Posted Sun, 05/04/2015 - 07:27 by Cap

The surface of Crimea is sharply divided into a northern, flat part, occupying approximately three-quarters of the peninsula's area, and a southern, mountainous part. The relief of the flat part is monotonous: in the north it is a completely flat, table-like plain; railway station Dzhankoy is slightly shaggy. To the west on the Tarkhankut Peninsula there are low ridges, and near Simferopol the foothills begin.
The Crimean Mountains stretch along the southern coast of the peninsula in a gentle arc more than 160 km long and up to 40 - 50 km wide. They are clearly divided into three ridges: Main, Inner and Outer.
The main ridge stretches from Balaklava to Feodosia. Its peaks are leveled surfaces, wide in some places (up to 8 km), narrow in others, and even completely interrupted by deeply incised upper reaches of rivers. Such flat mountain peaks are called yayla (the word “yayla” is of Turkic origin, meaning “summer pasture”). The height of the Main Ridge above sea level reaches 1200 - 1500 m. The highest is Babugan-yayla, crowned by the Roman-Kosh peak (1545 m). The coastal strip adjacent to the Main Ridge is called the Southern Coast of Crimea. They also distinguish the Heraclean Peninsula, located between the western edge of the Southern Bank and the valley of the Chernaya River near Sevastopol.

Crimean Mountains (Mountain Crimea)

The internal ridge is significantly lower than the Main Ridge (up to 600 - 760 m above sea level). It stretches parallel to the Main River and is separated from it by an interridge depression of 10 - 25 km. In some places there are isolated low mountains and short ridges with flat tops, formed during the erosion of the Inner Ridge. These are the remnant mountains of Mangup, Eski-Kermen, Tepe-Kermen and others - natural bastions on which fortified cities were built in the Middle Ages.

Having examined the conglomerates, let's move on. The path goes to another clone of the Valley of Ghosts, goes deeper into the forest, winds along a steep slope and leads out to a vast area with a palisade of heavy weathering figures in the form of squat cones. A surprisingly pleasant place to relax. There was amazing silence all around, noisy roads were far away. Then the wide path gradually rises to the top of South Demerdzhi. You find yourself in a unique and picturesque world. The rocks, constantly blown by the wind, are cut into niches and cells. In some places there are so many of them that they look like giant honeycombs. We will climb along the ravine to a cliff with a triangulation sign on the top of South Demerdzhi (altitude 1239 m above sea level).
A wide panorama opens from the top. Before us is the spacious Alushta Valley and the trapezoidal Mount Kastel. In the west you can see the characteristic silhouette of Ayudag, and even further in the bluish haze the jagged crown of Ai-Petri. In the east, a huge flat and long Cape Meganom appears, in front of it is Mount Sokol, similar to a sugarloaf, near Sudak.

MOUNTAIN AI-PETRI
Mount Ai-Petri, depicted on postcards and photographs, topped with a stone crown of battlements, is one of the most popular symbols. From Miskhor or Alupka it looks like a fortress tower guarding the approaches to the Main Ridge. see photos of Mount Ai-Petri
The starting point of the excursion is the Ai-Petri mountain shelter on the yaila of the same name. We can get there by bus from Yalta or Bakhchisarai. You can also get to the yayla from Miskhor by cable car to the upper station cableway, and from it it’s a stone’s throw to the teeth of Ai-Petri.

So, we are at the mountain shelter. If you face the sea, then to the left above the cliff we will see the Shishko rock, named after the engineer who led the late XIX V. construction of the Bakhchisaray - Yalta road. In the distance, the blue surface of the sea stretches to the horizon. The streets of Yalta run down to the bay. To the left, a spur of the Nikitskaya Yayla, ending with Cape Martyan, crashed into the sea. Behind it is the humpbacked contour of Ayudag. Closer to the Nikitsky spur in the direction of Yalta it departs rocky ridge Iograph ending with Darsan Hill in Yalta. On the right is the cone-shaped Mount Mogabi, shaped like a volcano. But in reality it is a limestone rock that broke away from the Main Ridge and moved along the slope of the South Bank. To the right of Mogabi you can see Cape Ai-Todor, stretching out with three “paws” into the sea, behind it is the resort village of Miskhor.
If you stand with your back to the cliff, the hilly Ai-Petri plateau will open. To the left, the characteristic teeth of Ai-Petri rose above the horizon, directly, in the north, the rounded mountain Bedene-Kyr rises; on the right is a series of peaks, the outermost of which is Mount Roca.

Let's go to the deserted part of the yayla to the teeth of Ai-Petri. The round trip journey will be 7 - 8 km. A few tens of meters from the highway a rocky road begins. It bends smoothly, adapting to the depressions between the hills, leaving on the left an unusual geodetic sign in the form of a cast-iron globe on a stone pedestal. On the left along the way the jagged peak of Ai-Petri looms all the time.
Here is the vast Priaipetrinskaya basin. We found ourselves in a world of karst and mountain meadows. Gentle hills alternate with depressions, and limestone ridges with stepped slopes go into the distance. Blocks of limestone with cracks and through holes protrude from the thick grass; the stone is smoothed. There is no forest, only here and there in depressions, protected from the wind, there are groves of beech, hornbeam and pine. All around are lush flowering meadows with the intoxicating aroma of thyme, St. John's wort and lemon balm, and strawberry bushes. The rather rare Crimean ironweed gravitates towards the rocky areas of the highlands. Its pubescent pale green branches with seemingly strung yellow cups emit the aroma of lemon and, easily swayed by the wind, are visible from afar.
In some places on the yaila there are dogwood, rosehip and shaggy pear trees, and clumps of dark green juniper. In general, a real exhibition of the vegetation of the Crimean yayls!

The peculiar relief of the Ai-Petrinskaya yaila, as well as Chatyrdag and other yailas, is of karst origin. Water, penetrating deep into the massif of chemically pure limestone, developed vertical and horizontal channels, which gradually widened and deepened, turning into natural caves, mines and wells. And on the surface of the yayla, cup-shaped depressions appeared.
In the central part of the Priaipetrinskaya basin, the Trekhglazka, or Ledyanaya, mine is accessible for inspection. It opens to the surface with three holes - “eyes”, which determined its name. Along one of them we go down the stairs to a depth of 26 m (the height of a 10-story building!) to the bottom of the mine, to the shore of an underground lake with an area of ​​​​about 300 square meters. in winter cold air accumulates at the bottom of the shaft and displaces warm water for many months. Due to condensation moisture flowing down, ice is formed, on which the snow that has fallen from above lies (preserving until mid-summer). Above the frozen lake there is the “eye” of the mine, a kind of window, flooding a multi-meter snow cone with bluish light.
In the central hall of the mine, thanks to the special microclimate, ice stalactites and stalagmites were formed, and ice crusts were formed at the bottom. Large accumulations of ice in Trekhglazka have long been known, and the residents of Yalta at the beginning of the 20th century. Ice was mined here to store food.

Limestone reef massifs are also found from Balaklava to Koktebel. This means that in the Late Jurassic, an extended barrier reef arose in the sea on the site of the present South Coast. And to the north of it, across the strait, lay ancient land.
At the cliff of the yayla, the teeth of Ai-Petri rise up like the fangs of a giant dragon. Among them are four especially large ones, up to 12 - 15 m high, and many small ones. The teeth were formed during the weathering of a reef massif cut by faults.
On the way back we will follow the path near the cliff of the Main Ridge. At the edge of the forest we will see a very old yew tree, whose age is estimated at a thousand years. Its crown has almost completely died off and there are many large growths on the trunk, but the dark green needles are still shiny. Even further, already on the southern coastal slope, you can see the “plane pine” - a tree so named because of its completely flat crown, formed by the strong Yaila winds. Then we go out onto the already known mountain road and follow it to the mountain shelter - the beginning of the excursion.

