Landscape complexes of the Crimea. Types of landscapes. Karadag nature reserve

The exceptionally high landscape and biological diversity of Crimea, despite its insignificant latitudinal extent (324 km in latitude and 207 km in the meridian), is its main resource in the context of providing a landscape background for different types medical and recreational, sports, educational and recreational activities and the organization of special visits to landscape objects for excursion demonstrations and actions of ecological tourism.

Crimea - unique territory in terms of the combination of landscapes in an insignificant area (26 thousand sq. km): flat semi-desert, typical steppe; foothill forest-steppe and forest; mountain forest (oak, hornbeam, pine, beech) forests and semi-subtropical endemic and relict juniper-pistachio forests (Fig. 2.21). The unique landscape diversity has a high aesthetic value and attractiveness for tourist and recreational activities. Landscape diversity is enhanced by the combination of flat and mountainous landscapes, land and sea, and complemented by underground cave landscapes 1.

Pozachenyuk E., Karpenko S. Landscape and recreational microzoningas a basis fo rcreation of new recreational / tourism obiects evidence from Crimea, Ukraine Krajobraz aczlowiek wczasie iprzestrzeni // Prace Komisii Krajobrazu Kulturowego / Komisja Krajobrazu Kulturowego PTG, Sosnowiec. 2013. No. 20. P. 26-33.

Rice. 2.21.

Zone of low-lying undrained and weakly drained accumulative and denudation plains with fescue-feather grass, wormwood-fescue steppes

in a complex with halophytic meadows and steppes Hydromorphic belts:

coastal undrained lowlands, beaches and spits with halophytic meadows, salt marshes and psammophyte communities; accumulative and denudational undrained and weakly drained lowlands with wormwood-fescue, wormwood-wheatgrass and feather-grass-fescue steppes;

accumulative and denudational weakly drained plains with feather grass-fescue and wormwood-fescue steppes;

| accumulative drained and weakly drained lowlands with feather-grass-fescue steppes in combination with feather-grass-forb steppes.

The zone of typical feather grass-fescue steppes and poorly forb-feather grass-fescue steppes in combination with petrophytic

and shrub steppes

Landscape tiers:

I I denudation layer of feather-grass-fescue, petrophytic and shrub steppes;

1 denudation-accumulative layer with feather grass-fescue, shrub-forb and petrophytic steppes.

The zone of foothill accumulative, remnant-denudation and structural denudation plains and cuesta uplands with forb steppes, shrub thickets, forest-steppe and low-growing oak forests Landscape belts of the northern macroslope:

forbs-bearded and forbs-asphodeline steppes on accumulative and denudation plains; d forest-steppe on denudation-remnant, structural denudation and accumulative plains, cuest heights;

| oak forests and shrubs on denudation-remnant and inclined structural denudation plains and cuesta uplands.

Landscape belts in the low-mountain zone South Shore Crimea:

| | oak-pistachio, juniper-pine forests and shibliak

thickets;

| pine, oak and mixed deciduous forests and shibliak thickets.

Zone of the northern macroslope of mountains, beech, oak and mixed deciduous forests

Landscape belts:

| -1 depressions and erosional low mountains, oak, mixed widely

deciduous and pine forests;

I mid-mountain slope, oak, juniper-oak and mixed deciduous forests;

| mid-slope, beech, beech-hornbeam, mixed deciduous forests.

Zone of the southern macroslope of mountains, oak, pine and mixed

broadleaf forests

Landscape belts:

| | low-slope, oak and mixed

deciduous forests;

| mid-slope, oak, pine and mixed deciduous forests;

beech and mixed deciduous forests.

Zone of the Yaylinsky plateaus, mountain meadows and mountain forest-steppe Landscape belts:

| | forest and meadow-forest-steppe plateaus;

meadow and meadow-forest plateaus.

Assessment of the landscape as a recreational resource can be carried out based on such properties as landscape diversity; landscape diversity of the territory and the perception of the landscape by others; area of ​​natural landscapes close to zonal; the ratio of natural landscapes and transformed (anthropogenic), etc.

Among the factors that determine the landscape diversity of the territory, the following can be distinguished:

Positional relations of the territory - they form special landscapes in the contact zone of land and sea, at the junction of tectonic structures, plains and mountains, forests and steppes, on the border

climatic zones, habitats of flora and fauna, etc. ;

• the history of landscape formation, which determined the connections (or, conversely, isolation) with other landscapes, the nature and frequency of changes in regimes (climatic, tectonic, etc.);
• lithological diversity rocks contributing to the creation of various forms of relief and, accordingly, the variety of ecological niches of living organisms, etc.;
• the degree of dissection of the relief, which affects the lower landscape level in the variety of relief forms, expositions, ongoing natural processes, etc .;
• anthropogenic impact on the environment and the formation of a kind of anthropogenic landscapes.

The landscapes of Crimea develop depending on the position relative to the Black and Azov seas, as well as the Scythian platform and geosynclinal structures of the Crimean mountains. As a result, they are divided into two parts, contrasting in terms of natural qualities: plain steppe (about 16 thousand sq. Km) and mountainous, mainly forest (about 10 thousand sq. Km). The spatial combination of platform and geosynclinal structures of Crimea led to the formation of landscape levels: hydromorphic, planar, low-mountain, and mid-mountain (see Fig. 2.21). The landscape level is the planetary geomorphological levels, relatively homogeneous in relief and ground moisture.

In Crimea, there are fragments of hydromorphic (28.4% of the peninsula's area), upland (35.4%), foothill (25.9%) and mid-mountain (10.3%) landscape levels (Fig. 2.22). Each landscape level has its own set natural areas and other units of spatial differentiation of the landscape

Grishankov G.E., Pashchenko V.A., Pozachenyuk E.A. Positionality in landscapes and landscape science // Physical Geography and Geomorphology. Respubdikan interdepartmental collection. Kiev, 1991.S. 11-20.

Grishaikov G.E. Landscape levels of continents and geographic zoning // Izv. Academy of Sciences of the USSR. 1972. No. 4. S. 4-12. (Series: Geography).

comrade, which is due to a different set of factors. At the hydromorphic level, intrazonal differentiation is primarily associated with a change in the groundwater level, at the upland level, with the presence of high-altitude steps, at the foothill and mid-mountain level, with an altitude above sea level and position in relation to radiation and circulation flows.

LANDSCAPE LEVELS OF CRIMEA

Gndromorphny Plakorny Foothill Middle Horny

Row2? Row 3

Rice. 2.22.Areal (row 2) and high-altitude (row 3) ratios of landscape levels of Crimea

The position of Crimea in the south of the temperate belt, in combination with positional effects, forms various types of landscapes of the temperate climate within the plain Crimea and the northern macroslope of the Crimean mountains, and on the southern macroslope - the semi-subtropical south coast.

The natural spatial conjugation of landscape levels in combination with the type of climate led to the formation in Crimea of ​​an integral system of landscape zones, landscape belts and other landscape units.

In the north of the peninsula, there are landscapes of the North Crimean lowland, which are now highly cultivated. But the combination of coastal sea and plain territories makes this part of Crimea quite attractive in terms of tourism and recreation. This resource is acceptable for the development of rural tourism.

The southern part of the Crimean peninsula is occupied by mountains: the main ridge of the Crimean mountains and the foothills bordering it. The specificity of the landscapes of the Main Ridge is that it has flat peaks - yayls with mountain meadows and forest landscapes. The development of karst in the Upper Jurassic limestones forms surface and underground karst landscapes. In Crimea, there are several equipped caves - Mramornaya, Emine-Bair-Khosar, Krasnaya, which have become the center of attraction for tourism and the development of a whole tourist complex around them. The underground world of Crimea has a high recreational resource and deserves further recreational development. Considering that the yailas of Crimea are the largest catchment area and storage fresh water The recreational use of yailas should be strictly regulated.

The special picturesque landscape of the South Coast of Crimea (SCC), as a geoecotone (transition zone), combining land and sea landscapes; semi-subtropical forest, steppe and shrub, has a high health-improving function. Phytoncides of the Crimean pine and pine-juniper forests are a good environment for the recovery and treatment of lung diseases. A special role belongs to the forests of high juniper: 4 g of essential oil can improve the health of the population big city... The landscapes of the South Coast is a resource for the development of elite recreation, climatotherapy, cruise, festival and other types of tourism.

The combination of tectonic structures of a lower order (synclines and anticlines) leads to a variety of geological and geomorphological basis and the formation of unique landscapes of the Crimea, for example, such as cuesta 1. Cuesta landscapes are one of the most attractive landscapes of Crimea, and in combination with ancient settlements, they are a resource for the development of cognitive, pedestrian, speleotourism, etc. These are centers of gravity for tourists and pilgrims.

The history of the formation of Crimea's landscapes has led to the presence of unique relict landscapes in Crimea, which are an irreplaceable resource for educational and scientific tourism. The core of the Crimean flora forms the ancient Mediterranean geographic element (Fig. 2.23). The number of Mediterranean species with the inclusion of transitional European-Mediterranean species reaches 50% 2. This fact testifies to the close connection between Crimea and the ancient Mediterranean.

Rice. 2.23.

The lithological diversity of rocks determines the formation of landscape diversity and unique landscapes. The forest-steppe landscapes of the foothills of the Main ridge of the Crimean Mountains with steep limestone massifs have attracted residents since ancient times. Mountainous and foothill landscapes are a good resource for the development of mountain sports tourism,

Grishankov G.E., Pozachenyuk E.A. The genesis of the cuesta relief of the Piedmont Crimea // Physical Geography and Geomorphology: Repub. mezhved. scientific. Sat. (Siev: Vyscha School, 1984. Issue 31. S. 108-115.

Pozachenyuk E.A. Floristic connections of Crimea from the point of view of positional relations // Ecosystems, their optimization and protection. Simferopol TNU Publishing House, 2012. Issue. 7, pp. 11-21.

Compiled by Dr. Geogr. Sciences, prof. E.A. Pozachenyuk.

ethnographic, rural, military-historical, equestrian, cognitive. Past tectonic activity led to the unique landscapes of the laccoliths (Ayu-Dag, Kastel) and extinct volcanoes- Karadag.

Within the Crimean Peninsula, 128 geological monuments are distinguished with the originality of the formation of landscape complexes. Geological monuments of Crimea are subdivided into geomorphological, stratigraphic, tectonic, paleontological, mineralogical-petrographic, and geocultural. Geological monuments are concentrated mainly in the mountainous part of the Crimea, as well as on the Kerch Peninsula, and to a lesser extent - in the flat part. Landscapes of geological monuments are a resource for the formation of geoparks that are actively developing in Europe.

The whole set of factors that determine the landscape diversity of Crimea leads to the formation of a unique landscape environment for the development of recreation and tourism.

Landscape diversity can be assessed depending on its types: traditional landscape or classical; biocentric; anthropogenic; humanitarian. These concepts do not contradict one another, but are interconnected and complement each other. On the basis of each of them, recreational resources can be estimated.

Classical landscape diversity comes from the traditional understanding of the landscape as a natural object. The indicators currently used to characterize landscape diversity are very diverse, very subjective and difficult to apply in practice, in particular in the tourism sector. If we consider landscape diversity as a recreational resource along with resources, for example, beach, balneological, climatological and others, then the organizers of the tourism industry are interested in the following indicators: qualitative properties of the resource, its quantity (area, volume, reserves), seasonality, duration of the period of use. , landscape resistance to recreational loads. Analysis of landscape maps allows us to propose the following characteristics: the ratio of the number of landscape contours and the areas occupied by them, location (landscape contrast), configuration features, frequency of occurrence of landscape complexes (dominant, rare, unique).

