkhnyaya Pyshma
—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts
Administrative divisions of Sverdlovsk Oblast
*Towns under the federal government management:**Novouralsk ***with 1 selsovet under the town's jurisdiction.**Lesnoy ***Urban-type settlements under the town's jurisdiction and the federal government management:...

.

Municipally, Verkhnyaya Pyshma and twenty-four rural localities are incorporated as Verkhnyaya Pyshma Urban Okrug. The town of Sredneuralsk, along with three other rural localities, is independently incorporated as Sredneuralsk Urban Okrug.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the town is a gryphon holding gold "mirror of Venus".
The gryphon is the guard of riches and also the symbol of strength of mind.
The "mirror of Venus" is the sign of copper, which is being mined in the region.

Ecology and health issues

In late July 2007, the town was hit by an outburst of atypical pneumonia, with 200 infected and 170 death cases. According to the official information, the infection was caused by Legionella pneumophila
Legionella pneumophila
Legionella pneumophila is a thin, ærobic, pleomorphic, flagellated, non-spore forming, Gram-negative bacterium of the genus Legionella. L. pneumophila is the primary human pathogenic bacterium in this group and is the causative agent of legionellosis or Legionnaires' disease.-Characterization:L...

 virus, which spread through the water supply network
Water supply network
A water supply system or water supply network is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components which provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes:# A drainage basin ;...

. However, there was much speculation that biological warfare (similarly to Sverdlovsk anthrax leak
Sverdlovsk anthrax leak
The Sverdlovsk anthrax leak is an incident when spores of anthrax were accidentally released from a military facility in the city of Sverdlovsk 1450 km east of Moscow on April 2, 1979. This accident is sometimes called "biological Chernobyl"...

in 1979), or the pollution from chemical industry, is responsible for the infection.

External links

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