Bol Shaya Martynovka

Bolshaya Martynovka stands beside the Sal River, a tributary of the Don crossing the dry steppe. The settlement is recorded in 1772 under the name Gorodishchenskaya, also called Martynovka, and was established at an older settlement site. Its river valley offered a place for homes and fields amid the broad grasslands east of the Don. The Sal carried the waters of the steppe westwards, joining the larger river system that led towards the Sea of Azov.