The geographical position of the Crimea. Physical geography - caucasus and crimea

Crimea today is the blessed land of the Crimean peninsula, washed by the Black and Azov seas. In the north it stretches a plain, in the south - the Crimean mountains with a necklace near the coastal strip of seaside resort cities: Yalta, Miskhor, Alupka, Simeiz, Gurzuf, Alushta, Feodosia, Evpatoria and seaports - Kerch, Sevastopol.

Crimea is located within 44 0 23 "(Cape Sarych) and 46 0 15" (Perekop ditch) of northern latitude and 32 0 30 "(Cape Karamrun) and 36 0 40" (Cape Lantern) of eastern longitude. The area of ​​the Crimean peninsula is 26.0 thousand km 2, the maximum distance from north to south is 205 km, from west to east - 325 km. A narrow eight-kilometer strip of land in the north (Perekop Isthmus) connects Crimea with the mainland, and 4-5 km - the width of the Kerch Strait in the east (the length of the strait is about 41 km) - separates it from Taman Peninsula. The total length of the borders of Crimea exceeds 2500 km (taking into account the extreme sinuosity of the coastline of the northeast). The Black Sea forms three major bays: Karkinitsky, Kalamitsky and Feodosia; The Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov also formed three bays: Kazantip, Arbat and Sivash.

Physical location

Physical and geographical position of Crimea generally differs in the following most characteristic features. Firstly, the location of the peninsula at 45 0 north latitude determines its equidistance from the equator and the North Pole, which is associated with a sufficiently large amount of incoming solar energy and a large number of hours of sunshine. Secondly, Crimea is almost an island. This is connected, on the one hand, with a large number of endemics (plant species that are not found anywhere except in this area) and endemics (similar animal species); on the other hand, this explains the significant depletion of the Crimean fauna; in addition, the climate and other natural components are significantly influenced by the marine environment. Thirdly, the position of the peninsula in relation to the general circulation of the Earth's atmosphere, which leads to the predominance of westerly winds in Crimea, is of particular importance. Crimea occupies a border position between the temperate and subtropical geographical zones.

Climate

The climate of most of the Crimea is the climate temperate zone: soft steppe - in the flat part; more humid, typical for broad-leaved forests - in the mountains. The southern coast of Crimea is characterized by a sub-Mediterranean climate of dry forests and shrubs.

Crimean peninsula provided with a large amount of heat not only in summer but also in winter. In December and January, 8-10 times more heat is received here per unit of the earth's surface per day than, for example, in St. Petersburg.

The largest number Crimea receives solar heat in summer, especially in July. Spring here is cooler than autumn. And autumn - best season of the year. The weather is calm, sunny and moderately warm. True, sharp fluctuations in pressure during the day sharply exacerbate cardiovascular diseases in people who are not quite healthy.

In the Crimea, which is well supplied with heat, the biological productivity of plants, including agricultural crops, and the resistance of landscapes to loads largely depend on the amount of moisture. And the need for water is constantly growing both among the local population and the national economy, primarily rural and resort. So the water in the Crimea is the true engine of life and culture.

A relatively small amount of precipitation, a long dry summer, and the spread of karst rocks in the mountains have led to the poverty of Crimea in surface waters. Crimea is divided into two parts: flat steppe with a very small number surface water otokok and mountain forest with a relatively dense river network. There are no big ones here. fresh lakes. There are about 50 lakes-estuaries in the seaside strip of the plain Crimea with total area 5.3 thousand sq. km.

Crimea today is the blessed land of the Crimean peninsula, washed by the Black and Azov Seas. In the north it stretches a plain, in the south - the Crimean mountains with a necklace near the coastal strip of seaside resort cities: Yalta, Miskhor, Alupka, Simeiz, Gurzuf, Alushta, Feodosia, Evpatoria and seaports - Kerch, Sevastopol.

Crimea is located within 44°23" (Cape Sarych) and 46°15" (Perekop ditch) of northern latitude, 32°30" (Cape Karamrun) and 36°40" (Cape Lantern) of eastern longitude The area of ​​the Crimean peninsula is 26.0 thousand km. the maximum distance from north to south is 205 km, from west to east - 325 km.

A narrow eight-kilometer strip of land to the north (Perekop Isthmus) connects Crimea from the mainland, and 4-5 km - the width of the Kerch Strait in the east (the length of the strait is about 41 km) - separates it from the Taman Peninsula. The total length of the borders of Crimea exceeds 2500 km (taking into account the extreme sinuosity of the coastline of the northeast). On the whole, the coasts of Crimea are little indented, the Black Sea forms three large bays: Karkinitsky, Kalamitsky and Feodosia; The Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov also formed three bays: Kazantip, Arabat and Sivash.

The physical and geographical position of the Crimea as a whole is distinguished by the following most characteristic features. Firstly, the location of the peninsula at 45° north latitude determines its equidistance from the equator and the North Pole, which is associated with a sufficiently large amount of incoming solar energy and a large number of hours of sunshine. Secondly, Crimea is almost an island. This is connected, on the one hand, with a large number of endemics (plant species that are not found anywhere except in a given area) and endemics (similar animal species); on the other hand, this explains the significant depletion of the Crimean fauna; in addition, the climate and other components of nature are significantly influenced by the marine environment. Thirdly, the position of the peninsula in relation to the general circulation of the Earth's atmosphere, which leads to the predominance of westerly winds in Crimea, is of particular importance. Crimea occupies a border position between the temperate and subtropical geographical zones.