On the basis of landscape maps of Crimea, an assessment of landscape diversity was carried out (Fig. 2.24).

Rice. 2.24.

localities

The maximum diversity or a sharp increase in the intensity of its manifestation is characteristic of the geoecotones of the Crimea - transition zones between the foothill and Main ridge of the Crimean Mountains, southern coastal and mountainous landscapes. The maximum landscape diversity is manifested in the southwestern Mountain Crimea and, in particular, is typical for the South Coast of the Crimea from Cape Ai-Todor to Cape Satera. This territory, as a landscape environment, is the most valuable recreationally.

An analysis of the areas of the Crimean landscapes showed that the maximum area is occupied by upland landscapes of typical steppes in combination with savanoid and friganoid semi-subtropical steppes, then it decreases to phryganoid steppes and landscapes of hydromorphic plains. The minimum area is occupied by landscapes of mountain meadows and forest-steppe, as well as landscapes of the belt of mixed deciduous and pine forests, landscapes of the belt of pine and beech forests of the southern macroslope and landscapes of mixed deciduous and pine forests of the northern macroslope.

Analysis of the areas of the middle contour of the landscapes of zones and belts practically correlates with the area of ​​the zones and belts themselves. The minimum average area of ​​the landscape contour belongs to the southern coastal landscapes of pistachio-oak and oak-juniper forests, shrub thickets, savanoid and friganoid steppes (Fig. 2.25). The areas of landscape plots, especially those landscapes that are characterized by minimum values, must be taken into account when calculating recreational loads and planning tourist and recreational activities.

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 19 14 1$ 16 17 18

• 2 7000 2 6000
• 3 booo
• ? 4000 s 3000 2000 1000 o

• 70 І 60 s 60 = 40?

) ° 5 20 «10?

Rice. 2.25.Landscape diversity of Crimea at the belt level

and tiers:

row 1 - area of ​​landscapes; row 2 - the number of landscape contours; row 3 - the number of typological landscape contours; landscape belts and tiers: 1-3 - landscape hydromorphic belts; 4-5 - landscape tiers of the plain Crimea; 6-8- landscape belts of the foothills; 9-10- landscape belts of the South Coast; 11-16 - landscape belts of mid-mountain slopes; 17-18 - Yaila landscape belts

The number of all landscape contours and the number of typological contours for landscape zones and belts (see Fig. 2.25) reflect their high degree of correlation. The highest landscape diversity is distinguished by the landscapes of the semi-subtropical forest-steppe of the foothills of the northern macroslope (71 contours and 10 typological ones with an area of ​​1.8 thousand sq. Km). The landscapes of the South Coast of the Crimea (9, 10) are distinguished by a certain "anomaly", they have a minimum average area of ​​the landscape contour of the southern coastal landscapes of pistachio-oak and oak-juniper forests, shrub thickets, savanoid and freeganoid steppes (9). An inverse relationship is traced between the area of ​​landscapes and the total and typological number of their contours. The area is minimal, and the number of contours is maximal. In all other landscapes of Crimea, there is a directly proportional relationship between the area and the number of contours.

The highest coefficient of landscape diversity (Fig. 2.26) has the southern coastal landscapes - pistachio-oak and oak-juniper forests, shrub thickets, savanoid and friganoid steppes (K l. N = 2.0). The coefficient of landscape diversity of mountain landscapes (K l. N = 0.3-0.6) sharply differs from the plain ones (0.04-0.15). Moreover, among the lowland landscapes, hydromorphic saline and halophytic meadows in combination with wormwood-fescue steppes have the greatest diversity. Among mountain landscapes, mixed deciduous and pine forests stand out for their landscape diversity (K ln = 0.6). The Yaylinsky landscapes of mountain meadows and forest-steppe are distinguished by a high diversity (K l p = 0.7).

Londshoft Roemooorosy Ratio

LANDSCAPE P01SAII 1t

Rice. 2.26. Coefficient of diversity of Crimean landscapes (C l. R) on

at the level of belts and tiers:

1-3 - landscape hydromorphic belts; 4-5 - landscape tiers of the plain Crimea; 6-8 - landscape belts of the foothills; 9-10 - landscape belts of the South Coast; 11-16 - landscape belts of mid-mountain slopes; 17-18 - Yaila landscape belts

All Crimean landscapes are characterized by seasonal dynamism, four seasons of the year are well expressed, which makes them attractive for tourists, with the possibility of developing both summer and winter types of tourism and recreation.

Biocenotic landscape diversity is associated with the value of the biotic component of the landscape and is based in most cases on the system of the ecological network of the Crimea (ecocenters and ecocorridors), the most valuable elements of which are the objects of the nature reserve fund (see section 2.1.6).

Anthropogenic landscape diversity reflects the diversity of land uses, both existing and historical. As a resource, this type of landscape diversity manifests itself in several properties. The assessment of the recreational resources of this type of diversity is based not only on indicators of the diversity of types of nature management, the contour of territorial structures, but also on the degree of their "culture", aesthetics, identity (ethnicity), aesthetic and cultural historical value.

The Crimean region is characterized by a high proportion of anthropogenic landscapes (71% of the territory is agricultural land, 47% is arable land). The territories directly used for the organization of recreation and tourism amount to 10.2 thousand hectares, including land for recreational purposes - 1.6 thousand hectares, for recreational purposes - 4.3 thousand hectares, for historical and cultural purposes - 4.3 thousand hectares The territories of agricultural use can serve as a resource for the development of green tourism; in this regard, the landscapes of the foothills of the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains, which have high aesthetics, are especially attractive. The landscapes of the plain Crimea are promising for use.

Currently underutilized is sacred object resource, which Crimea is so rich in. In Crimea, with its rich ethnic, religious history of ethnic groups and ethnic groups, these include structures of 111-11 millennia BC. -mengirs (from the Greek. megas- big, cast - stone), cromlechs, dolmens. These are little-studied objects. Until now, some issues of their construction and purpose remain controversial. Undoubtedly, they are of great educational value, but only a few objects are excursion, most can become promising objects of display when arranging new excursion routes. The most outstanding of them are the Skelsky Menhirs in the Baydar Valley, the menhir in the Bogaz-Sala tract near Bakhchisarai, as well as cromlechs near Alushta and in the Karasu-Bashi Polyana region (Belogorsk district). Menhirs in the village. Rodnikovskoe are the oldest stone monuments in Crimea that were created by man. Initially, there were three menhirs, they were placed in a certain order, and the whole structure looked like a right-angled triangle. The surviving menhirs have the following parameters: the highest (Fig. 2.27) is inclined up to 10 °, but its height is 2.7 m, diameter - up to 0.8 m; the second menhir is located on the site of the monument to those killed during the Second World War, it is 1.5 m high, 0.5 m long and 1.2 m wide; the third menhir was moved during the construction of a local club and lies in a ravine (dimensions: height 2.1 m, length 0.4 m, width 0.6 m).

Rice. 2.27.

All menhirs are made of one material - pink marbled limestone. Skel Menhirs are the largest known in Southeast Europe. European tourists come to see these menhirs. Nevertheless, many of the Crimean sacred objects are not only underutilized in the recreational and tourist industry, but also experience a negative impact during economic activities, are exposed to acts of vandalism.

The humanitarian interpretation of landscape diversity is reduced to a holistic human perception of the landscape as a natural and cultural formation. From the point of view of humanitarian perception, three environments can be distinguished: natural, cultural and ethnic. Natural - assessment of the landscape from the point of view of its perception by humans (assessment of the degree of aesthetics and the level of diversity); cultural environment (architecture, traditional forms of housing, forms of land use, etc.) - a person feels comfortable if he is in his cultural environment or has access to it; ethnic diversity - a variety of traditions, lifestyle, etc. Humanitarian diversity is a direct recreational resource, and its assessment depends on the historical value of objects, the degree of their aesthetics, etc.

The conservation and renewal of landscape diversity serves as a nature conservation and socio-psychological function. The comfortable state of a person is possible in the landscape that gives him a variety of values ​​and access to them. A person should not feel alienated from the landscape, from its natural wealth (a component of the historical past, ethnic traditions that have formed here).

Indicators of landscape diversity, which are based on its humanitarian understanding, are specific. An important indicator is how a person perceives the landscape. The system of ecological indicators includes not only objectively measured characteristics of the landscape, but also some psychological characteristics. These include the following factors:

• beauty, mystery, bright feature (precipice, waterfall). These characteristics are perceived by people as a trait in which they perceive the landscape;
• human perception of the landscape, when there is a variety of vegetation cover, the presence of water bodies in the landscape, etc .;
• the optimal level of landscape diversity, in which a person feels more comfortable, in which he can better recover from stress.

Despite the fact that beauty is an objective property of the surrounding world and an objective need of a person when planning recreational types of recreation, including health-improving ones, it is necessary to take into account the subjective need of a vacationer in the form of a landscape. Recreants permanently residing in the steppe regions find it uncomfortable to relax in the mountainous regions, while the mountaineers, on the contrary, in the plains. In this respect, the flat Crimea is under-demanded as a landscape recreational resource.

Monuments of landscape gardening art of Crimea are very attractive, many of which serve as objects of targeted excursion display. Among them are the Karasan Park (founded in the 19th century; it has 220 different species and garden forms of dendroflora on 18 hectares); the park of the sanatorium "Utes" (about 150 species and forms of plants per 5 hectares); park in the rest house "Aivazovskoe" in Partenit; arboretum of the Crimean nature reserve (more than 100 species of plants on an area of ​​6 hectares), Miskhorsky, Livadiyskiy, Massandrovskiy and Vorontsovsky park and.

In modern tourist and excursion practice, many landscape objects are actively used, which are of great image-forming importance for the Crimea as a whole and its recreational areas.

Southern recreational area:

• Ayu-Dag (Bear Mountain) - a symbol of the Southshore; landscape reserve since 1974. It is an intrusive massif composed of gabbrodiabases, interesting for lovers of geological collections and studying Crimean endemics (44 species of the Red Book plants);
• caves of the Chatyr-Dag massif;
• Demerdzhi mountain range. It is composed of Upper Jurassic conglomerates, and individual inclusions are represented by rocks, whose age reaches 1.1 billion years. On the southwestern slope is the Great Stone Chaos, on the southern slope bizarre forms of weathering have formed, known as the Valley of Ghosts - a popular object of nature and educational tourism;
• Khapkhal tract - a gorge on the Ulu-Uzen river. Located in a hard-to-reach place at the foot mountain range Tyr-ke. On the Ulu-Uzen river near the village. Generalskoe is the Dzhur-Dzhur waterfall - the most powerful waterfall Crimea, which does not dry up even in dry years;
• the valley of the Sotera river is a reserved tract since 1980 (area - 10 hectares). There is a unique natural monument of its kind - the Sotera Stone Mushrooms - an example of the original development of the relief in conditions of insufficient afforestation of slopes and the influence of water erosion;
• Kuchuk-Lambatsky stone chaos - stretched for 1 km along a slope 200 m high to the seashore near the village. Cypress. Formed by the collapse of the Upper Jurassic limestone. Individual boulders reach the size of a two-story house;
• Kanaka tract is a botanical reserve since 1987 (area - 160 hectares). The object of ecological tourism is a juniper grove of 500-600 years old;
• Uchan-Su waterfall;
• Yaman-Dere gorge and Golovkinsky waterfall.

