Everything you need to know about the Crimean peninsula. Geography of Crimea

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Crimean peninsula Lesson of physical geography in the 8th grade Geography teacher of the highest qualification category MSOSh No. 1 g.o. Teikovo, Ivanovo region Yakovleva M.Yu.

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The Crimean peninsula is located in the south of Ukraine between 33-37°E. d., 44-46° N. sh. The surface area of ​​the peninsula is about 27 thousand km², of which 72% are plains, 20% are mountains and 8% are lakes and other water bodies. It is washed in the west and south by the Black Sea and in the east by the Sea of ​​Azov. In the north, it connects with the continent by a narrow (up to 8 km) Perekop Isthmus. In the east of Crimea, between the Black and Azov Seas, is the Kerch Peninsula, in the west, the tapering part of Crimea forms the Tarkhankut Peninsula. The extreme northern point of Crimea is located on the Perekop Isthmus, the extreme southern one is Cape Sarych, the extreme western one is Cape Kara-Mrun (Priboyny) on Tarkhankut, the extreme eastern one is Cape Lantern on the Kerch Peninsula. The distance from the extreme northern point to the extreme southern point is 200 km, from the extreme western to the extreme eastern - 325 km. The total length of land and sea borders is more than 2500 km. A small land border of Crimea with the Kherson region of Ukraine runs along the Perekop isthmus. In addition, the republic has maritime borders with Russia (Krasnodar Territory), Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia. 1.FGP

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According to the relief, the Crimean peninsula is divided into three unequal parts: the flat Crimea, the Kerch Peninsula with a peculiar ridge-wavy-flat surface and the mountainous Crimea. This division is primarily due to the unequal structure of the earth's crust, the history of formation and the composition of the rocks of the regions. 2. Relief

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Crimean mountains Ayu-Dag (Bear Mountain) Bear Mountain or Ayu-Dag (Ukrainian Ayu-Dag, Crimean Tatar. Ayuv Dağ) is a mountain on the southern coast of Crimea, located on the border of Greater Alushta and Greater Yalta. The height of the Bear Mountain is 577 meters above sea level, the mountain range is slightly elongated in the north-west direction by 2400 meters, protrudes into the sea for 2-2.5 kilometers. The total area is about 4 square kilometers. Since 1947, the Ayu-Dag complex, which includes the Bear Mountain, has been declared a natural monument. Geological origin Bear Mountain is a classic laccolith, that is, a "failed" volcano. It was formed about 150 million years ago in the Middle Jurassic geological era as a result of the introduction of magma into the faults of the earth's crust. The Ayu-Dag complex is an array of homogeneous gabbrodiabases alternating in places with horizons of hornfelses and hornfelsed rocks. To date, 18 minerals have been discovered at Ayu-Dag.

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The highest point of Crimea - Mount Roman-Kosh. Babugan-Yayla is the highest massif of the Crimean mountains. The highest point of Babugan-Yaila is Mount Roman-Kosh, height - 1545 m., at the same time it is the highest point of Crimea. Roman-Kosh is located on the territory of the Crimean Natural Reserve, it resembles a hill.

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Plain Crimea Plain Crimea is located within the Scythian platform, formed by Paleozoic rocks strongly folded into folds (Fig. 2). They are covered in the form of a cover by sedimentary deposits of the Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene and Anthropogenic systems, relatively little crumpled into folds (Table 1). The Paleozoic basement of the platform is located in different parts of the plain at different depths. It is fragmented by tectonic faults into large blocks that are displaced relative to each other. So, the Simferopol-Evpatoria block, located in the middle part of the peninsula, is elevated relative to other blocks so high that it is opened with boreholes at a depth of several hundred to 1600 m. The blocks that form the foundation of the Alma depression in the southwest (Fig. 2) and the Sivash in the north of Crimea, deeply submerged. Even deeper, apparently at 5-7 km, the foundation of the northern part of the Kerch Peninsula, located within the Indolo-Kuban foothill trough, was lowered. Thus, under the cover of the Cretaceous and Cenozoic age of sedimentary rocks that form the modern almost flat plain of Crimea, there are Paleozoic folded-block mountains, which exceed the height difference of the current ridges of the Greater Caucasus. Yellow-brown loess-like loams, widespread in the Crimean plains, covering the older landforms like a cloak, additionally give them soft outlines. (

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The Kerch Peninsula The ridged-undulating-plain Kerch Peninsula is associated, on the one hand, with the mountainous Crimea, which is closely located with a complex structure, and on the other hand, with folded mountains Greater Caucasus. Within its limits there is also a part of the Indolo-Kuban foothill trough common to the mountains of the Crimea and the Caucasus, which is part of the Scythian platform (Fig. 2). In this regard, according to the nature of the relief and geological structure, the Kerch Peninsula is divided into two parts. The southwestern part, which corresponds to the submerged part of the Crimean meganticlinorium, is composed of Maikop clays crumpled into folds. They form a slightly undulating plain. The northeastern, large part of the peninsula has a finely dissected relief. It is formed by various rocks of numerous small short anticlinal and synclinal folds of elliptical outlines. The edges of the folds are composed of Miocene layered limestones, marls, sandstones, and mound-forming hard bryozoan reef limestones. The cores of the folds consist mainly of Maikop and Sarmatian clays. The erosion of these pliable clays resulted in the formation of anticline basins with ring-shaped ridges of harder rocks (Fig. 3). Iron ore deposits and loess-like loams have accumulated in many synclinal folds. Original forms form hills of mud volcanoes

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3. Minerals The minerals of the Crimea are closely connected with the history of its geological development, and distribution - with the structure of the peninsula. At present, minerals available in the Crimea are usually divided into three main groups: metal (ore), which are used for smelting metals; non-metallic (non-metallic), often used in raw form (building stones, clays, sands, salts, etc.); combustible, (oil, natural gases, coal) 1 Iron ores (Iron ores of the Kerch iron ore basin, which is part of the huge Azov-Black Sea iron ore province. The chemical composition of the Kerch ores is quite diverse. In addition to iron and manganese, they contain vanadium, phosphorus, sulfur, calcium , arsenic, and a number of other elements.In the process of metallurgical processing, vanadium, which is rare in nature, can be extracted from ores.)

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2 Non-metallic minerals: various types of limestone. Marble limestone is used in road construction as a concrete aggregate. Polished slabs of them are used for interior decoration of buildings, and multi-colored crumbs are used for mosaic products. Limestones often have a delicate reddish or creamy color with a beautiful pattern along the cracks of white calcite. The original contours of shells of mollusks give them a special color, coral-limestones stretch in a discontinuous strip from Balaklava to Feodosia, forming the upper horizons. The main ridge of the Crimean mountains. They are mined near Balaklava, the village of Gaspra, the village of Marble, as well as on Mount Agarmysh (near the Old Crimea). Bryozoan limestones consist of skeletons of the smallest colonial marine organisms - bryozoans that lived here at the very end of the Cretaceous period. These limestones are known in the Crimea under the name of the Inkerman or Bodrak stone. They are easily sawn, and in terms of strength they are close to red brick. They are used for the manufacture of wall blocks, facing slabs, architectural details. Most of the houses in Sevastopol were built from them, many buildings in Simferopol and in other settlements Crimea and beyond. Deposits of bryozoan limestones are concentrated in the Inner ridge of the foothills in the area from the city of Inkerman to the river Alma.

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3 Mineral salts of the Sivash and salt lakes are an important raw material base for the country's chemical industry. Thanks to favorable natural conditions in the lagoon of the Sea of ​​Azov, in Sivash and in salt lakes, a concentrated brine is formed - brine. The salt content in it reaches 12-15%, and in some places even 25%. The average salinity of ocean waters (for comparison) is about 3.5%. Scientists have found that at least 44 chemical elements can currently be extracted from the waters of the seas and oceans. The brine contains the greatest amount of salts of sodium, magnesium, bromine, potassium, calcium, etc. The salt resources of the Crimea have been used since time immemorial.

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4. Combustible minerals Oil outcrops in the Crimea have long been known on the Kerch Peninsula. The first wells were drilled here in the 60s of the XIX century. Limited volumes of oil were obtained mainly from the Chokrak and Karagan deposits of the Neogene period. Systematic exploration for oil began here in the first half of the 20th century. Of all the wells drilled for oil, associated natural gas usually also came.

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4.Climate The climate of most of the Crimea can be described as a climate temperate zone- soft steppe in the flat part, more humid, characteristic of broad-leaved forests - in the mountains. The southern coast of Crimea is characterized by a sub-Mediterranean climate of dry forests and shrubs. Due to the complex structure of the relief and the peculiarities of the atmospheric circulation, they are distributed very unevenly over the territory of Crimea - from 250 mm per year in the steppe to 1000 mm or more in the mountains. Most of the peninsula is characterized by insufficient moisture, where precipitation is 100-150 mm less, than even in central regions steppes. A decrease in precipitation on the coast is observed primarily in spring and summer due to the fact that the relatively cold sea surface prevents the development of convection (vertical air movement). Month G. Simferopol January -0.7 July +21.1 Annual amplitude +21.8

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During the year, winds of the northeast, southwest and northwest directions prevail in Crimea. During these winds, the air temperature is usually lower by 8-10 ° than with winds of other directions. In cases where the north east winds accompanied by the invasion of the Arctic air, severe cooling sets in in the Crimea. Breezes Breezes blow during the day from the sea to the land (sea breezes), at night, on the contrary, from land to the sea (coastal breezes). Most often (17-18 days per month) breezes blow in July and August. In the evening, during the period between the change of direction of the breezes, a complete lull often sets in, lasting for 2-3 hours. This is the best time for evening walks. The speed of these winds does not exceed 6-7 m/s during the day and 5 m/s at night. Only in Evpatoria and Kerch the speed of the sea breeze sometimes reaches 9 m/s. Sea breezes spread deep into the Crimean plains by 20-30 km, and deep into the South Coast - by 2-4 km. On hot days, sea breezes sometimes lower the air temperature on the coast by more than 15-16°C compared to the temperature 10 km from the coast. Mountain-valley winds Mountain-valley winds, like breezes, blow up during the day and down the valley at night. On the South Coast, breezes are superimposed on the mountain-valley winds. The speeds of mountain-valley winds during the day are within 3-7 m/s, and at night - only 1-2 m/s. The streams of the mountain-valley cool air saturated with phytoncides in the forests in summer have an extremely beneficial effect on humans. Föhn In the Crimean mountains in winter or spring, in some years, a warm and dry wind föhn forms. The relative humidity of the air with it sometimes drops to only 8%. Hair dryers usually last from several hours to 2-3 days. They are especially frequent in Simeiz.