Features of the transport and geographical position of the Crimea in the past determined the nature of the population of the peninsula and the specifics of its economy. In the Middle Ages, Crimea was a kind of dead end on the way of many nomadic tribes. Many settled here and perceived local languages, culture and religion.

The maritime environment of the Crimea determined not only the peculiarities of external economic relations, but also the development of coastal recreation. Through the Danube and Dnieper rivers, Crimea has access to the ports of the countries of Central Europe, the Baltics and Scandinavia, and through the Don and the canal system of European Russia - to the Baltic and to the White Seas, Caspian states.

A favorable feature of the economic and geographical position of Crimea is its proximity to the economically developed Kherson and Zaporozhye regions of Ukraine and the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation.

The natural museum is called the nature of the Crimea. There are few places in the world where diverse, comfortable and picturesque landscapes would be so originally combined. In many ways, they are due to the peculiarity of the geographical location, geological structure, relief, climate of the peninsula. The Crimean mountains divide the peninsula into two unequal parts. Large - northern - is located in the extreme south of the temperate zone, southern - the Crimean sub-Mediterranean - belongs to the northern outskirts of the subtropical zone.

The flora of Crimea is especially rich and interesting. Only wild-growing higher plants account for more than 65% of the flora of the entire European part of the Commonwealth countries. Along with this, about 1000 species of alien plants are cultivated here. Almost the entire flora of Crimea is concentrated in its southern mountainous part. This is truly a museum wealth of flora.

The climate of most of the Crimea is the climate of the temperate zone: mild steppe - in the flat part; more humid, typical for broad-leaved forests - in the mountains. The southern coast of Crimea is characterized by a sub-Mediterranean climate of dry forests and shrubs.

Crimea, especially its mountainous part, due to the comfortable climate, the saturation of clean air, toned with phytoncides, sea salts, and the pleasant aroma of plants, also has great healing power. The earth's interior also contains healing mud and mineral waters.

The Crimean peninsula is provided with a large amount of heat not only in summer, but also in winter. In December and January, 8-10 times more heat per unit of the earth's surface per day is received here than, for example, in St. Petersburg. Crimea receives the greatest amount of solar heat in summer, especially in July. Spring here is cooler than autumn. And autumn is the best season of the year. The weather is calm, sunny and moderately warm.

True, sharp fluctuations in pressure during the day exacerbate cardiovascular diseases in people who are not quite healthy. In the Crimea, which is well supplied with heat, the biological productivity of plants, including agricultural crops, and the resistance of landscapes to loads largely depend on the amount of moisture. And the need for water is constantly growing both among the local population and the national economy, primarily rural and resort. So the water in the Crimea is the true engine of life and culture.

A relatively small amount of atmospheric precipitation, a long dry summer, and the spread of karst rocks in the mountains have led to the poverty of Crimea in surface waters.

Crimea is divided into two parts: a flat steppe with a very small number of surface watercourses and a mountainous forest with a relatively dense river network. There are no large fresh lakes here. In the seaside strip of the flat Crimea there are about 50 lake limans with a total area of ​​5.3 thousand km2.

In Crimea, there are 1657 rivers and temporary streams with a total length of 5996 km. Of these, about 150 rivers are dwarf rivers up to 10 km long. Only the Salgir River has a length of more than 200 km. The river network is developed on the peninsula extremely unevenly.

Depending on the direction of surface water runoff, the Crimean rivers are divided into three groups: rivers of the northwestern slopes Crimean mountains, rivers of the southern coast of Crimea, rivers of the northern slopes of the Crimean mountains.

All rivers of the northwestern slopes flow almost parallel to each other. Approximately up to the middle of their course, they look like typical mountain streams. The largest of them are Alma, Kacha, Belbek and Chernaya.

The rivers of the southern coast of Crimea are short, have very steep slopes of the channels, and a stormy temper in floods.

In the west, in addition to the usually dry ravines and the Khastabash stream, the largest is the Uchan-Su river. Rapidly running to the sea, it forms waterfalls in four places. The highest and largest of them is Wuchang-Su (Flying Water).

The rivers of the northern slopes of the Crimean Mountains are distinguished by the fact that outside the mountains they deviate to the east and flow into the Sivash - the lagoon of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov. In the upper reaches of the river there is always water, and within the plains in summer their channels are often dry.

Salgir is the longest river in Crimea. Together with the Biyuk-Karasu tributary, it represents the largest in the Crimea water system. The upper reaches of the Salgir are formed from the confluence of the Angara and Kizil-Koba rivers. Near the village of Zarechnoye, a large tributary of the Ayan flows into the Salgir.

Salgir fills the large Simferopol reservoir, built in 1951-1955. Below Simferopol, the river receives right tributaries - the rivers Beshterek, Zuya, Burulcha, and 27 km from Sivash - Biyuk-Karasu. The Taigan and Belogorsk reservoirs were built on Biyuk-Karasu.