South-East region:

Novy Svet is a landscape reserve with groves of relict Sudak pine and arboreal juniper and picturesque coastal aquatic complexes of Golubaya bays,

Blue, Green, Rogue. The famous Golitsyn trail passes here;

• Karadag is an ancient volcanic massif, a kind of mineralogical natural museum, which is about 150 million years old. Only the Great Ecological Trail is open here for mountain hiking;
• Uzun-Syrt plateau with unique updrafts.

Southwest region:

• Cossack Bay - a general sociological, hydrological reserve of national importance;
• Cape Aya - a landscape reserve of national importance;
• Cape Fiolent - a landscape reserve of national importance with a coastal aquatic complex;
• Laspi rocks - a reserved tract;
• Baydarskiy zakaznik is a landscape preserve of national importance;
• Chernorechensky canyon.

Western region:

Lakes Moinaki, Sasyk-Sivash, Saki, etc.

North-West region:

• Swan Islands - a nature reserve of international importance;
• Big and Small Atlesh - coastal aquatic complexes;
• Dzhangul landslide coast with numerous forms of coastal destruction.

Eastern region:

• Kazantip nature reserve- with virgin areas of feather grass, petrophilic, shrub and meadow steppe. Of the 617 species of vascular plants, 25 species are listed in the Red Book of Crimea, 12 plant species are endemics and relics, eight species are listed in the Red Book of Europe and six are protected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The fauna is represented by 188 species of vertebrates and 450 species of invertebrates, 35 species are protected;
• Astana Plavni is a state ornithological reserve. The land attracts numerous migratory and nesting waterfowl in the Crimea, more than 120 species have been recorded;
• Bulganak mud volcanic massif (area about 4 sq. Km), located 9 km north of Kerch, near the village. Bon-darenkovo. The most famous are the hills of An-Drusov, Vernadsky and Obruchev, the Abikh cone;
• regional park "Karalarsky" (Chagany area, 6806 hectares; Leninsky district). In the conditions of the former military training ground, large areas of virgin feather-grass, forb and shrub steppe with great floristic diversity have been well preserved;
• Mount Opuk - height 185 m; area 1592.3 hectares; reserve since 1998, an example of a ridge-hill steppe landscape.

Central District:

• Mangup-Kale - a complex natural monument of national importance;
• The Grand Canyon of Crimea is a picturesque canyon near the village. Falcon, a landscape reserve of national importance;
• Bakla is a natural boundary with interesting outcrops of rocks;
• Karabi-yayla - karst massif;
• Ak-Kaya is a rock in the Belogorsk region, a complex natural monument of national importance.

Northern region:

Aquatic complexes of the Sivash Bay.

On a relatively small area of ​​the Crimean peninsula, a variety of mountainous and lowland landscapes are very clearly expressed (see diagram).

Landscape scheme of Crimea
1 - Yaila karst summit surface;
2 - mountain slopes of Yaila with a forest landscape;
3 - Mediterranean landscape of skirts;
4 - the eastern part of the southern coast (Mediterranean landscape);
5 - southern forest-steppe and forest-shrub landscapes of cuesta ridges;
6 - steppe Crimea, agriculturally developed flat landscape;
7 - Near the Sivash area, dry steppe landscape with fragments of semi-desert;
8 - Tarkhankut Peninsula and Kerch Peninsula, hilly-steppe landscape

Especially interesting in terms of tourism is the Yail karst landscape (1) with characteristic developed forms of surface bare karst, with its inherent mines, sometimes serving as roads for penetration into mysterious undergrounds, with the usual absence of surface water courses for karst, with rocky meadows and steppes on high mountain ranges and with mountain forest, forest-steppe and meadow-steppe vegetation. This karst landscape is widespread on almost all summit plateaus of the western part of Yaila and on plateau-like massifs scattered from each other in its eastern part, but it is most strikingly represented on Karabiyayl, Chatyrdag and Ai-Petrinskaya yayla. Here, between the bare karr surfaces, only at the bottom of karst hollows and craters are green meadow grasses visible on the higher parts of these plateaus, and in low places from the mouths of natural mines and craters the tops of bushes and trees stick out. Undoubtedly, this brings exoticism to the landscape of bare rocky territories, gives them spotty.

In the lowermost tiers of the plateau, more forests previously grew. Deforestation and the eating of tree shoots by livestock, which impede forest regeneration, in fact, as well as the destruction of grass by very large grazing in meadows, caused the development of bare karst and a strong spread of bare limestone surfaces, as well as the cause of a failure in the regime of sources under limestone cliffs bordering the plateau. Of course, in the karst landscape, it is simply necessary to carry out forest-meadow restoration work, which will definitely improve the water regime of the yayla karst springs.

The karst summit surface of the yayla is bordered by the mountain-forest landscape of the Yaila slopes (2) with oak and beech forests and mountain-forest brown soils, which in its structure is similar to the landscapes of the Carpathians and the Caucasus, and the Crimean pine forests growing on the southern slope are unique specifically for Crimea and have an analogue only in the northern part Black Sea coast Caucasus. The forests of the Crimean mountains have a very important water protection and anti-erosion role. Very close attention must necessarily be devoted to their protection and restoration, especially in the areas of mudflow-prone basins. Animals inhabiting the forests of the mountainous Crimea also need protection.

The Crimean Mountains belong to the folded structures of the Alpine geosynclinal belt. They represent a large and complex anticlinal uplift - anticlinorium, the southern part of which is lowered and flooded by the waters of the Black Sea.

The Crimean mountains consist of a main ridge, called Yaila, and two forward cuesta ridges to the north of it, clearly expressed in the western and middle parts Mountain Crimea... Yaila corresponds to the axial zone of the Crimean anticlinorium, cuesta is the monocline of its northern wing.

The western part of Yaila is an integral mountain range with a plateau-like surface, while the eastern part splits into more or less isolated plateau-like massifs (Chatyrdag, Karabiyayla, etc.). The highest peak of Yaila rises in the east of the western part - Mount Roman-Kosh on Babuganjail (1545 m).

The flat summit surfaces of the Yaila are composed mainly of hard Upper Jurassic limestones, which form steep, often sheer slopes of the plateau (especially along the southern coast of Crimea) and steep sides of the canyons that dissect their edges.

The characteristic landscape feature of Yaila is given by karst landforms. The Yaila karst is very well expressed and is a classic example of Mediterranean-type bare karst.

Crimea. Yayla from the northwest side. In the background on the left is Chatyrdag, on the right is Babuganyayla. Rice.
N. A. Gvozdetsky

The relief of the southern coast of the Crimean Peninsula is mainly ridge-erosional, in many places it is complicated by accumulations of limestone blocks that have fallen from the cliffs of Yaila, slid down the Tauric schists (Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic) lying at the base of the Yaila, large limestone massifs and landslides in the tats themselves. Landslides damage spa buildings, gardens and vineyards.

In the Crimean Mountains, the high-altitude zoning of landscapes is clearly manifested. On the southern slope of Yaila, the lower altitude zone corresponds to the southern coast of Crimea, which, according to climatic conditions, can be attributed to the northeastern edge of the Mediterranean subtropical climate. The southern coast, protected from the winds from the continent by a mountain barrier, is largely affected by the softening influence of the sea.

The climate of the Crimean mountains

Precipitation (the annual amount in Yalta is about 600 mm) falls most of all in winter. At this time, Mediterranean cyclones penetrate here. In spring, with the weakening of cyclonic activity in the Mediterranean Sea, the amount of precipitation decreases. The least of them falls in April - May and August. With high insolation in summer, there is a lack of moisture, so you have to resort to watering fruit trees, young tobacco plantings. Due to the uneven precipitation, the rivers of the South Bank are characterized by a Mediterranean regime with winter and spring floods and a stable summer-autumn low-water period.

Protected from the north by the Yaila barrier, the Southern coast is warmer than other regions of Crimea. For about 150 days a year, the average daily temperature is above 15 °. Winters are mild (average January temperature is about 4 °), plants do not stop growing. The snow that falls sometimes melts quickly, but it rains more often in winter. Summer and autumn are sunny, warm, the average temperature in July and August is about 24 °. The eastern part of the southern coast of Crimea is drier, with an annual rainfall of 500-600 mm or less.

The climate of the summit surface of Yaila is characterized by cool summers (at an altitude of about 1200 m, the average July temperature is 4-15.7 °), not very severe winters (the average January temperature at the same altitude is about -4 °, lower in the east), a significant amount of precipitation ( in the western part up to 1000-1200 mm per year), strong winds.

In the west, the seasonal distribution of precipitation is the same as on the South Coast, with a maximum of them in winter. In the east, the maximum is summer. In summer, there is one of three days, and in winter there are two on Yaila with precipitation. In winter, precipitation falls in the form of snow.

Landscapes of the Crimean Mountains

In a small area of ​​the Crimean Mountains, various landscapes are clearly expressed (see diagram). Especially characteristic is the karst landscape of the Yaila summit surface (1) with carr, sinkholes and other forms of bare karst, with natural mines that often serve as paths to the mysterious underground world. The flat surface, corroded by karst, absorbs rain and melted snow water, therefore there are no ground watercourses and only in the funnels with silted bottoms puddles of stagnant water are formed.

Landscapes:
1 - karst summit surface of Yaila; 2 - mountain-forest slopes of Yaila; 3 - forest-shrub and forest-steppe (southern type) cuesta ridges; 4 - Mediterranean forest and cultivated; 5 - Mediterranean xerophytic-shrub-steppe

Karr fields characteristic of bare karst are combined on high massifs with stony mountain meadows and meadow steppes, on lower ones - with mountain forest-meadow-steppe and forest-steppe vegetation. The karst landscape is widespread in all parts of the plateau of the western monolithic part of Yaila and on the isolated plateau-like massifs of its eastern part, but is especially pronounced in Ai-Petri, Chatyrdag and Karabiyayla. Here, only at the bottom of karst funnels and hollows, meadow grasses turn green, on the lower parts of the funnels and mouths of natural mines the tops of trees and bushes stick out. This brings variety to the landscape of bare rocky spaces, makes them spotty.

The lower tiers of the Yaila plateau were previously more forested. Deforestation and the eating of tree shoots by livestock, which hindered the reforestation, as well as the grazing of herbaceous vegetation by excessive grazing, caused a greater spread of bare limestone surfaces and the development of bare karst and a deterioration in the regime of springs under the limestone cliffs framing the plateau. Strict implementation of the introduced ban on grazing and carrying out forest-meadow restoration activities will help improve the water regime of Yaila and its karst springs.

The mountain-forest landscapes of the Yaila slopes (2) with beech and oak forests and mountain burozems are similar to the Caucasian and Carpathian ones, while the Crimean pine forests on the southern slope are characteristic of Crimea and are repeated only in the northern part of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Crimean mountain forests play an exceptionally large anti-erosion and water protection role. They need to be protected and restored, especially in mudflow-prone basins. Animals inhabiting these forests need protection.

The unique Mediterranean landscape of the South Coast (4) with shale slopes, chaos of boulders, landslides, limestone rocks, laccoliths. Oak-juniper forests with evergreen undergrowth, with reddish and brown soils have been preserved here. However, in large part this landscape has given way to a cultivated one with vineyards and tobacco plantations, gardens, parks, beautiful resorts and well-equipped beaches. Climatic conditions and the soils of the southern coast of Crimea are favorable not only for viticulture (good table and wine varieties are grown) and tobacco growing, but also for subtropical fruit growing. To protect the cultivated landscape of the South Coast, it is important to combat landslides, erosion and mudflows. The measures recommended for landscapes (1) and (2) should lead to the improvement of its water regime.

