Types of landscapes. Steppe Crimea: climate, relief, flora and fauna. Region boundaries. Interesting places and attractions On which coast of Crimea is the steppe type of landscape

Crimea is a place where there are many non-man-made objects that have an unusual shape or content and are valuable for the ecosystem and for all humanity in general.

These non-man-made objects are called landscape monuments. Landscape monuments include mountains, nature reserves, forests, rocks, caves, trails, etc. A feature of the Crimean landscapes What is also unusual is that ordinary European plants grow next to typical Mediterranean and Asian ones.

Our peninsula is an area where plants that grew here in the pre-glacial period are still found - small-fruited strawberry, tall juniper, and Comperia Compera orchid. Scientists have identified 142 species of plants that are not found anywhere except Crimea.

Landscape The peninsula can be divided into the northern part, which is occupied by a plain in size that is approximately three-quarters of the entire area of ​​Crimea, and southern part, which accounts for ¼, where the main ridge of the Crimean Mountains (external) passes.

The Crimean ridge can be divided into internal (northern) and external (southern). The 125-kilometer-long internal ridge starts from the Meckenzi Mountains, near Sevastopol, and runs in the Belogorsk region, to Mount Agarmysh, in Old Crimea.

The inner and outer parts of the Crimean Mountains are separated by flat areas and natural basins - these are the Baydar Valley, the Kyzyl-Koba Valley and others. These valleys surrounded by mountains create a unique natural landscape. The Crimean mountains are rich in vegetation and their slopes form beautiful mountain forest landscapes.

2. Landscapes of the southern coast of Crimea

Perhaps the most famous and one of the most beautiful landscape monuments is Greater Yalta; it represents 80 kilometers of the Black Sea coast. The winding coastline, approaching close to the sea, as well as the unique main ridge of the Crimean Mountains, plus a dry, warm climate, attract many connoisseurs of natural earthly beauty with their landscape.

There are many of the most unique and unusual extreme places Crimea and even Ukraine. Cape Sarych is located on this territory - this is the southernmost point of the country, Alupka is the warmest place in Ukraine, here, according to scientists, there are the largest number of sunny days a year, and Mount Ai-Petri is considered the windiest mountain, here there is the most wind. The most high mountain Crimea is also located here - this is Mount Roman-Kosh.

And not only big Yalta, over many millions of years, the entire Black Sea coast took on such bizarre shapes, stunning in their beauty in the form of rocky cliffs, pebbles and sandy beaches, cozy bays.

The fabulous landscape changes along the entire coast of Crimea, washed first by the Black Sea, then by the Azov Sea, and then by Lake Sivash. Palms, laurels and cypresses, brought to Crimea much later and giving harmony and beauty landscape of Crimea.

The main ridge of the Crimean mountains stretches along the coast of Crimea from southwest to east, and has a length of about 160 km and a width of 40 - 50 km. The mountains descend like an amphitheater towards the sea, forming beautiful “yayla” - this is the Yalta yayla, reaching a height of 1406m, where the city of Yalta is located.

Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla reaches an altitude of 1320 m; Alupka and Simeiz are picturesquely spread out here. Gurzufskaya yayla has a height of 1540 m - Gurzuf is located, Nikitskaya yayla has a height of 1470 m, the Nikitsky Botanical Institute, famous far beyond the borders of Crimea, is located here garden.

Babugan-yayla has the highest point in Crimea 1545m, located on Mount Roman-kosh. The amphitheaters of these villages have been inhabited by people since ancient times; ancient human sites have been discovered here.

On the southern side of the Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains, two belts of vegetation stand out: at the top, Scots pine is more common, and below, at an altitude of 300-400 m above the sea, there are forests of Crimean pine. Then, going down towards the sea, there is the so-called shibliak belt.

Here the vegetation is of the Mediterranean type - tall juniper, downy oak, butcher's broom, strawberry tree, wild pistachio, etc.
In the forests of the southern coast of Crimea, relict coniferous plants have been preserved - yew berry and tall juniper, Juniperus excelsa, individual specimens reach 3-5 meters in volume.

Some specimens of these relics are up to 1000 years old. They can be found in the Laspi tract, on Cape Sarych, Ai-Todor, Martyan, Montedor, in the Kanak gully. Thanks to the relief, in Crimea you can see a wide variety of landscapes and different vegetation.

3. Landscape of the inner ridge of the Crimean Mountains

The northern part, the inner part, of the main ridge of the Crimean Mountains descends to Bakhchisarai, and is called the Crimean foothills. Her landscape cut by amazing canyons, mountain ranges and table-shaped mountain plateaus, as if by nature intended for human settlements. This is evidenced by the most ancient cave cities.

The Crimean mountains were formed over millions of years, being excavated from the bottom of an ancient sea, where sedimentary rocks such as limestones, sandstones, marls, clays and clay shales accumulated. Rising from the days of the sea, the mountains were exposed to wind, water and different temperatures.

In places of geological faults, under the influence of water, river valleys, canyons and mountain ranges appeared. A characteristic feature of the interior of the Crimean Mountains is gentle slopes called cuesta (slope). The dense limestones of the upper layers of the cuesta formed ledges-cornices. In the process of rock erosion, the most bizarre figures appeared on the inner ridge: “sphinxes”, “mushrooms”, “ribs”, grottoes, mountains - outcrops.

4. Landscapes of the steppe part of Crimea

Landscape The flat part of Crimea is relatively monotonous; a steppe plain stretches to the north, and sometimes there are small hills. In the west is the Tarkankhut Peninsula, it is also treeless, and in spring and early summer it is covered with green vegetation and beautiful flowers, which fade under the hot Crimean sun by mid-summer.

The seashore is steep and high, there are caves and grottoes. Moving inland from the Crimean mountains and the sea, you find yourself in the steppe zone, where unusual and fast rivers become calm, large tracts of gardens and vineyards appear, and large strips of meadows with bright poppies and other vegetation are found.

The plains gradually decrease from south to north, occupying the northern and central part. The nature of Crimea is unique with its combination of flat landscapes and mountain ranges. In this part of Crimea there are many garden and park complexes built after the annexation of Crimea to Russia; natural landscapes are, as it were, decorated and exalted by landscapes of parks created by human hands. About one of these park complex I wrote here.

5. Seas washing Crimea

From the south, Crimea is washed by the Black Sea, and from the east is the Sea of ​​Azov. Between these two seas lies Kerch Strait, width from 5 to 15 km. The depth of the Black Sea in some places reaches 2200 meters and has no noticeable tides. Depth Sea of ​​Azov, is about 13.5 meters.

6.Rivers of the Crimean Peninsula

Crimean rivers, as a rule, are not large and full-flowing; they are winding and fast. Most rivers almost dry up under the scorching rays of the summer sun, or go underground into karst cavities. The largest Crimean river is Salgir, and the deepest is Belbek.

Crimean rivers, passing through constantly changing mountainous terrain, canyons and gorges, sometimes falling, sometimes rising, sometimes spreading across the plain, often form entire cascades of waterfalls, attracting large groups of tourists.

Crimean rivers are small mountain streams that resemble streams. In summer, most often, drying up rivers expose their bed, which is strewn with boulders and stones of various sizes and shapes. Sometimes a thin trickle of a stream makes its way through these boulders, then hides underground and suddenly reappears on the surface of the earth.

But if there is heavy rain in the mountains, the rivers instantly fill with water, overflow their banks, breaking into numerous streams, rush down rapidly, then uniting into one stream, capturing both large stones and uprooted stones. trees.

Tourists need to know this when choosing a place to stay overnight and place their camping equipment away from seemingly harmless streams. Crimea is also rich in salt lakes.

7.Caves of the peninsula

In Crimea Many karst caves have been discovered, which, in their beauty, are attractive to speleologists from all over the world. On Mount Chatyr-Dag, a cave called “Marble” is open and equipped for tourists to visit. This name was given to it because of its unique beauty, reminiscent of the complex pattern of marble.

The cave has several halls and galleries equipped for visitors, with a length of about one and a half kilometers. The depth of the cave is 60 meters, and the explored length is more than two kilometers. Unique Marble Cave ranks fifth in the world among the most beautiful caves planets.