The population of Crimea is distributed unevenly across the territory. 50% of the republic's population lives on the coast. In 1991, 69% of the population lived in cities, and 31% of the population lived in rural areas. 43% of the Crimean population lives in four major cities: Sevastopol (371.4 thousand people in 1991), Simferopol (357 thousand people), Kerch (189.5 thousand people) and Evpatoria (113.3 thousand people).

Crimea is characterized by an increase in the number of cities and urban-type settlements and the relative stability of rural settlements. IN last years such cities as Sudak, Krasnoperekopsk, Armyansk, Shelkino appeared on the map of Crimea. The number of urban-type settlements is growing rapidly, more than doubling since 1959.

The main part of the Crimean population is made up of workers (about 60 percent), employees - 28, peasants - less than 11 percent.

Crimea has always been distinguished not only by a high proportion of the urban population, but also by a high level of literacy and education of the inhabitants. For every thousand inhabitants in the cities there were 900, and in the villages 730 people with higher, secondary specialized and secondary education.

The training of highly qualified specialists is carried out by 6 state higher educational institutions (Simferopol State University, Crimean Medical Institute, Crimean Agricultural Institute. Sevastopol Instrument-Making Institute, Crimean Institute of Environmental Protection and Resort Construction. Crimean State Industrial Pedagogical Institute), two branches of universities - Kiev Economic University (in Simferopol) and the Kaliningrad Fish School (in Kerch), as well as several commercial universities.

Military specialists are being trained by the military institute in Sevastopol and the civil engineering school in Simferopol.

In recent years, colleges have been established on a commercial basis. 30 secondary specialized educational institutions are engaged in the training of specialists. Vocational schools train personnel in 120 specialties.

Academic and cultural institutions operate in Crimea. In Simferopol, there is the Crimean branch of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the production association "Efirmaslo", "KrymNIIproekt", in the village of Nauchny - the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory and others.

There are several professional theaters and a philharmonic society, Art Gallery in Feodosia. A large number of newspapers are published. There are publishing houses "Tavrida", "Tavria", "Krymuchpedgiz" and others. There are a large number of museums in Crimea, many of which are connected with the fate of outstanding writers, artists, scientists who lived on the peninsula.

The economic appearance of the Crimea, the structure, the nature of the location of industries and the population evolved mainly in accordance with its natural and socio-economic conditions.

Until 1917, the republic's economy was predominantly agrarian. Gradually, it developed into an industrial-agrarian one.

Crimea stands out for its diversified agricultural and recreational economy, the production of soda ash, titanium dioxide, sulfuric acid, technological equipment for the food industry, televisions, ocean-going ships, fish and fish products. In addition to mechanical engineering, the chemical industry, agriculture and recreation, the food industry also includes the food industry, which produces grape wines, canned fruits and vegetables, and essential oils.

In the structure of industrial production, the leading place belongs to the food industry, followed by mechanical engineering and metalworking, the chemical industry, and the building materials industry.

Crimean agriculture is specialized in grain and livestock breeding, viticulture, horticulture, vegetable growing, as well as in the cultivation of essential oil crops (lavender, rose, sage). The volumes of gross output of livestock and crop production are balanced.

Maritime transport is of great importance for the republic. Through the Crimean ports, export-import transportation of various cargoes is carried out. The most important ports are Kerch, Feodosia, Yalta, Evpatoria. The largest port city is Sevastopol.

By air transport, Crimea is connected with all CIS countries and many far-abroad countries.

Recreational economy is one of the leading branches of the republic. From the Latin language, recreation is translated as “recovery”, meaning the restoration of the physical and psycho-physiological conditions of a person. The structure of the recreational economy includes: sanatoriums, boarding houses, houses and recreation centers, tourist hotels and camp sites, campsites, children's camps. The recreational economy works on beach, balneological and climatic resources, therapeutic mud, sea water, landscape resources.

The Crimean peninsula is located in the south of Russia. Latitude of southern France or northern Italy. From the east, the shores of Crimea are washed by the waters of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, and from the west and south - by the Black Sea. The Crimean peninsula is connected to the mainland only by a narrow isthmus, a maximum of eight kilometers wide. The name of the isthmus at first glance seems unexpected - Perekopsky (what did they want to dig, but did not have time?!).

Crimea also includes two peninsulas:

• Kerch, it is located in the east between the Black and Azov Seas,
• Tarkhankutsky, occupies western part Crimea.

The southern coast of the Crimean peninsula is not without reason considered the most favorable: the sea is located in the southeast, mountains protect from the winds in the northwest. This creates a velvety climate of dry subtropics.

The Crimean peninsula has borders with Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Georgia. The capital and the largest transport hub on the peninsula is the city of Simferopol. The population of Simferopol is about 400 thousand inhabitants.

Geographic characteristics

Territory - 26860 km². Length: from east to west - 360 km, from south to north - 180 km.
The southernmost part is Cape Sarych; the westernmost cape is Priboyny; cape with speaking name The lantern is in the east.