GRAND CANYON
A canyon is a deep narrow valley with steep walls. Often next to it there is a gorge - a valley with steep slopes and a narrow bottom, partially filled with water. Of the Crimean canyons, the Grand Canyon in the upper reaches of the Auzun-Uzen River in the vicinity of the village of Sokolinoe on the northern slope of the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla is of exceptional interest. Grand Canyon

As the beginning of the excursion, we will take the “Grand Canyon” bus stop on the Bakhchisarai-Yalta highway, 5 kilometers above the village of Sokolinoe. Along the forest road we descend into the valley to the fast river Sary-Uzen. We cross it and then the next one, Auzun-Uzen, flowing from the Grand Canyon. We will follow a path on a wooded slope to the upper reaches of Auzun-Uzeni, and soon a gap will open in the thicket of the forest and a rock wall will appear, cut by a huge chasm of the Grand Canyon. From below comes the sound of a mountain stream, hidden by a thick wall of forest. The path descends to a rapids river, spilling over into a small lake with crystal clear blue water. This beautiful place is called Apple Ford (there are many wild apple trees in its vicinity). Further, the Auzun-Uzeni valley can be divided into two parts: the lower part, up to the Bath of Youth, is the gorge, and the upper part is the canyon itself.
The gorge is easily passable. The rocky slopes are steeply inclined towards each other and are separated by a rock bed 10 - 20 m wide. A stream flows along the limestone bed, washing away either the right or the left rocky slope. In some places the water flows calmly, in others it breaks down like a silvery stream in cascades and waterfalls into small lakes and reaches. They say that trout are caught in such places. The water is so clear that it seems like there is no water at all and you can pick up pebbles from the bottom with dry hands.
Not far from the Apple Ford on the left bank there is a miniature peninsula washed by Auzun-Uzenya and a stream of spring water. A transparent stream flows from the depths of a rocky slope - from a crevice littered with boulders. Water comes from one of the largest karst springs in Crimea, Pania, with an average flow rate of 370 liters per second. It is Pania that provides the main water for Auzun-Uzeni.
Above the source, the power of the watercourse decreases sharply, and in dry weather it looks like a stream several tens of centimeters wide. The stone bed of the gorge, ground by flowing water, is composed of strong light gray, almost white limestones of the Oxfordian stage of the Upper Jurassic. The almost horizontal sections, barely inclined along the flow, are replaced by ledges up to 1 - 1.5 m high. This is how the layered structure of the limestone layer appears in the topography of the gorge bottom. A stream of water slowly flows along the grooves, breaks from the rapids into natural cauldrons and baths, flows out of them along the grooves, again falls into the next depression and so goes its way.
The boilers and bathtubs of the Auzun-Uzeni bed were formed during the destruction of the stone bed by jets of water falling from the ledge during a flood. The cascading water smashes forcefully against the rock bed and creates depressions, and the stones in it are rotated by the eddies and whirlpools of the river. The stones, like drills, deepen and widen the depressions, turning them into natural cauldrons with vertical surfaces. And when the waterfall ledge collapses and retreats, the cauldron turns into a bathtub. Such boilers and baths are called evorzion (from the Latin evorzio - destruction), or gigantic. At their bottom there are often boulders and pebbles, a kind of drilling tool. Ultimately, the evorsion cauldron takes on a jug-shaped shape.
The gorge ends with a three-meter ledge with a waterfall that falls into a large, water-filled bathtub about 5 m long. It used to be called Karagol, and is now called the Bath of Youth. Transparent and cold (9 - 11 ° C - on a hot summer day) the water in it never runs out. They say that after bathing in the bath, at least temporarily, the features of youth return - a delicate complexion, a smile and irrepressible vigor. Check it out!

Just beyond the Bath of Youth the canyon itself begins. The one and a half kilometer path along it is accessible only in dry weather and only to those who are healthy and have basic rock climbing skills. The limestone slopes rose rapidly, forming a grandiose narrow stone corridor. In some places, the bottom of the canyon narrows to 2 m, in other areas it expands to 8 - 10 m. And at a height of 50 - 60 m (the height of a 20-story building), the distance between the slopes does not exceed 15 - 20 m.
It is clearly visible that the sides of the canyon vary in height. The right one is relatively low - 50 - 60 m, while the left one is much higher - up to 250 - 300 m and absolutely vertical. Given this situation, it is not surprising that there is little light in the canyon: even at the height sunny day Twilight reigns, and only a strip of blue sky shines far above.
The configuration of the canyon is curious - it is not at all rectilinear: its walls follow a zigzag pattern. Eleven straight sections, each 130 - 150 m long, are connected to each other in a knee-shaped manner. Therefore, in no place is the canyon visible through and through, and the traveler feels as if he had fallen into a stone trap. Around the next turn, other stone walls open up. Kingdom of silence. Only occasionally can you hear the rustling of stones crumbling from above and the distant noise of trees at a height of three hundred meters.
At the beginning of the canyon, a clear stream runs along a rock bed, cut by evorsion boilers and baths. The source was hidden on the right side of the second section of the canyon in a gloomy grove of yew trees that had been preserved in Crimea since the pre-glacial era. Behind the yew trees the dry part of the canyon begins. Under your feet there is a stepped rocky bed, along which you are forced to either walk or climb. Gigantic cauldrons and bathtubs with smooth, as if polished vertical walls up to two or more meters high, which are not so easy to catch your fingers on, follow each other. Then a log placed against the wall helps out.
The canyon strikes you with its stern grandeur all along the way. Around the next turn, new walls open up, unlike those just passed. Desertion and pristine silence, some kind of fantasy world in reality.
Towards the end of the path, do not miss the dry mouth of the Yokhagan-Su stream (in Crimean Tatar “missing water”). The rocky bed of the stream, drilled out by evorsion boilers, ends with a sheer wall from a height of 10 - 12 m.
Soon after the mouth of Yohagan-Su, the canyon walls become lower, move apart and turn sharply to the southeast. The gorge turns into the vast Kuru-Uzen basin with the waterless bed of the Kuru-Uzen river, which runs steeply down the slope of the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla.
The Kuru-Uzen Basin is a completely different geographical and geological world, strikingly different from the Grand Canyon. The wide flat bottom of the basin is lined with pebbles; there are no traces of ledges or gigantic cauldrons, without which it is impossible to imagine the gorge just passed. Huge stone cliffs replaced forested slopes outlined by smooth, calm lines. The limestones of the Oxfordian stage of the canyon were replaced by younger sandstones and clays of the Tithonian stage. There is a tectonic contact (rupture) at the border of the canyon and the basin. Along the gap, a fragment of the large Yalta fault, the canyon block was uplifted, and the neighboring one sank, and the Kuru-Uzen basin of tectonic origin was formed in it.
So, we came to the beginning of the Grand Canyon. From here you can return the same way or go around the gorge on the right along the path near the cliff. The first path is short, but difficult due to numerous descents along the walls of evorsion boilers and baths; the second is longer, but without rocky obstacles.
Walking around the top of the canyon, we will see that the relief of the right slope is complex, more precisely three-story: above the gorge (first floor) rises a steep slope of the gorge (second floor), ending at the top with a flat bottom ancient river. The position of the canyon was determined by a powerful, extended fault in the earth's crust in a northeastern direction, along which the limestones are fragmented.

