The geographical position of the Crimean peninsula. Geography. The geographical position of Crimea

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 made numerous passages, mines, deep wells, amazingly beautiful caves in the thickness of the mountains.

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

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 high 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.

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

Crimea also includes two peninsulas:

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

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

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

Geographic characteristics

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

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

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

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

Relief

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

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

Here are some natural and historical monuments of Crimea:

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

In Europe, older finds are not known.

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

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

The highest mountain in the Crimean mountains is Roman-Kosh (1545 m).

Crimean mountains

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

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

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

The width of the mountain strip reaches 50 km.

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

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

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

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

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

Steppe

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

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

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

Rivers and lakes

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

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

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

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

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

Weather in Crimea

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

However, there are differences in the south and north. On the southern coast, the Crimean peninsula is close to Mediterranean and subtropical, and in the northern part of the peninsula it is continental.

Summers are sunny and rather hot, with rare but heavy rains. It usually starts in mid-May and lasts until the end of September. The air in these places is not very humid. Autumn in the Crimea is rainy, but warm, almost windless, smoothly turning into a snowy winter with rare, not severe frosts.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Crimea is not only an administrative and resort unit. First of all, it is a peninsula, a geographical unit. Consequently, in the lessons of the geography of their native land, local students memorize the extreme points of the Crimea - their coordinates, names and features.

Extreme northern point in Crimea

• Coordinates - 46.161050, 33.692249.

It is difficult to name a specific point for this tip of the peninsula - the northern cordon of Crimea runs across the Perekop isthmus. But where is his place? Theoretically right in the middle. Where is his middle?

As a result, geographers took the path of least resistance, issuing a conditional border, indicating that the nearest settlement to the northern point of Crimea was the village of Perekop. It is subordinate to the city council of Armyansk (the city is also located on the isthmus). The settlement was the result of an attempt to restore the town of the same name - it was destroyed during the Civil War. Now about 1000 people live in it, in fact it is a district. Next to it is the border area. But the village itself is not included in it.

As for, it has always been considered the most vulnerable and "responsible" part of the Crimea. It connects it to the mainland, while it is very narrow (no more than 9 km). When trying to attack Taurida from land, Perekop took the brunt of it - for this reason, even in ancient times, it was blocked by defensive structures called. Due to the narrowness of the perimeter, the defense could be held for a long time and reliably - this business was always entrusted to the best military leaders, and the reliable defense of Perekop greatly increased the overall security of Crimea (it is also not easy to take it from the sea).

Of the "warriors of Perekop", the Tatar Murza Tugay-bey (comrade-in-arms of B. Khmelnitsky) and M.V. Frunze, who in 1920 organized a unique military operation to defend the white army of Baron Wrangel.

Extreme point in the south of Crimea

• Coordinates - 44.386747, 33.777032.

With the south, everything is also not easy, the sources call two capes - and Nikolai (both - next to and next to each other).

In fact, the extreme southern point of the Crimea is still Cape Nikolai, but Sarych is 3 geographical minutes to the north. It's just that he is more famous, in particular, for the legendary battle of the Russian squadron with the Breslau and Goeben cruisers at the initial stage of the First World War.

Its name is associated with the name of N.N. Raevsky, general, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, father-in-law of the Decembrist S.G. Volkonsky. For his military exploits, the commander was granted a country estate near the cape, and the geographical object was named after the patron saint of himself and his father.

Now it is problematic to get to the ledge itself - there is a frontier post on it. Near it camp "Foros" is located.

Extreme point in the west of Crimea

• Coordinates - 45.390415, 32.480458.

The extreme western point of Crimea will not provide a comfortable rest - the shores of Cape Priboyny (the Tatar name Kara-Mrun is also common) are steep, there are no tolerable roads on its plateau.

But it is located in a romantic resort area - it is part of the Tarkhankut Peninsula. The nearest settlement to it is popular. Surfing delimits and . From the north, its neighbor is Ocheretai Bay, also known among tourists.

A geodetic sign has been installed on the cape. Its plateau is covered with the usual annual meadow herbs and, in principle, is not very interesting. Usually regulars wander here to take pictures "in the very west of Crimea."

Extreme eastern point in Crimea

• Coordinates - 45.382946, 36.644643.

But not all extreme points of Crimea are so mysterious or everyday. Its eastern end - - has a clear location on the map, a rich and, moreover, well-studied history, and no one disputes its right to be called the "border".