Well, the longest karst cave Crimea is Red, its length is 16 thousand meters. The record for depth is set by the Soldatskaya Cave, which goes 517 meters deep. The Emine-Bair-_Khosar cave, which is located near the Marble Cave, is also considered one of the unique caves in Europe for its unusual underground coloring.

It is quite possible to organize a visit to many landscape monuments of Crimea on your own, since the infrastructure in Crimea is developed and you can get everywhere by public transport, the roads are not bad.

Visit llandscape monuments can be paid or free; as a rule, visiting monuments is available from April to October, but there are also winter visits. Many landscape monuments are protected by the state or great assistance is provided to private individuals who make the landscape of Crimea unique, such as .

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

There are few territories on the globe where so much is concentrated in such a small area. various types landscapes. This is explained by the position of Crimea on the border of geographical zones, at the contact of various floras and faunas, the influence of the seas washing it, and the complex history of development.

Landscapes are classified according to different criteria:

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

2.According to 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 temperate latitude belt, therefore, its landscapes belong to the subboreal; in the extreme south, elements of subtropical landscapes are observed. Boreal (from Latin - northern) landscapes are formed in an area with a boreal (temperate) climate characterized by well-defined seasons - snowy winters and relatively short summers.

Landscape classification

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

Consequently, the main landscapes in Crimea are:

Semi-desert steppes and salt marshes;

Real steppes;

Foothill forest-steppes;

Forests of the northern macroslope;

Mountain meadows and yayl steppes;

Forests of the southern macroslope;

Open forest 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, gardens, and vineyards (70-80%). Steppe vegetation (depleted) has been preserved mainly on Tarkhankut, the Kerch Peninsula and in the Sivash region (semi-desert steppes). These areas are characterized by hot, dry summers and relatively warm winters. The amount of precipitation ranges from 450-550mm. per year. The soils are southern chernozems, in the Sivash region they are desert and chestnut. The vast majority of the territory of the Crimean plain has been converted into agricultural landscapes - alternating 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. Among agricultural crops, grain crops predominate.

4.2. Coastal landscapes.

4.2.1..Plain-coastal steppe landscapes

These include a narrow strip (5-10 km) at the junction of the sea and flat steppe landscapes. These landscapes are characterized by relatively dissected relief. Breezes are clearly visible here. The soils are thin and unsuitable 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.Lowland dry steppe landscapes.

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

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 northern slopes and low river valleys, steppes are located on drier southern slopes and on surfaces with thin soils. Good water supply, favorable transport geographical location led to the development of large cities, a network of roads and railways in the foothills. Agriculture has a diversified specialization: around cities - suburban farming; in river valleys there are gardens; on the mountain slopes there are vineyards and essential oil crops. The modern appearance of the foothills is characterized by alternating 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, and 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 developed by people, so the forests were cut down and now almost all oak forests are coppice, characterized by low growth, often with dry tops and sparseness. Within these landscapes are the main nature reserves. These landscapes constitute the main ecological resource of Crimea. The most beneficial use of these landscapes is their conservation with moderate recreational use.

4.5. Landscapes of the Crimean yayls.

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

The azonal nature of yayla landscapes is associated not with climatic zonal conditions, but with the rocks composing them. Precipitation falls through cracks - due to the karst formation of the yayls, they infiltrate (seep) into the limestone layer. At the tops of mountains, the amount of moisture available to plants decreases, and drier habitats suitable for steppes and forest-steppes are formed. Isolation contributes to the development of endemism. A significant part of the river flow is formed on the yayla. Their great water conservation importance requires the prohibition of intensive economic activity here - livestock grazing, 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 km2, there are more than 1.5 thousand karst sinkholes and 254 karst cavities. But the most famous landscapes are the Chatyrdag (Marble Cave, Emine-Bair-Khosar Cave) and the 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 350-400m. They are characterized by warm, humid winters (the climate resembles the Mediterranean), dissected topography, a general slope of the surface to the south, strong influence of the sea (breezes, warm winters), low humidity, thin soils, and an abundance of local climates. Natural vegetation (it has been preserved on 20-30% of the territory) - juniper-oak forests, shibliaks, pistachio groves, small areas with Mediterranean species: small-fruited strawberry, 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 have been built here, resort complexes, parks have been created. Resort towns and the 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 above are replaced by pine and oak forests.

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 towns. The vast majority of the territory of the Crimean plain has been converted into agricultural landscapes. Residential landscapes have 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 buildings. There is almost no natural vegetation in cities; it is replaced by park vegetation. There is practically no natural soil cover left in cities; a special local climate is formed here with a large number fogs and precipitation, less solar radiation, higher temperatures, lower wind speeds. Urban landscapes are characterized by high transport pollution (especially cars), littering of the territory (garbage dumps), and landscape pollution (primitive architecture).

The interconnection of components in the landscape (rocks, relief, climate, soils, waters, vegetation, wildlife) makes it necessary to handle any of them very carefully. You should remember the principle formed by B. Commoner: “Everything is connected to everything.” Even the processes that we call unfavorable: water and wind erosion, abrasion, landslides, floods, etc. - to a certain extent are necessary for the functioning of the landscape, maintaining its dynamic balance. The cessation of all processes means the death of landscapes.

Topic No. 5 Natural protected areas

The problem of protecting the natural environment acquired particular relevance in the second half of the 20th century due to the catastrophic consequences of the development of production and population growth on the planet. Scientists around the world rightly claim 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 geographical zones, populations of rare and endangered representatives of flora and fauna, reserves, sanctuaries and other specially protected areas are created, completely or partially withdrawn from direct economic use. This fully applies to the nature of Crimea, which is distinguished by particularly 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 natural reserve fund with a total area of ​​1415.3 square meters. km., including 47 territories of national importance and 105 objects local significance. In general, the reserve fund in Crimea accounts for 5.4% of the peninsula’s territory. This is 2.5 times higher than the similar average for Ukraine, but 2 times lower than the UN recommended optimal level of reserve saturation for regions of the world.

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

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

Crimean with a branch of Lebyazhy Islands, Yalta, Cape Martyan, Karadag, Kazantip, Opuk.

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 reserve began in 1917, when 3000 hectares of former royal hunting forest were declared a National Nature Reserve. In 1923, a decree “On the creation of the Crimean State Reserve and Forest Biological Station” was issued. Forests covering an area of ​​16,350 hectares were transferred to the management of the reserve. Now the area of ​​the reserve has been expanded to 44,175 hectares (with the Lebyazhye Islands branch).

In the middle of the reserve 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 Chatyrdaga plateau, the peak of which Eklizi-Burun (1525m) dominates the entire eastern part reserve. To the west of the Chuchelsky Pass there are dense beech forests. They climb the slopes of the most high peak Crimea - Roman-Kosh (1545m). Here are also the second and third highest peaks of Crimea - Demir Kapu (1540m) and Kemal Egerek (1529m).

The reserve is home to 1,165 species of higher plants (and 84 on the Lebyazhye Islands), 39 species of mammals, and 120 species of birds (on the Lebyazhye Islands - 20 and 230, respectively). Of particular value are relict beech, hornbeam, oak and pine forests (6, p.172).

The forests of the reserve are represented by a wide variety of tree and shrub species. The most widespread species here are pedunculate oak, sessile oak, downy oak, beech, Crimean pine, hooked pine, hornbeam, common ash, Stephen's maple, field maple, Crimean linden, Caucasian linden, black alder, juniper, as well as shrubs: hornbeam, dogwood , hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn, euonymus, etc.

All trees are characterized by a zonal distribution depending on the height above sea level. Thus, 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 sessile oak predominates at an altitude of 450-700m. The age of oak forests is 150-250 years. The height of the trunks of individual trees is 28-30m, diameter 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 Falls, a section of birch forest has been preserved as a witness to the harsh nature of the distant past. Birch does not grow naturally anywhere else in Crimea. One of the most valuable representatives of relict vegetation, the yew berry, has also been preserved here.