AYAZMA TRAVEL
In a long strip of the South Bank special place occupies an area with a steep and inaccessible cliff of the Main Ridge approaching the sea between Balaklava Bay and the rocky Cape Aya. The area is unlike any other place on the South Coast and as a special part of it is highlighted in the tract. Experts in toponymy of Crimea associate the name of the tract with Greek word ayazma, meaning “sanctified, blessed.” Probably due to the proximity of the tract to the ancient temple on Cape Aya.
The Ayazma tract occupies the space between Balaklava Bay and the outstanding half-kilometer-high Cape Aya. Connoisseurs of Crimean nature are not exaggerating at all when they admire the wondrous landscapes of the tract, its grandiose slopes steeply falling to the shore, and are surprised at the wild chaos of boulders and rocks.
And the artist will succinctly say: I see an amazing world of colors of the sea, sky and mountains.
The coastal forest of the tract is also unique with such common, and in fact rare, trees as Stankevich pine, tall juniper, evergreen strawberry and wild pistachio, which have come down to us from before ice age history of the Earth. The landscape of the tract is no less striking than the famous landscapes of Batiliman, Laspi and Melas of the same South Coast.
You can get to the tract in two ways: from Balaklava along the path along the sea slope towards Cape Aya or from the 22nd kilometer of the Sevastopol-Yalta road, walk to the village of Reservnoye, and then go down to the sea. And it’s best to combine the two ways. From the Sevastopol - Yalta road, go through Rezervnoe to the tract, and then along the seaside slope to Balaklava. That's what we'll do.
From Sevastopol highway First it passes along the Heracles plateau, then enters the Sukhaya River gorge. Soon the steep walls of the gorge move apart, and we find ourselves in the wide and flat shallow Varnaut basin. At the 22nd kilometer of the highway, a 2 km long side road to the village of Reservnoye begins. The flat bottom and gentle slopes of the Varnaut Basin do not make much of an impression. At the outskirts of Reserve we turn right onto a country road. We cross a vast field and gradually climb through a low mountain forest to the pass. Along the way, here and there local rocks are visible - Upper Jurassic marbled limestones and conglomerates.
The forest suddenly ends, and we suddenly find ourselves on a low pass, approximately 300 - 350 m above sea level. A breathtaking panorama of the boundless sea and a mountain slope leading steeply to the sea, completely covered with forest, opens up. On the sides, rocky peaks and walls close the tract. In the unusually clean and transparent air, the distant Balaklava heights are clearly visible.
The descent from the pass is steep at first and requires attention. We will stick to the well-paved winding rocky path, going around protruding boulders and rocks one after another. And in some places there is so much debris that impassable stone fields appear. Complete chaos, and there is no order in the arrangement of the stone material: blocks and fragments lie next to the collapsed rocks different sizes. All this indicates multiple collapses of the limestone cliff of the Main Ridge.
And yet, in the stone chaos, pine grows magnificently - the main tree species of the tract, often forming small groves permeated with light. Take a closer look at the tree. This is not at all an ordinary slender Crimean pine with black-gray bark. Before us is a large spreading tree with brownish bark and a hemispherical crown, intricately curved serpentine branches, lush and long needles and sessile large cones directed strictly upward. In some trees, branches stretched horizontally, like ribbons in the wind. Pine is very decorative and at the same time highly individual. Concentrate a little, and you will immediately notice how different the trees are. Only at first glance they look the same. But the pine trees with a branched trunk are especially impressive. This unusual pine tree grows only in two areas of the Southern Coast - from Cape Aya to Balaklava and near Sudak in the New World. They call it Stankevich pine (named after the Crimean forester, the discoverer of this tree at the beginning of the 20th century), Sudak and Pitsunda. Stankevich's pine is classified as a protected tree and is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.
The pine amazes with its irrepressible vitality and, regardless of the puzzling topography of the tract, it grows beautifully on inaccessible rocks, and then one would like to call it a “climbing tree.” And when you go down to the beach, you will see that pine is also salt-tolerant - it is not afraid of sea spray and fog and grows on the edge of a sea cliff no worse than among rocks in the mountains.
After about a kilometer and a half, the pedestrian path ends at a grandiose limestone cliff several hundred meters high. The rocky wall falls into the sea without any transition. Perhaps there is no such grandiose cliff above the sea anywhere in Crimea, maybe even on Karadag. The cliff ends with the majestic Cape Aya, rising to 557 m. This is the second highest mountain in the coastal part of the South Coast, second only to Ayudag (577 m above sea level).
The coastal cliffs and cliffs of the Ayazma tract involuntarily resurrect the harsh peaks and turquoise bays of the Karadag mountain group in the other, opposite, part of the Southern Coast - in eastern Crimea. And the characteristic rocky peak of Cape Aya, which looks like the head of an animal with a narrow ear sticking out, makes us remember Mount Koshka in Simeiz, which looks like an animal cowering before jumping into the sea.
The path from the tract to Balaklava is not difficult. From the foothill terrace it’s only a few hundred meters to the Golden Beach (it’s a tradition in Crimea: at least it’s far from the best beach to call it “Golden”) with a pier for boats. On sea ​​vessel V summer time you can quickly get to Balaklava. It’s even better to walk the path to Balaklava. From the beach along the path we go out onto the seaside slope of the ridge, then onto a dirt road and, leaving the Genoese fortress aside, we find ourselves in Balaklava.

STONE MUSHROOMS
The valley of the south-bank Sotera river east of Alushta, unremarkable at first glance, is in fact extraordinary and attracts nature lovers. Well, at least because the remains of a mammoth were discovered in it, and in the cold water of a mountain river live... crabs. And the geologist will be attracted by the only “stone mushrooms” in Crimea, which will be discussed further.
Let's hit the road with eastern outskirts Alushta, which can be reached by city bus No. 1. The highway gradually gains altitude and quite soon leads to the Sudak Gate pass. The spacious mountainous Alushta amphitheater ends here and the eastern part of the South Coast begins. From the pass a panorama of the south-eastern coast opens, not shining with either bright greenery or sharp bends of the relief. A string of hills stretches into the distance like stone waves. The coastline is not visible, but the calm, soft outlines of the coast are visible. On the left, South Demerdzhi with its jagged peak and stone peaks rises from an unusual angle.
From the pass it is clearly visible that the base of the Main Ridge is composed of dark gray purple tint rocks of the Tauride series, outlined by calm lines. They stretch far to the east, almost to Sudak itself. And the huge cliffs of the Main Ridge consist of durable Upper Jurassic limestone.
In Crimea, rocks of the Tauride series are most common on the southern coast, and therefore this is the most suitable place to get acquainted with them. In the road cuts and steep cliffs of narrow valleys leading to the sea, it is clearly visible that the southern coastal slope consists of countless repeating thin layers of compacted clays, siltstones and sandstones. A characteristic feature of the layered strata is its rhythmic structure. The rocks that make it up are not located randomly, but strictly according to a pattern. Sandstone is followed by siltstone, followed by compacted clay. And then again sandstone, then siltstone, compacted clay and again the same repetition. But it is very interesting that in each such rhythm the constituent rocks are interconnected by gradual transitions.
The second characteristic feature of the Tauride series is that it is very difficult to locate. It is crumpled into folds of various shapes and sizes, ranging from centimeter-sized to large, several kilometers wide.
Take a closer look at the layers of sedimentary rocks. You will see that the lower boundary of the stone rhythms is sharp, unsmooth and complicated by small irregularities in the form of ridges, nipples and tubercles. These are flysch hieroglyphs - imprints of surface irregularities on which sandy sediment was deposited. Any of the hieroglyphs is a kind of “negative” of the unevenness of the bottom of the reservoir at the time of deposition of a layer of sand. Moving upward from the base of the rhythm, we will see that the size of the mineral particles gradually decreases and therefore in many cases it is impossible to accurately indicate the boundary between sandstone, siltstone and clay.
How was the Tauride series formed? How to explain its multiple rhythmicity, the gradual change in the size of clastic particles within the stone “rhythm” and the irregularities on the lower surface of the sandstone layers? These difficult questions are explained by the assumption of multiple influxes of bottom flows of turbid sediments from the coastal part into the deep parts of the sea basin during earthquakes.
Let's continue our journey. The highway follows loop after loop, going around valleys and gorges of small rivers and streams. Each of these valleys expands towards the sea with a small pebble beach. In summer, in such cozy places you will see a sports camp or recreation center.
At the 16th kilometer the highway crosses the valley of the Sotera River. In a side ravine, about a kilometer from the sea, at the end of the 19th century. N.A. Golovkinsky discovered mammoth bones. This was the first discovery of the remains of an Ice Age animal on the southern slope of the Crimean Mountains.
The Sotera Valley is especially attractive for its spectacular earthen pyramids, or “stone mushrooms”. They are a 25-minute walk from the 16th kilometer bus stop. From the highway along the forest road we will go up the Rocky Gorge of Sotera. After about 200 m the river turns left, and we should follow the right branch of the road up to the vast grassy terrace of Sotera. At its far end we will see a small gorge cut into Upper Jurassic brownish-brown conglomerates. On the right slope, among the sparse small-growing forest, high earthen pyramids “stone mushrooms” rose.
The caps of stone mushrooms are slabs of Upper Jurassic conglomerates several meters across. The legs, up to 4-6 meters high, are composed of a dense earthy mass with fragments of sandstone and limestone. Earthen pyramids were formed when the slope was destroyed by temporary flows of rain and melt water. The stone slabs lying on the surface did not collapse and remained in place, while the surrounding earthen mass was easily washed away. Over time, it was washed, and only under stone slabs it was preserved in the form of earthen pyramids. Taking a closer look at the slope, you will notice immature “stone mushrooms” with barely separated “hats”.