East of Alushta, along the coast, there is a strip of Mediterranean xerophytic-shrub landscape (5). It is characterized by vegetation characteristic of the Eastern Mediterranean - shiblyak, freegan, in the east, in combination with the steppes. Brown skeletal soils are developed on weathered shale rubble. The typical erosional topography of the zone of distribution of this landscape in the Tauride schists is distinguished by an intense dissection of the surface by valleys of the first, second and third orders and is in sharp contrast to the karst surfaces of the neighboring Yaila that are almost not affected by erosion. For this landscape, it is especially necessary to combat mudflows developing in the strip of Taurian shale and sandstone. We need comprehensive anti-mudflow protection (hydraulic structures, phytomelioration on the slopes of mudflow catchments, etc.)

On the northern side of the Yaila, peculiar forest-shrubs (dominated by fluffy oak) and southern forest-steppe landscapes of cuesta ridges (3) with brown and humus-calcareous soils are widespread. The steep slope of the inner cuesta topped with a cliff and the sharp steep sides of the canyons that dismember it create landscapes in which bare limestone walls, marly slopes with talus, overgrown with trees and bushes slopes stand out in contrast.

The spectrum of altitudinal zoning of the southern slope of the Yaila combines zones of the Mediterranean landscape of the South Coast, mountain-forest zones with belts of oak, pine and beech forests, and karst landscape of the summit surface. There is no Mediterranean landscape on the northern slope; in the lower altitude zone, the southern forest-steppe is developed, and in the middle (except for the westernmost regions) there are no Crimean pine forests typical of the southern slope. More similarity is observed, as is usually the case in the mountains, in the landscapes of the upper parts of the slopes. Nevertheless, in general, we can talk about different types of structure of the altitudinal zoning of the landscapes of the northern and southern slopes of the Crimean Mountains. Their differences are due to the climatic barrier role of Yaila. In the east, more continental variants of the identified types are observed.

Mountain Crimea is a natural museum, where various landscapes and a lot of unique natural monuments are concentrated on a relatively small area.

Landscape complexes are territories of various sizes, similar in their natural conditions formed as a result of the impact on the earth's surface of zonal and azonal factors (12, p. 18).

There are few areas on the globe where so many different types of landscapes would be concentrated in such a small area. This is explained by the position of Crimea on the border of geographic zones, at the contact of various flora and fauna, the influence of the seas washing it, and a complex history of development.

Landscapes are classified according to different criteria:

1.By the nature of the contact of geospheres (earth's shells);

2. By climatic differences;

3. By the nature of the relief;

4. By the nature of the vegetation.

The territory of Crimea is located in the southern part of the belt of temperate latitudes, therefore, its landscapes are subboreal, in the extreme south, elements of subtropical landscapes are observed. Boreal (from Lat. - northern) landscapes are formed in an area with a boreal (temperate) climate characterized by well-defined seasons - snowy winters and relatively short summers.

Classification of landscapes

(compiled from the textbook by L.A. Bagrov, V.A.Bokov, N.V. Bagrov. Geography of Crimea, p.107)

Consequently, the main landscapes are distinguished in Crimea:

Semi-desert steppes and salt marshes;

Real steppes;

Foothill forest-steppe;

Northern macroslope forests;

Mountain meadows and yayl steppes;

Forests of the southern macroslope;

Sparse forests of the south coast.

Features of the main Crimean landscapes (compiled from literary sources No. 5, No. 6)

4.1. Steppe landscapes.

Plain-steppe landscapes occupy most of the plain Crimea, these are real steppes. Most of the natural vegetation has been destroyed and replaced by agricultural fields, orchards, vineyards (70-80%). Steppe vegetation (depleted) is preserved mainly on Tarkhankut, the Kerch Peninsula and in the Sivash region (semi-desert steppes). These areas are characterized by hot dry summer and relatively warm winter. The amount of precipitation ranges from 450-550mm. in year. Soils - southern chernozems, in the Sivash region - desert and chestnut. The overwhelming part of the territory of the flat Crimea has been turned into agricultural landscapes - alternation of agricultural fields (40-50%), pastures (20-30%), orchards and vineyards (10-12%), settlements (4-5%), transport routes. Conducted in the early 70s. XX century The North Crimean Canal made it possible to create 400 thousand. hectares of irrigated land. Grain crops prevail among agricultural crops.

4.2. Seaside landscapes.

4.2.1 .. Plain-coastal steppe landscapes

These include a narrow strip (5-10 km) at the junction of the sea and lowland steppe landscapes... These landscapes are characterized by a relatively rugged topography. There are breezes here. The soils are thin and not very suitable for economic use, but this also contributed to the preservation of many species of plants and animals here. The recreational load on the territory is very high here.

4.2.2. Changing dry steppe landscapes.

They occupy a strip along the Sivash and Karkinitsky gulf, small areas near the Sasyk and Donuzlav lakes, as well as on the Kerch peninsula. They are characterized by exceptional lowland, close occurrence of mineralized groundwater (they often come to the surface, forming a salt crust on it). In such conditions, only saline plants, as well as wormwood-fescue steppes and halophytic meadows, can grow on salt marshes.

4.3. Foothill landscapes.

Foothill forest-steppe landscapes are located to the north of the mountains at an altitude of 250-300 m. To 500-600 m. At the transition of the Main Ridge to the flat part of the peninsula. Their main feature is the alternation of areas of forests, shrubs and steppe communities. Each of these types of vegetation occupies the most favorable habitat for it: forests are located on the slopes of northern exposures and low river valleys, steppes - on drier southern slopes and on surfaces with thin soils. Good availability of water, profitable transport - geographical position caused the development in the foothills major cities, road networks, railways. Agriculture has a diversified specialization: around cities - suburban economy; in the river valleys - gardens; on the slopes of the mountains - vineyards, essential oil crops. The modern appearance of the foothills is characterized by alternation of natural and anthropogenically transformed landscapes.

4.4. Forest landscapes.

Mountain (mid-mountain) forest landscapes are located at an altitude of 350-600m and higher (up to 1545m). They are represented by beech, oak, pine forests and occupy most of the Crimean mountains. The most humid areas are covered with beech forests. In drier conditions - usually at an altitude of 400-700m - oak forests grow. These areas have long been mastered by people, so the forests were cut down and now almost all oak forests are undergrowth, characterized by short stature, often dry tops and sparseness. The main reserves are located within these landscapes. These landscapes constitute the main ecological resource of Crimea. The most beneficial use of these landscapes is their conservation with moderate use for recreation.

4.5. Landscapes of the Crimean Yailas.

Mountain meadow-forest-steppe landscapes - landscapes of flat-topped surfaces of the Crimean mountains - yayl - are characterized by high atmospheric humidity (600-1500 mm per year) with evaporation rate - 600-700 mm per year. Cold winters (-5-70C) and warm summers (+ 16 + 170C) are observed here. This combination of meteorological elements usually corresponds to coniferous and beech forests. However, mountain steppes, forest-steppes and meadows dominate on the yayls.

The azonal nature of the yaila landscapes is associated not with the climatic zonal conditions, but with the rocks that compose them. The precipitation falls through the cracks - due to the karst nature of the yayls, their infiltration (seepage) occurs in the thickness of the limestone. On the mountain tops, the amount of moisture available to plants decreases, and drier habitats are formed, suitable for steppes and forest-steppes. Isolation contributes to the development of endemism. A significant part of the river runoff is formed on the yayls. Their great water protection value requires the prohibition of intensive economic activities here - grazing livestock, intensive recreation, military exercises, etc.

4.6. Karst landscapes.

Karst landscapes are located on the Main ridge of the Crimean Mountains. The most typical karst landscapes are on the easternmost yayla - Karabi-yayla. Here, on an area of ​​113 km 2, there are more than 1.5 thousand karst sinkholes, 254 karst cavities. But the most famous are the landscapes of Chatyrdag ( Marble cave, Emine-Bair-Khosar cave) and Dolgorukovsky massif (Red Cave).

4.7. South coast landscapes.

Mountain-coastal sub-Mediterranean landscapes are confined to the southern coast - from the sea to an altitude of 350-400 m. They are characterized by warm, humid winters (the climate is reminiscent of the Mediterranean), rugged relief, general slope of the surface to the south, strong influence of the sea (breezes, warm winter), low moisture content, thin soils, an abundance of local climates. Natural vegetation (it is preserved on 20-30% of the territory) - moss-oak forests, shibliaks, thick-leaved pistachio groves, small areas with Mediterranean species: strawberry, Pontic butcher's broom, etc. The vegetation of the South Coast includes several hundred plants imported to Crimea, including cypress, trachycarpus palm, magnolia. The South Coast has all the conditions for the development of recreation, viticulture and winemaking. Over the past two centuries, many palaces, resort complexes have been built here, parks have been created. Resort towns and villages (Alushta, Gurzuf, Yalta, Alupka, Simeiz, etc.) form an almost continuous strip along the coast. A special landscape has formed here, which combines small cozy cities, parks, sanatorium buildings, vineyards, surrounded by sparse oak, pistachio and juniper forests, which are replaced by pine and oak forests above.

The modern landscapes of the peninsula are largely the result of human activity. On the South Coast, it is difficult to imagine the appearance of the coast without parks, palaces, resort complexes and resort cities. The overwhelming part of the territory of the flat Crimea has been turned into agricultural landscapes. Residential landscapes were formed in cities, towns and villages. These landscapes do not form a background, but are interspersed with the background landscapes listed above. In Crimea, they occupy 2-3% of the territory. A significant part of urban areas is occupied by asphalt concrete pavements and stone structures. There is almost no natural vegetation in cities; it has been replaced by park vegetation. There is practically no natural soil cover left in the cities; here a special local climate is formed with a large amount of fog and atmospheric precipitation, less solar radiation, higher temperature, lower wind speed. Urban landscapes are characterized by high traffic pollution (especially cars), littering the territory (garbage dumps), landscape pollution (primitive architecture).

The interrelation of components in the landscape (rocks, relief, climate, soil, water, vegetation, fauna) makes it necessary to handle any of them very carefully. One should remember the principle formed by B. Commoner: "Everything is connected with everything." Even the processes that we call unfavorable: water and wind erosion, abrasion, talus, floods, etc. - in certain sizes are necessary for the functioning of the landscape, maintaining its dynamic balance. The termination of all processes means the death of landscapes.

Topic №5 Nature reserves

The problem of environmental protection has acquired particular relevance in the second half of the XX century in connection with the catastrophic consequences of the development of production and population growth on the planet. Scientists of the world reasonably argue that two-thirds of existing plant species and a huge number of animal species are under threat of extinction, which may occur in the next 100 years. In order to preserve landscapes, genetic funds of plants and animals of various geographic areas, populations of rare and endangered representatives of flora and fauna, reserves, zakazniks and other specially protected areas are created, completely or partially withdrawn from direct economic use. This fully applies to the nature of the Crimea, which is distinguished by especially valuable qualities and very high vulnerability. The first state-protected territory in Crimea appeared in 1923, when it was decided to create the Crimean State Reserve. Now in Crimea there are over 150 territories and objects of the natural reserve fund with a total area of ​​1415.3 sq. km., including 47 territories of national importance and 105 objects of local importance. In general, the share of the reserve fund in Crimea accounts for 5.4% of the territory of the peninsula. This is 2.5 times higher than the similar average indicator for Ukraine, but 2 times lower than the UN recommended optimal level of reserve saturation for the regions of the world.