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ADVERSE CLIMATE EVENTS Storms strong winds, or storms (more than 15 m/s), are repeated an unequal number of times in different regions of the Crimea. During the year in the foothills they usually last 10-17 days, on the South Coast - 20-24, on west coast-up to 40, in the central steppe regions - 12-28, and on the peaks - 80-85 days. Hurricanes Hurricanes (winds over 34 m/s) are formidable natural phenomena. In Crimea, they usually occur during prolonged storm winds. northeast direction, less often during southwestern storms. Such winds uproot trees, rip off poorly reinforced roofs, cut off power lines, and so on. In addition to the winds of the general circulation of the atmosphere, local winds are also observed in the Crimea: breezes, mountain-valley and foehns. Dust storms Dust storms sometimes occur in the steppe Crimea. They occur during dry and windy weather in almost all months of the year. They worsen the sanitary and hygienic situation in settlements, damage crops of economic crops, carry away the upper part of the arable horizon from the fields and cover gardens, vineyards, forest belts, etc.

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5. Internal waters All Crimean rivers belong to the basin Atlantic Ocean. In Crimea, there are 1657 rivers and temporary streams with a total length of 5996 km. Of these, about 150 rivers. These are mainly 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 division of the Crimean rivers into three groups is accepted: the rivers of the northwestern slopes of the Crimean mountains, the rivers of the southern coast of Crimea, the rivers of the northern slopes of the Crimean mountains

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Rivers of the northwestern slopes of the Crimean Mountains All rivers of the northwestern slopes of the Crimean Mountains flow almost parallel to each other. Approximately up to the middle of their course, they look like typical mountain streams. In places where the limestone rocks of the Inner and Outer cuesta ridges of the foothills break through, they form canyon-like gorges. The main territory of their food is located on the limestone slopes of the Main Mountain Range at an altitude of 1300 - 1400m. The largest rivers of this group are Alma, Kacha, Belbek and Chernaya. Alma is the longest Crimean river after the Salgir (Table 2.5). The river valley, on average, downstream has long been famous for its orchards. The source of the river is located in the Central Basin on the territory of the Crimean mountain reserve. Partizanskoye and Alma reservoirs were created on Alma. Kacha is shorter, but more full-flowing than Alma. It is formed from the confluence of the rivers - Biyuk-Uzen and Pisara. The forested watersheds of these rivers are one of the most beautiful corners of the mountainous Crimea. Zagorsk and Bakhchisaray reservoirs were built on Kacha. Belbek - the most abounding river Crimea. It is formed from the confluence of two rivers - Biyuk-Uzen-Basha and Managotra. Below, the Kokkozka tributary flows into Belbek on the left, which in turn is formed from the confluence of the rivers - Sary-Uzen and Auzun-Uzen, originating in the picturesque grand canyon Crimea. In the upper reaches of the Belbek, a large hydraulic structure was created. On the tributary of the Managotra, the Schastlivenskoe reservoir was built, the water of which, together with the waters of Kuchuk-Uzen-Bash and Biyuk-Uzenbash intercepted by special structures, is directed to a tunnel (more than seven kilometers long) punched into the South Coast at the base of the Yalta mountain range. Chernaya is the second river in Crimea after Belbek in terms of water consumption (Table 2.5). It begins in the Baydarskaya Valley, where many turbulent rivers run down from the surrounding mountains. In the center Baidarskaya valley there is a large Chernorechenskoye reservoir. Below the Chernaya River flows in an amazingly beautiful canyon about 16 km long. Escaping from it, the river forms a wide Inkerman valley, the lower reaches of which are flooded by the sea. Here, two large tributaries flow into the Chernaya - the Ai-Todorka and the Dry River.

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Rivers of the South Coast of Crimea The rivers of the South Coast of Crimea are short, have very steep slopes of channels, a stormy temper during floods at relatively low water flow rates (Table 2.5). In the west, in addition to the usually dry ravines and the Khastabash stream, the largest is the Uchan-Su river. Wuchang - Su (Waterfall), rapidly running to the sea, forms waterfalls in four places. The highest and largest of them is Wuchang-Su (Flying Water). The water of the river, directed through pipes, feeds the Mogabinsky reservoir (volume 300 thousand m³). Derekoika (Fast) is the most abundant river in the South Coast. It cuts through the picturesque Uch-Kosh gorge, visible from Yalta, in the Yaylin limestones. Within the city limits, it is called Derekoika. Ulu-Uzen is formed from the rivers Sofu-Uzen, originating on the southern slope of Chatyrdag, and Uzen-Bash, flowing down from Babugan-yayla. Uzen-Bash in the picturesque gorge of Yaman-Dere falls down like a cascade of waterfalls. The largest of them is called the Golovkinsky waterfall. On Ulu-Uzen in the Alushta region, the Izobilnensky reservoir was created. Demerdzhi is one of the shallow rivers of the South Coast. The main food is from the springs of the southeastern part of Chatyrdag and the western part of the Demerdzhi massif. Eastern Ulu-Uzen begins in the deep Khapkhal gorge, cut into the Tyrke massif. The river flows into the Black Sea at the village of Solnechnogorsk. The river bed in the upper reaches descends in huge steps formed by strong carbonate sandstones, which are interbedded with thin layers of clay shales. The relatively powerful Dzhur-Dzhur (Noisy) waterfall is especially picturesque here. Water, rushing down from a height of almost 15 m, crashes with a roar at the foot of a limestone ledge. In addition to the listed rivers, there are many smaller rivulets within the South Coast: At-Bash, Abunda, Uskut, Shelen, Voron, etc. Most of them are very similar to those described above. The main features of the rivers Uskuta, Shelena, Vorona and its tributary Ai-Serez is that in the past they were relatively often flooded with mudflows, which brought great harm to the economy. The danger of their descent remains to this day.

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The rivers of the northern slopes of the Crimean Mountains The rivers of the northern slopes of the Crimean Mountains differ from the rivers of other groups in that they deviate to the east outside the mountains 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, the channels are often dry in summer. Salgir is the most long river Crimea. Together with the Biyuk-Karasu tributary, it represents the largest water system in the Crimea. The upper reaches of the Salgir are formed from the confluence of the Angara and Kizil-Koba rivers. Angara originates on the slopes of Chatyrdag at the Angarsk pass, and Kizil-Koba - at the famous Red Caves (Kizil-Koba). Near the village of Zarechnoye, a large tributary of the Ayan flows into the Salgir. In front of the administrative center of Crimea, Salgir fills the large Simferopol reservoir, built in 1951-1955. Before its construction, destructive floods often swept through the Salgir valley in the city. Within the city limits, Small Salgir flows into Salgir on the right. 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 (Table 2.6). Wet Indol (Su-Indol) begins in the eastern part of the mountainous Crimea, where there are no powerful karst sources. On the right, near the village of Grushevka, a tributary of Sala flows into the river. Nevertheless, Indole remains low in water. Chorokh-Su (Churuk-Su) is already almost completely a steppe river. Its source is formed by the Starokrymskaya and Monastyrskaya beams. The river is partly fed by the karst waters of the Agarmysh massif. The Old Crimean Reservoir was built on it. Common to many rivers of the mountainous Crimea is their mudflow hazard due primarily to deforestation in the past and plowing of the slopes of their watersheds.

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Beams of the flat Crimea Beams of the plain Crimea are formed by melt and storm waters that briefly rush through them. Large of them look like real river valleys and therefore they are often called dry rivers. Chatyrlyk is the main dry river of Crimea; in length it is second only to Salgir. Through an extensive network of its "tributaries" - side beams - water flows from the entire central part of the plain Crimea. Now dams have been built in the mouth part of the dry river. In the created ponds with an area of ​​more than 2000 hectares, fish are bred. The densest network of gullies and dry rivers is on the Tarkhankut Upland Plain. The deepest - Big Kastel - in the extreme west of the peninsula. In 1969 it was declared a natural monument. A number of dry rivers and beams flow into the Sivash: Pobednaya, Mironovskaya, Istochnaya, Stalnaya, Zelenaya, etc. Hydrological map of the Kerch Peninsula The beams of the Kerch Peninsula are longer in its northern and northeastern parts. The longest of them are Samarli (51 km), Ali-Bay, Saraiminskaya and others. With a significant degree of conventionality, only one river can be named here - Melek - Cheshme, in the valley of which the hero city of Kerch is located. The river only has water for a few months of the year. For domestic and economic purposes, it is important to have information not only about the average water content and the distribution of rivers and temporary streams in the Crimea, but also about how their state changes over time, that is, their hydrological regime. It is known that the natural regimes of rivers are determined by landscape, primarily climatic conditions of runoff formation in their watersheds. In turn, these regimes are modified as a result of economic activity in watersheds and the operation of hydraulic structures on the rivers themselves.

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Groundwater Water resources are distinguished by the degree of suitability for their use. The highest class includes groundwater of the upper aquifers. There is less risk of contamination with sewage, domestic and industrial waste. Less valuable are water resources surface runoff. The Crimean peninsula is relatively poor in fresh underground waters, nevertheless they are of great importance in the national economy of the region. Accumulation of groundwater occurs by seepage (infiltration) of precipitation that has fallen over a given surface, or as a result of inflow from already formed groundwater, or penetration into permeable rock layers of surface runoff in river channels (influence). Less common is the fourth way of the formation of such water - its condensation in the voids of rocks. As seen in fig. 4, in the south of the peninsula there are folded-block mountains. In the foothills there are ridges and inter-ridge depressions, consisting of rocks, the layers of which, gradually sinking, form the upper floor of the flat platform part of the Crimea. It falls a lot in the mountains more precipitation than in the flat Crimea, and evaporation, on the contrary, is less. Therefore, runoff is formed in the mountains, in the foothills (primarily within the Outer Ridge) - the penetration of water into permeable rock layers, and in the flat Crimea - the accumulation of groundwater. In this regard, the rivers in the foothills in places where their channels cross layers of fractured limestones lose a lot of water, as a result of which they become relatively shallow within the Crimean plains.

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Lakes of Crimea Lakes Water level, m Area of ​​the lake basin, km² Maximum depth, m Drainage area, km² Salinity, % Saki -2.1 9.7 1.52 209 10.5 Sasyk-Sivash -0.6 75.3 1 ,2 1064 7.7 Moinak -0.25 1.76 0.85 30.6 12.5 Kizil-Yar -0.6 8.0 0.30 328 6.4 Donuzlav -0.4 48.2 27 1288 7.1 Liman (Karadzha) -0.4 1.36 2.05 66.6 2.4 Dzharylgach -0.5 8.3 1.25 286 9.2 Bakalskoye -0.8 7.1 0.9 257 5.65 Algul -3.2 37.5 0.3 213 5.3 Kerleut -3.9 20.8 0.6 101 24.7 Kiyat -4.0 12.5 0.4 68.4 21.6 Red -2.6 23.4 1.0 66.4 24.0 Genicheskoe -1.5 9.2 0.6 19.2 Chokrakskoe 0.2 8.5 1.3 74.0 27.4 Tobechikskoe 0, 2 18.7 0.5 189 3.5 Uzunlar 0.1 21.2 0.1 259 26.4

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Natural zones of Crimea Steppes are common only in the flat part of the peninsula and on the Kerch Peninsula. In the south of Crimea, in the foothills, oak forest-steppe dominates with the participation of Mediterranean plant species, especially in its western part. On the northern and upper parts of the southern macroslopes of the Main Mountain Range, broad-leaved forests of temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere are mainly distributed, mountain steppes and meadows on the yayla, and dry juniper-oak forests and Mediterranean-type shrubbery on the southern coast. In the system of botanical and geographical zoning, the territory of Crimea is usually divided into two unequal parts and referred to completely different large areas: its steppe part is included in the Eurasian steppe region (in the so-called Pontic province), and the mountainous part is included in the Mediterranean region (Euxine province).