The protected forest is valuable for its role in water conservation. There are about three hundred springs that arise in rock 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. The original inhabitants of the mountainous Crimea are deer and roe deer. Deer were hunted 5,000 years ago and were almost exterminated at the beginning of the 20th century. Currently, there are more than 1,000 deer in the reserve. They are swift and easily overcome forest debris, dense wilds, rocky outcrops and steep slopes. During the day they can be seen in clearings and forests. In the evening, deer usually go out to high mountain pastures. In the reserve, work is being carried out to study the physiology of deer and its impact on the environment.

Roe deer is the smallest representative of wild ungulates in the reserve. The animal is amazingly elegant, slender and graceful. Roe deer live everywhere in the forests of Crimea, but their numbers are 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 Crimea in 1913 and 13 individuals were released 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-Yayla. Their food is herbaceous and shrubby vegetation.

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

5.2.Yalta mountain forest reserve

Located 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 yayls of the Crimean Mountains. It was created in 1973 with the aim of preserving the forests of the southern slope of the Main Ridge and the Yaila natural complexes. The area of ​​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 1,363 species of higher plants (more than 55%), which is more than 55 of all species living in Crimea . Plants from the Caucasus, the Balkan Peninsula, and Asia Minor are quite widely represented here; more than half of the flora of the Yalta Reserve (55%) is of Mediterranean origin. (18, p54). Tall forests are common here, mainly pine (they make up 56% of all forests in the reserve), as well as beech and oak, in places with evergreen sub-Mediterranean undergrowth. Of exceptional value are the populations of the only indigenous evergreen tree of the Crimea - small-fruited strawberry. 37 species of mammals and 113 species of birds live here.

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

5.3. Cape Martyan Nature Reserve

The state reserve is located in the center of the Southern Coast of Crimea, on the southern slope of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains. Cape Martyan was established as an independent State Nature Reserve on February 20, 1973. His total area– 240 hectares, of which 120 hectares are in the Black Sea, 120 hectares are occupied by the Martyan tract, 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 a quarter of the entire flora of the mountainous Crimea grows in this small relict forest. Among them are 14 endemic species that are not found in natural conditions anywhere except Crimea. Three species are listed in the International Red Book as being in need of protection; These are tall juniper, small-fruited strawberry, and goat's rose petal.

Juniper is almost everywhere accompanied by downy oak and the evergreen tree small-fruited strawberry. Under the light canopy of these trees, shrubs develop: Crimean cistus, bush jasmine, butcher's broom, emerial elm.

As an indigenous type of vegetation in the coastal zone of the southern macroslope of the Crimean Mountains, juniper forests successfully perform a runoff-regulating and anti-erosion role, and they also play the role of a kind of filter in the resort area: one hectare of juniper forest can purify the air of a large city. Essential oils contained in juniper needles and cones are used in medicine and light industry. Despite the small territory, the reserve contains the typical Crimean fauna, which is depleted of species widespread in neighboring mountain forest areas and in the continental part of the mainland.

Mediterranean species also include scorpions, large poisonous scolopendra centipedes, large cicadas, polyxena butterflies and numerous lizards. Spiders and ticks are found in the reserve. Rare reptiles are of significant value. In Crimea, there are 2 ethnic species: the Crimean rock lizard and the Crimean bare-toed gecko. A Leopard Snake was also discovered in the reserve.

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

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

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

5.4. Karadag Nature Reserve

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 rare botanical and zoological objects. This is the only Jurassic volcano in the entire European part of the CIS that has preserved the external features of its origin. Lava flowed here at the bottom of the sea. Over the course of thousands of years, volcanic rocks have been subject to movement and faulting, which is reflected in the modern relief. Karadag is essentially a mountain group, which includes several ridges and independent peaks.

100 mineral species and varieties have been found on Karadag, semi-precious stones are found: carnelian, opal, agate, rock crystal, amethyst.

On this mountain you can observe all the attributes of a volcano: lava flows and breccias, dikes, mineral veins, volcanic bombs and even a channel that once served as a conductor for lava to the surface.

On the sea side, Karadag is cut off by a fault; its slopes plunge almost vertically into the depths of the sea. One of the vents of the volcano, cluttered with pieces of hardened lava, is clearly visible - the Devil's Fireplace.

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

Writer S. Elpatievsky noted that “Karadag is the end, the last word of that wonderful mountain fairy tale that stretches from Sevastopol... And, as it happens, it is at the end that the fairy tale flashes with the most bizarre images, the most unbridled imagination.” (18 p73)

The vegetation of Karadag is unique. Woodlands and bushes predominate here. Common tree species include downy oak, sessile oak, hornbeam, and tall juniper; Among the shrubs are dogwood, sumac, bladderwort, dwarf tree, etc. On Karadag there is an extraordinary combination of forest, forest-steppe and Mediterranean flora. About 60 endemics are found here.

The diverse flora of the reserve changes greatly throughout the year. appearance. Already at the end of January, Colchicum Bieberstein and Suznan saffron are in bloom. Then the folded snowdrop blooms, in March - two-leaved scillas and goosebumps - Calle, as well as tulips. In April, the common primrose blooms; in May, peonies in the forests and Crimean asphodelina bloom. In June, the reserve resembles a multi-colored lilac-yellow-blue carpet, which is formed by species of thymes, sunflowers, buttercups, flaxes, etc.

The wildlife of the reserve is diverse. Home to 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, yellowtail, rock lizard), many rare insects (mantis, Crimean ground beetle). (18 p74)

In the dense oak forests of the Holy Mountain you can meet roe deer, wild blue deer, tiny shrews, and bats. The richness of the forest fauna is especially emphasized by the abundance of bird species. These are the imperial eagle, the short-tailed snake eagle, the griffon vulture, the blackbird, etc. The Karadag Nature Reserve is a unique comprehensive museum of land and sea. Protection and restoration natural resources Karadag is the most important task of the reserve.

5.5. Kazantip Nature Reserve

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

In terms of relief, the Kazantip Peninsula looks similar to a ring reef - an atoll. As a result of weathering, numerous coves and rocky headlands were formed here. fancy shapes. Landslides are typical for the peninsula: huge blocks of bryozoan limestone in huge cracks, like ditches, break away from the ring ridge and slide down the underlying clays. (37, p. 176)

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

5.6. Opuk Nature Reserve

Located in the southern part Kerch Peninsula on the shores of the Black Sea. Was created in 1998. Its area is 1592.3 hectares, including the sea area and small islands of rock-Ships. The reserve was created with the aim of preserving the unique steppe natural 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 limestones. The mountain looks like a typical remnant massif, with a flat summit plateau, limited by large ledges and broken into separate blocks, separated from each other by tectonic cracks.

Mount Opuk was formed long time in difficult geological conditions. They acted next door mud volcanoes. Then, in place of the mountain, Koyash Lake, and 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 extends from north-east to south-west for 3.5 km. It is bordered on 4 sides by the shores of the Black Sea and Kayashsky Lake. 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. There are living and deep faults nearby.

Landslides are common on steep slopes. Small deposits of native sulfur and gypsum were explored on the territory of the reserve. The territory is famous for the mineral salts and healing mud of the Kerch salt lake. Opuk is also famous for its building materials – white shell rock. The climate of this part of the peninsula is very arid, 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: Uzunlarskoye and Koyashskoye. 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 is more similar to the Crimean Mountains than to the steppe flora. It is home to 325 species of higher plants, 45 species of rare and endangered Crimean, Crimean-Novorossiysk, Crimean Mountain and Kerch endemics. Of these, hairy woodruff is endemic to Mount Opuk. On the slopes of the mountain there are shrub communities of rose hips, hawthorn, dogwood, blackthorn, and elderberry, unique for the steppe zone. They contain wild figs, grapes, and 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, sand lizard, water snake, yellow-bellied snake and four-striped snake. Among the birds found here are: crested cormorant, gray heron, mute swan, gray goose, mallard, imperial eagle, gray partridge, bustard, herring gull, rock pigeon, blackbird, chaffinch, crested lark and others. Of all the birds, 13 species nest directly on the territory of the reserve, 10 species nest in the adjacent territory, and the rest are migratory. Of the rare species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, 11 species have been identified in the reserve and adjacent territories: crested cormorant, skelly falcon, saker falcon, bustard, little bustard, roseate starling, black-headed bunting, imperial eagle, gray crane and demoiselle crane. Among the mammals found in the reserve are: brown hare, ground squirrel, steppe mouse, common fox, white-breasted hedgehog. One of the rare and protected species is the bottlenose dolphin.