Kanaka, dawn over Crimea

Rivers and streams of the Crimean mountains
The main watershed of the entire Crimean Peninsula is located in the Crimean Mountains, most of the rivers originate on the main ridge, at an altitude of 600-1100 meters; on the yailas themselves, watercourses are almost completely absent, which is due to the hydrological manifestation of karst. The total drainage of the Crimean mountains is 773.5 million cubic meters, and the density of the river network is 0.2 km/km². Depending on the topography, rivers can be divided into groups: rivers, streams and gullies of the southern coast of Crimea, rivers and gullies of the north-eastern slopes of the main ridge of the Crimean Mountains and rivers and gullies of the north-western slopes of the main ridge of the Crimean Mountains.

The shortest watercourses are located on the southern coast of Crimea. The length of the rivers there usually does not exceed 10 km. Watercourses originate on the southern slopes of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains and flow into the Black Sea; they are characterized by slopes of 172-234 m/km. The average heights of their catchments are up to 900 m. The catchments themselves are small: 1.6–161 km². The source of some rivers are karst springs. The river valleys in the upper reaches are narrow, in the form of gorges, then they gradually widen, acquiring a trapezoidal shape in the lower reaches. Floodplains are narrow and exist only in the lower reaches. The channels in the lower reaches are mostly slightly sinuous, straightened, deepened and reinforced with concrete slabs to prevent flooding. There are 36 main watercourses in this group with a total length of 293.6 km.

The main rivers of the southern coast of Crimea:

Uchan-Su (Waterfall)
Derekoyka (Fast)
Avunda
Ulu-Uzen Alushtinsky
Demerdzhi
Ulu-Uzen East
The most significant rivers of Crimea in terms of length and water content originate on the northwestern slopes of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains. There are eight main rivers, their total length is 328 km. The rivers of this group flow into the Black Sea. Until about the middle of their course, the rivers have a character typical of mountain streams. Here large slopes(up to 180 m/km). River basins have a shape elongated along the rivers, widened in the upper part, where the main number of tributaries flow into. The main rivers of this group:

Black (Chorgun) - length 34.1 km. It originates in the Baydar Valley, along which it flows for 7.5 km. Along its slopes there are a number of watercourses that feed the river in the upper part. The constant flow in the channel is sometimes interrupted: the river is hidden in sediment, leaving the channel dry. It fills with water after rainfalls and floods. Below the confluence of the Urkusta River, the Black River enters a narrow gorge about 16 km long. Here the water moves, compressed by almost vertical rocks, and its flow intensifies. The flow weakens after the river enters the Inkerman Valley. Here two right tributaries flow into the Chernaya, one of which (Ai-Todorka) has sufficient water content, since it is fed by springs, and the other (Sukhaya) brings rainwater into the river.
Belbek - length 63 km. The deepest river in Crimea. It begins at the confluence of two mountain rivers. Between the mountain ranges, Belbek is a turbulent, never-drying stream, with a narrow channel, fast current and steep high banks. In the lower reaches, Belbek cuts through clay sediments, its flow slows down. When it flows into the sea, the channel looks like a ravine 25-30 m wide.
Kokkozka - length about 18 km, a tributary of the Belbek. It flows in a narrow gorge known as the Grand Canyon of Crimea.
Kacha - length 69 km. It originates on the northern slope of the central ridge of the Crimean Mountains at the confluence of two rivers - Pisary and Biyuk-Uzen. Its banks are high and rocky, the riverbed is wide, and the bottom is pebble throughout almost its entire length. All tributaries flow into the Kacha in its upper reaches. During heavy rains, as well as in autumn and winter, Kacha can flood heavily. In summer, due to the use of water for irrigation, it dries up.
Marta - length 21 km, tributary of the Kachi.
Alma - length 84 km. It is formed as a result of the confluence of two streams. It has a deeply incised valley with high banks. It receives water from many mountain streams and rivers. Alma does not dry out, but during rains and snow melting it can overflow its banks. Its flow slows down at the very bottom. Sea water salinizes the waters of the Alma mouth area.
Rivers and beams of the northeastern slopes of the main ridge of the Crimean mountains, total number There are 18 rivers and gullies in this group, the total length is 393.9 km. The rivers of this group flow mainly in a northern direction and flow into the Sivash Bay of the Azov Sea, although due to low water levels, they often do not reach it and are lost on the plain. This also includes the Baybuga River, which flows into the Feodosia Bay of the Black Sea. Only the uppermost sections of the basins of these rivers have mountainous terrain, while the predominant part drainage basins located in the flat part of Crimea. Average height drainage basins 450-500 m. The dimensions of the drainage basins are small. The main rivers of this group:

Biyuk-Yanyshar

Salgir - length 238 km. The upper reaches of the Salgir pass through a narrow valley with rocky banks; here he has mountain character and a well-developed network of tributaries originating from numerous sources.
Angara - length 13 km. It is one of the rivers at the confluence of which the Salgir is formed.
Kizylkobinka (Krasnopescherskaya) - length 5.1 km. When merging with Angara, it forms Salgir.
Biyuk-Karasu (Bolshaya Karasevka) - length 106 km. Right tributary of the Salgir. It originates near the city of Belogorsk, in the upper reaches it flows through the chalk rocks of the intermountain region, then enters the steppe region, where it flows only during the part of the year rich in precipitation (in winter and early spring).
Indole - length 55 km. In the upper reaches it looks like mountain streams flowing through ravines.
Eastern Bulganak - length 48 km.
Grand Canyon of Crimea
Since 1974 it has been a state nature reserve. Situated on east side Kokkoz Valley, deep in the northern slope of Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla, 4 km southeast of the village of Sokolinoe. The depth of the gorge reaches 250-320 m, the width in the narrowest places of the canyon does not exceed 2-3 m. The Auzun-Uzen River flows along the bottom of the canyon. The Grand Canyon was first described in detail by Professor I. I. Puzanov in 1925.