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Soils of the Crimea Plain Crimea is located in the subzone of sod-cereal dry steppes with southern chernozems and dark chestnut soils. In the mountainous Crimea, on the northern and upper parts of the southern macroslope of the Main Mountain Range, as well as on other southern mountains - the Carpathians, the Caucasus, brown mountain forest soils are common, and on the top part (yayla) - mountain-steppe and mountain-meadow chernozem-like soils. The southern coast and partly the southwestern part of the Crimea are characterized by brown soils formed under sub-Mediterranean dry forests and shrubs. In Crimea, the following soil groups are distinguished: southern, ordinary, foothill chernozems; meadow-chernozem; chestnut; meadow chestnut; salt licks; salt marshes; meadow; meadow-marsh; sod-carbonate; brown mountain forest; mountain meadows; mountain meadow-steppe chernozem-like; brown

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b) Plants The vegetation of typical, or real, steppes is dominated by communities in which mainly turf grasses take part (feather grass, or feather grass; hairy feather grass, or tyrsa; fescue, or steppe fescue; thin-legged, or steppe cleria; wheatgrass ), rhizomatous grasses (coastal grains) and early and narrow-leaved sedges. A subordinate role is played by the species of the so-called forbs. These are species of sage, clover, spring adonis, etc. In the short wet spring period, many perennial ephemeroid grasses grow (species of tulips, goose onions, viviparous bluegrass, steppe iris, or iris) and annual ephemers (types of bonfires, barley, beetroot, etc. ). In drier habitats, semi-shrubs are not uncommon, mainly Crimean wormwood, prutnyak, thyme species and shrubs - steppe almond, or leguminous, soleros

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Plants of the mountains Oak, beech, maple, elm, hawthorn, euonymus, blackthorn, pistachios, communities include low-growing juniper, common almond, ash, Crimean pine. pear, and from the shrubs that form the second tier - derzhiderevo, less often sumac, skumpia, cistus, walnut. almond pistachio

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Mountain plants Crimean pine beech Oak

Svyatoslav and Vladimir created the Tmutarakan principality on the territory of Taman and the Kerch Peninsula. Tmutarakan arose on the site of the Khazar settlement of Tamatarhi. Korchevo became a significant city during this period. Since that time, the Slavs began to gradually settle in the Crimea.

However, the Kyiv princes, directing forces and energy to unite the Slavic lands of the Dnieper region and fight against the nomads, gradually lost their positions in Taurica. If under Vladimir the Red Sun Crimea, according to Karl Marx, belonged to Rus', then in the XII century. most of peninsula became Polovtsian (Kipchak). The name of the Kipchaks in the XIX century. worn by 23 Crimean villages. The name of the mountain Ayu-Dag (Bear Mountain) is attributed by many researchers to the Polovtsians. From there - the famous Artek (on behalf of Artyk or Artuk - the son of the Polovtsian Khan).

After the weakening of Byzantium in its former Crimean possessions, the Gotalans (Crimean Goths) founded the Orthodox Christian principality of Theodoro with its capital in the largest "cave city" of the city of Mangup.

The first Turkish landing in Sudak dates back to 1222, which defeated the Russian-Polovtsian army. Literally the next year, the Tatar-Mongols of Jebe invade Crimea. They destroyed Sudak, which at that time was the richest of shopping centers Crimea, and in 1239 the Crimea was completely conquered by the Mongol troops under the leadership of Batu Khan and became part of the Golden Horde. The Polovtsy, who lived on the territory of the peninsula, were destroyed; those who survived subsequently joined the Crimean Tatar people.

During this period, a Turkic-speaking ethnic community developed on the peninsula, which became the core of the future Crimean Khanate - the Crimean Tatars. Many peoples participated in the formation of the ethnos: Scythians, Sarmatians, Goths, Huns, Avars, Seljuks, who came from Asia Minor, and others. They were united by a nomadic lifestyle and type of management. The Crimean Tatars emerged after the peninsula was annexed to the Golden Horde as a new ulus. At the beginning of the 14th century, the Crimean Tatars converted to Islam.

At the head of the Crimean ulus, which occupied the steppe part of the peninsula, was the governor of the great Khan of the Golden Horde. The city became the capital of the ulus Crimea (translated from Mongolian as "strengthening") in the valley of the river Churuk-Su, commercial and administrative center. It was this city that gave its name to the entire peninsula.

The steppe Crimea becomes the possession of the Golden Horde - the ulus of Jochi. administrative center peninsula becomes the city of Crimea. The situation of the conquered peoples of the peninsula became extremely difficult. The Golden Horde conquerors overlaid them with an exorbitantly heavy tribute - yasak, exported slaves and sold them to other countries.

The first coins issued in the Crimea by Khan Mengu-Timur date back to 1267. Thanks to the flourishing of the Genoese trade and the nearby Kafa, Crimea quickly turns into a major trade and craft center. Karasubazar becomes another large city of the Crimean ulus. In the 13th century, significant Islamization of the formerly Christian Crimea took place.

A mosque was built in the brilliant and multilingual Solkhat (Old Crimea), and by the middle of the century Solkhat had become political center and the focus of oriental culture on the peninsula. Here was the headquarters of the governor of the Golden Horde Khan, from here came the spread of Islam among the Tatars in the Crimea. After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the remnants of the Tatar-Mongols in the Crimea were influenced by Turkic speech and were Turkified. Then Mangup was the capital of the largest state of medieval Taurica - the Principality of Theodoro.

In the 13th century (1270), part of the Crimean territories was acquired by the Genoese (Gazaria, Kaffa). Almost the entire coast of Crimea was part of the Genoese colonies; they owned Sudak (Soldaya), as well as Cherkio (Kerch). The Genoese possessions were united in the so-called "captainship of Gothia" - a military-administrative institution headed by the consul of Kaffa, appointed from Genoa. Kaffa (Feodosia) became the main city and the main port of the Genoese. Their garrisons stood in Balaklava, Gurzuf, Alushta, Sudak. In the middle of the XIV century they settled in the immediate vicinity of Kherson - in the Bay of Symbols, having founded the fortress of Chembalo (Balaklava) there. The ruins of the Genoese fortresses in these cities remind us of this page in the history of the peninsula.

In the 14th-15th centuries, the Genoese waged a struggle with the Principality of Theodoro for lands on the southern coast of Crimea. During this period, Armenians and Circassians appeared on the peninsula.

By this time, the Polovtsian language was already widespread in the Crimea, as evidenced by the Codex Cumanicus. In 1367, Crimea was subordinate to Mamai, whose power also relied on the Genoese colonies. In 1380, Mamai was defeated in a battle with the army of Dmitry Donskoy, and power in the Horde passed to Tokhtamysh, who appointed a governor in the Crimea and concluded an agreement with the Genoese consul in Cafe. Under this agreement, the Tatars returned the territories in the Sudak region, taken by Mamai (the so-called “captainship of Gothia”), and the Genoese in the Cafe promised to be loyal to the Khan.

In 1395 Tokhtamysh was defeated by Timur. Then he ruined the Golden Ora, destroyed its capital Saray, and in the Crimea, which had previously been the personal possession of Tokhtamysh, he approved Khan Tashtimur, but already in 1396 Tokhtamysh regained the peninsula. In 1397, the Lithuanian prince Vitovt invaded the Crimea and reached Kaffa. After the pogrom of Yedigei, Chersonesus turns into ruins (1399).

From that moment on, the Crimean beys become powerful enough to show independence in the Horde.

In the 15th century, the Golden Horde broke up into several independent political communities. In 1438, the Nogai, who led a nomadic lifestyle and maintained relative independence, and the Crimean Khanate separated from it.

The collapse of the Golden Horde in 1441 allowed the Ottoman Empire to seize the Crimea, defeat the eternal enemies of the Genoese, and make the Crimean Khanate its protectorate. At this point, Crimea was divided between the steppe Crimean Khanate, the mountain principality of Theodoro and the Genoese colonies on the southern coast. The capital of the Principality of Theodoro was Mangup - one of the largest fortresses of the medieval Crimea (90 hectares), which, if necessary, took under the protection of significant masses of the population.

In July 1475, Mangup was besieged by the Ottoman Turks. The well-fortified city was able to hold out in the siege for only three days and surrendered to the mercy of the winner. Bursting into the city, the Turks exterminated almost all the inhabitants, looted and burned Mangup. On the lands of the principality, a Turkish kadylyk (district) was formed. Mangup was located on the top of the mountain of the same name in the Bakhchisarai region. In addition to the citadel, battle cave casemates, remnants of powerful defensive walls and towers, the prince's palace, residential estates, and a large temple have been preserved on the site. This is a grandiose monument.

Capturing coastal fortresses one by one, the Turks put an end to Genoese rule in the Crimea. Decent resistance was met by the Turkish army at the walls of the capital Theodoro. Capturing the city after a six-month siege, they ravaged it, killed the inhabitants or took them into slavery. The Crimean Khan became a vassal of the Turkish Sultan.

For the next three centuries, the Black Sea became the Turkish "inland lake".

Mengli-Girey became the khan, who in 1478 recognized the supreme power of the Turkish sultan on the following conditions: only a representative of the Girey family could become a khan; the khan had the right to appoint officials, but he could not start a war and conclude peace himself, the sultan appointed the highest clergy; the sultan could send the khan and his army to war, providing maintenance; the khan kept a personal guard, the sultan kept his garrison in Evpatoria.

The Genoese colonies and the principality of Theodoro disappeared from the map of the peninsula, and a Turkish military-administrative body, the sanjak, was formed on their territory. The sanjak was ruled by a Turkish pasha, who had a residence in Kef - the current Feodosia.

Captured in the XV century. Taurica, the Turks, with the help of Italian specialists, created a powerful Or-Kapa fortress at Perekop. Since that time, the Perekop shaft had a second name - Turkish. From the end of the XV century. Turks and Tatars in the Crimea are gradually moving from nomadic forms of economy to settled agriculture.