5.7. Nikitsky Botanical Garden

In 1811, at the request of the military governor A.E. Reshelye, a decree was signed on the establishment of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. The most suitable place for establishing a garden turned out to be an area located 6 km from Yalta in the vicinity of the villages of Magarach and Nikita. Subsequently, the garden began to be called Nikitsky. This scientific institution of 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, and pine in the garden. Over the course of 12 years, he collected a unique collection of ornamental plants, created a valuable herbarium, founded a scientific library, a museum and a school of gardeners.

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

In 1912, to commemorate the 100th anniversary, the Primorsky Park was founded. The most heat-loving subtropical plants settled there from 1914 to 1940. Scientific research was carried out and collection plantings were replenished. So in 1940, over 2000 varieties of peaches, apricots, cherries, cherries, plums, cherry plums, almonds, apple trees, pears and other crops were collected in the garden. During the Second World War, a large number of plants were destroyed, valuable scientific equipment and a rich herbarium were taken away. 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 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.

The Nikitsky Garden collections include 15 thousand species, varieties and hybrids of plants. The garden maintains scientific relations with institutions from 80 countries. The departments of flora and vegetation work here; nature conservation; dendrology and ornamental horticulture; floriculture; fruit crops; subtropical and nut crops; new technical plants; plant biochemistry; plant physiology; agroecology and plant nutrition; plant protection. Garden scientists provide assistance in protecting the environment of Crimea, preserving and decorating its green attire. (41, p197)

5.8. Wildlife sanctuaries

1. Ayudag mountain range landscape reserve, created in 1974. on the territory of 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 medieval times, igneous rocks were introduced into the thickness of clay shales. Unable to break through to the surface, they cooled, which is why such formations - igneous diapirs - are called “failed volcanoes.” Over many millions of years, the cloak of sedimentary deposits was eroded, and igneous rocks were exposed, forming a dome-shaped mountain on the seashore more than half a kilometer (572 m) high. Numerous outcrops of grayish-green gabbro-diabase can be seen on the rocky slopes. Veins of rare minerals are visible in places. Ayudag is called one of the natural mineral museums of the South Coast.

The peaks and slopes of Ayudag are covered with coastal south-coast forest. Here you can find downy oak, hornbeam, tall juniper, and pine tree. Occasionally, small-fruited strawberry is found alone or in small groups. Everywhere under the trees you can see typical representatives of the Mediterranean tropics: cistus, broom, jasmine. The closer to the top, the higher and shady the forest. Hornbeam, oak, ash, rowan, and maple grow there. Of interest is a small grove of keva trees on the isthmus between the “body” and “head” of Bear Mountain. There are many rare herbaceous plants on Ayudag. (18, p. 65)

2. Grand Canyon of Crimea(a landscape reserve created in 1974 on the territory of the Bakhchisaray district, with an area of ​​300 hectares.) The canyon is located on the eastern side of the Kokkoz valley. This wild, majestic gorge, located deep in the northern slope of the Ai-Petrinskaya Yaila, 4 km southeast of the village, is called a miracle of nature. Sokoliny. 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 Auzen-Uzen River flows along the bottom of the canyon. Using an ancient fault, fracturing and karsting of limestones, water over the course of thousands of years permeated the rock mass and, with a deep gorge, separated the table-shaped Boyku massif from the northern outskirts of the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla. For centuries, blocks and boulders moved by water drill out peculiar cauldrons 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 of about 11 degrees. River trout live in running water.

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 and linden grow here. The undergrowth is formed by shrubs: hazel, dogwood, barberry, buckthorn, mackerel, and hornbeam. More than one and a half thousand specimens of yew berry in the canyon. 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 butcher's broom, endemic saxifrage, lady's slipper orchid (18, pp. 29-31)

3 Mountain karst of Crimea(a geological reserve created in 1989 on the territory of the Belogorsky district, Karabi-yayla, Novoklenovsky and Privetnensky forestries, with an area of ​​4316 hectares). Covers most of the 254 karst cavities and thousands of sinkholes located on the largest Crimean yayla (the so-called “lunar landscape”) (6, p. 174).

The main ridge is the edge of classical karst, karst of the Mediterranean type. The Yaili massifs of the ridge consist of a thick layer of Upper Jurassic limestone, on the basis of which unique karst relief forms are formed. Here there is a special complex of forms of surface and underground karst, which arose as a result of the dissolution of limestones by water. These are small grooves in limestone, tar fields, funnels, basins, wells, mines, grottoes and huge caves with wall-mounted forms of calcite - stalactites, hanging like icicles from above, and stalagmites, the same in appearance, but directed upward. The classic area where you can see the wealth of karst forms is the Karabi area. The following are known in Karabi: Gvozdetsky mine (191m), Molodezhnaya (261m), Soldatskaya (470m), Krubera (280m); as well as the Tuakskaya cave.

The karst waters of the Karabi mountain range give life to the entire Belogorsky, most of the Sovetsky and Nizhnegorsky regions. The rivers that originate in Karabi are 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 forms of underground relief formed over thousands of years, but also important sources of the formation of water resources on the peninsula (40, pp. 26-27).

4. Karabi-yayla tract(a botanical reserve created in 1978 on the territory of the Belogorsky district, Novoklenovsky forestry, with an area of ​​491 hectares), a standard area with medicinal plants is protected.

The reserve is located on the eastern outskirts of Karabi-yayla, in one of the vast basins where thickets of Bibershtein's moth were found. In total, there are over 500 plant species in the tract, including more than 50 medicinal species. Among all the floristic wealth, the Biberstein's cherry (Crimean "edelweiss") is of great interest. Its silvery-white leaves, as if felt like from the thick hairs covering them, really resemble the leaves of the Alpine edelweiss. However, the similarity is purely external. This plant belongs to the clove family; it is a relict of the Upper Tertiary period endemic to Crimea. It blooms in May-August with delicate white flowers. In the Karabi reserve basin, the Crimean “edelweiss” forms cushion thickets (18, pp. 44-45).

5.New World(a botanical reserve created on the territory of the Sudak City Council, Sudak forestry, with an area of ​​470 hectares), a relict forest of endemic Stankevich pine and high juniper on the cliffs of the coast is protected. The main value of the Novy Svetsky coast is the endemic Stankevich pine, which here, as at Cape Aya in the west of the South Coast, has been preserved in the form of natural relict thickets. In the New World 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 vertical, single cones. It was first described in 1906 by the botanist V.N. Sukachev, and named after its discoverer, the forester V.I. Stankevich. In the past, this pine, preserved from ancient times, was much more widespread in Crimea; in the pre-revolutionary period, large areas of forests formed by it were cut down, because Its wood was very highly valued. Here you can find tall juniper, centuries-old trees that reach 80 cm in diameter. In sunny places there are capers (thorny capers) - low-growing creeping shrubs. They bloom beautifully and produce fruits that resemble cucumbers.

In addition to the Stankevich pine and tall juniper, the Novy Svetsky coast is famous for the massive Sokol Mountain and the dome-shaped Koba-Kaya (Cave Rock). These rocky cliffs are reef-like masses of marble-like limestone.

Mount Falcon(472m) from a distance it really resembles the figure of a huge bird with folded wings. Below it there are two cliffs - Sokolyata. On the way from the mountain to the Koba-Kaya rock there is a high grotto, carved out by the sea surf. The bay penetrating deep into the grotto is called Razboinichaya. 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 Blue Bay, the original Karaul-Oba massif (Watch Mountain) comes out into the sea with a jagged peak. This extreme western part of the New World is called Paradise (Paradise), a kingdom of wild stone chaos and juniper thickets (18, pp.72-73).