The cape is found on, near the outskirts of modern Kerch and marks the entrance to. For this reason, it has been marked by people since ancient times. Archaeologists have recorded the existence of settlements of the Bronze Age and the ancient Greek settlement Parthenium on Lantern.

There is an active lighthouse on the cape. It appeared there in 1820, but now you can see only new buildings - the old ones were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War (the participants of the Kerch-Eltingen operation were disembarked here). The lighthouse complex still does not guarantee against crashes - in 1995, the cargo ship Doge sank under the Syrian flag abeam Lantern - the now abandoned ship is a bait

The geographical position of Crimea

The Crimean Peninsula has a relatively small territory: for comparison, we can say that it is 20 times smaller in area than the Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas, and 15 times smaller than Kamchatka and Asia Minor. Crimea is located 44 and 46 degrees N. sh., i.e. this is the southern territory, it corresponds to the south of France, Ciscaucasia or the Great American Lakes in North America.

Crimea is an integral part of the vast continent of Eurasia, while it is located almost at an equal distance from both the North Pole and the equator, since a latitude of 45 degrees crosses the peninsula near the city of Dzhankoy. Approximately here the border of two climatic zones passes: the temperate zone and the subtropics, therefore, in the Crimea, on this small peninsula, one can observe atmospheric and natural processes and phenomena characteristic of both belts.

The Crimean peninsula occupies a relatively small territory - in terms of area it is 20 times smaller than the Iberian and Balkan Peninsulas, 15 times smaller than Kamchatka and Asia Minor. But Crimea has become famous, significant and attractive largely due to the peculiarities of its nature, and above all, its peculiar geographical position.

The Perekop Isthmus is the northernmost point of the Crimean Peninsula. It is removed from Cape Sarych (the southernmost point) at 207 km. From the extreme western point - Cape Kara-Mrun, located on the Tarkhankut Peninsula, to Cape Lantern on the Kerch Peninsula - east - 324 km. And three capes, like the three legendary biblical whales lying in the Black and Azov Seas, seem to "support" the peninsula afloat.

In shape, Crimea resembles a slightly distorted rhombus, but if you turn on your imagination, you can see in the outlines of the peninsula - a bird that dives into the waters of the Black Sea. But the beauty of the peninsula, combined with its outlines, gave the well-known Chilean poet Pablo Neruda the idea to call Crimea "the most magnificent medal on the chest of the Earth."

Close to the truth and the figurative expression "the island of Crimea." The thing is that only the Perekop Isthmus connects it with land, the width of which narrows in places to only 7 km. And all transport routes in the area of ​​the Chongar Strait are laid across the Sivash Bay by an embankment dam and a bridge.

Sometimes, in old guidebooks, the Perekop Isthmus was compared with the Isthmus of Panama in terms of its geographical significance, but instead of deep oceanic waters, it is surrounded by shallow waters and viscous gray mud of the Rotten Sea (Sivash). In the distant revolutionary times, the isthmus was dug deep, up to 10 m, a ditch, next to which an earthen rampart 8 meters high, up to 11 km long, was built.

The almost "island" geographical position of Crimea, surrounded by two - the Black and Azov Seas, enhances the isolation of the peninsula, and is noticeably reflected in the features of its landscapes, flora and fauna. That is why not only many rare species are found here, but also endemic species found on Earth only in the Crimea.

Crimea is also characterized by a circular (circum-island) distribution of climatic phenomena, which is manifested in less precipitation, longer sunshine, and the presence of breezes on the coast, which distinguishes them from the central parts of the peninsula. A special place of the peninsula is the Crimean mountains, which form another internal "island", with its own special and unique features and characteristics.

The Crimean peninsula, located in the extreme east of the vast Mediterranean, is a connecting "bridge" connecting the East European Plain, Asia Minor and the Caucasus. Therefore, in the Crimea, there is a change in the areas of geographical distribution of a number of plant and animal species, which gives originality to the flora and fauna of the peninsula.

The landscapes of the peninsula are also diverse, where vast flat plains alternate with dissected uplands, and in the south they are replaced by mountain ranges that abruptly break off to the Black Sea. Due to the sublatitudinal location of the Crimean Mountains, even in a relatively small area of ​​the peninsula, there is a sharp contrast between the temperate steppe climate of the plains and the almost sub-Mediterranean climate on the southern coast of Crimea.