From the end of the 15th century, the Crimean Khanate made constant raids on the Russian state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Commonwealth. The main purpose of the raids is the capture of slaves and their resale in Turkish markets. The total number of slaves who passed through the Crimean markets is estimated at three million people. The main population during this period consists of settled Tatars.

It took several centuries to eliminate this center of captivity for Russians, Ukrainians, Poles and Lithuanians.

The main occupation of the Crimean Tatars (as they began to be called much later) in the south was horticulture, viticulture, and tobacco growing. In the steppe regions of the Crimea, they had especially developed animal husbandry, primarily the breeding of sheep and horses, and leather production.

The relations of the Crimean Khanate with the Russian state were contradictory: the Crimean Tatars often raided Russian lands, but in the fight against the Great Horde, the Moscow prince and the Crimean Khan acted as allies. In 1462, Grand Duke Ivan III Vasilyevich and the Crimean Khan Hadji Giray exchanged letters of commendation. In 1485 and 1487, Ivan III sent troops to participate in the struggle of the Crimean Khan against the Horde. In 1502, Mengli Giray defeated the Horde, which then ceased to exist.

The Crimean Khanate constantly experienced internal strife in the course of the struggle for power. Throughout the existence of the khanate, there was a constant struggle for power between the clans of Shirin and Mansur. At the same time, relations with Ottoman Turkey remained unstable.
In 1532, Sahib Giray I came to power, who ruled until 1550 and carried out a number of reforms during this time.
In the 1550s, the Crimean khans fought with Ivan IV for the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates. Devlet Girey I made several trips to Rus', in 1571-1572 he reached Moscow and burned it down.

Back in 1475, Gyozlev was built (the Tatar name is Kezlev, then Evpatoria). He became the only seaport through which the Crimean Khanate traded on the Black Sea. Sahib Giray contributed to the development of the city. Later, Khan Gazi-Girey II moved there with his court, and in 1591 set off from there on a campaign against Moscow. The defense of Moscow was led by Boris Godunov. The city was ready for an attack, and the Khan's campaign ended in failure.
In the 17th century, differences in the life of the steppe and mountain-coastal Tatars took shape: the raids involved mainly steppe dwellers and Crimean Nogais. Military booty (in particular, the slave trade) was for them the most important source of enrichment. Mountain-coastal Tatars were more engaged in agriculture.
The southern coast of Crimea, the Kerch Peninsula, the northern slopes of the Crimean mountains from Inkerman to Feodosia were the possessions of the Turkish Sultan.
In 1641 Mohammed Giray IV became khan. He moved the capital and the mint from Gyozlev to Bakhchisarai, where he built a palace. Bakhchisaray became a cultural, administrative and political center for the mountain Tatars. Here lived the nobility, which was guided by Turkey.
In 1648, Bogdan Khmelnitsky appeared in the Crimea with a proposal to conclude an alliance of the Cossacks and Tatars against the Poles. Islam Giray III and Bohdan Khmelnitsky organized a number of campaigns against Polish lands. But a few years later, Bogdan Khmelnitsky handed over the Zaporozhian Sich to Russia, thereby putting the Crimean Khanate in a difficult political situation: after the annexation of Ukraine, the Russian borders were moved far to the south.

Now the khans began to draw closer to the Commonwealth and concluded an agreement on mutual assistance with it. But in the 1660s, the situation changed: Poland wanted to recapture the Ottoman Transdanubian possessions, Russia sought to conquer the Crimea. Periods of hostility gave way to truces. In 1681 Türkiye and Russia concluded a truce in Bakhchisarai for 20 years. The agreement contained a condition that the Cossacks would not oppose Russia on the side of the Tatars. Nevertheless, Russia was still going to fight against Turkey and Crimea. Russia, Poland and Austria entered into an alliance, in 1686 Russia undertook to break the Bakhchisakhari peace treaty. In fact, Russia for the first time openly declared its intentions to conquer the Crimea. In 1687, the army of Prince V.V. Golitsyn moved to the Crimea, but the campaign ended in failure.
The policy of the Russian Empire in relation to the Crimea was dictated by reasons of both a strategic and socio-economic nature: Russia sought to free itself from the constant threat of Tatar raids, gain access to the Black Sea, strengthen its position in the confrontation with Turkey (including in the Caucasus and in Transcaucasia), to seize convenient trading ports, expand trade relations and seize new markets.
The Azov campaigns of Peter I (1695-1696), which did not solve the Black Sea problem, once again emphasized the importance of the Crimean direction. The capture of the Crimean peninsula became one of the most important foreign policy tasks of the Russian Empire in the 18th century.

During the Russian-Turkish war (1735-1739), the Russian Dnieper army, numbering 62 thousand people and under the command of Field Marshal Burchard Christopher Munnich, stormed the Ottoman fortifications near Perekop on May 20, 1736, crossed Sivash, and occupied Bakhchisarai on June 17. The Crimea was completely conquered, but the lack of food and the outbreak of the epidemic forced the Russians to leave the Crimea.
In July 1737, an army led by Field Marshal Peter Lassi invaded the Crimea, inflicting a number of defeats on the army of the Crimean Khan and capturing Karasubazar. But she was soon forced to leave the Crimea due to lack of supplies.
In 1769, the Crimean Khan Kaplan Giray raided the southern regions of Russia. The attack was repulsed. This was the last raid of the Crimean Tatars in the history of relations between Russia and Crimea. After several important victories won by the Russian troops, the entire territory between the Dniester and the Danube was cleared of the Turks. Successfully for Russia were hostilities at sea (including the famous Chesme battle of 1770).

Despite the attempts of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire to prevent the Russian colonization of the Northern Black Sea region armed force, it actually began even before the army of General-in-Chief V. M. Dolgorukov captured the Crimea in 1771, for which he subsequently received a sword with diamonds from Empress Catherine II, diamonds for the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the title of Crimean. Prince Dolgorukov forced the Crimean Khan Selim to flee to Turkey and installed in his place a supporter of Russia, Khan Sahib II Giray, who signed an alliance agreement with Russia, having received the promise of Russian military and financial assistance.
The Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 (under the command of Count P.A. Rumyantsev) put an end to Ottoman domination over the Crimea, and according to the Kyuchuk-Kaynarji peace treaty of 1774, the Ottomans officially renounced their claims to the peninsula. The fortresses of Kerch and Yenikale retreated to Russia, blocking the exit from the Azov to the Black Sea. The Kerch Strait became Russian, which was of great importance for the southern trade of Russia. The Crimean Khanate was declared independent from Turkey. The former Ottoman possessions on the peninsula (Southern and South-Eastern Crimea) passed to the Crimean Khanate. The historical task of Russia's access to the Black Sea was half solved.

It took, however, a lot of time, money and efforts (both military and diplomatic) before Turkey came to terms with the withdrawal of the Crimea and the Northern Black Sea coast from its influence. The Turkish sultan, being the Supreme Caliph, kept in his hands the religious power and the right to approve new khans, which left him the possibility of real pressure on the Crimean Khanate. As a result, the Crimean nobility was divided into two groups - Russian and Turkish orientation, clashes between which reached real battles, and the attempts of the newly established khans to establish themselves on the Crimean throne led to the intervention of Russian troops on the side of Russian proteges.
Having achieved the declaration of independence of the Crimea, Catherine II did not give up the idea of ​​joining it to Russia. This was required by the vital interests of Russia, for the Crimea was of great military-political and economic importance for the Russian state. Without Crimea, it was impossible to have free access to the Black Sea. But Sultan Turkey, in turn, did not think of abandoning the Tauride Peninsula. She resorted to various tricks to restore her influence and dominance in the Crimea. Thus, despite the presence of the Kyuchuk-Kaynardzhi peace treaty, the struggle between Russia and Turkey over the Crimea did not weaken.

The last Crimean Khan was Shahin Giray, who received the throne in 1777 thanks to Russian support. Having studied in Thessaloniki and Venice, who knew several languages, Shahin Giray ruled, ignoring the national Tatar customs, tried to carry out reforms in the state and reorganize administration according to the European model, equalize the rights of the Muslim and non-Muslim population of Crimea, and soon turned into a traitor for his people and an apostate.
In March 1778, Alexander Suvorov was appointed commander of the Russian troops of the Crimea and Kuban, who radically strengthened the defense of the peninsula from the Turkish attack and forced the Turkish fleet to leave the Crimean waters.
In 1778, Suvorov, at the direction of Prince Potemkin, who at that time held the post of vicegerent (governor-general) of the Novorossiysk, Azov, Astrakhan and Saratov provinces, facilitated the transition to Russian citizenship and the resettlement of the Christian population of Crimea (Armenians, Greeks, Volokhov, Georgians) to new the lands of the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov and the mouth of the Don (the project was originally proposed to Catherine II in March 1778 by Field Marshal Count Rumyantsev). On the one hand, this was due to the need to accelerate the settlement of the fertile lands of the Northern Black Sea region (primarily the lands of the liquidated Zaporizhzhya Sich, which were deserted due to the departure of part of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks across the Danube and the eviction of the rest to the Kuban). On the other hand, the withdrawal of the Armenians and Greeks from the Crimea was aimed at the economic weakening of the Crimean Khanate and strengthening its dependence on Russia.

Suvorov's actions provoked the fury of Shahin Giray and the local Tatar nobility, since with the departure of the economically active part of the population, the treasury lost significant sources of income. As compensation "for the loss of subjects", the khan, his brothers, beys and murzas were paid 100 thousand rubles from the Russian treasury. From May to September 1778, 31 thousand people were resettled from the Crimea to the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov and Novorossia. The Greeks, who inhabited mainly the western and southern coasts of Crimea, were settled by Suvorov on the northern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov, where they founded the city of Mariupol and 20 villages. The Armenians, who inhabited mainly the eastern and southeastern regions of Crimea (Feodosia, Stary Krym, Surkhat, etc.), were settled in the lower reaches of the Don, near the fortress of Dmitry Rostov, where they founded the city of Nakhichevan-on-Don and 5 villages around him (on the site of modern Rostov-on-Don). With the exodus of Christians, the khanate was bled and ruined.
March 10, 1779 Russia and Turkey signed the Aynaly-Kavak Convention, according to which Russia was to withdraw its troops from the Crimean peninsula and, like Turkey, not interfere in the internal affairs of the khanate. Turkey recognized Shahin Giray as the Crimean Khan, confirmed the independence of the Crimea and the right of free passage through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles for Russian merchant ships. Russian troops, leaving a six thousandth garrison in Kerch and Yenikal, left the Crimea and Kuban in mid-June 1779.