There are many seaports, the largest are Evpatoria, Feodosia, Yalta, Kerch.

The length of the coastline of the Crimean peninsula is more than 2,500 km. Of these, almost 50% falls on the Sivash Bay, 750 km - the Black Sea coast and about 500 km - the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov. The shores of the peninsula are indented by numerous bays, gulfs and coves.

The territory of Crimea is 72% plains, 20% mountains and 8% lakes and rivers.

Relief

The Crimean peninsula and in the distant years, judging by the results of the study, had favorable natural conditions. People have lived here for a very long time. Here are found monuments of the Middle Paleolithic (about 150 thousand years ago), Mesolithic, Neolithic, Eneolithic and Bronze Age.

Many Crimean local history museums store unique archaeological finds found in grottoes, caves, under rock canopies, where primitive people found a natural shelter.

Here are some natural and historical monuments of Crimea:

• burial of Neanderthals in the Kiik-Koba cave, located near the village. Zuya in the Belogorsky district,
• Wolf Grotto and Chokurcho near Simferopol,
• Starosele near Bakhchisarai,
• Ak-Kaya near Belogorsk.

In Europe, older finds are not known.

The relief of the Crimean peninsula consists of three unequal parts:

• North Crimean Plain with the Tarkhankut Upland (about 70% of the territory),
• Kerch Peninsula
• and in the south - the mountainous Crimea extends in three ridges.

The highest is the Crimean Mountains is Mount Roman-Kosh(1545 m).

Crimean mountains

Once upon a time, 200 million years ago, the waves of the primary Tethys ocean crashed in this place. Crimean and Caucasian mountains rose from it 7-8 million years ago. These mountains divided the waters of the ocean, forming the Black and Caspian Seas.

They have three main ridges, which are separated by valleys. These ridges begin in the southwest of Crimea. Here are their names:

• Main (aka South) - starts at and follows along the coast to Feodosia. It has a length of almost 180 km. It ends at Cape St. Elijah;
• The inner ridge (Middle), stretches from the Mekenziev mountains towards the Old Crimea;
• External - starts from the Kara-Tau hill, which is on the watershed of the Belbek and Kacha rivers, and follows to Simferopol.

The width of the mountain strip reaches 50 km.

The Crimean mountains are very picturesque and not like the others. They are like huge frozen waves. The main ridge to the north has gentle slopes, and to the south it breaks off with high steep walls. It has its own peculiarity - it does not have the usual peaks, but wavy upland plateaus. In Crimea, they are called yayly (translated as summer pasture).

In Alushta, the Main Ridge is divided into separate massifs bearing the names Babugan, Chatyr-Dag and Demerdzhi. The sloping Dolgorukovskaya yayla goes to the north, and the largest Karabi-yayla in terms of area goes to the east. It connects with Demerdzhinskaya only by a "bridge" in the form of the Table Mountain.

After that, the Main Ridge finally disintegrates, leaving only a few mountain ranges, peaks and volcanic massifs, of which the most interesting, unusual is Karadag.

In many places East Bank the ancient "Taurian platform" protrudes directly from the ground, forming an unusually shaped elevation with landslides, cracks, ravines. Further, to the east of Feodosia, roads and paths lead to sparsely populated land, the relief of which is called the Kerch hilltop.

To the north and north-west of the Feodosia Bay, almost the entire small Crimea was occupied by the huge, in comparison with the coastal resort strip, the Crimean steppe. So "Cimmeria" (sometimes called "Kimtavria") is a land of contrasts - mountains, coast, flat hills, steppe.

Steppe

The steppe occupies the largest part of the Crimean territory. It is the southern outskirts of the East European, or Russian, plain and slightly lowers to the north. The Kerch Peninsula is divided by the Parpach Ridge into two parts: the southwestern - flat and the northeastern - hilly, which is characterized by the alternation of ring-shaped limestone ridges, gentle depressions, mud hills and coastal lake basins.

In the flat part of the peninsula, varieties of southern and carbonate chernozems predominate, dark chestnut and meadow chestnut soils of dry forests and shrubs, as well as brown mountain-forest and mountain-meadow chernozem-like soils (on yayles) are less common.

The Crimean peninsula has vast agricultural lands. More than 52% of the territory is occupied by arable land, there are not so many orchards and vineyards - about 5%. It’s not even clear where Crimean wines appeared in our stores now! Part of the land is used for pastures. There are also forests.

Rivers and lakes

On the Crimean peninsula more 1600 rivers and temporary drains. Their total length is about 6000 kilometers. However, usually these are small streams, which dry up almost all in summer. There are only 257 rivers longer than 5 km.

The most significant of the rivers according to their geographical position are divided into several groups:

• rivers of the northern and northeastern slopes of the Crimean Mountains (Salgir, the longest river of the peninsula, - 232 km; Wet Indol - 27 km; Churuksu - 33 km, etc.);
• rivers of the northwestern slope (Chernaya - 41 km, Belbek - 63 km, Kacha - 69 km, Alma - 84 km, Western Bulganak - 52 km, etc.);
• the rivers of the southern coast of Crimea (Uchan-Su - 8.4 km, Derekoika - 12 km, Ulu-Uzen - 15 km, Demerdzhi - 14 km, Ulu-Uzen East - 16 km, etc.);
• river-beams of the flat Crimea and Kerch Peninsula.