5.9. Natural monuments

1. Kizil-Koba tract and cave(geological monument, created in 1963 on the territory of the Simferopol region, Dolgorukovskaya yaila, Perevalnenskoye forestry, with an area of ​​33 hectares) - the longest (more than 21 km), six-story system of karst cavities in Crimea with an underground river and 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 circus-shaped gorge cut into the thickness of the Upper Jurassic limestone leads to the cave. It was created by the waters of the small mountain river Kizilkobinka, which, carrying dissolved lime from the depths of the Dolgorukovsky massif, deposited it in the form of calcareous tuffs. Gradually, not far from the entrance to the cave, a vast tuff platform formed, the high ledge of which, like a dam, blocks the gorge.

The upper parts of the slopes are almost vertical. They are composed of pinkish-red limestone (hence the name of the gorge and the Red Cave located in it). The total length of all known passages of Kizil-Koba reaches 13,100 m. This is the largest limestone cave in the country. There are a total of 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 experiencing an era of active karst development. There are several particularly beautiful halls in the cave. These are Indian and Chinese. Individual stalactites here reach 5-8 m in length. And in the Griboedov corridor, an underground lake and river have long been known. Kizil-Koba is also known as an archaeological monument: bones of cave bears and material traces of people of the so-called Kizil-Koba culture were found here (18, pp. 39-40).

2. Soldatskaya karst mine(landscape and geological monument, protected since 1972). The mine is located on Karabi-Yayla. This is the deepest karst mine in Crimea - 1800/500 m. It was discovered by Feodosia speleologists and named after the victorious Soviet warrior. At the bottom of this mine there is a constant watercourse. 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 the conglomerates that make up the city of Demerdzhi: Valley of Ghosts, Big Demerdzhinsky stone chaos. The slopes of Mount Demerdzhi (from the Crimean Tatar “demerdzhi” - blacksmith) are dotted with bizarre stone sculptures, reminiscent of either people or animals, but more often than not, towers, mushrooms, columns. These sculptures are the result of centuries of weathering. Demerdzhi is not composed of limestone, like other massifs of the main ridge, but of Upper Jurassic conglomerates. Under the influence of weathering, they form bizarre, semi-fantastic figures. Tourists call one of the rocks “Catherine’s profile.” However, up close, this 20-meter rock has completely different outlines. There are especially many bizarre pyramids, pillars, mushrooms, and towers on the southwestern slope of Mount Demerdzhi, in the Valley of Ghosts. One of the pillars is the Giant - a stone mass with a diameter of 5 m, rising 25 m high. On its sides there are pillars and columns of smaller sizes, up to 10-20m high. There are more than a hundred similar stone “ghosts” here.

At times, as a result of earthquakes, huge landslides occur on the weathered slopes of the mountains, forming huge stone chaos. Such is the chaos that arose in the neighborhood of the Valley of Ghosts as a result of the collapses of 1894, 1965, 1966. A vast area along the steep slope of Demerdzhi turned out to be cluttered with a chaotic pile of pointed conglomerate blocks; some of them are as big as a three-story house. The total volume of blocky chaos exceeds 4 million m3. The pebbles and boulders of the local conglomerates are of great scientific interest. These are the oldest rocks, the age of which is estimated at 800 million - 1.1 billion years (18, pp. 68-69).

4. Remnant mountain Mangup-Kale(a complex monument, created in 1975 on the territory of the Bakhchisaray district near the village of Zalesnoye; area 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 composed of bryozoan limestones, rising almost 600m above sea level. It rises like an island among three adjacent valleys - Karalez, Dzhan-dere, Aytodor. On three sides, the vast Mangup plateau ends with rocky cliffs, in the western part reaching a vertical height of 70 m.

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, pp. 75-76).

It is clear that capturing such a natural fortress, protected by high walls and battle towers, was not an easy task. In the 40-meter cliffs of Mangup there are many artificial cave-crypts that have economic or religious purposes. In the XIII – XV centuries. here was the capital city of the Principality of Theodoro, large at that time.

The plateau-shaped peak of Mangup is pushed out to the sides by its original capes. From the foot of the mountain, a forest climbs up its slopes: downy oak, hornbeam, hazel dominate here, ivy is abundant, and 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 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 the 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 park's compositional plan was the German gardener Karl Kebach. The volumetric-spatial composition of the park was created taking into account the natural topography of the area. In the Alupka region it is an amphitheater, bounded by hills on the west and east, mountain spurs on the north, and the sea on the south.

The palace 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 Upper and Lower parks.

The upper park was laid out simultaneously with the construction of the palace. The terrain here is hilly, with ups and downs. This is the area of ​​​​the Lesser Chaos, starting directly from the palace and extending north to the grandiose Greater Chaos - free-standing rocks, small scatterings of stones and their piles. All plantings here for the most part serve only as a green background for natural piles of stones and grottoes. IN boxwood grove a cascade was created, falling from a three-meter height. Waterfalls, cascades, streams are shaded by tall trees, the rocks around are covered with ivy and moss. Everything here resembles a wild mountainous area. Maple, ash, almonds, evergreen boxwood bushes, holm oak groves, small-fruited strawberries, junipers, and downy oaks grow here.

The lower park was created on the principle of regular parks with a clear layout and curly trimming of plants. There are flat terraces, calmly descending to the sea. A wide staircase made of diabase, decorated with sculptures of lions, approaches the entrance to the palace. On the second terrace, near the library building, there is a “Fountain of Tears”. This park has many waterfalls, an abundance of different flowers blooming at different times of the year.

Now there are 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 founded in the first half of the 19th century, now located on the territory of the Yalta City Council in the urban 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 common 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 gardener’s plan, by the inclusion of picturesquely arranged groups of various plants. A significant addition to such parks are reservoirs, ponds, lakes or cascades.

Near the palaces it is laid out in a regular style. Retaining walls decorated with climbing plants and parterres with low trimmed bushes of laurel, cherry laurel and thuja successfully combine with the architecture. There are many roses on the terraces below the walls. At the south-eastern corner of the palace there begins a magnificent pergola, 80 meters long. Its metal frame is completely covered with roses, wisteria and vineyards. The special charm of the park is given by skillfully arranged viewing platforms and gazebos - unique viewing points 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 shrubs in Livadia Park. In the center of the park there is a shady grove of mighty oaks. It serves as a backdrop for blue atlas cedar. A giant sequoia with a superbly developed crown grows nearby. The height of the giant is 35 meters. The powerful curved branches of sequoia resemble the tusks of a mammoth, which is why it is called a mammoth tree. Also interesting is the yew tree that grows near the eastern façade of the palace. There are many plane trees, Lebanese and Himalayan cedars, several varieties of pine, fir, and magnolia in the park.

3. Gurzuf Park(founded at the beginning of the 14th century; the reserve regime was established in 1960; with an area of ​​12 hectares.) is now located on the territory of the Yalta City Council in the urban settlement. Gurzuf. The park was created in 1803 on a seaside cliff. Olives, palm trees, laurels and other exotic plants grow here. A total of 140 types and shapes. There are many monuments and sculptures in the park. Not far from south gate you can see a whole sculpture gallery: busts of Adam Mickiewicz, Lesya Ukrainka, Fyodor Chaliapin, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, Vladimir Mayakovsky. These people visited Gurzuf at different times, leaving a bright mark on the cultural history of Crimea. The park has preserved original old sculptures and fountains. Among them stands out fabulous beauty fountain "Night". 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. Here you can feel the motifs of ancient mythology: the goddess of the night Nyukta is depicted as a naked woman with a torch above 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 “Night” fountain is the “Bather” fountain; in the western part of the park there is a fountain “Rachel” or the Girl with a Jug” (based on the ancient biblical legend about the beautiful Rachel).

Not far from the entrance gate there is a group of olive trees - this is one of the places in Gurzuf associated with the name of A.S. Pushkin. Now in the park, in the “house of Richelieu” there is a museum of A. S. Pushkin. Near the museum there is a “Pushkin cypress” preserved, about which the poet wrote in a letter to Anton Delvich; the tree is more than 170 years old (41, pp. 190-193).