In the autumn of 1781 another uprising, provoked by Turkey, took place in the Crimea. In the summer of 1782, Catherine II instructed Prince Potemkin to send Russian troops to help the deposed Khan Shahin Giray, while risking an open conflict with Turkey. In September, with the help of Russian troops, Khan Shahin Giray regained the throne.
The remaining, however, threat from Turkey (for which the Crimea was a possible springboard in the event of an attack on Russia) forced the construction of powerful fortified lines on the southern borders of the country and diverted forces and means from the economic development of the border provinces. Potemkin, as the governor of these regions, seeing the complexity and instability of the political situation in the Crimea, came to the final conclusion about the need to annex it to Russia, which would complete the territorial expansion of the empire to the south to the natural borders and create a single economic region - the Northern Black Sea region. In December 1782, returning from Kherson, Potemkin turned to Catherine II with a memorandum in which he expressed his point of view in detail.

The basis for the implementation of this plan, which lay in line with the so-called Greek project, which provided for the restoration of the Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople and a Russian protege on the throne, was prepared by all of Potemkin's previous work on the settlement of Novorossia, the construction of fortresses and economic development. It was he, therefore, who played the main and decisive role in the annexation of the peninsula to Russia.
On December 14, 1782, the Empress sent Potemkin a "most secret" rescript, in which she announced her will to "appropriate the peninsula." In the spring of 1783, it was decided that Potemkin would go south and personally supervise the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to Russia. On April 8 (21), the Empress signed the manifesto "On the Acceptance of the Crimean Peninsula, Taman Island and the entire Kuban side under the Russian state", on which she worked together with Potemkin. This document was to be kept secret until the annexation of the khanate became a fait accompli. On the same day, Potemkin went south, but on the way he received unexpected news about the renunciation of Shahin Giray from the Khanate. The reason for this was the open hatred of the subjects regarding the reforms and policies of Shahin Giray, the actual financial bankruptcy of the state, mutual distrust and misunderstanding with the Russian authorities.
At the end of February 1783, the last Crimean khan from the Girey family - Shagin-Girey - signed his abdication and left Bakhchisarai. A significant part of the Muslim population emigrated to Turkey.

Believing that the greatest difficulties could arise in the Kuban, Potemkin gave orders to Alexander Suvorov and his relative P. S. Potemkin to push troops to the right bank of the Kuban. Having received the orders of the prince, Suvorov occupied the fortifications of the former Kuban line with troops and began to prepare to swear in the Nogais on the day appointed by Potemkin - June 28, the day of Catherine II's accession to the throne. At the same time, the commander of the Caucasian Corps, PS Potemkin, was to take the oath in the upper reaches of the Kuban.
Russian troops under the command of Lieutenant-General Count De Balmain were also introduced into the territory of Crimea. In June 1783, in Karasubazar, Prince Potemkin took an oath of allegiance to Russia to the Crimean nobility and representatives of all segments of the Crimean population. The Crimean Khanate ceased to exist, but its elite (over 300 clans) joined the Russian nobility and took part in the local self-government of the newly created Tauride region.
By order of Catherine II, urgent measures were taken to select a harbor for the future Black Sea Fleet on the southwestern coast. Captain II rank I. M. Bersenev on the frigate "Cautious" recommended using the bay near the village of Akhtiar, not far from the ruins of Chersonesus-Tauride. Catherine II, by her decree of February 10, 1784, ordered to establish here "a military port with an admiralty, a shipyard, a fortress and make it a military city." At the beginning of 1784, a port-fortress was laid, which Catherine II gave the name of Sevastopol.
At first, the arrangement of the Russian Crimea was in charge of Prince Potemkin, who received the title of "Taurian".

The highest ranks and titles of the Russian state began to come to Crimea to rest and live: Potemkin, Vorontsov, Yusupov, Alexander III and many others. We all know the magnificence of Livadia, Vorontsovsky, Massandra and dozens of other palaces and temples built by them.
In 1783, the population of Crimea numbered 60,000 people, who were mainly engaged in cattle breeding (Crimean Tatars). At the same time, under Russian jurisdiction, the Russian, as well as the Greek population from among retired soldiers began to grow. Bulgarians and Germans come to develop new lands.
In 1787, Empress Catherine made her famous journey to the Crimea.
In 1787, Turkey began a new Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791 with the aim of regaining the Crimea and other territories. The war ended with the Treaty of Yassy in 1792 (concluded on January 9, 1792 in Yassy), which confirmed the annexation of the Crimea and Kuban to Russia and established the Russian-Turkish border along the river. Dniester.

In May 1791, Catherine II solemnly entered the Crimea, accompanied by the Austrian Emperor Joseph II, the English and French ambassadors, and representatives of other powers. The arrival of the empress in Bakhchisaray was the culmination of a journey undertaken to show foreign powers the newly acquired Taurida, the military power of the Russian Empire, its victorious fleet on the Black Sea. The annexation of Crimea ended the age-old struggle of Russia for access to the Black Sea, and finally secured the southern borders of the Russian state. According to the new administrative division, the new city of Simferopol (founded in 1784 on the site of the Tatar village of Ak-Mechet) became the capital of the Crimean district.
From April 2, 1784, the territory was divided into counties, there were 1400 inhabited villages and 7 cities - Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Evpatoria, Alushta, Feodosia, Kerch.
In 1796, the region became part of the Novorossiysk province, and in 1802 it was again separated into an independent administrative unit. At the beginning of the 19th century, viticulture (Magarach) and shipbuilding (Sevastopol) developed in Crimea, roads were laid. Under Prince Vorontsov, Yalta begins to settle down, Vorontsov Palace, and the southern coast of Crimea turns into a resort.
By 1853, 43,000 people were Orthodox, in the Tauride province, among the "Gentiles" were Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed, Armenian Catholics, Armenian Gregorians, Mennonites, Talmudic Jews, Karaites and Muslims.
In June 1854, the Anglo-French flotilla began shelling the Russian coastal fortifications in the Crimea, and already in September, the allied landings (Great Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire) began in Evpatoria. Soon the Battle of the Alma took place. In October, the siege of Sevastopol began, during which Kornilov died on Malakhov Hill. In February 1855, the Russians unsuccessfully tried to storm Evpatoria. In May, the Anglo-French fleet captured Kerch. In July 1855, Admiral Nakhimov, the main inspirer of the defense, died in Sevastopol. On September 11, 1855, Sevastopol fell, but was returned to Russia at the end of the war in exchange for certain concessions.

In 1874, Simferopol was connected to Aleksandrovsk (now Zaporozhye) by a railroad.
In 1892, movement began along the Dzhankoy-Kerch railway, which led to a significant acceleration economic development Crimea. By the beginning of the 20th century, 25 million poods of grain were exported from the Crimean peninsula annually. At the same time, especially after the royal family bought Livadia in 1860, Crimea turned into a resort peninsula. On the southern coast of Crimea, the highest Russian nobility began to rest, for which magnificent palaces were built in Massandra, Livadia, Miskhor.
According to the 1897 census, 546,700 people lived in Crimea. Of these, 35.6% Crimean Tatars, 33.1% Great Russians, 11.8% Little Russians, 5.8% Germans, 4.4% Jews, 3.1% Greeks, 1.5% Armenians, 1.3% Bulgarians , 1.2% Poles, 0.3% Turks.
By the end of the 19th century, the Taurida province consisted of Berdyansk, Dnieper, Perekop, Simferopol, Feodosia and Yalta counties. The center of the province was the city of Simferopol.
On the eve of the revolution, 800,000 people lived in Crimea, including 400,000 Russians and 200,000 Tatars, as well as 68,000 Jews and 40,000 Germans. After the February events of 1917, the Crimean Tatars organized themselves into the party of Milli Firka, who tried to seize power on the peninsula.

On December 16, 1917, the Bolshevik Military Revolutionary Committee was established in Sevastopol, which took power into its own hands. On January 4, 1918, the Bolsheviks took power in Feodosia, knocking out the Crimean Tatar formations from there, and on January 6 - in Kerch. On the night of January 8-9, the Red Guard entered Yalta. On the night of January 14 they took Simferopol. In the Crimea, the system of the Taurida SSR was established.
On April 22, 1918, Ukrainian troops under the command of Colonel Bolbochan occupied Evpatoria and Simferopol, followed by the German troops of General von Kosch. According to an agreement between Kiev and Berlin, on April 27, Ukrainian units left the Crimea, abandoning their claims to the peninsula. The Crimean Tatars also rebelled, making an alliance with the new invaders. By May 1, 1918, German troops occupied the entire Crimean peninsula. May 1 - November 15, 1918 - Crimea de facto under German occupation, de jure under the control of the autonomous Crimean regional government (since June 23) Suleiman Sulkevich
November 15, 1918 - April 11, 1919 - Second Crimean Regional Government (Solomon Crimea) under the patronage of the Allies;
In April-June 1919 - the Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the RSFSR;
July 1, 1919 - November 12, 1920 - Government of the South of Russia: VSYUR A. I. Denikin.

In January-March 1920, 4 thousand soldiers of the 3rd Army Corps of the All-Union Socialist Republic of General Ya. A. Slashchev successfully defended the Crimea from the attacks of two Soviet armies with a total number of 40 thousand fighters using the ingenious tactics of their commander, over and over again giving Perekop to the Bolsheviks, smashing they are already in the Crimea, and then driving them back to the steppes. On February 4, the White Guard captain Orlov and 300 fighters mutinied and captured Simferopol, arresting several generals of the Volunteer Army and the governor of the Taurida province. At the end of March, the remnants of the White armies, having surrendered the Don and Kuban, were evacuated to the Crimea. Denikin's headquarters ended up in Feodosia. On April 5, Denikin announced his resignation and the transfer of his post to General Wrangel. On May 15, the Wrangel fleet raided Mariupol, during which the city was shelled and some ships were withdrawn to the Crimea. On June 6, units of Slashchev began to rapidly move north, occupying the capital of Northern Tavria, Melitopol, on June 10. On June 24, the Wrangel landing force occupied Berdyansk for two days, and in July the landing group of Captain Kochetov landed at Ochakov. On August 3, the Whites occupied Aleksandrovsk, but the next day they were forced to leave the city.
On November 12, 1920, the Red Army broke through the defenses at Perekop and broke into the Crimea. On November 13, the 2nd Cavalry Army under the command of F.K. Mironov occupied Simferopol. The main Wrangel troops through port cities left the peninsula. In the occupied Crimea, the Bolsheviks perpetrated mass terror, as a result of which, according to various sources, from 20 to 120 thousand people died.
At the end civil war 720 thousand people lived in Crimea.