The rivers of the northwestern slopes of the Crimean Mountains flow almost parallel to each other, until the middle of the course they are typically mountainous. The rivers of the northern slopes on the plain deviate to the east and flow into the Sivash. The short rivers of the Southern Coast flowing into the Black Sea are typically mountainous throughout their entire length. The mountain river Wuchang-Su runs down to the sea, forming waterfalls in four places.

There are also many lakes and estuaries on the territory of the peninsula - more than three hundred. Some of them are muddy. The lakes located along the coast are mostly salty. On the Tarkhankut peninsula there is a rather large freshwater Ak-Mechet lake. mountain lakes are mainly artificial reservoirs. There are more than 50 salt lakes in Crimea, the largest of them is Lake Sasyk (Kunduk) - 205 sq. km.

Weather in Crimea

The natural conditions of the Crimean peninsula are very extraordinary. This amazing edge endowed with both fertile lands and magnificent sea ​​coast, and majestic, unique in their beauty, mountain ranges. The Crimean peninsula has a mild climate throughout the peninsula.

Geographical position Crimea.
The Crimean peninsula is located in the extreme south of the European part of Russia and stretches from north to south for 195 km, from west to east - for 325 km. The area of ​​Crimea is 26 thousand square meters. km, population 1 million 600 thousand people.
The sea surrounds the peninsula from all sides, and only in the north is the narrow (up to 8 km) Perekop Isthmus connecting it with the mainland. From the west and south, Crimea is washed by the Black Sea, from the east by the Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait.
The Crimean region was formed in June 1945. In February 1954, it became part of Ukraine. In 2014 Russian Federation. The administrative center of the region is the city of Simferopol. The administrative map of Russia shows the borders of the Crimean region, settlements, communication routes.

Geological past of the Crimea.
The geological map and the geological profile introduce the geological past of the Crimea and its constituent rocks. In the geological periods of the sea, remote from us for millions of years, replacing each other, then covered, then exposed the territory of the present Crimea. Distribution is mainly connected with their existence. rocks in Crimea.
IN local history museum Crimea you can see sandstones, shales, limestones and other rocks. There is also a collection of fossils and prints of the inhabitants of the ancient seas: mollusks and fish, cetacean animal citoterium prescum, sea ​​turtle and etc.
During millions of years of the Tertiary period in Central and Southern Europe it was warm and humid, and mastodons, hipparions, and antelopes lived here. The glaciation that occurred in the Quaternary period changed the landscape, flora and fauna.
The glacier did not reach the Crimea, but the climate here was very severe. At that time, mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, giant and reindeer, cave bear, cave hyena were found in the Crimea.

Minerals in the Crimea.
About 200 deposits of various minerals, which are widely used in the national economy, have been discovered and studied in the Crimea. Kerch iron ores are of the most important industrial importance. Ores occur close to the surface and are mined in an open way, in quarries. Crimea is rich in chemical raw materials - salts of chlorine, sodium, potassium, bromine, magnesium, which are found in huge quantities in Sivash brine and numerous salt lakes. Gypsum, table salt, magnesium chloride, etc. are obtained from brine. The use of these salts opens up great prospects for the development of the chemical industry.
A variety of building materials are mined on the territory of Crimea. Some of them are very important and almost never found elsewhere in Russia. Diorite and andesite are used in road construction, for lining monuments and large buildings, and ground trass is added to cement to improve its properties. Marble-like limestones are used in the construction industry, are used in metallurgical plants as a flux.
Some Crimean minerals - rock crystal, chalcedony, carnelian, jasper are used as ornamental stones and are valued for their rich colorful range. Crimea is rich in resources mineral waters from hydrogen sulfide sources to Narzan and Borjomi.

The relief of the Crimea.
According to the nature of the surface, Crimea is divided into two parts: steppe and mountainous. In the north and in the central Crimea, a calm undulating plain extends. The steppe occupies about 2/3 of the entire area of ​​the peninsula. In the west, it gradually passes into the ridges and uplands of Tarkhankut. An interesting feature of the eastern part - the slightly hilly Kerch Peninsula - are mud volcanoes, which have nothing to do with volcanism and spewing cold mud, and troughs - bowl-shaped depressions filled with iron ore. In the southern part of Crimea there are mountains consisting of three parallel ridges separated by narrow valleys. The mountains stretch from the southwest to the northeast, bending in a weak arc to the north - their length is 150 km, their width is 50 km. The most significant peak of the Crimean Mountains - Roman-Kosh (1545), is located in the Main (southern) ridge, in the Babugan mountain range. The uplands of the Main Ridge consist of undulating plateau-yayl (pastures) - Ai-Petrinskaya, Nikitskaya, Karabi, etc. In the east of Crimea, the Kara-Dag mountain group closes the main ridge, interesting monument volcanic activity of the Jurassic geological era. The main ridge is largely composed of limestone, which, being exposed to atmospheric and groundwater, gives vivid manifestations karst processes(karst failures, cavities and caves).