Climate
The climate of the mountains is moderately cold and humid. Winter precipitation most often prevails over summer, which is a sign of the Mediterranean climate. Winter in the mountains usually lasts from mid-October to the end of March. IN upper parts snow cover forms on the slopes, the thickness of which can reach a meter or more. The weather in winter is quite unstable, for example, temperatures in January can vary from −10 °C to +10 °C, and snow can fall in May. In winter, the slopes of several mountain ranges, such as Ai-Petri, Babugan-yayla, Chatyr-Dag and Demerdzhi, are prone to avalanches. Summer in the mountains is usually hot and dry. But even in summer, temperatures at night can drop to 0 °C. Fogs are very frequent throughout the year.

Each slope of the Crimean mountains has its own climatic conditions, as it is influenced by different prevailing winds.

Flora of the Crimean Mountains
Due to the complex terrain and varied climatic and meteorological conditions, the Crimean Mountains offer a wide variety of vegetation in a small space. If we consider the Crimean Mountains from a botanist's point of view, they can be divided into zones: the southern slopes of the mountains, the flat top of the mountain range - a plateau and the northern slope of the mountains.

The vegetation of the southern slope of the Crimean Mountains is most typical for Crimea. It includes elements unique to Crimea. As the mountains rise, the vegetation of the southern slopes of the mountains changes greatly, forming characteristic belts:

Southern coastal vegetation (maquis belt) - occupies the lowest part of the southern slope. This belt is characterized by a predominance of shrubs. Only here do wild evergreens grow: butcher's broom, strawberry tree, Cretan cistus and ivy. In addition to wild evergreens, a number of cultivated trees grow in the southern coastal zone: cypress, laurel tree and olive tree. The following characteristic plants complete the picture of the vegetation of the maquis belt on the southern slope:
Shrubs and subshrubs: juniper, abraham tree, zamanikha, hazelnut, cotoneaster, hold-tree, cup tree, blackberry and rosehip.
Herbs: capers, milkweed, mad cucumber.
Ornamental species bred by humans: silk acacia, magnolia, chamerops, cork oak, plane trees, boxwood, bananas, ailanthus, wisteria. Fruits: sweet almond, sweet chestnut, pistachio tree, loquat, pomegranate, fig tree and walnut.
The belt next to the maquis, located above 226 m. This belt is dominated by woody vegetation, which forms deciduous forests mixed type, but with a predominance of oak and small-leaved hornbeam. But in addition to oak and hornbeam, you can find here, especially in the western part, Crimean pine, which differs from ordinary pine in its long needles (8-15 cm), sessile cones, and pyramidal tent.
The third horizontal belt of vegetation consists of almost pure beech forests, but in some places Crimean and common pine are found, as well as other tree species: aspen, maple, mountain ash, dogwood. Beech forests rise to the very top of the southern slopes of the mountains.
In general, the plant belts on the northern slope of the mountains are located in the same way as on the southern slope, only on the northern slope there is no maquis belt. Instead, there is a meadow-steppe or forest belt with mixed vegetation. Pine trees are found almost along the entire slope. However, it grows in noticeable quantities on slopes. On mountain cliffs, the most common red-trunked species with bright green short needles is Scots pine. And below, among the oak forests, pine with a gray trunk and long, sparse, dull needles predominates. The northern slope is mainly divided into:

The lower forest consists of oak and small-leaved hornbeam, among which grow hazel, aspen, euonymus, buckthorn, barberry and hawthorn.
Belt of beech and hornbeam forests. There are also areas with Crimean and common pine and isolated lindens, maples, dogwoods, mountain ash, and in rare cases, birch is found in the forests of the northern slope.
The juniper elfin belt is found at elevations above 5,000 feet. Here, in addition to juniper, yew and daphine are found.
Yayla is mostly treeless. This is explained by the law of vertical zonation: the yayla lies above the natural forest boundary. However, the plateau of the Crimean mountains does not lie at any one level, but at altitudes from 600 to 1500 m above sea level. And since one is located above the other in steps, the forest grows well on the slope between two yailas, such as, for example, between the Dolgorukovsky plateau and Tyrke. At one time, this was explained by the fact that humans had burned and cut down the forests on the plateaus over many centuries, but paleobotanical studies convincingly suggest that in ancient times, 10,000 and 100,000 years ago, the plateaus were not completely covered with forest. Rather, it was a forest-steppe; exposed to the winds, the elevated areas remained treeless. Here is the kingdom of herbs. On the Crimean yailas from late April to autumn the following flowers bloom here: crocuses, adonis, irises, violets, adonis, speedwell, cinquefoil, meadowsweet, bedstraw, yarrow, St. John's wort, oregano, sleep-grass, Bieberstein's edelweiss (Crimean edelweiss). Yayla grasses: fescue, steppe sedge, clover, cuffs, feather grass, bluegrass, fescue, wheatgrass, timothy, hedgehog, short-legged grass. There are at least five hundred plant species on Demerdzhi. Forty-five plant species are found only on the yayla, being endemic.

Fauna of the Crimean Mountains
Since the Crimean steppe passes into the region of the foothills, rising gradually, it is impossible to establish a sharp boundary between them, nor can they be sharply divided animal world. Only the fauna of the southern coast differs sharply from the fauna of the northern slope of the mountains.

Mammals
The foothills and northern slope of the mountains are characterized by various species of hamsters, ground squirrels and jerboas. From the order of insectivores, the hedgehog is often found. In the foothills, mountain forests and on the southern coast, the Crimean weasel is found, which is a cross between a weasel and an ermine. The badger is found in the forests of the northern and southern slopes, and the steppe ferret is found in the foothills.

Among the predators in the Crimea are the fox and the stone marten. Occasionally, silver foxes are found among common foxes. The wolf lived in the Crimean mountains back in the 19th century, but has now been exterminated.

The largest mammal in Crimea, the deer, lives in mountain forests. Crimean deer has been poorly studied. Currently, this animal survives in small numbers in more remote high-mountain areas. In addition to deer, roe deer live in mountain forests.

Wild boar is ubiquitous. In the area of ​​the Bolshaya and Malaya Chucheli and Chernaya mountains, a mouflon introduced from Corsica in 1913 lives, numbering 250-300 heads.

Squirrel and hare are ubiquitous.

Birds
Representatives of the southern Russian steppes are mainly found in the foothills of Crimea. Several species of larks live on the northern slopes: sky lark, steppe lark, crested lark; Various types of oatmeal also live: millet, bald grass, wheatear, golden bee-eater; there are a lot of rollers and other species (quail, hoopoe). The following bird species are most characteristic of the mountain region, especially the northern slopes: shrike and little shrike, garden bunting, nightjar, noctuid owl, starling and goldfinch. There are also three species of nightingale found in this area: the western nightingale, the eastern nightingale and the Persian nightingale. The following birds are typical for mountain forests: Crimean tit, long-tailed tit, woodpecker, redstart, robin, warbler and jay. Mountain buntings are found high in the mountains. There is no noticeable difference between the bird fauna of mountain peaks and forests.

Yayla is especially poor in birds; here you can still find predators - the griffon vulture or, even more rarely, the vulture.

The forests on the southern slope are inhabited by blue tits, kinglets, crossbills and mountain buntings. In the cliffs there are: rock thrush, pika, wall climber, rock pigeon, tower swift and white-bellied swift.

The routes of migratory birds run through Crimean peninsula, reducing the distance of a non-stop flight (across the Black Sea) by one hundred kilometers.

Amphibians and reptiles
The following reptiles are found in the foothills: sand lizard, Crimean lizard, wall lizard. Amphibians include the edible frog, green toad, tree frog, spadefoot and crested newt.

On the southern coast you can find: night lizard, Crimean lizard, copperhead, yellow-bellied snake, leopard snake, yellow-bellied and river turtle, and among amphibians - tree and edible frog, newt and green toad.