The famine of 1921-1922 claimed the lives of more than 75 thousand Crimeans. The total death toll in the spring of 1923 may have exceeded 100,000. The consequences of the famine were eliminated only by the mid-1920s.
On August 18, 1941, by order of Stalin, 60,000 Crimean Germans were deported from the peninsula.
In November 1941, the Red Army was forced to leave the Crimea, retreating to the Taman Peninsula. Soon a counter-offensive was launched from there, but it did not lead to success and the Soviet troops were again driven back across the Kerch Strait.
In the German-occupied Crimea, a general district of the same name was formed as part of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine. A. Frauenfeld headed the occupation administration, but in fact the power belonged to the military administration. In accordance with the Nazi policy, communists and racially unreliable elements (Jews, Gypsies, Krymchaks) were destroyed in the occupied territory, and along with the Krymchaks, the masses also killed the Karaites recognized by Hitler as racially trustworthy.
On April 11, 1944, the Soviet army launched an operation to liberate the Crimea, Dzhankoy and Kerch were recaptured. By April 13, Simferopol and Feodosia were liberated. May 9 - Sevastopol. The Germans held out for the longest time at Cape Khersones, but their evacuation was disrupted by the death of the Patria convoy.
The war sharply exacerbated ethnic conflicts in the Crimea, and in May-June 1944, Crimean Tatars (183 thousand people), Armenians, Greeks and Bulgarians were evicted from the territory of the peninsula. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR No. 493 of September 5, 1967 “On citizens of Tatar nationality living in Crimea” recognized that “after the liberation of Crimea from fascist occupation in 1944, the facts of active cooperation with the German invaders of a certain part of the Tatars living in Crimea were unreasonably attributed to the entire Tatar population of Crimea.”
In February 1945, a conference of the heads of the three powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain took place in the Livadia Palace. At the Crimean (Yalta) conference, decisions were made related to the end of the war with Germany and Japan, and the establishment of a post-war world order.

In 1954, "taking into account the common economy, territorial proximity and close economic and cultural ties between the Crimean region and the Ukrainian SSR," Khrushchev transferred Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR.

On January 20, 1991, an all-Crimean referendum was held in the Crimean region of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The question was submitted to the general vote: "Are you for the re-establishment of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a subject of the USSR and a participant in the Union Treaty?" The referendum called into question the decisions of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 1954 (on the transfer of the Crimean region to the Ukrainian SSR), and of 1945 (on the abolition of the Krasnodar ASSR, and on the creation of the Crimean region instead). 1 million 441 thousand 19 people took part in the referendum, which is 81.37% of total number citizens included in the lists for participation in the referendum. 93.26% of the inhabitants of Crimea voted for the restoration of the Crimean ASSR of the total number of those who took part in the vote.
On February 12, 1991, based on the results of the all-Crimean referendum, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the law “On the Restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic”, and 4 months later made appropriate changes to the constitution of the Ukrainian SSR in 1978. However, the second part of the question submitted to the referendum - on raising the status of Crimea to the level of a subject of the USSR and a member of the Union Treaty - was not taken into account in this law.
On September 4, 1991, the extraordinary session of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea adopted the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of the Republic.
On December 1, 1991, at the All-Ukrainian referendum, the inhabitants of Crimea participated in the vote on the independence of Ukraine. 54% of Crimeans supported the preservation of the independence of Ukraine - the founding state of the UN. However, this violated Article 3 of the USSR Law “On the Procedure for Resolving Issues Related to the Secession of a Union Republic from the USSR”, according to which a separate (all-Crimean) referendum was to be held in the Crimean ASSR on the issue of its stay in the USSR or as part of the seceding Union Republic - Ukrainian SSR.
On May 5, 1992, the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea adopted the declaration "Act on the Declaration of the State Independence of the Republic of Crimea".
At the same time, the Russian parliament also voted to cancel the decision to transfer Crimea to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954.

May 6, 1992 The seventh session of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea. These documents contradicted the then legislation of Ukraine, they were canceled by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine only on March 17, 1995. Subsequently, Leonid Kuchma, who became president of Ukraine in July 1994, signed a number of decrees that determined the status of the authorities of the ARC.
Also May 6, 1992 the decision of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea introduced the post of President of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea
February 4, 1994 Yury Meshkov was elected President of the Republic of Crimea.
March 27, 1994 in Crimea, a referendum was held simultaneously with elections to the regional parliament (English) and with elections to the Ukrainian parliament.
March 1995 By decision of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the President of Ukraine, the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea of ​​1992 was repealed, and the presidency in Crimea was abolished.
October 21, 1998 At the second session of the Verkhovna Rada of the Republic of Crimea, a new Constitution was adopted.
December 23, 1998 The President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma signed a law, in the first paragraph of which the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine decided: “To approve the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea”, pro-Russian sentiments intensified in Crimea.
February 23, 2014 The Ukrainian flag was lowered over the city council of Kerch and the state flag of the Russian Federation was raised. The mass removal of Ukrainian flags took place on February 25 in Sevastopol. The Cossacks in Feodosia sharply criticized the new authorities in Kyiv. Residents of Evpatoria also joined the pro-Russian actions.
February 27, 2014 and the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea was seized by armed men without insignia. Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, guarding the building, were expelled, the Russian flag was raised over the building. The captors let the deputies of the Supreme Council of Crimea inside, having previously taken away their mobile communications. The deputies voted for the appointment of Aksyonov as head of the new Crimean government and decided to hold a referendum on the status of Crimea. According to the official statement of the press service of the VSK, 53 deputies voted for this decision. According to the speaker of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, V. F. Yanukovych (whom the parliamentarians consider the President of Ukraine) called him, and agreed on the candidacy of Aksyonov over the phone. Such coordination is required by Article 136 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
March 6, 2014 The Supreme Council of Crimea adopted a resolution on the entry of the republic into the Russian Federation as its subject and called a referendum on this issue.
March 11, 2014 The Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Sevastopol City Council adopted the Declaration of Independence of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol.
On March 16, 2014, a referendum was held in Crimea, in which, according to official data, about 82% of voters took part, of which 96% voted for joining the Russian Federation. On March 17, 2014, according to the results of the referendum, the Republic of Crimea, in which the city of Sevastopol has a special status, applied to join Russia.

On March 18, 2014, an interstate agreement was signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Crimea on the admission of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation. In accordance with the agreement, new subjects are formed within the Russian Federation - the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol. On March 21, a federal district of the same name was formed in Crimea with the center in Simferopol. After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, the question arose about the fate of the Ukrainian military units located on the territory of the peninsula. Initially, these units were blocked by local self-defense units, and then taken by storm. During the assaults on the units, the Ukrainian military behaved passively and did not use weapons. On March 22, Russian media reported on the excitement among the Crimeans who sought to get Russian passports. On March 24, in Crimea, the ruble became official currency(the circulation of the hryvnia has been temporarily preserved).

The modern history of Crimea continues to take shape before our eyes. Not all countries have yet recognized the status of Crimea. But Crimeans live with faith in a brighter future.

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 towns.

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 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 is received here per unit of the earth's surface per day 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.

As of January 1, 2015, the population of Crimea was 2,294,888 permanent residents, including 1,895,915 permanent residents in the Republic of Crimea and 398,973 permanent residents in Sevastopol.

1. Physical and geographical characteristics of the Caucasus

2. Physical and geographical characteristics of the Crimea

CAUCASUS

Geographical position

The Caucasus is part of the Crimean-Caucasian mountainous country, lying south of the Russian Plain. The Caucasus proper is located between the Caspian and Black Seas. The mountain systems of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus and the foothill lowlands and elevated plains come out here. The Caucasus is separated from the Russian Plain by the Kuma-Manych Depression. Russia owns only a part of this physical and geographical country: the plains of Ciscaucasia and the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus (up to the Samur River); The state border runs along the watershed ridge. Only in the north-west does the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus belong to us (up to the Psou River). This region is called the North Caucasus, its area is about 300 thousand km2, the length from northwest to southeast is over 1000 km, in the perpendicular direction only 400 km. The North Caucasus lies between 41˚N. and 47˚N, at the junction of the temperate and subtropical zones. Three regions are distinguished here according to the peculiarities of nature: Greater Caucasus(mountainous region); Western and Middle Ciscaucasia (piedmont steppe region); Terek-Kuma lowland (Eastern Ciscaucasia).

Geology and relief

Ciscaucasia lies on the Scythian epihercynian plate, which was formed in the Paleozoic. The middle of the Caucasian belt was formed in the Alpine folding. The oldest Precambrian deposits (gneisses, schists) are found in the axial part of the Main Range. At the beginning of the Paleozoic, there was a continental regime in this territory. In the Hercynian stage of development, all Ciscaucasia and the Greater Caucasus experienced a deflection, the country was flooded by the sea, and then folding began, volcanogenic-sedimentary strata with clay shales and limestones (up to 5-6 km) were formed. In the Mesozoic, tectonic movements intensified, and the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus was a geosyncline, where sandy-argillaceous deposits up to 10-12 km thick accumulated. This was followed by a transgression that engulfed the Scythian plate. In the Paleogene, the rise began. The orogenic stage in the development of the Caucasus and the formation of the Ciscaucasian trough began in the Alpine cycle of tectogenesis. At the same time, along with the uplift of mountains, denudation processes also took place. In the Quaternary, the relief of the Greater Caucasus rejuvenated. The total rise was 4-5 km, and the foothill depressions continued to sink. An anticline fold formed in the area of ​​the Stavropol Upland. Elbrus and Kazbek volcanoes have become more active in the Greater Caucasus. The cooling of the climate led to the development of mountain glaciation, which took place in several stages and influenced the development of flora and fauna. The tectonic development of the Caucasus continues even now, it is rising at a rate of 1-3 mm per year. The entire region is characterized by high seismicity. Moreover, the centers of earthquakes are close to the surface.

Orographically, the country is subdivided into Ciscaucasia and the Greater Caucasus. Ciscaucasia lies on the Scythian plate, along northern border, which stretches (for 700 km) from the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov to the Caspian Sea, the Manych trough. In relief, it corresponds to the Kuma-Manych depression. The central part of Ciscaucasia is occupied by the Stavropol Upland, highest altitude which in the southwest reaches 830 m. It is based on the Stavropol Arch, within which the depth of the foundation is from 0.5 to 2.5 km. To the west of the Stavropol Upland is the Kuban-Azov lowland, which is based on the Azov-Kuban depression, with a basement depth of up to 3 km. The eastern part of Ciscaucasia is occupied by the Terek-Kuma lowland, which is based on the depression of the same name; here the depth of the foundation is more than 6 km. This lowland, in fact, is the southwestern outskirts of the Caspian lowland. South of the Stavropol Upland is the Mineralovodcheskaya (Pyatigorsk) group of island mountains - laccoliths. To the west and east of it lie marginal troughs that pass into the anticline folds of the Tersky and Sunzha ranges, which are intermediate structures between Ciscaucasia and the Greater Caucasus.