Flora of Crimea.
The flora of the Crimea is very rich, it is represented by more than two thousand plant species. The distribution of vegetation depends on the climate, topography and soils of the peninsula.
On the plain from north to south, zones of salt-tolerant vegetation inherent in the saline soils of the Sivash region (soleros, sarsazan, kermek and others), sagebrush and sagebrush-fescue steppes replace each other. Further to the south lie the feather grass steppes, and in the foothills there are also shrubby forb steppes with thyme (thyme), rocky alfalfa, and Tauric asphodelina. Currently, the virgin lands are plowed up. The third mountain range (foothill zone) is occupied by the forest-steppe, where groves of low oaks, maples, ash trees, as well as thickets of blackthorn, hawthorn, dog rose, and skumpii are especially common. The slopes of the mountains of the middle and main ridges are covered with oak, beech and pine forests. Yayla are treeless, covered with herbaceous vegetation. Lonely pines and beeches are bizarrely twisted by the wind and give the landscape a peculiar harsh flavor. Big interest represents the flora of the southern slope of the Main Ridge. The natural vegetation here is predominantly forest: pine, juniper, fluffy oak and Mediterranean species: pistachio, strawberry, yellow jasmine. But the typical landscape of the South Shore is created by decorative garden and park vegetation. As a result of human creativity, exotic plants have become a permanent element of the landscape: Himalayan and Lebanese cedars, cypresses, magnolias, sequoias, ivy, Chinese wisteria. There are also endemic (inherent only in this area) plants in Crimea: Steven's maple (in the forests of the northern slope of the mountains), Biberstein's sapling ("Crimean edel-weiss", on high plateaus and yayla), Stankevich's pine, on seaside rocks from Balaklava to the cape Aya and near Sudak).

Crimean climate.
The Crimean peninsula lies on the southern border of the temperate zone. The climate of Crimea is distinguished by some features associated with its geographical location: great softness and humidity, significant sunshine. But the variety of relief, the influence of the sea and mountains create great differences in the climate of the steppe, mountainous and southern coastal parts of the peninsula. In the steppe Crimea hot summers and comparatively warm winter(July temperature 23-24°, February temperature 0.5-2°), annual precipitation is low. The mountainous Crimea is distinguished by more significant precipitation, less hot summers.
The southern coast gives the most favorable combination of climatic factors: mild winters, sunny hot summers ( average temperature February in Yalta 3.5 °, July 24 °), summer breezes that moderate the heat, fresh breath of forests and parks. The climatic conditions of the Evpatoria region and the southeastern coast (Feodosia, Sudak, Planerskoye), as well as the mountainous Crimea (Stary Krym), are favorable.

Waters in the Crimea.
The waters of Crimea are divided into surface (rivers, streams, lakes) and underground (ground, artesian, karst). Rivers originate in main ridge Crimean mountains, they are short, shallow and are characterized by a large uneven flow (they overflow in spring and into showers and dry up in summer). The most significant river is the Salgir (length 232 km). The water problem in Crimea is solved by the construction of artificial reservoirs and canals (reservoirs on Alma, Kacha, Salgir, Simferopol reservoir, which can hold up to 36 million cubic meters of water). Reservoirs are being built on the river. Belbek and laid through the main mountain range a tunnel about 7 km long to drain Belbek to Yalta.
The waters of the North Crimean Canal will water and irrigate the most arid regions of the Crimean steppe from Perekop to Kerch. The construction of this canal will make it possible to increase the yields of corn, wheat, rye, and tobacco, and to more intensively develop highly productive animal husbandry. The industrial centers and villages of the Crimea will be supplied with excellent Dnieper water.

Soils of the Crimea.
The nature of soils depends on soil-forming rocks, topography, climate, plant and animal organisms. The variety of physical and geographical conditions has created a very heterogeneous composition of soils in the regions. The predominant type are southern chernozems and dark chestnut soils, occupying central part steppe Crimea.
The soils of the foothill, mountainous Crimea and the Southern coast are varieties of chernozems: carbonate chernozems, brown mountain-forest soils, mountain-meadow subalpine chernozems, brown soils of forests and shrubs of the Southern coast. On these soils, tobacco, vegetables, ethereal plants, grapes, stone fruits, ornamental trees and shrubs are well cultivated. The main place in agriculture in the steppe Crimea belongs to grain crops, and of them - wheat and corn. In modern conditions, the progressive role of the tilled farming system, which significantly increases grain yields, is especially important.