Caves of Crimea
In the mountainous Crimea, researchers have discovered a very large number of small caves or mines, the exploration of many is still ongoing. Below is a list of the largest and most famous caves and mines in Crimea:

Skelskaya stalactite cave became a natural monument in 1947. Opened in 1904 by teacher F.A. Kirillov. The cave consists of several halls, the length of the largest of them reaches 80 meters, width 10-18 m, vault height 25 m.
Medovaya - the walls of the cave are covered with thermogravitational deposits. Length 205 m, depth 60 m.
Kyzyl-Koba (Red Caves) - cave length 21,150 m, amplitude 275 m. The longest cave in Crimea. Located on the slope of the Dolgorukovsky massif. Since 1963, it has been a natural monument.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
Tauride Mountains - article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd edition)
Zakaldaev N.V., “Pass of the Mountain Crimea” | Tourist club KPI Globus
http://krim.biz.ua/geologija.html
Mountain encyclopedia. M.: “Soviet Encyclopedia”, 1984-1991. Art. "Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic"

Http://gruzdoff.ru/
Mouflons » Hiking in Crimea
Binbash-koba // encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
Lebedinsky V.I., Makarov N.N. Volcanism of the Crimean Mountains. - Kyiv: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, 1962. - 208 p.
Pchelintsev V.F. Formation of the Crimean Mountains / Responsible. ed. prof. S. S. Kuznetsov; Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Geological Museum named after A.P. Karpinsky. - M.-L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1962. - 88 p. - (Proceedings. Issue XIV). — 1000 copies. (region)
http://www.photosight.ru/

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The mountains on the Crimean peninsula are quite different. Some of them are picturesque, and some are very high and dangerous. In all cases, each of them has its own unique flavor.

The mountains of Crimea continue to be explored by scientists even today. However, it has long been known that they are formed by three ridges stretching parallel in the direction from northeast to southwest. Between them are two vast picturesque valleys.

The article provides more detailed information about some of the most remarkable mountains of Crimea: photos, names, descriptions, interesting facts, etc.

General information about Crimea

Two quite important for tourism coexist here. natural factors: clean and warm sea, unique and picturesque mountains. The second is suitable for romantic hiking and rock climbing, as well as for various winter sports. Some mountainous areas have the status of nature reserves, along which a variety of tourist routes for climbers are laid. Other mountains are interesting for lovers of antiquity, as they have the remains of the ruins of ancient fortifications, and some are simply picturesque and equipped with convenient viewing platforms.

In any case, almost all peaks offer magnificent views of the coast and sea.

Characteristics of the mountain system

The entire mountain system occupies the south and southeast of the peninsula, and is called the Crimean Mountains. The system was formed, as noted above, by three mountain ranges. They stretch from Feodosia (Cape St. Elijah) to Balaklava (Cape Aya). The length is 160 kilometers, width is approximately 50 km. The inner ridge has a height of 750 meters. It is represented by several cuestas that smoothly rise to 350 meters. The highest point of the mountains is located on the main ridge stretching along the southern coast of Crimea. This mountain of Southern Crimea is called Roman-Kosh. It rises to a height of 1545 meters and is located on Babugan-yayla (the highest massif of the Crimean mountains).

In general, there are many mountains in Crimea. Even during the entire vacation it is impossible to see them all. There is a big plus that is a feature of these places - no matter where the seaside resort is located, there is always a picturesque hill or mountain on the coast of Crimea where you can walk or go on an excursion.

A little about the origin of the Crimean Mountains

If the mountains of Crimea are considered in geological terms, then it can be noted that the Main Ridge is an elevated block with several faults on the northern side. A similar structure formed in the Early Cretaceous period, after other synclinal (concave) troughs closed in the southern part of the peninsula, and the surface of Crimea rose. All this gave the landscape its current shape. The mountains are mainly composed of sedimentary rocks 180-200 million years old. Moreover, they are distributed rather unevenly. At the very bottom there are quartzite sandstones and shales, crushed into folds, and then higher up there are conglomerates, igneous rocks and layers of clays and sandstones. Higher up there are Upper Jurassic limestones, conglomerates, clay and sandstones.

Geologically, the Crimean Mountains are part of the Alpine folded region of Europe.

The most famous mountains

Among tourists special interest The following mountains of Crimea cause:

• Ak-Kaya (valley of the Biyuk-Karasu river near the village of Belaya).
• Bakatash (Dachnoe village).
• Taraktash (between the village of Kamenka and Sudak).
• Angarsk Pass (according to other Angar-Bogaz).
• Rock of Dates (between the settlements of Zelenogorye and Privetnoye).
• Baydarskie Gate pass (in Foros).
• Ai-George (on Solnechnaya Dolina).
• Cape Plaka (Utes village).
• Rock Diva and Cat Mountain (near Simeiz).
• Valley of Ghosts (near Alushta).
• Paragilmen (near the village of Old Mayak).
• Rock Red Stone (in Gurzuf).
• Ayu-Dag (or Bear Mountain in Crimea - the most famous in the whole world).
• Roman-kosh (opposite Mount Ayu-Dag).
• Ai-Petri (Alupka-Koreiz).
• Sokol (between settlements New World and Sudak).
• Demerdzhi (near Alushta).
• Kara-Dag (near the village of Koktebel).
• Meganom (Sudak-Solnechnaya Dolina).

All these mountains, massifs and rocks have their own a separate story. Below are the most unique, bright and famous of them.

The highest mountain of Crimea

This peak is part of the huge Babugan-yayla massif, which is part of the Crimean Nature Reserve. This is Roman-Kosh. Some geologists are of the opinion that this mountain is a volcano, but not fully formed.

Its name is translated differently among the inhabitants of the peninsula. According to one version, it has Indo-Aryan roots and its meaning is “upper rest stop”. Another version is much simpler - translated from the language of the Crimean Tatars it means “forest pasture”.

Today, climbing to the top of Roman-Kosh is quite a difficult task. This is due to the fact that it is located in the Crimean Nature Reserve. Unaccompanied tourists are prohibited from entering it. Only official bus and car excursions with a ranger are allowed here. IN otherwise, foresters can send it back and issue an administrative fine in Alushta.

It should be noted that from the height of Roman-Kosha, stunning landscapes open in all directions.

Northern and Southern Demerdzhi

Mount Demerdzhi (Crimea) is a large mountain range located near Alushta. It has two peaks: Northern (height 1356 m), Southern (1239 meters). The difference in height is almost 100 meters, but the one below is more popular.

South Demerdzhi is composed of limestones that have been exposed to rain and winds for thousands of years. Thanks to this, the rocks located at the top and at the foot acquired the most incredible shapes and shapes, reminiscent of people and animals.

From the Crimean Tatar language the name is translated as “blacksmith”, but even earlier the mountain was called Funa, which translated means “smoking”. The first name remains with the fortress built at the foot. Also located near Demerdzhi was the village of Luchistoye, which until the mid-20th century bore the name of the same name as the mountain. After a strong collapse occurred, this settlement was moved away from the massif.

South Demerdzhi attracts with its Valley of Ghosts, views of Chatyr-Dag, Moonlight Glade, etc.

The Legend of Demerdzhi

A very touching legend tells that nomads once conquered the Funa fortress. They set up a forge on the mountain, in which local village men were forced to work. And all the work was supervised by a blacksmith with a black beard.

One day, one girl named Maria decided to stand up for the men and asked that the workers be released. The chief blacksmith agreed on the condition that she would marry him. When the girl refused, the angry blacksmith killed her, and at that moment the mountain shook, turning everyone on it into stone statues.