The Greater Caucasus is a huge mountain structure, with a length of about 1000 km and a width of 30 km near Novorossiysk to 180 km in Dagestan. This is a large asymmetric meganticlinorium. At its core lie Precambrian, Paleozoic and Triassic rocks. They are bordered by Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogenic strata. The Greater Caucasus is divided into three longitudinal belts (zones): the northern slope belt (a system of several parallel ridges); axial belt - the Main (Dividing) and Lateral ridges; belt of the southern slope (lies outside of Russia). Along the strike of the Caucasus, there are also transverse segments (segments): 1) the Central Caucasus is the highest, here are all the "five-thousanders" of Russia (Elbrus - 5642 m, Dykhtau - 5204 m, Kazbek - 5033 m, etc.); 2) Western Caucasus - from Elbrus to Mount Fisht - descends to the north-west, the highest point is Mount Dombay-Ulgen (4046 m); 3) Northwestern Caucasus - from Mount Fisht to Taman Peninsula- this is the low-mountainous Black Sea chain, its heights decrease from Mount Fisht (2868 m) to 500 m and to Novorossiysk; 4) Eastern Caucasus - lies to the east of Kazbek, a number of peaks exceed 4000m. The predominant type of relief in the mountains and in Ciscaucasia is water erosion, here the depth of erosional dissection is the greatest in Russia, on average 2000 m, and in the upper reaches of the Teberda up to 3000 m. Processes of river accumulation and gully erosion dominate in Ciscaucasia. The presence of cuesta ridges is associated with different stability of rocks. There is a karst. The highlands are characterized by glacial landforms. There are rockfalls and scree in the mountains.

Climate and surface waters

The climate of the Caucasus is influenced by its geographical position in the south-west of Russia, on the isthmus between the seas, as well as mountainous relief. The Caucasus receives a large amount of solar radiation per year. The country lies at the junction of two climatic zones- temperate and subtropical. Only the Black Sea coast belongs to the subtropical zone in Russia. In winter, the continental air of temperate latitudes spreads to Ciscaucasia, northern and eastern winds prevail. Cold air stagnates near the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus. Over the Black Sea, the pressure decreases and therefore cold air from the mountains rushes towards the sea (this is how the Novorossiysk bora sometimes appears, at temperatures down to -15˚C). At an altitude of 1.5–2 km, western transport dominates. In winter, cyclones often hit the Caucasus from the Mediterranean Sea, which leads to thaws and avalanches in the mountains. When a föhn wind occurs, the temperature can rise at the foot of the mountains to +15˚C (on Elbrus up to -5˚C). The average January temperatures are from +2˚C in Novorossiysk to +6˚C in Sochi, in the mountains with altitude the temperature drops to negative values ​​(in the highlands to -15˚C). In Ciscaucasia in winter, average temperatures are also negative -2˚C-4˚C. The absolute minimum in Ciscaucasia is -35˚C, and in Sochi -15˚C. In winter, the maximum precipitation falls on the Black Sea coast (Mediterranean type), and on the rest of the territory, the maximum occurs in summer. In winter, snow cover is established on the plains, and even more so in the mountains. On the plains, it appears by the end of December, while the snow often melts in winter. On the slopes of the mountains, the thickness of the snow cover reaches 3 m. In summer, the average air temperatures range from +22˚C on the Black Sea coast to +25˚C in the east of Ciscaucasia. In the mountains, the temperature drops and at an altitude of 2500 m it is +10˚C (at Elbrus station, altitude 4250 m, temperature +1.5˚C). At the beginning of summer, cyclonic activity intensifies, and the maximum precipitation occurs in July. Droughts occur in the second half of summer. The annual amount of precipitation decreases from west to east and increases from the foothills to the mountains. In Ciscaucasia, the amount of precipitation varies from 700 mm in Stavropol to 350 mm in the east. On the Black Sea coast, precipitation increases rapidly from 700 mm in Novorossiysk to 1600 mm in the Sochi region. In the highlands of the western Caucasus, up to 2000-3000 mm of precipitation falls annually (the maximum for Russia is the Achishkho station on the southwestern slope of the Greater Caucasus - over 3700 mm), in the eastern Caucasus 1000-1500 mm falls.

The river network is well developed. Almost all rivers originate in the mountains. The largest rivers are Kuban (length 900 km) and Terek (590 km). The Caspian basin includes: Terek, Kuma, Samur; Black Sea - Mzymta, Sochi; Azovsky - Kuban. These rivers are mountainous, do not freeze in winter and carry a lot of suspended material (muddy). In Ciscaucasia there are flat rivers: Kalaus, Manych, Eya, Beisug, etc. Almost all rivers of the region have high water in summer. Food glacial, snow and rain. There are not many lakes. Near the coast of the Caspian and Azov Seas there are lagoon and estuary lakes. There are tarns in the mountains; in the limestones of the cuesta ridges there are karst lakes. There are almost 1500 glaciers in the Caucasus. The snow border lies in the western Caucasus at an altitude of about 3000 m, and in the eastern 3500-4000 m. The greatest glaciation in the Central Caucasus is the Elbrus glacial complex. The two-headed Elbrus is covered with a snow-glacier cap with a diameter of about 10 km. The largest long glacier in the Caucasus is the Bezengi glacier (more than 17 km long). In the Eastern Caucasus, due to the dryness of the climate, glaciation is less developed.

Soils, flora and fauna

The plains of Ciscaucasia are characterized by zonality, and the mountains by altitudinal zonality. Moreover, the zonality here changes not in the sublatitudinal direction, but in the submerideonal direction, from Azov to the Caspian Sea, as the climate becomes more continental. On the plains of the Western Ciscaucasia and Stavropol, chernozem soils dominate, their humus horizon is 1.5 m, and the humus content is 5-8%. In the east of the Stavropol Upland, the soils become chestnut, and further east they become light chestnut, often solonetzic. There are salt licks and solonchaks, especially in the Kumo-Manych depression. In the coastal part, the soils are meadow-chestnut, in the river deltas - alluvial. In the mountains, soils change with altitude. At the foot of the mountains - mountain chernozems, in the east - chestnut. They differ from plains soils in high rubble. Higher in the mountains, burozems and mountain forest gray are developed, even higher - mountain podzolic, then - mountain meadow. On the Black Sea coast (southeast of Tuapse), the soils of the subtropics are zheltozems.

The vegetation cover of the country is very diverse. It combines in the flora elements of European forests and steppes, Asian highlands and deserts; as well as elements of the Mediterranean flora. There are up to 550 endemic species, there are many of them, especially in the mountains. Steppes dominate in the Western and Central Ciscaucasia, most of which are now plowed up. The steppes of Ciscaucasia are a continuation of the steppes of the south of the Russian Plain, consisting of various types of feather grass, on the Stavropol Upland - turf-cereal (from fescue, feather grass, etc.). In the eastern Ciscaucasia, the steppes are replaced by semi-deserts with grass-wormwood vegetation, in places with thickets of saltwort. Closer to the foothills, the steppe is replaced by a forest-steppe of meadow forbs with patches of forests of oak, hornbeam, and ash; in the east - thickets of thorny bushes such as frigana and shilyak. With the ascent to the mountains, forest vegetation begins, at the beginning there are broad-leaved forests, higher - coniferous; subalpine and alpine meadows are even higher. Thus, altitudinal zonality is most fully expressed in the mountains of the Caucasus. At the same time, the set of altitudinal belts is different in the western part of the mountains and in the eastern part. In the west of the mountains at the foot - meadow steppes on chernozems, above the foothill forest-steppe begins on gray forest soils with the participation of oak, beech, hornbeam, ash. Higher up, the forest-steppe gives way to mountain broad-leaved forests, on brown mountain forest soils, made of beech with an admixture of chestnut, hornbeam, and ash. In the undergrowth of these forests there are Colchis subtropical elements - evergreen shrubs and lianas. With an increase in height, fir and spruce are added to the beech. Still higher, the forest becomes purely coniferous, on mountain-podzolic soils, in the undergrowth of rhododendron and grassy cover of northern elements (kislitsa, minnik, etc.). At the upper border of the forest there are birch-beech crooked forests in combination with tall grass meadows of umbrella, blueberry, blueberry bushes, etc. Even higher is a belt of subalpine meadows on mountain meadow soils, from geranium, catchment area, delphinium, bluebells and rhododendron shrubs. This belt passes into alpine meadows of undersized grasses and sedges, with brightly flowering ones: gentian, buttercup, dandelion, forget-me-not, speedwell, primrose, saxifrage, etc. Above 3200 m - a belt of snow and ice. In the east of the mountains, the climate is drier; therefore, at the foot, there are fescue-wormwood semi-shrubs on light chestnut soils. The first altitudinal belt here is sagebrush-cereal and fescue-feather grass dry steppes on mountain chestnut soils. Above is a belt of shibleak and frigana (thorny bushes) on brown soils. The composition of shilyak includes: meadowsweet, buckthorn, ephedra, cotoneaster, shadberry, juniper, hold-tree, barberry, etc. The composition of frigana includes sage, astragalus, scabioses, etc. Above are mountain-meadow steppes on chernozem-like soils, mainly from cereals . Even higher are subalpine and alpine meadows (from cereals) passing at an altitude of 3600-4000 m into the glacial-nival belt (snow and ice). The southwestern slopes of the Greater Caucasus are characterized by the Colchian type of altitudinal zonality. The lower belt is represented here by relic Colchis broad-leaved forests with evergreen undergrowth on yellow soils. The basis of the forest is: chestnut, oak, beech, hornbeam; in the undergrowth - Pontic rhododendron, holly, cherry laurel, boxwood; many vines. Above, yew, pine, oak, maple, linden, ash, and beech appear on brown soils. Above is a mixed forest of beech and coniferous species, and even higher is a dark coniferous belt of fir and spruce on mountain brown soils. Above subalpine and alpine meadows (from gravel, sedge, umbrella and grasses) and above 3500 m, snow and ice begin.

The animal world is very diverse; there are many endemics here: tours (stone goats), Caucasian hamster, Caucasian black grouse and snowcock, etc. Bison lives in the reserves. Typical steppe dwellers live in the steppes of the Ciscaucasia: ground squirrel, jerboa, hamster, mole voles, hare-hare, steppe polecat, fox, etc. vole; rare saiga. There are many reptiles (steppe viper, boa constrictor, snakes, lizards, gyurza, etc.). From birds - steppe lark, quail, steppe harrier and eagle, kestrel, bustard, demoiselle crane. In the reed beds of the rivers there are: wild boar, jackal, reed cat, many waterfowl and marsh birds. The Greater Caucasus is inhabited mainly by forest and mountain species. These are deer, roe deer, wild boars, badger, squirrel, marten, dormouse, forest mice, forest cat. Of the birds - jays, finches, nuthatches, tits, woodpeckers, owls, black grouse, etc. In the highlands live: tours, chamois, Promethean mice, voles, leopard. Of the birds - snowcock, lark, snow finch, eagles, etc.

There are 4 reserves in the Caucasus (Teberdinsky and others) and 3 national parks(Sochi and others).