In the park you can see Lebanese cedars, pike perch pine, magnolia, bay laurel, cypresses, chestnuts, evergreen viburnum, Japanese sophora, sequoia, and spruce. On the outskirts of the park there is a grove of olive trees.

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 located on the territory of the Yalta City Council in the urban settlement of Massandra).

The park was laid out back in the 40s of the last century on the instructions of M.S. Vorontsov. Several gardeners took part in the work, including Karl Kebach, the creator of Alupka Park. There are more than 250 types of tree and shrub forms. These are shady spreading beeches, Himalayan and Lebanese cedars, evergreen laurel, mighty oak and tall resinous pine. Here are Italian pine trees, bamboo thickets, yew berries, and mammoth trees. Walnut and dogwood bushes and evergreen magnolias hide under their shade. Steep cliffs are entwined with creeping juniper bushes. Wild jasmine grows in rock crevices. On the mountain slopes you can see peonies, rose hips, and belladonna. Crimean edelweiss grows on mountain lawns (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 ancient landscape park in the urban 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, the Genoese fortress of 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 by a garden road. In the middle part of the park there is a “Paradise” with six miniature lakes built on different levels and connected into a single cascade with miniature waterfalls. Above the “Paradise Corner”, a forest park rises along the slope towards the highway.

Adjacent to Forossky Park is the Tesseli dacha (silence), associated with the name of A. M. Gorky. Behind the dacha there is a juniper forest and 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 (44o 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 reserve 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 settlement. Koreiz.

Miskhor, stretching along the coast for 7 km, is the warmest place on the South Coast: average temperature the coldest month in winter + 4.4°C. The fact is that Miskhor is located under the shadow of the Aypetrinsky Yaili massif. The mountains shield Miskhor from the cold northern winds.

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

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 into the sea on a rock there is a sculpture of a mermaid with a child in her hands; this is a single composition. Its author is Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson. The composition is based on the legend of 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 visited here. In 1984, a monument to A. M. Gorky was erected in the park, depicting the writer during his stay in Miskhor in 1901-1902, when he worked on the play “At the Depths”.

7. Park "Cliff"(founded in the mid-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. Utes, sanatorium "Utes".

The “cliff” is located at the exposed tip of Cape Plaka, which means “flat stone” in Greek. In 1907 a palace was built here by the princes Gagarins. There is a park around the palace. 100 species and garden forms of trees and shrubs are concentrated here.

Crimea is distinguished by a wide variety of soil and vegetation cover, which is directly dependent on the characteristics geological structure, diversity of parent rocks, relief and climate. A characteristic feature of the distribution of soil and vegetation cover in Crimea is the combination of latitudinal and vertical zonality.

Most of the Steppe Crimea is covered southern low humus and carbonate(Azov type) black soils, which in the north are replaced chestnut soils. Near Sivash and Karkinitsky Bay there are developed salt licks And salt marshes.

In the central part of the Crimean plain and in the northeastern part of the Kerch Peninsula, heavy loamy and clayey southern chernozems are common. These soils were formed on loess-like rocks under sparse cereal vegetation and contain little humus (3-4%). Due to the peculiarities of their mechanical composition, southern chernozems float during rain and become crusty when dry, however, despite this, they are still the best soils of the Crimean plain. With proper agricultural technology, southern chernozems can provide good yields of grain and industrial crops, and grapes. The southern part of the Crimean plain adjacent to the mountains and partly the northeastern region of the Kerch Peninsula.

The belt of southern chernozems to the north is gradually replaced by a belt of heavy loamy dark chestnut and chestnut solonetzic soils, formed under conditions of high standing saline groundwater on loess-like rocks. The humus content in these soils is only 2.5-3%. Chestnut-type soils are also characteristic of the southwestern region of the Kerch Peninsula, where they were formed on salt-bearing Maykop clays. If proper agricultural practices are followed, chestnut soils can provide fairly high yields of various crops.

On the low-lying coast of Sivash and Karkinitsky Bay, where groundwater lies very close to the surface and is highly saline, solonetzes and solonchaks are developed. Similar soils are also found in the southwestern region of the Kerch Peninsula.

The natural vegetation cover of the Crimean plain was a typical steppe. In the grass stand, the main background consisted of turf grasses: various feathery feather grasses, feather grass (tyrsa), fescue (or steppe fescue), tonkonogo, steppe keleria (or kipets), wheatgrass. Forbs were represented by sage (drooping and Ethiopian), kermek (Tatar and Sarepta), yellow alfalfa, spring adonis, steppe katran, yarrow, etc. A characteristic element were plants of a short spring growing season - ephemerals (annual species of brome, hare and mouse barley and etc.) and ephemeroids (tulips, steppe irises, etc.). Significant areas were occupied by the so-called desert steppe on chestnut-type soils. Along with the predominant cereals (fescue, wheatgrass, tyrsa, etc.), Crimean wormwood was very widespread there as a result of intensive grazing. Ephemera and ephemeroids were also quite characteristic.

On the rocky and gravelly slopes of the ridges and hills of the Tapkhankutsky and Kerch peninsulas there is a petrophytic (rocky) steppe. Here, along with grasses (feather grass, fescue, wheatgrass, etc.), xerophytic subshrubs (wormwood, dubrovnik, thyme) are common. There are bush thickets of rose hips, hawthorn, thorns, etc.

On the saline soils of the coast of the Karkinitsky Bay, Sivash and the southwestern part of the Kerch Peninsula, solonchak vegetation (sarsazan, soleros, sweda) is common. On drier and less saline soils, cereals grow there (volosnets, beskilnitsa, beskilnitsa).

Currently, the Crimean steppe has lost its natural appearance. It is almost entirely plowed and occupied by fields of wheat, corn, various vegetables, as well as vineyards and orchards. Recently, rice has become increasingly widespread in Crimea. A characteristic element of the cultural landscape of the Crimean plains are shelterbelt forest belts of white acacia, birch bark, ash maple, ash and apricot.

The spaces of the Steppe Crimea with chernozem and chestnut soils are almost completely plowed, steppe vegetation has been preserved only in small spots on the slopes of hills and near roads. In the northern and northeastern, near Sivash, parts are dominated by dry feather grass-fescue-wormwood and fescue-wormwood steppes, in places turning into wormwood and solyanka semi-desert. The most characteristic is Crimean wormwood. The dominant association of Crimean wormwood in the Sivash region with bulbous bluegrass ephemerals, according to botanist M. S. Shalyt, is secondary. This is evidenced by the protected virgin areas of the steppe with a predominance of cereals (wheatgrass, feather grass, fescue) and an admixture of wormwood. With increased grazing, the grains disappear.

The Kerch and Tarkhankut peninsulas feature hilly-steppe landscapes.

In the Sivash part of Crimea, dry steppe landscapes with fragments of semi-deserts are common. The presence of semi-desert fragments in the Sivash region is obviously associated not with zonal climatic conditions, but with purely local natural features, with the influence of Sivash on the salinization of groundwater and soils. The lowland areas of the Sivash coast are characterized by saltwort - an annual saltwort, the thickets of which are distinguished by red spots, and sarsazan, growing in the form of green squat pillows.

The foul smell of Sivash is associated with hydrogen sulfide, which is formed during the rotting of filamentous algae washed up on the shore. Currently, the landscapes of the Steppe Crimea are agriculturally developed.

The steppe Crimea is inhabited mainly by the same fauna as the steppes of the Russian Plain.

Mountain Crimea. In the mountains of Crimea, landscape altitudinal zonation is clearly visible. On the southern slope of Yayla, the lower altitude zone corresponds to the Southern Coast of Crimea. According to climatic conditions, it can be classified as the region of the northeastern edge of the Mediterranean climate.

On South Coast Crimea developed red-brown(transitional from mountain forest brown to red soils) and brown soils.

Often the soil is skeletal—the bulk of it consists of fine, weathered crushed shale. There are vineyards on such “slate” soils. There are areas of relict red earth soils.