Black Sea.
The Black Sea belongs to the so-called inland seas, since it is not directly connected to the ocean. In terms of its hydrobiological and hydrophysical properties, the Black Sea stands out sharply from other marine water bodies. Its feature is a sharp fluctuation in surface water temperatures (from one to twenty-eight degrees). The salinity of the Black Sea due to desalination by the waters of the Danube, Dniester and other rivers is relatively low: in the upper layers it is 17-18% (in 1 l - i 17-18 g of salt), at a depth it increases significantly, since the deep Bosphorus current brings masses of more salt water from the Sea of ​​Marmara. The greatest depth of the Black Sea is determined at 2243 m. Oxygen is contained in the upper horizons, “and at a depth of 200 m and below, oxygen disappears and saturation with hydrogen sulfide increases.
The Black Sea is a source of fish wealth. The history of the formation of the Black Sea basin has several tens of millions of years, during which its outlines and hydrological regime have repeatedly changed. That is why the composition of its animal world is diverse. In the Black Sea, three groups of fish are distinguished: relict (residual, these include herring, sturgeon fish, many types of gobies), freshwater - in estuaries and estuaries (perch, perch, ram), Mediterranean invaders (anchovy, sprat, mullet, horse mackerel , mackerel, bonito, tuna and others, in total over 100 species of fish). Tuna is the largest commercial fish, its length can reach three meters, and its weight is five hundred kilograms.

Animal world of Crimea.
The fauna of the Crimea is distinguished by a number of features and has the so-called island character. Many species of animals that live in the territories close to the Crimea are absent in Crimea, but endemic (local) forms of animals are found, the appearance of which is associated with a peculiar geological history of the peninsula (the geological age of the mountainous Crimea is older than the steppe part of the peninsula, and its fauna was formed much earlier and under other conditions). The steppe Crimea belongs to the European-Siberian zoogeographic subregion, and the mountainous one to the Mediterranean. On the territory of the peninsula, these subregions border along the line of foothills.
Crimean scorpion (poisonous), found in rock crevices on the southern coast, Crimean gecko, Crimean owl, black and long-tailed tit, goldfinch, linnet, mountain bunting and some others. The Mediterranean forms of animals are distinguished: phalanx, scolopendra, leopard snake, yellow belly (legless lizard, very useful, as it destroys harmful rodents). In the same showcase there is a rock lizard, a water snake, a marsh turtle; of amphibians, the crested newt, found in small mountain reservoirs, tree frog - an inhabitant of tree plantations near fresh water, as well as shrews, water shrews, bats, a protected beech forest with protected animals: Crimean deer, roe deer and mouflon. For many centuries the Crimean forests and animals were mercilessly exterminated. Only after the Great October Socialist Revolution was an end put to the predatory extermination of the forests and animals of the Crimea.
For the protection of nature and its restoration in the central mountainous part of the Crimea in 1923 was created State Reserve, reorganized in 1957 into the Crimean state reserve and hunting economy. The flora and fauna of the Crimean mountains on the territory of the economy has been largely restored. Many birds fly by Crimea on the way to warm countries: snail, golden plover, harshnep, white heron, kite, night heron, golden eagle and others. These birds rest in the Crimea before their flight across the Black Sea, the birds that fly to the Crimea for wintering: tap dances, bullfinches, waxwings, siskins, bramblings, larks, Siberian buzzard and others.

Physically and geographically, the territory of the Crimean peninsula is clearly divided into two parts. Plain Crimea - part of the East European Plain - according to landscape-geographical zoning constitutes a separate Crimean Territory, which belongs to the South-steppe subzone of the steppe zone. The climate here is steppe, moderately arid, and the amount of annual precipitation increases in the direction from Sivash to the Crimean mountains.

The Crimean mountains, in contrast to the flat Crimea, are part of the sub-Mediterranean mountain belt. The climate there, especially on the south-macroslope, has noticeable features of the Mediterranean, and the vegetation is also Mediterranean (more precisely, sub-Mediterranean, where there are almost no evergreen trees characteristic of the Mediterranean), as somewhat depleted.

The peninsula is separated from mainland Ukraine by a system of shallow, highly saline bays - the Sivash (Rotten Sea). However, even in the ancient times of Sivash in modern form didn't exist. In the western part there were freshwater reservoirs (Lake Buk of ancient sources), the banks of which were covered with forest. The fact that there are quite large forest areas, at least to the north of Sivash, is confirmed by archeological data, according to which settlements of ancient metallurgists were located here in the era of the late and final Bronze Age. The latter, as you know, sought to settle near forests, requiring a large amount of charcoal. But they imported ore.

In the eastern part of modern Sivash, there was a bay of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov (Meotian Lake). According to geomorphologists, Arabat Spit in ancient times, and later, did not yet exist, but archaeologists discovered the remains of ancient settlements on the arrow, which makes us more cautious about paleogeographic reconstructions of this part of Sivash.

As the areas of forests were destroyed, the openness of the peninsula to penetration from the north gradually increased, and the salinization of local water bodies also salted the soils, resulting in the depopulation of the local steppe and meadow vegetation. Some geographers even consider the Sivash region as a semi-desert zone, although, unlike real semi-deserts, the nature of the local vegetation is determined not by climatic, but by edaphic (ground) factors.

In addition to the Sivash-Crimean lowland region, three more regions are distinguished as part of the Crimean steppe region: the Central Crimean highland, the Tarkhankut highland and the Kerch hilly-ridged one.