There are several categories of protected areas:
1. reserve- specially protected area, where all types of economic activities are excluded;
2. national park- a vast territory with preserved natural landscapes, where certain types of activities are allowed within limited limits;
3. preserve- an area where certain types of economic activities are prohibited (hunting, construction, etc.).
4.reserved tract- a small section of a protected area with a remarkable object (waterfall, pistachio grove, habitat of rare representatives of the fauna, etc.).
Reserves of Crimea

The basis of the protected fund of the Crimea is made up of 6 state natural reserves (5, pp. 135-137) .:

Crimean with a branch of the Swan Islands, Yalta, Cape Martyan, Karadagsky, Kazantipsky, Opuksky.

Reserves of Crimea

5.1. Crimean nature reserve

Located in the center of the mountainous Crimea, it is considered the oldest on the peninsula. The beginning of the reserve was laid in 1917, when 3000 hectares of the forest of the former royal hunting were declared National Reserve... In 1923, a decree was issued “On the establishment of the Crimean State Reserve and Forest Biological Station”. Forests covering an area of ​​16350 ha were transferred to the reserve. Now the area of ​​the reserve has been expanded to 44175 hectares (with a branch of the Swan Islands).

On the territory of the reserve, in the middle, there is the Central Basin, which is sandwiched between the Babugan, Bolshaya Chuchel, and Chernaya mountains. The territory of the reserve comes close to the Chatyrdag plateau, the peak of which Eklizi-Burun (1525m) dominates the entire eastern part reserve. To the west of the Chuchel Pass, dense beech forests are spread. They climb the slopes themselves high summit Crimea - Roman-Kosh (1545m). Here are the second and third highest peaks of Crimea - Demir-Kapu (1540m) and Kemal-Egerek (1529m).

The reserve is home to 1165 species of higher plants (and 84 on the Swan Islands), 39 species of mammals, 120 species of birds (on the Swan Islands - 20 and 230, respectively). The relict beech, hornbeam, oak and pine forests are of particular value (6, p. 172).

The forests of the reserve are represented by a wide variety of trees and shrubs. The most widespread here are English oak, rock oak, downy oak, beech, Crimean pine, hooked pine, hornbeam, ordinary ash, Steven's maple, field maple, Crimean linden, Caucasian linden, black alder, juniper, and also shrubs: hornbeam, dogwood , hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn, euonymus, etc.

All trees are characterized by a belt distribution depending on the height above sea level. Thus, the pedunculate oak grows in the valleys of the Alma and Kacha rivers and rises to a height of 450m above sea level. On the northern slopes, rock oak prevails at an altitude of 450-700m. The oak forests are 150-250 years old. The height of the trunks of individual trees is 28-30m, the diameter is 30-40cm.

The belt of beech forests begins at an altitude of 450-500m and reaches 1300-1400m above sea level. In the zone of beech forests, in the Uzen-Bash gorge, where clear waters Golovkinsky waterfall, a section of a birch forest has been preserved as a witness to the harsh nature of the distant past. Birch naturally does not grow anywhere else in Crimea. One of the most valuable representatives of relict vegetation, the berry yew, has also been preserved here.

The protected forest is valuable for its water protection role. There are about three hundred springs that have arisen in rocky faults. The most important rivers of Crimea - Alma, Kacha, Ulu-Uzen - originate from them.

The fauna of forests is an integral part of the protected natural complex. Deer and roe deer are the original inhabitants of the mountainous Crimea. Deer were hunted 5,000 years ago and were almost exterminated at the beginning of the 20th century. Currently, there are over 1000 deer in the reserve. They are swift, easily overcome forest debris, dense jungle, rock deposits and steep slopes. During the day they can be seen in the clearings and in the forest. In the evening, deer usually go to high-mountain pastures. In the reserve, work is being carried out to study the physiology of the deer, its influence on the habitat.

The roe deer is the smallest representative of the wild ungulates in the reserve. The animal is surprisingly graceful, slender and graceful. Roe deer live everywhere in the forests of the Crimea, but their number is small. The reserve is home to about 300 animals.

Mouflon is an animal acclimatized in Crimea. The European mouflon is a wild relative of the domestic sheep. His homeland is the island of Corsica. It was brought to the Crimea in 1913 and released in the amount of 13 individuals on the slope of Mount Bolshaya Chuchel. Currently, mouflons are found on the peaks and slopes of the Black and Bolshaya Chuchel mountains, on the slopes of Babugan-Yaila. Herbaceous and shrub vegetation serves as food for them.

In addition to them, in the reserve live: wild boar, fox, stone marten, badger, squirrel, etc.

5.2. Yalta mountain-forest reserve

Located to the east of Cape Sarych, up to Mount Ayudag, it covers mainly the wooded slopes of the western South Coast and partly the forest-meadow-steppe landscapes of the western yailas of Mountain Crimea. It was created in 1973 with the aim of preserving the forests of the southern slope of the Main Ridge and the Yaylinsky natural complexes. In terms of area, the reserve is relatively small - 14,523 hectares, which is 0.5% of the territory of the peninsula (6, p. 172) But the flora of this reserve includes 1363 species of higher plants, (more than 55%), which is more than 55 of all species inhabiting Crimea ... Plants are widely represented here - people from the Caucasus, the Balkan Peninsula, and Asia Minor; more than half of the flora of the Yalta reserve (55%) is of Mediterranean origin (18, p54). There are wide-stemmed, mainly pine forests (they make up 56% of all forests in the reserve), as well as beech and oak, in places with evergreen sub-Mediterranean undergrowth. The populations of the only aboriginal evergreen tree of Crimea - small-fruited strawberry - are of exceptional value. It is also home to 37 species of mammals, 113 species of birds.

Within the reserve there are many independent natural monuments of great scientific and educational interest. This is a shelter of small-fruited strawberry on the slopes of the Baidaro-Kastropol wall (at an altitude of 500-700 meters above sea level); Iphiginea rock, Pilyaki mountain; Kuchuk-Koi landslide and stone stream in the area with. Landslide, Mount Nishan-Kaya; Mount Koshka, Cape Ai-Todor and others (18 p54-59).

5.3. Cape Martyan nature reserve

State reserve located in the center of the southern coast of Crimea, on the southern slope of the Main ridge of the Crimean Mountains. As an independent State Reserve, Cape Martyan was organized on February 20, 1973. Its total area is 240 hectares, of which 120 hectares are in the Black Sea, 120 hectares are occupied by the Martyan tract, and partly by the Ai-Danil tract. Geomorphologically, Cape Martyan is a continuation of the Nikitsky spur of the Main ridge of the Crimean Mountains.

The main purpose of the reserve is to preserve the southern coastal landscape of the sub-Mediterranean type - a relict pine-juniper-strawberry forest with more than 600 species of plants, and also in this small relict forest one fourth of the entire flora of mountain Crimea grows. Among them are 14 endemic species, which are not found in natural conditions anywhere, except for the Crimea. Three species are listed in the international Red Book as in need of protection; this is a high juniper, small-fruited strawberry, goat's petals.

The juniper is almost everywhere accompanied by a downy oak and an evergreen tree of small-fruited strawberry. Under the light canopy of these trees, shrubs develop: Crimean cistus, shrub jasmine, Pontic butcher, emerian elm.

As the root type of vegetation of the coastal belt of the southern macroslope of the Crimean Mountains, juniper forests successfully perform a runoff-regulating and anti-erosion role, and it also plays a role in resort area the role of a kind of filter: one hectare of juniper forest is able to purify the air of a big city. Essential oils contained in the needles and cones of juniper are used in medicine and light industry. Despite the insignificant territory, the reserve contains the typical Crimean fauna, which is poor in species that are widespread in the neighboring mountain-forest regions and in the continental part of the mainland.

Among the Mediterranean species, there are also scorpions, large venomous centipedes-centipedes, large cicadas, polyxena butterflies and numerous lizards. There are spiders and ticks in the reserve. Rare reptiles are of considerable value. In Crimea, 2 ethnic species are distinguished: the Crimean rock lizard and the Crimean bare-toed gecko. A Leopard Snake was also found in the reserve.

There are endemic species here: Crimean jay, Crimean grosbeak, Crimean spruce crossbill, Crimean mountain bunting, Crimean long-tailed tit. Few birds nest. Among them is the black-headed gull from the family of gulls.

There are no large mammals in the reserve, however, very valuable species live: the Crimean stone marten, the Crimean mountain fox, the Crimean forest mouse. In the reserve there are hedgehogs, squirrels, hares, the Crimean shrew, etc.

Cape Martyan is not only a unique corner of the Mediterranean landscape, a monument of the ancient nature of Crimea, but also a kind of laboratory for open air, in which you can study the complex processes of land and sea.

5.4. Karadag nature reserve

The Kradag nature reserve is located in the east of the Crimean sub-Mediterranean region. Since 1947 it has been a natural monument, since 1979 it has been a nature reserve. Created to protect the ancient volcanic landscape and the rarest botanical and zoological objects. This is the only Jurassic volcano in the entire European part of the CIS that has retained the external features of its origin. Lava poured out here at the bottom of the sea. Over the course of millennia, volcanic rocks have undergone displacement and fracture, which is reflected in the modern relief. Karadag is essentially a mountain group that includes several ridges and independent peaks.

At Karadag, 100 mineral species and varieties were found, there are semi-precious stones: carnelian, opal, agate, rock crystal, amethyst.

All the attributes of a volcano can be observed on this mountain: lava flows and breccias, dikes, mineral veins, volcanic bombs and even a channel that once served as a conduit for lava to the surface.

From the side of the sea, Karadag is cut off by a discharge, its slopes go almost vertically into the depths of the sea. One of the vents of the volcano is clearly visible, cluttered with pieces of solidified lava - the Devil's fireplace.

Opposite the Khoba-Tepe ridge, 85 m from the coast, right from the depths of the sea rises a basalt arch crowned with a spire; this is the famous Golden Gate of Karadag.

The writer S. Elpatievsky noted that “Karadag is the end, the last word that wonderful mountain tale that stretches from Sevastopol ... And, as it happens, it is at the end that the tale flares up with the most bizarre images, the most unbridled fantasy. " (18 s73)

The vegetation of Karadag is peculiar. Light forests and bushes prevail here. Of the tree species, fluffy oak, rock oak, hornbeam, high juniper are widespread; from shrubs - cornelian cherry, sumac, pebble, girdlerevo, etc. An extraordinary combination of forest, forest-steppe and Mediterranean flora is observed in Karadag. About 60 endemics are found here.

Various vegetable world the nature reserve changes its appearance greatly throughout the year. Already at the end of January, Biberstein's crocus and Suznansky saffron are in bloom. Then folded snowdrop blooms, in March - double-leaved woodlands and goose bows - Calle, as well as tulips. In April, the common primrose blooms, in May, peonies bloom in the forests and Crimean asphodeline. In June, the reserve resembles a multi-colored lilac-yellow-blue carpet, which is formed by species of thyme, sunflowers, buttercups, flax, etc.