The flora of the southern coast of Crimea is distinguished by great species richness. Almost 1,500 species of plants grow in a small area of ​​the southern coast and southern slope of Yayla, out of 3,500 species known throughout the entire area of ​​the European part of Russia. The vegetation of the South Coast is close to the Mediterranean.

A xerophytic oak-juniper low-trunk forest rises to a height of approximately 300 m with an undergrowth of evergreen and deciduous shrubs, with a rich and varied herbaceous cover. The main forest-forming species are tree-like juniper, fluffy oak, turpentine tree, or wild pistachio; in the second tier and undergrowth there are evergreens: strawberry tree, cistus, butcher's broom, among vines - ivy, and many deciduous vines - clematis. In some places there is a pine tree close to Pitsunda.

Oak-juniper forests are interspersed with shrub thickets such as shiblyak, formed by bushy growth of downy oak, hornbeam, and dwarf-tree.

In large areas, natural vegetation on the South Bank has been replaced by vineyards, tobacco plantations, gardens and park vegetation. Many Mediterranean, East Asian, American and other foreign plants have taken root here: cypress, laurel, cherry laurel, magnolia, fan palm, Lankaran acacia (incorrectly called “mimosa”), holly, boxwood, eucalyptus.

The Nikitsky Botanical Garden, located on the slope of Nikitskaya Yayla between Yalta and Gurzuf, presents a particularly rich collection of plants from different countries of the world.

To the east of Alushta, due to the increasing dryness of the climate, the nature of natural vegetation is changing: evergreen plants disappear, the species composition of the forest becomes poorer, and gradually the forest is completely replaced by shrub thickets such as shiblyak. On the dry shale slopes there are widespread sparse thickets of dry-loving grasses and subshrubs, mostly hard, prickly or pubescent, reminiscent in their appearance of the Eastern Mediterranean freegana. Further to the east the vegetation takes on a steppe character.

Fauna The southern, mountainous part of the Crimean Peninsula, according to I.I. Puzanov, belongs to the Mediterranean subregion and is its northeastern outpost. At the same time, it bears the features of an island fauna, expressed in the presence of endemics and the incompleteness of many groups of animals. On the South Coast, the endemic Crimean gecko is known among lizards. The invertebrate fauna of the southern Mediterranean type is richly represented; Cicadas, praying mantises, scolopendra, Crimean scorpion, phalanx are common; mosquitoes are typical of small dipterans in these places.

As you move from the southern coast up the slope of Yayla, the climate gradually becomes cooler, the amount of precipitation increases, and the soils acquire the features of typical mountain forest brown, oak-juniper forests of the lower belt are replaced by broad-leaved forests with a predominance of downy oak, sessile oak on limestone and forests of Crimean pine; both grow within approximately 300-900 m.

The upper part of the Yayla slope is occupied by a belt of beech forests. The beech is mixed with Crimean and mainly hooked pine, hornbeam, and maple. Typically, beech forests rise to the very edge of the slope (more than 1000 m) and end abruptly at the edge of the summit plateau, on which they are found only in isolated areas.

The vegetation of the summit surface of Yayla belongs to the uppermost landscape zone - rocky mountain meadows, meadow steppes and juniper dwarf trees on the karst surface of limestone.

Soils on the treeless summit surface of Yayla mountain meadow chernozem-like, in the east passing into mountain black soils. The nature of the soil refutes the widespread opinion about the secondary treelessness of the Yaili plateau. Obviously, the forests, parts of which have survived to this day, were previously more widespread, but significant areas of the Yayly karst plateau should be considered treeless since ancient times.

On the treeless spaces of the Yaylin plateau, the herbaceous vegetation includes fescue, tonkonogo, brome, feather grass, steppe sedge, creeping clover are widespread, among the herbs there are bedstraw, lady's mantle, Crimean "edelweiss" - an endemic species from the carnation family). There are alpine plants - fluffy breaker, knips, alpine violet. At the same time, in the driest areas, meadow-steppe associations. In the highest areas there is no tree and shrub vegetation, but lower (at an altitude of up to 1200 m) trees and shrubs are found under the protection of rocks and in the recesses of karst sinkholes and wells, and sometimes form small forests on the plateau itself. Such vegetation can be called forest-meadow-steppe.

The herbaceous vegetation of the eastern karst plateaus is steppe, more strongly than that of the western ones. The open treeless spaces here are dominated by steppe meadows And meadow steppes, which at lower altitudes turn into mountain steppe. Some researchers consider the vegetation of the eastern plateaus to be mountain forest-steppe.

The northern slope of Yayla, like the southern one, is covered with forests mountain forest brown soils. In the upper part of the slope the forests are dominated by beech, hornbeam, in some places oak (on the slopes of southern exposure), and hooked pine. Below 700-600 m they are replaced mainly by oak forests. Mountain forest brown soils here gradually turn into brown. Even lower, on the spurs of Yayla and in the cuesta strip, a low-growing fluffy oak begins to dominate. Further to the north and north-west there is a transition to the southern forest-steppe, where thickets of low-growing oaks, hornbeam, dwarf trees and other tree and shrub species alternate with areas of steppe vegetation.

Mountain forest fauna Crimea is richest on the northern slope of Yayla, especially in the dense forests of the Crimean Nature Reserve (at the sources of the Kacha and Alma). Characteristic species include Crimean deer (endemic subspecies), roe deer, badger, marten, fox, water shrew, wood mouse, and bats; Birds include black jays, woodpeckers, tits, blackbirds, wild pigeons, black vultures, eagles, and owls.

As can be seen from the description of the landscape features of the northern slope of the Crimean Mountains, Mediterranean landscapes are absent here. In the lower altitudinal zone, southern forest-steppe is developed, and in the middle there are no Crimean pine forests characteristic of the southern slope. Greater similarity is observed, as is usually the case in the mountains, in the landscapes of the upper slopes. Nevertheless, in general, we can talk about different structures of altitudinal zonation of the landscapes of the northern and southern slopes of the Crimean Mountains. The existing differences are due to the climatic barrier role of Yayla.

TYPES OF LANDSCAPE (option 2)

Brown and partly brown forest soils are developed on the South Coast. Brown soils are common under dry sparse forests and shrubs and are formed on clayey shales of the Tauride series and red-colored products of limestone weathering; brown forest soils are typical for less dry places.

The special landscapes of Crimea are the southern coastal ones - Mediterranean and cultivated (with vineyards and tobacco plantations, gardens, parks, resorts).

In this part of Crimea, Mediterranean features are most clearly manifested in the soil and vegetation cover. Altitudinal zonation is well developed on the slopes of the Crimean Mountains. There are numerous subtropical plants here (up to 50% of the species composition), which allows us to classify the plant formations of the region as a sub-Mediterranean type, similar to the vegetation of the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The southern regions of the Crimean Mountains are characterized by exceptionally high biodiversity - in this small area there are almost 1,500 plant species, including endemic (Crimean edelweiss) and relict (Stankevich pine).

At the southern foot of the Crimean Yaila grow low-trunked oak-juniper forests with an undergrowth of deciduous and evergreen shrubs - strawberry tree(Arbutus andrachne), cistus (Cistus tauricus), butcher's broom (Ruscus ponticus), intertwined with ivy and clematis. To the east, the forest is replaced by shrubby thickets such as shiblyak from downy oak, hornbeam and dwarf tree (Paliurus spina christi), which in the driest areas are replaced by thickets of xerophytic grasses and subshrubs. Massifs of relict pine have been preserved in the vicinity of Sudak and in the far west of the coast. The soil cover is represented by red-brown and brown soils of the subtropics; there are areas of relict red earth soils. In large areas, the natural vegetation of the coast has been replaced by vineyards, tobacco plantations and fruit crops. Numerous resort areas have landscape gardening vegetation, which includes many introduced species: laurel, cypress, magnolia, fan palm, boxwood, holly, etc. A huge collection of plants from all over the world is collected in the unique Nikitsky botanical garden, located near Yalta on the slopes of Nikitskaya Yayla. Typical forest and shrub communities are protected in the Yalta and Cape Martyan nature reserves.