The steppes of the central Crimea in terms of vegetation composition are generally similar to the steppes of the Black Sea lowland. In the north of the region, mainly cereal steppes are distributed, in the south, closer to the foothills, mixed herbs and cereals are richer in composition of vegetation. This area is quite favorable for the development of a nomadic economy. And indeed, nomads and alcoholics lived here almost from the very beginning of the nomadic society and until its death. And only occasionally and mainly on the periphery of the region did farmers settle. The most famous area where farmers settled for a long time was the Saki-Evpatoria coast. However, the lack of natural boundaries that could protect against the invasion of nomads led to the fact that agricultural settlements were destroyed over and over again, and the traditions of a settled economy were interrupted.

Much less favorable for nomads were the regions of the Tarkhankut and Kerch peninsulas. The Tarkhankut Peninsula, located in the north-west of Crimea, has a rather mosaic relief: the plain here is dissected by numerous beams and hollows, with limestone outcrops. The vegetation of the region also has its own specifics: petrophytic (stony) steppes and vegetation of carbonate deposits are common here. The vegetation contains many Mediterranean plants. There is every reason to believe that in ancient times, tree-shrub vegetation was widespread in local ravines, later almost completely reduced by man (its remains still exist in the Bolshoy Kastel gully). Unlike Central Crimea, where nomadic cattle breeding completely dominated for thousands of years, agricultural settlements arose on the Tarkhankut Peninsula in ancient times: Greek - on the coast and Scythian - in the depths of the peninsula. However, here, too, the agricultural tradition was interrupted from time to time under the pressure of the nomads.

The most separated and the most landscape-specific steppe region is the Kerch hilly-Pasmovoy region. Here are combined landscape complexes, characteristic of the Sivash region, Tarkhankut and the foothills of the Crimean mountains, there are also mud hills. It was the geographical isolation of the region that contributed to the long-term establishment of agricultural civilizations here. Traditions of agriculture were brought mainly from the Mediterranean - from ancient Greece to late medieval Italy. Many settled here and nomads. It is worth noting that, in contrast to Western Crimea Despite numerous attacks by nomads, agricultural traditions on the Kerch Peninsula never completely disappeared. At the same time, it should be emphasized that local soils, among which a large percentage are saline, are not so favorable for agriculture. Fertile lands are located mainly in small areas: in the northern part of the coast of the Kerch Strait, in the Crimean Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, in the Bagerovo Valley, and the like.

If the steppe Crimea, at least in its central part, played the role of a kind of corridor that connected the peninsula with the mainland, and how new and new peoples came to Crimea, then the mountainous Crimea always played the role of a kind of refuge. Here, tribes and peoples could hide from enemies and preserve, at least temporarily, their culture and ethnic identity. Suffice it to recall the ethnic group of the Crimean Goths, who came to the mountainous Crimea during the Great Migration of Peoples, in the middle of the 3rd century. BC, and were able to maintain their language and culture until the 16th century.

At the bottom facing Steppe Crimea On the northern macroslope of the Crimean Mountains there is a belt of forest-steppe. Here alternate (or alternated in the past) sections oak forests(from downy oak) and real (and not meadow, as in the flat Ukrainian forest-steppe) steppes. Above, in the middle zone, forests grew: oak (from sessile oak), ash and hornbeam, in the upper zone maple forests are added to them. On plateau-like peak surfaces - yayla - there is a belt of alpine meadows and mountain steppes.

Here, on the north macroslope, where steppe and forest areas were combined, processes of settling on the land of nomads regularly took place - from the Scythians to the Crimean Tatars. It was here that the first purely local state arose (unlike the policies of the Greek colonists, they brought their statehood from the metropolis) - the Late Scythian kingdom. Here was the center of the Crimean yurt, then - the Crimean Khanate; the capitals of these states were located here - Scythian Naples on the outskirts of modern Simferopol, Solkhat (Old Crimea), Kirk'er (Chufut-Kale) and Bakhchisaray. The inhabitants of the northern foothills gradually moved south, assimilating their predecessors. So, the late Scythians assimilated the Taurians, and the Crimean Tatars - ready.

The southern coast of the Crimean Mountains is located in the sub-Mediterranean climate zone with mild winters and hot summers. In the lower belt, in the past, forests of fluffy oak and pistachio, typical of sub-Mediterranean areas, as well as light forests of high juniper and Stankevich pine, prevailed. Now this vegetation is largely destroyed by man. Above grew oak and pine forests (of sessile oak and Crimean pine), and in the upper belt - pine and beech forests.

The southern slopes of the Crimean Mountains are quite plentiful, the soils here are rocky, the coastal strip is not wide (the only exception is the Sudak Valley). All these factors in the past did not contribute to the socio-economic development of this region. Neither the Greeks, nor the Byzantines or the Genoese paid much attention to the development of the southern coast of Crimea, except that they founded fortified points with ship moorings for the normal passage of ships along the coast from Chersonesos, Kherson or Cembalo in the direction of the Feodosia Gulf and the Kerch Peninsula. The only exception, of course, was the Sudak Valley, which began to be settled back in ancient times and where one of the most important cities of the Crimea of ​​the Middle and Early Modern Ages arose.

We can state that, despite their not very big sizes, The Crimean peninsula has a complex and variegated landscape structure. As a result of the historical development of its individual parts, it had quite significant differences, and ethnic composition has always been pretty slick.

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