Varied animal world reserve. There are 30 species of mammals (steppe ferret, fox, squirrel, bats, etc.), 80 species of birds (including peregrine falcon, crested cormorant), 15 species of reptiles (leopard snake, yellow snake, rock lizard), many rare insects (praying mantis, Crimean ground beetle). (18 s74)

In the dense oak forests of the Holy Mountain, you can find roe deer, wild blue, tiny shrews, bats. The richness of forest fauna is especially emphasized by the abundance of bird species. This is a burial eagle, a snake-eagle, a griffon vulture, a blackbird, etc. The Karadag reserve is a unique complex museum of land and sea. The protection and restoration of the natural resources of Karadag is the most important task of the reserve.

5.5. Kazantip nature reserve

Located in the north of the Kerch hillside, on the shores of the Azov Sea. Created in 1998, the area, including the adjacent water area - 450.1 hectares. Kazantip Peninsula is an interesting geological and geomorphological object - it is an ancient reef formed by colonies of bryozoans, bryozoan limestone. Light gray, with a yellow tint, the stone consists of tightly cemented tiny tubes - skeletons of bryozoans. Colonies of these marine animals lived on the bottom in the Sarmatian and Meotic centuries of the Neogene period (11-12 million years ago). With the slow rise of the seabed, a shallow appeared, well warmed by the sun, where colonies of bryozoans developed in abundance, outwardly similar to moss or shrubs. After the death of bryozoans, skeletal calcareous tubules remained, new colonies settled on the dead bryozoans, then they died out, and so on. As a result of this process, a ring ridge of bryozoan limestones - a reef - surrounded the sandbank. Then the reef began to rise, and then side limestone ridges stretched from it to the retreating sea. The space between the side ridges is occupied by clays and marls. The uplift ended with the transformation of the reef into an island. Later, the sandy embankment made it a peninsula.

In relief, the Kazantip Peninsula outwardly resembles a ring reef - an atoll. As a result of weathering, numerous coves and rocky headlands have been formed here. bizarre shapes... The peninsula is characterized by landslides: huge blocks of bryozoan limestones in grandiose fissures, similar to ditches, break away from the ring ridge and slide down the underlying clays. (37, c 176)

Areas of virgin feather-grass and forb steppes, fragments of rock vegetation, typical Crimean shrubs have been preserved. The flora of vascular plants has more than 628 species.

5.6. Opuksky nature reserve

Located in the southern part of the Kerch Peninsula on the Black Sea coast. It was created in 1998. Its area is 1592.3 hectares, including the sea area and small islands of the Rocks-Ships. The reserve was created with the aim of preserving the unique natural steppe complex "Urochishche Opuk" and the complex of marine coastal biogeocenoses.

Mount Opuk is one of the highest on the Kerch Peninsula. Its height is 185m. It is composed of limestone. The mountain looks like a typical remnant massif, with a flat summit plateau, limited by large scarps and broken into separate blocks, separated from each other by tectonic cracks.

Mount Opuk was formed for a long time in difficult geological conditions. In the neighborhood acted mud volcanoes... Then, on the site of the mountain, Lake Koyashskoye, the Korabli-Kamen rocks, troughs and depressed synclines formed (Gubanov, 1961; Shlyukov et al., 1986) Later, the trough was replaced by an uplift in the form of a horst. The tectonic block of Mount Opuk is small. It stretches from north-east to south-west for 3.5 km. It is bounded on 4 sides by the shores of the Black Sea and Lake Kayash. Mount Opuk is located at the junction of several large structures. Here the meganticlinorium of the Mountainous Crimea ends and the young transverse Kerch-Taman trough begins, separating the uplifts of the Mountainous Crimea and the Greater Caucasus. Live and deep faults pass nearby.

Landslides are developed on steep slopes. Small deposits of native sulfur and gypsum have been explored on the territory of the reserve. The territory is famous for mineral salts and curative mud of the Kerch salt lake. Opuk is famous for its building materials - white shell rock. The climate of this part of the peninsula is very dry, moderately hot, with very mild winters (8). The amount of precipitation is 300-400mm per year. The aridity of the climate determines the poverty of the territory in fresh surface and groundwater. The largest water bodies are salt lakes: Uzunlarskoe, Koyashskoe. Typical representatives of the Crimean steppe and shrubs - hawthorn, buckthorn, privet - are well preserved on the territory of the reserve. The vegetation of Mount Opuk gravitates more towards the Crimean mountains than towards the steppe flora. It is home to 325 species of higher plants, 45 species of rare and endangered Crimean, Crimean-Novorossiysk, mountain Crimean and Kerch endemics. Of these, woodruff is endemic to Mount Opuk. On the slopes of the mountain, there are shrub communities of wild rose, hawthorn, dogwood, blackthorn, elderberry, unique for the steppe zone. They contain wild figs, grapes, hops, probably preserved from antiquity.

The fauna of the reserve is represented by various species. There are few amphibians and reptiles. Typical representatives are: green toad, lake frog, nimble lizard, water snake, yellow-bellied and four-striped snake. Among the birds there are: crested cormorant, gray heron, mute swan, gray goose, mallard, burial ground, gray partridge, bustard, herring gull, rock dove, blackbird, finch, crested lark and others. Of all the birds, 13 species nest directly on the territory of the reserve, 10 species on the adjacent territory, the rest are migratory. Of the rare, listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, 11 species have been identified in the reserve and the adjacent territories: crested cormorant, ogar, saker falcon, bustard, little bustard, pink starling, black-headed bunting, burial eagle, gray crane and demoiselle crane. Among the mammals in the reserve there are: European hare, ground squirrel, steppe mouse, red fox, white-breasted hedgehog. Of the rare and protected species, the bottlenose dolphin is found.

5.7. Nikitsky Botanical Garden

In 1811, at the request of the military governor A.E. Reshelieu, a decree was signed on the establishment of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. The most suitable place for the garden was the territory located 6 km from Yalta in the vicinity of the villages of Magarach and Nikita. Subsequently, the garden became known as Nikitsky. This scientific institution of the Crimea was founded in 1812 by the outstanding botanist H.H. Steven. It was H.H. Steven who planted the famous groves of cork oak, strawberry, blue cedar, cypress, pine in the garden. For 12 years, he has collected a unique collection of ornamental plants, created a valuable herbarium, founded scientific library, museum and school of gardeners.

Since 1826 N.A. Gartvis became the director of the garden. He contributed to the rapid development of horticulture and viticulture in the South Coast. Under him were brought to the Crimea: evergreen magnolias, fan palms, wisteria. Gartvis N.A. has collected a magnificent collection of conifers. These were giants - sequoiadendron and sequoia from California, Atlas cedar, Himalayan and Lusitanian cypresses, Montezuma and Gerard pines. Their three expeditions to the Caucasus were brought: Caucasian fir, Eastern spruce, Caucasian linden, rhododendrons.

In 1912, the Seaside Park was laid to commemorate the 100th anniversary. The most thermophilic subtropical plants settled in it from 1914 to 1940. Scientific research was carried out, collection plantings were replenished. So in 1940, over 2000 varieties of peaches, apricots, cherries, sweet cherries, plums, cherry plums, almonds, apple trees, pears and other crops were collected in the garden. During the second world war it was destroyed a large number of plants, valuable scientific equipment and a rich herbarium were removed. And only in 1944. after the liberation of Yalta, work began to restore the garden. The exported herbarium was found in Germany and delivered to the Crimea.

Now the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, together with its branch, occupies about 100 hectares of land. Its territory consists of four sections - Upper, Lower, Primorsky parks and Montedor park.

In the collections of Nikitsky Garden there are 15 thousand species, varieties and hybrids of plants. The garden carries out scientific relations with institutions from 80 countries of the world. Departments of flora and vegetation work here; nature protection; dendrology and ornamental gardening; floriculture; fruit crops; subtropical and nut crops; new technical plants; plant biochemistry; plant physiology; agroecology and plant nutrition; plant protection. Scientists of the garden assist in the protection of the Crimean environment, in the preservation and decoration of her green outfit. (41, s197)

5.8. Reserves

1. Mountain range Ayudag landscape reserve, created in 1974. on the territory of the Zaprudnenskoye forestry, with an area of ​​527 hectares. Ayudag or Bear Mountain is one of the largest "failed" volcanoes in Crimea. " In the distant geological past, in the Middle Ages, igneous rocks were introduced into the thickness of clay shales. Unable to break through to the surface, they cooled down, which is why such formations - magmatic diapirs - are called "failed volcanoes." For many millions of years, the cloak of sedimentary deposits has been eroded, and igneous rocks have been exposed, forming a dome-shaped mountain on the seashore with a height of more than half a kilometer (572 m). On the rocky slopes, you can see numerous outcrops of grayish-green gabbro-diabase. In some places, veins of rare minerals are visible. Ayudag is called one of the natural mineral museums of the South Coast.

The peaks and slopes of Ayudag are covered with a coastal southern coastal forest. Here you can find fluffy oak, hornbeam, high juniper, and tree. Occasionally, alone or in small groups, small-fruited strawberry comes across. Everywhere under the trees you can see typical representatives of the Mediterranean tropics: cistus, butcher, jasmine. The closer to the top, the higher and shaded the forest. Hornbeam, oak, ash, mountain ash, maple grow there. Of interest is a small grove of a kev tree on the isthmus between the "body" and "head" of the Bear Mountain. There are many rare herbaceous plants on Ayudag. (18, p. 65)

2. The grand canyon Crimea(a landscape reserve, created in 1974 on the territory of the Bakhchisaray region, with an area of ​​300 hectares.) The canyon is located on the eastern side of the Kokkoz valley. This wild, majestic gorge located in the depths is called a miracle of nature. northern slope Ai-Petrinskaya yayla, 4 km southeast of the village. Sokolinogo. The depth of the gorge is 250-320 m, in the narrowest places the width does not exceed 2-3 meters. The main creator of this miracle is water. The stormy river Auzen-Uzen flows along the bottom of the canyon. Using the most ancient fault, fracturing and karsting of limestones, the water infiltrated the rock mass for thousands of years and separated the table-like Boyku massif from the northern outskirts of the Ai-Petrinskaya yayla with a deep gorge. For centuries, boulders and boulders moved by water drill peculiar boilers and baths at the bottom of the gorge. There are more than 150 of them in the canyon. The water in the river and in the baths in winter and summer has almost the same temperature, about 11 degrees. River trout lives in the running water.

The Crimean pine grows on the slopes of the canyon. In the lower part of the gorge, trees form continuous thickets. Hornbeam, beech, ash, maple, mountain ash, linden grow here. The undergrowth is formed by bushes: hazel, dogwood, barberry, buckthorn, scumpia, hornbeam. More than one and a half thousand copies in the canyon of yew berry. Old trees of this relict species here reach 1.5 meters in trunk diameter and 10-12 meters in height. Of great interest are rare ferns, relict hyoid butcher, endemic saxifrage, orchid Venus's slipper (18, p. 29-31)

3 Mountain karst of Crimea(a geological reserve, created in 1989 on the territory of the Belogorsk region, Karabi-yayla, Novoklenovskiy and Privetnenskiy forestries, with an area of ​​4316 hectares). It covers most of the 254 karst cavities and thousands of craters located on the largest Crimean yayla (the so-called "lunar landscape") (6, p. 174).

The main ridge is the land of classical karst, Mediterranean type karst. The Yaylinsky massifs of the ridge consist of a thick stratum of Upper Jurassic limestones, on the basis of which peculiar karst relief forms are formed. A special complex of forms of surface and underground karst is observed here, resulting from the dissolution of limestones with water. These are shallow furrows in limestones, tarn fields, craters, hollows, wells, mines, grottoes and huge caves with wall forms of calcite - stalactites hanging from icicles from above, and stalagmites, the same in appearance, but directed upwards. A classic area where you can see the richness of karst forms is the Karabi area. On Karabi the following are known: Gvozdetsky mine (191m), Molodezhnaya (261m), Soldatskaya (470m), Krubera (280m); as well as the Tuakskaya cave.