CRIMEA (Crimean Peninsula)

The Crimean Peninsula is located south of the Russian Plain and is washed by the Black and Azov Seas. Its area is 26 thousand square meters. km. Crimea is connected to the Russian Plain in the north by a narrow (8 km) Perekop isthmus. Crimea has two peninsulas: in the west - Tarkhankutsky, in the east - Kerch, which is separated from the mainland of Russia by the strait of the same name. In the northeast, Crimea is washed by the Sivash Bay, and in the northwest by the Karkinitsky Bay. extreme south point Crimea reaches 44 degrees north latitude.

Crimea is divided into three physical and geographical regions: the Steppe Crimea, the Mountainous Crimea and the Kerch Peninsula.

The mountainous Crimea and the Kerch Peninsula belong to the Alpine folding, and the Steppe Crimea belongs to the Scythian plate of the Paleozoic folding. The Crimean Mountains are structurally an anticline uplift consisting of shales, Mesozoic sandstones, and Permian limestones. In places there are effusive rocks. The steppe Crimea is composed of Neogene marine and Quaternary continental sediments.

The Crimean mountains consist of the main ridge - Yaila (“yaila” is translated as “summer pasture”) and two cuest ridges, gently lowering to the north of the main ridge. In the west, Yayla is a ridge with a plateau-like surface: Ai-Petri and Yalta Yayla. In the east, Yaila breaks up into a number of massifs: Chatyrdag, Dolgorukovskaya Yaila, etc. Max Height The Crimean Mountains reaches 1545 m (Roman-Kosh). The peaks of Yaila, with an average height of about 1000 m, are strongly leveled, because they are composed of Jurassic limestones, while the slopes are rather steep, especially along the southern coast of Crimea. Open-type karst is widespread in the mountains. In some places there are car fields. The plateau is cut by canyons.

Erosive relief is developed along the southern coast, represented by landslides and chaos - collapsed limestone blocks. The southern coast of Crimea is characterized by volcanic formations - laccoliths (the city of Ayudag - "Bear Mountain"). The northern slope of Yayla is more gentle and has a height of 500 - 750 m.

The relief of the Kerch Peninsula is hilly. The steppe Crimea is a flat plain, in places with salt lakes. The climatic conditions of the Crimean peninsula have features of a transitional climate from temperate to subtropical Mediterranean. The most pronounced subtropical climate is on the southern coast and in the foothills of Yayla. The annual rainfall here is about 600 mm, and most of it falls in the winter, when the Mediterranean cyclones dominate. The average air temperature in January is +4°C, snow rarely falls. The average temperature in July is about +24° C. For five months a year, the average daily air temperature is above +15° C. The climate of the Steppe Crimea is more consistent with temperate continental, although winters are very mild, with an average January temperature of about 0° C. Average temperatures in summer are + 23 ... + 25 ° С. The annual amount of precipitation is 250-300 mm, and most of them fall in winter. Droughts are typical in summer. Similar climatic conditions are also preserved on the Kerch Peninsula.

The Crimean peninsula is not rich in internal waters. major rivers No. IN Steppe Crimea the most significant are the rivers Salgir and Alma. Feeding groundwater, rain and melt water from the mountains. Most of the rivers dry up in summer. The rivers of the southern coast of Crimea have a mountainous character and are distinguished by their short length, but somewhat higher water content. Their flood regime. Almost all lakes are salty, the largest lake is Sasyk.

The soils in the Steppe Crimea are chestnut, in some places there are southern chernozems. Characterized by salinity. Vegetation is mainly represented by dry steppes (fescue, feather grass, thin-legged, wormwood, saltwort); off the coast of the Sivash Bay, the steppes turn into a semi-desert.

A completely different soil and vegetation cover of the Crimean Mountains and Black Sea coast. Soils here are dominated by brown, and on the moist slopes of the mountains - red earth, turning higher into mountain-forest brown. Mountain chernozem-like soils are developed on the upper plateaus of the Yaila. The flora of this region is rich in species (1500 plant species). On the coast and up to a height of 300 m, forest vegetation with elements of the Mediterranean flora is represented: fluffy oak, strawberry tree, pistachios, tree-like juniper, needle, boxwood, creepers - ivy, clematis, etc. To the east, the forest passes into thickets of xerophytic shrubs (shibliak) from hornbeam, sessile oak, rosewood, hawthorn, dogwood, blackthorn, tamarisk and xerophytic herbs. Above 300 m, the appearance of the forest changes, subtropical species disappear, deciduous broad-leaved species begin to dominate: beech, hornbeam, oak, ash, maple, linden, elm, wild apple and pear, poplar, willow, alder and conifers appear even higher - Crimean pine, yew, juniper. The upper border of the forest reaches a height of 900 m. On the upper Yaila plateau there are mountain meadows on chernozem-like soils. Cereals grow: fescue, feather grass, thin-legged, bonfire, as well as Crimean edelweiss, violet, grains, clover, bedstraw, cuff, etc.

At present, natural vegetation in a large area has been supplanted by cultivated and imported from other regions: cypress, laurel, cherry laurel, magnolia, eucalyptus, fan palm, holly, silk acacia (mimosa), etc. Fauna in the steppes of Crimea is represented mainly by rodents (ground squirrels , hamsters, jerboas, mouse-like rodents) and reptiles (lizards, snakes, Crimean gecko, etc.), as well as invertebrate and steppe bird species. Squirrels, dormouse, bats live in the forests of the mountainous Crimea, from predators - fox, marten, badger, from ungulates - wild boar, roe deer, and in some areas the red deer is still preserved. There are many birds in the forests - mainly European forest species. The world of invertebrates is quite diverse.

The Crimean peninsula has long been called the natural pearl of Europe for a reason. Here, at the junction of subtropical and temperate latitudes, as if in focus, the characteristic features of their nature are concentrated in miniature: plains and mountains, modern mud hills and ancient volcanoes, lakes and seas, steppes and forests, landscapes of the semi-desert of the Sivash region and the Black Sea sub-Mediterranean.

The Crimean peninsula is located in southern Ukraine at the same latitude as southern France and northern Italy.

The outlines of the Crimea are very peculiar, some see them as a bunch of grapes, others - a flying bird, others - a heart. Each of us, looking at the map, immediately sees in the middle of the blue sea an irregular quadrangle with a wide ledge of the peninsula in the west and a long, narrower ledge of the Kerch Peninsula in the east. The Kerch Strait separates the Crimean Peninsula from the Taman Peninsula, the western tip of Russia.

The total length of the land borders of Crimea is more than 2500 km. Area - 27 thousand square meters. km.

Crimea is washed almost from all sides by the waters of the Black and Azov Seas. It could be an island, if not for the narrow, only 8 kilometers wide, Perekop Isthmus, connecting it with the mainland.

The maximum distance from north to south is 207 km, from west to east - 324 km.

Extreme points: in the north - the village of Perekop, in the south -, in the east -, in the west - Cape Kara-Mrun.

The waters of the Black Sea (area - 421 thousand square kilometers, volume - 537 thousand cubic kilometers) wash Crimea from the west and south. The largest bays are Karkinitsky, Kalamitsky and Feodosia. The shores of the peninsula are heavily indented by numerous coves and bays.

From the east and northeast, the peninsula is surrounded (width 4-5 km, length 41 km) and the Sea of ​​Azov (area - 38 thousand sq. km, volume - 300 cubic km), which forms the Arabat, Kazantip, and Sivash bays.

The Crimean mountains divided the peninsula into two uneven parts: a large steppe and a smaller mountain. They stretched from the southwest to the northeast from the neighborhood to three almost parallel ridges separated by parallel green valleys. The Crimean Mountains are about 180 km long and 50 km wide.

The main ridge is the highest, the most famous mountain peaks are located here: - 1545 m, - 1525 m, - 1231 m. The southern slopes, which face the sea, are very steep, while the northern ones, on the contrary, are flat.

The peaks of the Crimean Mountains are treeless plateaus, which are called (translated from Turkic means "summer pasture"). Yayly combine the properties of both mountains and plains. They are connected by narrow lowered ridges, along which mountain passes pass. The paths from the steppe part of the Crimea to the Southern coast have long run here.

The highest yayls of Crimea: Ai-Petrinskaya (1320 m), Gurzufskaya (1540 m), Nikitskaya (1470 m), Yalta (1406 m). The limestone surface of the Yayla has been dissolved for many centuries under the influence of rainwater, water flows have done in the thickness of the mountains. numerous moves, mines, deep wells, amazingly beautiful caves.

The steppe occupies most of the territory of Crimea. It is the southern outskirts of the East European, or Russian, plain and slightly decreases to the north. The Kerch peninsula is divided by the Parpach ridge into two parts: the southwestern - flat and northeastern - hilly, which is characterized by the alternation of gentle depressions, ring-shaped limestone ridges, mud hills and coastal lake basins. However, mud volcanoes have nothing in common with real volcanoes, as they eject not hot lava, but cold mud.

Varieties of calcareous and southern chernozems predominate on the flat part of the Crimea; dark chestnut and meadow chestnut soils of dry forests and shrubs are less common, as well as brown mountain-forest and mountain-meadow chernozem-like soils (on yayla).

More than half of the territory of the peninsula is occupied by fields, about five percent - by gardens and vineyards. The remaining lands are predominantly pastures and forests.

The forest area is 340 thousand hectares. The slopes of the Crimean Mountains are covered mainly with oak forests (65% of the area of ​​all forests), beech (14%), pine (13%) and hornbeam (8%). On the southern coast in the forests grow relict tall juniper, pistachio tupolis, evergreen small-fruited strawberry, a number of evergreen shrubs - Crimean cistus, Pontic needle, red pyracantha, shrub jasmine, etc.

The main source of river nutrition is rainwater - 44-50% of the annual runoff; snow nutrition provides 13-23% and groundwater - 28-36%. The average long-term surface and underground runoff of the Crimea is just over 1 billion cubic meters of water. This is almost three times less than the volume of water that annually enters the peninsula through the North Crimean Canal. The natural reserves of local waters are used to the limit (73% of the reserves are used). The main surface runoff has been regulated: a couple of hundred ponds and more than 20 large reservoirs have been built (on the Salgir river, Chernorechenskoye on the Chernaya river, Belogorskoye on the Biyuk-Karasu river, etc.).

Through the North Crimean Canal, 3.5 billion cubic meters of water are annually supplied to the peninsula, which made it possible to increase the area of ​​irrigated land from 34.5 thousand hectares to 400 thousand hectares (since the 30s of the XX century).

In Crimea, mainly along the coasts, there are more than 50 lakes-estuaries with a total area of ​​5.3 thousand square meters. km used to obtain salts and therapeutic mud: Donuzlav, Bakal, Staroe, Krasnoe, Chokrakskoe, Uzunlarskoe, etc.

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 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). 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- this 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.

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 is received here per unit of the earth's surface per day 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 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 increasing 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: a flat steppe with a very small number of surface watercourses and a mountainous forest with a relatively dense river network. There are no big ones here. fresh lakes. In the seaside strip of the flat Crimea there are about 50 lakes-estuaries with a total area of ​​5.3 thousand square kilometers.