In Crimea, this one of the most beautiful mountains ranks fifth in height (1234 meters). It is known to almost every tourist who has visited this peninsula. It is at an altitude of 1234 meters that tourists find themselves when disembarking from the cable car. Construction of this crossing began in 1967 and lasted 20 years. It should be noted that Miskhor-Ai-Petri is cable car, which has one of the longest unsupported spans in Europe.

Ai-Petri translated means “Saint Peter”. There is a legend associated with this name about a young man and his girlfriend. Young man name was Peter. Their parents were against their marriage, and the young people, having climbed the mountain, decided to die together by throwing themselves from a height. However, there was no suitable area for both of them, so the young man had to jump first. At that moment, his girlfriend screamed out of fear, “St. Peter!”, after which she changed her mind about taking her own life.

A must-see for tourists is the observation deck on the Zubtsy. These rocks have been a natural monument since 1947, and from its observation deck the whole thing is visible South coast peninsula.

There are 3 caves on Ai-Petri: Yaltinskaya, Trekhglazka and Geofizicheskaya. It should be noted that the air temperature in them never rises above +12 degrees.

Ayu-Dag, covered in legends

Bear Mountain in Crimea (see photo in the article) is familiar to many both for its bizarre appearance and for the fact that on one of its mighty sides it shelters the famous Artek camp in the resort Gurzuf.

This huge hill is located between Partenit and Gurzuf. It is clearly visible from many places on the Crimean coast; its appearance is easily recognizable in all photos.

This mountain is interesting for both natural and man-made attractions. You can find minerals here such as pyrite, tourmaline, vesuvian and amethyst. The stands on Red Square in Moscow are lined with gabbro-diabase from these places. There are also lead crystals that appear as a result of volcanic processes.

Geologists have suggested that this massif is located directly above a major fault in the earth’s crust. Transverse deep cracks indicate this.

The forests covering the mountain contain pistachios, strawberries and other rare plants that can be up to several hundred years old. Crocuses, snowdrops, orchids and wild gladioli bloom here in spring and summer. "Bear's Nose" is the only place where Crimean forest cabbage grows. The fauna in these places is also diverse (16 species are listed in the Red Book).

The archeology of Bear Mountain is also rich. The remains of Tauri settlements, Christian and pagan temples were discovered on it, among which there are structures decorated with statues of Zeus and other Greek gods. Here you can see both the fortress walls and the burial ground of Christians. The descendants of the Scythians, Alans and Byzantines lived in these places. The massif was densely populated until the 15th century, but later people no longer settled here. Scientists explain this by the earthquake that occurred here, which cut off the supply of drinking water to these places.

Some interesting facts about Crimea

1. A hundred years ago the peninsula was called Taurida. And in the composition Russian Empire Crimea was called the Tauride province.
2. Archaeologists in the Crimean mountains, in the Kiik-Koba cave, discovered traces of a Neanderthal site.
3. Due to the presence of diverse climatic zones, the peninsula has many endemic species of plants and animals. In total, 240 species of such plants grow in Crimea.
4. The peninsula is famous for the longest trolleybus route on the planet. The trolleybus runs between Simferopol and Yalta, and the length of this route is 86 km.
5. In Crimea there is a power plant operating on solar powered and being, according to 2014 data, the most powerful. It was built in the village of Perovo by the Austrians in 2011.
6. The films “Farewell of the Slav” and “Treasure Island” were filmed in Malorechenskoye, and the legendary “Prisoner of the Caucasus” was filmed in the vicinity of Demerdzhi.

The Crimean mountain ranges are a unique creation of nature, the heritage of the peninsula and its main wealth. Walking along the peaks will be an excellent option for a summer vacation.

The Crimean peninsula is a paradise for tourists who prefer active mountain activities to passive time on the beach. Peaks and plateaus, rocks, ridges attract lovers of mountaineering and walking in places unspoiled by human activity. The Crimean mountains are located in three ridges - External, Internal and Main.

Mountain Crimea

The main ridge of the Crimean Mountains separates the northern part of the peninsula from the southern one. Its length is more than 100 kilometers, and the highest point is Mount Roman-Kosh - it rises 1545 meters above sea level.
The peaks of the Main Ridge do not grow. More precisely, they rise 3-4 m per year, but due to the natural influence of precipitation and winds, the process does not develop and is completely invisible.
Rejected mountains that slid a long time ago formed new massifs. The most famous of them: Mount Cat, Paragilmen, Ai-Nikola. Chaos have “grown” on their steep slopes, some of which have even been awarded the title of landmark.

Mount Bakatash

On the road from Sudak to Simferopol you can see the amazing peak Bakatash. It is located near the village of Dachnoye. It received the name “Bakatash”, which means “Frog” in Crimean Tatar, for its resemblance to an amphibian. The forces of nature gave it such a bizarre shape - due to the constant weathering of centuries, the rocks changed their shape.
The mountain is notable for the fact that at some distance from it the massif ceases to resemble a toad, its outlines are more like a girl’s form.

Rock Panea

Simeiz has its own mountain attraction. This is the Panea rock - an amazing creation of nature, connecting to the Black Sea. It rises 70 meters above it.
Archaeological excavations that were carried out on the rock proved that a monastery with a temple was located here for a very long time, and dwellings for parishioners were also built. Elements of Taurian ceramics were found, which gives grounds to assert that it was the Tauri who previously lived on Panea.
From the top of the cliff there is a wonderful view of the sea surface. You can get here along the northern and northeastern slopes.

Mount Ayu-Dag

There are legends about Bear Mountain, next to Partenit. This is one of the most famous attractions in all of Crimea. Scientists have proven that it is a volcano, the lava of which was unable to escape and froze, forming a magma dome. The laccolith is shaped like a huge bear that decided to drink from the waters of the Black Sea. Its “body” is covered with dense vegetation, and from the top an incredibly beautiful panorama of small coves opens up.
Today Ayu-Dag is a landscape reserve, a monument of Crimean nature.

Date Rock

Rendezvous Rock got its name due to the close proximity of the two peaks, which are located side by side. One of the above is called Kuracha-Kai - rock-boy. The other one is smaller, they call it Deky-Kuracha - girl rock. They have been standing side by side for many centuries, as if they met here on purpose, away from prying eyes, in the lap of picturesque nature.
Another less romantic name for the rock is Camel.
The Crimean mountain ranges are a unique creation of nature, the heritage of the peninsula and its main wealth.

If you have been to Crimea at least once, then Crimean mountains leave a lasting impression, especially if you see them for the first time. And when you start conquering the Crimean mountains, you simply fall in love with them!

The southern coast of Crimea is a mountain kaleidoscope. The mountains separate the coast from the northern part of the peninsula and attract with a wide variety of ridges, peaks, cliffs, and plateaus to everyone who loves a mountain holiday in Crimea.

If you fly over the entire Crimean mountain range in a helicopter, you can see how it “grows” from its edges to the center. The low Baydar plateau gives way to the Ai-Petrinsky plateau with a maximum height of 1320 meters, passing into the Yalta yayla (up to 1406 meters). Even higher is Nikitskaya yayla (up to 1470 meters), adjacent to it is Gurzufskaya yayla (up to 1540 meters), then Babugan-yayla with the peak of Roman-Kosh (1545 meters). This is the center of the Main Ridge, and below it, between Gurzuf and Alushta, is the very middle of the South Coast region.

"Yayla" means "summer pasture" in Turkic. This everyday word entered into geographical science, since for most of the year the local population grazed cattle on the plateaus.

Further to the east, the ridge breaks and retreats from the coast, forming the Chatyr-Dag mountain ranges separated by rocks with the peaks of Eklizi-Burun (1527 meters) and Demerdzhi (1356 meters). A natural bridge - Mount Tyrke - connects the Demerdzhinsky plateau with the largest area, Karabi-yayla. Its height is smaller - 1258 meters. In the eastern part of the peninsula there are the mountains of the Outer Ridge, the Kerch Hills, the steppe, and the sandy coast of the Azov Sea.