Karst waters of the Karabi mountain range give life to the entire Belogorsk, most of the Soviet and Nizhnegorsk regions. Rivers originate on Karabi - Karasu, Kuchuk-Uzen, Orta-Uzen, Alachuk, Suat, etc. At the same time, there is practically no water on the plateau.

Karst cavities are not only original and formed over millennia forms of underground relief, but also important sources for the formation of water resources of the peninsula (40, p. 26-27).

4. The Karabi-Yayla tract(a botanical reserve, created in 1978 on the territory of the Belogorsk region, Novoklenovskoe forestry, with an area of ​​491 hectares), a reference site with medicinal plants is protected.

The reserve is located on the eastern outskirts of the Karabi-Yayla, in one of the vast hollows, where thickets of the Biberstein jasmine were found. In total, there are over 500 plant species in the tract, including more than 50 types of medicinal plants. Among all the floristic wealth of great interest is the Bieberstein jaskolka (Crimean "edelweiss"). Its silvery-white leaves, like felt from the thick hairs covering them, really resemble the leaves of Alpine edelweiss. However, the similarities are purely superficial. This plant belongs to the carnation family, it is a relic of the Upper Tertiary time endemic for the Crimea. It blooms in May-August with delicate white flowers. In the reserved basin of Karabi, the Crimean "edelweiss" forms pillow thickets (18, p. 44-45).

5.New Light(a botanical reserve, created on the territory of the Sudak City Council, Sudak forestry, with an area of ​​470 hectares), a relic forest of endemic Stankevich pine and high juniper on the rocks of the coast is protected. The main value of the New World coast is the endemic Stankevich pine, which here, as well as on Cape Aya in the west of the South Coast, has survived as natural relict thickets. In the Novy Svet region, there are 5,000 specimens of this species of pine, reaching a height of 10-12 m. This pine has dark green needles and large, mostly upright, single cones. It was first described in 1906 by the botanist V.N.Sukachev, and named after its discoverer, forester V.I. Stankevich. In the past, this pine tree, preserved from ancient times, was much more widespread in the Crimea; in the pre-revolutionary period, large areas of the forests formed by it were cut down, because its wood was highly valued. Here you can find tall juniper, century-old trees, which reach 80 cm in diameter. In sunny places, there are capers (prickly capers) - undersized creeping shrubs. They bloom beautifully, give fruits that resemble cucumbers.

In addition to Stankevich pine and high juniper, the New World coast is famous for the massive Sokol Mountain and the domed Koba-Kaya (Cave Rock). These rocky cliffs are reef massifs of marbled limestone.

Mount Falcon(472m) from a distance really resembles the figure of a huge bird with folded wings. There are two cliffs under it - Sokolyata. On the way from the mountain to the Koba-Kaya cliff there is a high grotto, worked out by the sea surf. The bay that penetrates deep into the grotto is called the Robber. Its other name is Blue Bay. From the grotto to the west, past Cape Kapchik, there is a path to the Blue Bay. Behind the Golubaya Bay, the original, with a jagged top, the Karaul-Oba massif (Watchtower Mountain) emerges into the sea. This extreme western part of the New World is called Paradise (Paradise), - the kingdom of wild stone chaos and juniper thickets (18, p72-73).

5.9. Natural Monuments

1. Kizil-Koba tract and cave(geological monument, created in 1963 on the territory of the Simferopol region, Dolgorukovskaya yayla, Perevalnensky forestry, with an area of ​​33 hectares) - the longest (more than 21 km), six-storey system of karst cavities in Crimea with underground river and the lake.

On the western slope of the Dolgorukovsky massif, 3.5 km from the village. Perevalny, there is a tract and a cave Kizil-Koba (Red). A gorge incised into the thickness of the Upper Jurassic limestones leads to the cave. It was created by the waters of a small mountain river Kizilkobinka, which, carrying out dissolved lime from the depths of the Dolgorukovsky massif, deposited it in the form of limestone tuffs. Gradually, not far from the entrance to the cave, a vast tuff area was formed, the high ledge of which, like a dam, blocks the gorge.

The upper parts of the slopes are almost steep. They are composed of pinkish-red limestones (hence the name of the gorge and the Red Cave located in it). The total length of all known passages of the Kizil-Koba reaches 13100 m. This is the country's largest limestone cave. There are six floors in the Kizil-Koba system. The upper floors are dry, where the water has almost stopped working. The lower ones are flooded and are going through an era of active karst development. In the cave, there are several beautiful halls... These are Indian and Chinese. Some stalactites here reach 5-8m in length. And in the Griboyedov corridor, an underground lake and a river were known for a long time. Kizil-Koba is also known as an archeological monument: bones of cave bears and material traces of people of the so-called Kizil-Koba culture were found here (18, p39-40).

2. Soldatskaya karst mine(landscape and geological monument, protected since 1972). The mine is located on Karabi-Yaila. This is the deepest karst mine in Crimea - 1800/500 m. It was discovered by Feodosia cavers and named after the victorious Soviet warrior. There is a permanent watercourse at the bottom of this mine. This mine is also the deepest cave in Ukraine (517 m).

3. Demerdzhi tract(a geological monument, created in 1981 on the territory of Big Alushta, Alushta forestry, with an area of ​​20 hectares) - original forms of weathering of conglomerates that make up the city of Demerdzhi: the Valley of Ghosts, Big Demerdzhinsky stone chaos. The slopes of Mount Demerdzhi (from the Crimean Tatar “demerdzhi” - blacksmith) are dotted with bizarre stone statues, reminiscent of either people or animals, but more often towers, mushrooms, columns. These statues are the result of centuries of weathering. Demerdzhi is not composed of limestones, like other massifs of the main ridge, but Upper Jurassic conglomerates. Under the influence of weathering, they form bizarre, semi-fantastic figures. Tourists call one of the rocks “Ekaterina's profile”. However, close up this 20-meter rock has a completely different shape. There are especially many bizarre pyramids, pillars, mushrooms, towers on the southwestern slope of Mount Demerdzhi, in the Valley of Ghosts. One of the pillars - the Giant - is a stone mass with a diameter of 5m, towering upward by 25m. On its sides, pillars and columns of smaller sizes, up to 10-20 m in height, are piled up. There are more than a hundred similar stone "ghosts" here.

From time to time, as a result of earthquakes on the weathered mountain slopes, grandiose collapses occur, forming huge stone chaos. Such is the chaos that arose in the vicinity of the Valley of Ghosts as a result of the landslides of 1894, 1965, 1966. The vast territory along the steep slope of Demerdzhi turned out to be cluttered with a chaotic heap of pointed conglomerate blocks; some are the size of a three-story house. The total volume of block chaos exceeds 4 million m3. Pebbles and boulders of local conglomerates are of great scientific interest. These are the oldest rocks, the age of which is determined at 800 million - 1.1 billion years (18, p. 68-69).

4. Mount-outlier Mangup-Kale(a complex monument, created in 1975 on the territory of the Bakhchisarai district near the village of Zalesnoe; area of ​​90 hectares), protected natural complex the original dining room of Mangup-Kale (581m) on the inner Crimean ridge with deciduous forest on the slopes.

Mangup is a large outlier made up of bryozoan limestones, rising almost 600m above sea level. It rises like an island among three adjacent valleys - Karalez, Dzhan-dere, Aytodorskaya. On three sides, the vast Mangup plateau ends with rocky cliffs, in the western part reaching 70 m vertically.

Mangup was one of the largest fortresses of medieval Crimea, which, if necessary, accepted significant masses of the population under the protection of its walls (11, p. 75-76).

It is clear that it was not an easy task to take possession of such a natural fortress, which was also protected by high walls and battle towers. In the 40-meter cliffs of Mangup, there are many artificial crypt caves with economic or cult purposes. In the XIII - XV centuries. here was the large city-capital of the principality of Theodoro at that time.

The plateau-like peak of Mangup is pushed to the sides by original capes. From the foot of the mountain, a forest climbs along its slopes: here the fluffy oak, hornbeam, hazelnut, ivy are abundant, and the Crimean pine is found. On the flat top of the mountain, there are sparse thickets of trees and bushes (18, p. 80).

5.10. Parks-monuments of landscape gardening art

1. Alupkinsky (Vorontsovsky) park(founded in the first half of the 19th century, the reserve regime was established in 1960, area 40 hectares) - part of an exquisite palace and park complex, a masterpiece of architecture and landscape art, located in the city of Alupka.

Alupka Park stretches from east to west for about a kilometer. The creation of the park began in 1824. Count M.S. Vorontsov even before the construction of residential premises. The author of the compositional plan of the park was the German gardener Karl Kebach. The volumetric - spatial composition of the park was created taking into account the natural relief of the area. In the Alupka region, it is an amphitheater, bounded by hills in the west and east, and mountain spurs in the north, and by the sea in the south ..

The courtyard part of the park with white marble sculptures and fountains looks especially solemn and festive. The rest of the park is conditionally divided by the road connecting Yalta and Simeiz into the Upper and Lower parks.

The upper park was laid out simultaneously with the construction of the palace. The terrain is hilly, with descents and ascents. This is the area of ​​the Small Chaos, which begins directly at the palace and extends north to the grandiose Big Chaos - detached rocks, small placers of stones and their heaps. All landings are here for the most part serve only as a green backdrop for natural heaps of stones and grottoes. A cascade has been created in a boxwood grove, falling from a height of three meters. Waterfalls, cascades, streams are shaded by tall trees, the rocks around it are entwined with ivy and moss. Everything here resembles a wild mountainous area. Maple, ash, almonds, evergreen boxwood bushes, stone oak groves, small-fruited strawberries, juniper, downy oak grow here.

The lower park was created on the principle of regular parks with a clear layout, curly shearing of plants. There are flat terraces that calmly descend to the sea. A wide diabase staircase decorated with lion sculptures approaches the entrance to the palace. On the second terrace, near the library building, the "Fountain of Tears" is installed. There are many waterfalls in this park, an abundance of various flowers blooming in different time of the year.

There are now about 200 different plant species in the park. Many of them were imported from America, Italy, China, Japan, Russia and other countries.

2. Livadia Park was founded in the first half of the 19th century, now it is located on the territory of the Yalta City Council in the urban-type settlement. Livadia. The park is part of an outstanding monument - the Livadia palace and park complex. Its area is 15 hectares.

Livadia Park was founded in the 30-40s of the last century by the famous gardener Delinger. By the nature of the layout, the park belongs to the landscape or landscape type. This style was especially widespread in Russian park construction at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Landscape parks are usually based on natural nature, ennobled, according to the plan of the gardener, by the inclusion of picturesquely arranged groups of various plants. A significant addition to such parks are reservoirs, ponds, lakes or cascades.

It is laid out in a regular style near the palaces. Retaining walls decorated with climbing plants, parterre with low trimmed bushes of laurel, laurel and thuja are successfully combined with architecture. There are many roses on the terraces below the walls. At the southeastern corner of the palace, a magnificent 80-meter pergola begins. Its metal frame is entirely entwined with roses, wisteria and vineyards. Skillfully arranged viewpoints and gazebos give the park a special charm - original points of view of palaces, mountains and the sea. Such corners as the Pink Gazebo and the Turkish Gazebo with a silver dome are also good.