Western Crimea is everything west of the Salgir River, which divides the capital of Crimea itself in two. The Crimean steppe begins from Simferopol towards Tarkhankut and Evpatoria. The road through Bakhchisaray to Sevastopol is mainly the Crimean foothills (land at the foot of the northern slope of the mountains). It's cooler here, there's more moisture, better soil. Rivers flow through the valleys and orchards grow.

The western coast from Sevastopol to Tarkhankut is not at all similar to the southern coastal mountains - these are steep banks made of sand and clay, with large areas of sandy beaches in the Evpatoria region, on the embankments of estuaries and salt lakes.

How the mountainous Crimea was formed

How and when they appeared Crimean mountains- this is the question asked by everyone who saw them. Is in constant motion Earth's crust. In the history of the planet, sea and land could change places many times: the bottom rose - the waters subsided, mountains began to grow, then the restless firmament sank - and again the ocean flooded these aged cliffs, peaks, abysses... So in the place of Crimea there was once an ancient Tethys Ocean. At its bottom, about 200 million years ago, the rocks of our future Crimean Mountains began to be deposited, but the age of the oldest rocks is no less than a billion years. These rocks can be seen on the southern cliffs and in the river valleys of the northern slope. At the base of the Crimean mountains, deep underground, lies a dark “Tauride platform”, crumpled into random folds. On top of it, rocks of different ages are captured by natural cement and compressed into conglomerates (they can best be seen on Mount South Demerdzhi), and even higher lies marble-like limestone - the most common sedimentary rock in Crimea rock. But this is only a general outline: the true composition of the Crimean subsoil is rich, diverse and not yet fully understood.

Scientists believe that during the Mesozoic era Crimean peninsula was a group of volcanic islands - it was then that the main geological structures of the mountainous Crimea were formed. The land rose and fell, the ocean came and went for a long time, for thousands of years. This complex dramatic history of the Crimean mountains can be read in their folded floors.

Gradually, starting from the Cretaceous period (137-67 million years ago) and until the Miocene era of the Cenozoic era (25 million years ago), the Crimean mountains grew through a single basin of the Black and Caspian seas. The formation of the mountainous Crimea began 10-13 million years ago, after another powerful uplift earth's surface. However, the current mountains are much younger. After all the uplifts, subsidences, tectonic movements, collapses and landslides, they took on their modern appearance only 1.5-2 million years ago. The Crimean mountains were exposed, rose “from the bosom of the waters”, and settled down in long ridges - Home(first) Internal(second) and very low External(third).

Three ridges of the Crimean mountains

The main ridge of the Crimean mountains, gently sloping from the north and steeply sloping to the south, with large plateaus, separated and fenced off the southern coast of Crimea from the north, gave rise to short rivers on the southern slope, almost drying up by summer, and relatively long rivers flowing to the west and north. The length of the main ridge of the Crimean Mountains is about 110 kilometers (from Feodosia to Balaklava), the maximum height of the Crimean Mountains is 1545 meters, this is Mount Roman-Kosh.

In the distant past, alien mountains separated from the Main Ridge and slid down to the coast - the Adalary rocks, Krestovaya rock, Ai-Nikola, Mount Koshka. The highest outlier is Mount Paragilmen, its height is 857 meters. Under the steep cliffs of the Main Ridge, blocks of destroyed mountains - “chaos” - were piled up. Some of them are declared natural monuments.

Much lower than Main. Maximum height its 750 meters. These soft limestone mountains, also with plateaus, gave shelter to the inhabitants of the Middle Ages - people began to dig caves and settle in them. Cave cities are built one after another. Some scientists are inclined to see this as the implementation of a plan - the creation of a single defensive line.

Outer ridge of the Crimean mountains even further to the north and even lower - its height is no more than three hundred meters. Behind it, the entire Crimea, right up to Sivash, appears as a flat steppe - fields, vineyards, sunflower and corn plantations, separated by forest belts, and recently there has also been a lot of uncultivated land, again turned into “virgin land”.

All three ridges of the Crimean mountains converge in the area of ​​​​Sevastopol, built on the Heracles peninsula, dotted with bays.

Peaks of the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains now they rise by 3-4 millimeters per year, but in fact they do not grow, because the destruction of rock under the influence of water, wind, frost (weathering) and atmospheric moisture with dissolved in it carbon dioxide(karsting) outpaces growth. In Crimea there are 8,500 large karst sinkholes that can eventually turn into caves, and 870 real caves. The longest of them (20.5 kilometers) is Kizil-Koba on Dolgorukovskaya Yayla, the deepest (517 meters) is the Soldatskaya mine on Karabi-Yayla, and the most beautiful of the equipped ones and therefore the most visited is the Marble Cave on Chatyr-Dag.

There are fossil reefs among the limestone mountains. This is everyone's favorite mountain Ai-Petri. Its age is approximately 150 million years. There are laccoliths of the Mesozoic era - “failed volcanoes” of the domed shape of Ayu-Da g and Kastel, and pointed ones - Mount Ay-Yuri.

Three ridges of the Crimean mountains The main ridge of the Crimean mountains, gently sloping from the north and steeply sloping to the south, with large plateaus, separated and fenced off the southern coast of Crimea from the north, gave rise to short rivers on the southern slope, almost drying up by summer, and relatively long rivers flowing to the west and north. The length of the main ridge of the Crimean Mountains is about 110 kilometers (from Feodosia to Balaklava), the maximum height of the Crimean Mountains is 1545 meters, this is Mount Roman-Kosh. In the distant past, alien mountains separated from the Main Ridge and slid down to the coast - the Adalary rocks, Krestovaya rock, Ai-Nikola, Mount Koshka. The highest outlier is Mount Paragilmen, its height is 857 meters. Under the steep cliffs of the Main Ridge, blocks of destroyed mountains - “chaos” - were piled up. Some of them are declared natural monuments. Inner ridge of the Crimean mountains much lower than the main one. Its maximum height is 750 meters. These soft limestone mountains, also with plateaus, gave shelter to the inhabitants of the Middle Ages - people began to dig caves and settle in them. Cave cities are built one after another. Some scientists are inclined to see this as the implementation of a plan - the creation of a single defensive line. Outer ridge of the Crimean mountains even further to the north and even lower - its height is no more than three hundred meters. Behind it, the entire Crimea, right up to Sivash, appears as a flat steppe - fields, vineyards, sunflower and corn plantations, separated by forest belts, and recently there has also been a lot of uncultivated land, again turned into “virgin land”. All three ridges of the Crimean mountains converge in the area of ​​​​Sevastopol, built on the Heraclean Peninsula, dotted with bays. The peaks of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains are now rising by 3-4 millimeters per year, but in fact they are not growing, because the destruction of rock under the influence of water, wind, frost (weathering) and atmospheric moisture with carbon dioxide dissolved in it (karsting) is faster than growth. In Crimea there are 8,500 large karst sinkholes that can eventually turn into caves, and 870 real caves. The longest of them (20.5 kilometers) is Kizil-Koba on Dolgorukovskaya Yayla, the deepest (517 meters) is the Soldatskaya mine on Karabi-Yayla, and the most beautiful of the equipped ones and therefore the most visited is the Marble Cave on Chatyr-Dag. There are fossil reefs among the limestone mountains. This is everyone’s favorite Mount Ai-Petri. Its age is approximately 150 million years. There are laccoliths of the Mesozoic era - “failed volcanoes” of the dome-shaped Ayu-Dag and Kastel, and pointed ones - Mount Ay-Yuri.