There are 200 species of shrub varieties in Livadia Park. In the center of the park is a shady grove of mighty oaks. It serves as a background for the blue satin cedar. A giant sequoia with a superbly developed crown grows nearby. The height of the giant is 35 meters. The powerful curved branches of the sequoia resemble the tusks of a mammoth, which is why it is called the mammoth tree. Also interesting is a specimen of yew, which grows at the eastern facade of the palace. There are many plane trees, Lebanese and Himalayan cedars, several varieties of pine, fir, magnolia in the park.

3. Gurzuf park(founded at the beginning of the XIV century; the reserve regime was established in 1960; an area of ​​12 hectares.) Now it is located on the territory of the Yalta City Council in the settlement of t. Gurzuf. The park was created in 1803 on a seaside rock. Olives, palms, laurels and other exotic plants grow here. There are 140 types and forms in total. There are many monuments and sculptures in the park. Not far from the southern gate, you can see a whole sculptural gallery: busts of Adam Mitskevich, Lesya Ukrainka, Fyodor Chaliapin, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, Vladimir Mayakovsky. These people visited Gurzuf at different times, leaving a vivid mark in the history of the Crimean culture. The park has preserved original old sculptures and fountains. The fountain "Night" stands out among them for its fabulous beauty. His sculptural group was made by famous Russian masters and is a copy of the sculptor German professor Berger, presented at the international exhibition of fountains in Vienna at the end of the 19th century. The motives of ancient mythology are felt here: the goddess of the night Nyukta is depicted as a naked woman with a torch over her head; she is accompanied by the god of sleep Hypnos and the god of love Eros. In the center of the sculptural group is a ball, surrounded by the signs of the Zodiac and symbolizing the Universe. Below the fountain "Night" is the fountain "Bather"; in the western part of the park - the fountain "Rachel" or the Girl with a jug "(based on the ancient biblical legend about the beautiful Rachel).

A group of olive trees grows not far from the entrance gate - this is one of the places in Gurzuf associated with the name of A.S. Pushkin. Now in the park, in the "Richelieu house" there is a museum of Alexander Pushkin. Near the museum there has been preserved "Pushkin's cypress", about which the poet wrote in a letter to Anton Delvich; the tree is over 170 years old (41, p. 190-193).

In the park you can see Lebanese cedars, Sudak pine, magnolia, laurel, cypresses, chestnuts, evergreen viburnum, Japanese sophora, sequoia, spruce. There is a grove of olive trees on the outskirts of the park.

4. Massandra Park(founded in the first half of the 19th century, the reserve regime was established in 1960 with an area of ​​44.1 hectares; now it is located on the territory of the Yalta City Council in the village of Massandra).

The park was laid back in the 40s of the last century at the direction of M.S. Vorontsov. Several gardeners took part in the work, including Karl Kebakh, the creator of the Alupka Park. There are over 250 species of tree and shrub forms here. These are shady spreading beeches, Himalayan and Lebanese cedars, evergreen laurel, mighty oak and tall resinous pine. Here there are Italian pine trees, thickets of bamboo, berry yew, and a mammoth tree. Walnut bushes, dogwoods, evergreen magnolias hide under their shade. The steep cliffs are entwined with creeping juniper bushes. Wild jasmine grows in the crevices of the rocks. On the mountain slopes you can see peonies, rose hips, belladonna. Crimean edelweiss grows on mountain meadows (34, p. 77).

5. Foros park(founded in the first half of the 19th century; the reserve regime was established in 1960, with an area of ​​70 hectares) - an old landscape park in the urban-type settlement. Foros with the famous "paradise" among picturesque reservoirs, 200 species and forms of plants grow here.

Foros is located 40 km from Yalta. There was a Greek colony here, and later, in the Middle Ages Genoese fortress Fori.

Now in Foros there is one of the best on the South coast - Foros Park. It is divided into three parts. The lower, seaside part is separated from the middle garden road. In the middle of the park there is a "Paradise" with six miniature lakes, built at different levels and connected into a single cascade with miniature waterfalls. Above the "Paradise Corner", a forest park rises along the slope to the highway.

Foros Park is adjoined by the Tesseli dacha (silence), associated with the name of A. M. Gorky. Behind the dacha there is a juniper forest, a forest of Crimean pine. Behind them you can see a remarkable geographical point - Cape Sarych (the southern tip of the Crimean peninsula and Ukraine). From Cape Sarych (44о 23'N) to Cape Kerempe on the Anatolian coast of Turkey is the narrowest point of the Black Sea - 142 miles (41, p. 259).

6. Miskhorsky park(founded at the end of the 18th century, the reserved regime was established in 1960, with an area of ​​23 hectares) - a monument of landscape art on the territory of the Yalta City Council, in the urban-type settlement. Koreiz.

Miskhor, which stretches along the coast for 7 km, is the warmest place on the South Coast: the average temperature of the coldest month in winter is + 4.4оС. The fact is that Miskhor is located under the shadow of the Aypetrinsky Yaylinsky massif. Mountains close Miskhor from cold northern winds.

Miskhorsky Park was founded at the end of the 18th century. in a landscape style, created by the serfs of the princes Naryshkin, Dolgorukov and Count Shuvalov. On a small area of ​​23 hectares, there are 100 species and garden forms of exotic trees and shrubs.

At the beginning of the park, on the coast, there is a sculptural group - the fountain "The Girl of Arza and the robber Ali Baba", and a little further in the sea on the rock there is a sculpture of a mermaid with a child in her hands; it is a single composition. Its author is the Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson. The composition is based on the legend about the kidnapping of a girl by a robber for the sultan's harem (9, p. 82).

The history of the park is rich. Many writers, poets, composers and artists have been here. In 1984, a monument to AM Gorky was erected in the park, depicting the writer during his stay in Miskhor in 1901-1902, when he was working on the play At the Bottom.

7. Park "Utes"(founded in the middle of the 19th century; the reserve regime was established in 1960, with an area of ​​5 hectares) - located on the territory of the Alushta City Council, urban settlement. Cliff, sanatorium "Cliff".

"Cliff" is located at the bare tip of Cape Plaka, which in Greek means "flat stone". In 1907. a palace was built here by the princes Gagarins. A park was laid out around the palace. Here are concentrated 100 species and garden forms of trees and shrubs.

Crimea is not only sea ​​coast, mountains and old parks with exotic plants. Few people know that about two-thirds of the peninsula is occupied by the steppe. And this part of Crimea is also beautiful in its own way, unique and charming. This article will focus specifically on the Steppe Crimea. What is this region? Where are its borders? And what is its nature?

Features of the geography of Crimea

From the point of view of geomorphology and landscape zoning, the territory of the Crimean peninsula is divided into several zones:

• Plain or steppe (number I on the map).
• Mountain (number II).
• South Coast or in abbreviated form - South Coast (III).
• Kerch ridge-hilly (IV).

If you look at the physical map of the peninsula, you can see that about 70% of its territory is occupied by the plain (or steppe) Crimea. In the south, it directly adjoins the Outer Ridge of the Crimean Mountains, in the north and east it is limited by the shallow Sivash Bay, the shores of which are distinguished by the richest avifauna. We will tell you more about this natural region below.

Steppe Crimea on the administrative map of the peninsula

Square the region is about 17 thousand square kilometers. However, only a quarter of the total population of Crimea lives in this territory - no more than 650 thousand people.

12 districts are fully or partially located within the Steppe Crimea:

• May Day.
• Razdolnensky.
• Krasnoperekopsky.
• Dzhankoy.
• Krasnogvardeisky.
• Nizhnegorsky.
• Black Sea.
• Saksky.
• Soviet.
• Kirovsky (partially).
• Belogorsky (partially).
• Simferopol (partially).

The unspoken "capital" of the Crimean steppes can be called the city of Dzhankoy. Other large settlements in the region are Armyansk, Krasnoperekopsk, Evpatoria, Saki, Nikolaevka, Nizhnegorskiy, Sovetskiy, Oktyabrskoye. Practically in each of them there are enterprises that process one or another type of local agricultural raw materials. The cities of Armyansk and Krasnoperekopsk are the most important centers of the chemical industry. Soda and sulfuric acid are produced here.

Geology and relief

The region is based on the epigercynian Scythian plate, composed of deposits of the Neogene and Quaternary periods. The relief of the Steppe Crimea is quite diverse. In the northern and northeastern parts, it is represented by several lowlands (Sivash, North Crimean, Indola and others) with absolute heights not exceeding 30 meters above sea level.

In the west of the peninsula, the Tarkhankut Upland stands out sharply in the relief. However, it can only be called a hill with a stretch. After all, the maximum point of Tarkankut is only 178 meters. Nevertheless, due to the seaside position, the elevation differences here are quite impressive. Some coastal cliffs rise 40-50 meters above sea waters.

The relief of the region contributes to housing construction, the laying of roads and railways, and active agricultural land development.

Climate and inland waters

The climate of the region is moderately continental, rather dry. Winters here are mild and with little snow, with frequent thaws. Summer is hot, with minimal precipitation. Average air temperatures in July are + 24 ... 27 degrees. The weather of the Steppe Crimea is variable, especially during the transitional seasons of the year.

Back in the 19th century, academician G.P. Gelmersen suggested that it was the climate of the northern part of the Crimean peninsula that would become the main cause of poverty in this region in the future. During the year, no more than 400 mm of precipitation falls here, which roughly corresponds to the level of moisture in the semi-desert zone. An important role in supplying the peninsula fresh water plays the North-Crimean channel. The only relatively large river in the Steppe Crimea is Salgir. In summer, many of its tributaries dry up completely or partially.

Flora and fauna

In summer, steppe ones resemble a lifeless desert with grass burnt out from the hot sun. But in the spring, the region comes alive with a colorful carpet of flowering plants. The main representatives of the flora of the Crimean steppes are feather grass, fescue, bluegrass, wormwood, wheat grass and other cereals. In spring, irises, tulips, poppies and various ephemeroids bloom here.

The fauna of the Steppe Crimea is rather poor. It is dominated by small mammals living in burrows - ground squirrels, jerboas, ferrets, hamsters, voles. Hares and various birds are quite common - larks, partridges, cranes, quails, eagles and harriers.

Unfortunately, significant areas of the Steppe Crimea are now plowed up. Virgin, untouched areas of natural landscapes can be found today only in reserves and on the slopes of ravines.

Main attractions

A sophisticated tourist, along and across the mountain trails of the Crimean Mountains, can be advised to go to the north of the peninsula. After all, there are also many interesting and beautiful objects there. We have selected ten attractions of the Steppe Crimea, which are worth visiting in the first place. This:

• Landscape park Kalinovsky.
• Peninsula Tyup-Tarkhan ("bird paradise" of the Crimea).
• National park"Magic Harbor" on Tarkhankut.
• Farmstead "Nizhnegorye" with a park.
• Juma-Jami mosque and Karaite kenases in Evpatoria.
• Ancient Perekop shaft.
• The neo-Gothic church "Heart of Jesus" in Aleksandrovka.
• Tulip fields in the village of Yantarnoye.
• The Abuzlar tract with mysterious petroglyphs.

Rest in the Crimean steppes can be no less interesting and meaningful than in the mountains or on the South Coast. In the eastern part of the Steppe Crimea, there are a number of excellent seaside resorts... Among them are Evpatoria, Saki, Chernomorskoe, Nikolaevka, Olenevka, Mezhvodnoe and others.