On the southern slopes, oak-juniper forests are replaced by broad-leaved (mainly oak) and Crimean pine forests on mountain-forest brown soils. Above 900 m, beech forests appear, which, in addition to beech, contain pine, hornbeam, and maple. The top surfaces of Yayla are occupied by rocky mountain meadows, meadow steppes and thickets of dwarf juniper, mainly on mountain meadow chernozem-like soils. Northern slopes The Yailas and the adjacent cuesta ridges are covered mainly by oak forests. In the middle part of the slopes, sessile oak predominates in their composition; lower down, dominance passes to the more xerophilic downy oak. Shiblik thickets are widespread in the foothills.

The vegetation of the South Coast is distinguished by its xerophytic character, rich in Mediterranean forms and many alien cultural forms. The most common formations are forests, bushes and thickets of dry-loving grasses and subshrubs. The forests are low-growing and are formed by fluffy oak, tree-like juniper, wild pistachio, Crimean pine, hornbeam, and strawberry. Shrub thickets, which are an analogue of the Eastern Mediterranean shibliak, consist of shrubby forms of downy oak, hornbeam, dwarf tree, mackerel, sumac, pear, dogwood, orelica, cistus, etc. Open, dry and rocky areas are covered with dry-loving grasses and subshrubs - Crimean analogue of the East Mediterranean frigana. The parks contain cypresses, cedars, spruces, pines, sequoias, fir trees, laurels, magnolias, palm trees, cork oaks, plane trees, and Lankaran acacias. A characteristic element of the South Coast landscape are also vineyards, orchards and tobacco plantations.

Orographical and climatic differences in individual parts of the Main Ridge determine the diversity of their soil and vegetation cover. The western part of the ridge is characterized by brown mountain-forest soils, mountain-brown soils of dry forests and shrubs, and alluvial-meadow soils of river valleys and ravines. Due to the low-mountain relief and its great fragmentation, the vertical zoning of the soil and vegetation cover is poorly expressed here. The predominant forests consist of downy oak, tree-juniper, wild pistachio (kew tree) with an undergrowth of hornbeam, dogwood, blackthorn and blackthorn. Low-growing juniper forests grow on stony soils and rocky areas. Higher on the slopes grow taller mixed deciduous forests of beech, oak, hornbeam, and ash. Lots of wild grapes and ivy. Valleys and depressions are characterized by grassy meadow-steppe vegetation. To a greater extent, the basins are developed for fields, vineyards, orchards, and tobacco plantations.

The slopes of the middle part of the Main Ridge are occupied by brown mountain forest soils and their podzolized varieties. Vertical plant zonation is quite well expressed here.

The lower part of the northern slope of the Main Ridge is occupied by low-trunk oak coppice forest and is very thinned out. The forest is formed mainly by downy and sessile oak and partly by pedunculate oak. Dogwood and hornbeam are in the undergrowth. Occasionally there are small patches of pine, oak-pine and juniper forest. The open areas of the slope are occupied by forest and partly steppe herbaceous vegetation (siller, kupena, bluegrass, woodruff, feather grass, fescue, wheatgrass, etc.). Higher up the slope (up to 600 m) a tall oak forest grows with an admixture of ash, field maple, aspen, and large-fruited rowan. In the undergrowth are hornbeam, dogwood, hazel, buckthorn, hawthorn, and mackerel. Even higher (from 600 to 1000 m) a tall beech forest with an admixture of hornbeam dominates, there are rare areas of Crimean pine, and on the slopes of the southern exposure there are groves of tree-like juniper and isolated yews. At altitudes above 1000 m there is already a low-growing beech forest with rare areas of Scots pine.

On the southern slope of the Main Ridge, above the dry forests and shrubs of the Southern Birch, at an altitude of 400 to 800-1000 m, there is a forest of Crimean pine. Fluffy oak and tree-like and shrubby juniper are found as admixtures. To the east of Gurzuf, the distribution of the Crimean pine is already of an island nature, and to the east of Alushta only isolated specimens of this tree are found. Pine forests are replaced here by forests of downy oak, hornbeam, tree-like juniper, wild pistachio and dogwood. Above 1000 m there is a forest of beech, Scots pine and partly Crimean pine, oak, maple, linden, and hornbeam.

Yailas are, as a rule, treeless and covered with grassy meadow-steppe vegetation on mountain chernozems and mountain-meadow chernozem-like soils. The eastern part of the Main Ridge is characterized by low-trunked open forests of oak, beech, ash, hornbeam and shrub thickets of dogwood, hawthorn, dwarf tree, and mackerel on brown mountain forest soils and steppe varieties of mountain brown soils.

The foothills are occupied by forest-steppe with a mosaic alternation of treeless (steppe) and forest areas. The soils are carbonate chernozems, crushed soddy-carbonate and brown soils. Treeless areas are characterized by herbaceous grass and forb vegetation: feather grass, fescue, wheatgrass, wheatgrass, saffron, adonis or spring adonis, sage, peon, yarrow, immortelle, etc. They are mostly plowed and developed into fields, vineyards, tobacco plantations and ether plantations - oil plants. Orchards and vineyards are common in river valleys. Forest areas consist of low-growing trees, forest shrubs (downy oak, sessile and pedunculate oak, field maple, ash, elm, hazel and dogwood). The most common shrubs are mackerel, hawthorn, blackthorn, rose hip, buckthorn, etc.

"Landscapes of all planets, ruins of all empires"

Igor Rusanov

The landscape diversity of the Crimean peninsula is comparable to the whole country in Central Europe or Mediterranean. This also applies to the complex geological structure and relief forms of various shapes. The flora of Crimea is incredibly rich, for example, on Bear Mountain alone there are about 900 species of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants - this corresponds to the floristic richness of large areas Middle zone Russia. The altitudinal zone of the Crimean Mountains forms landscapes very similar to the tundra, and even to Arctic plant species. There are no glaciers or highlands on the peninsula. But there is such a phenomenon as aspects - short-term states of natural communities. This is, for example, the massive flowering of wild tulips in the Opuk Nature Reserve, or the drying out of the estuaries to a bright pink color with the banks of a rich burgundy color due to salt-tolerant plants. Such landscapes appear more than once in Soviet science fiction films. Steppes and deserts are also Crimea. But like everything and always on a peninsula with fertile and peaceful nature.

It is quite clear that the main part of the Crimean Peninsula is located in the Moderate climatic zone, so a birch grove, a pine forest and all sorts of beloved Russian classics are not uncommon in Crimea. The southern coast of Crimea (SC) is a Sub-Mediterranean region with an abundance of evergreen vegetation. The foothills surprise with the expanses of the American Chalk Prairie, familiar to everyone from Westerns. And in the mountains it’s not difficult to find classic alpine landscapes.

We recommend your first trip through the “world in miniature” along a circular route golden ring Crimea and we recommend a mandatory long stop in Alupka. Most of the Crimean attractions are located in the southwest, on the ring Simferopol - Bakhchisaray - Inkerman - Sevastopol - Balaklava - Laspi - Simeiz - Alupka- Miskhor - Yalta - Gurzuf - Partenit - Alushta - Angarsk Pass - Salgir Valley - Simferopol. You can get an overview of the Golden Ring of Crimea from any point in 1 day! Of course, you can go in any direction. But we recommend your first trip so that you get to Alupka early. You can return to your place of residence in the dark.

Filming in Vorontsov palace and park complex will allow you to create an incredible number of scenes from different historical eras in different corners globe. The grandiose stone chaos of the Upper Park is quite suitable as alien landscape For star wars. The architecture of the palace was originally created as a strict medieval Gothic on the western and northern facades and lush eastern luxury on the south and east sides. Upper landscape park - in English style and with corners wildlife SC, and the lower one is regular with a combination Italian terraces and French techniques of park art.

Plan diagram of the Vorontsov palace and park complex in Alupka

The beautiful setting of the palace and park in Alupka is the famous mountain range Ai-Petri in the sky blue, and below is the bright blue of the Black Sea with picturesque coastal cliffs.

The most spectacular area car travel along the Golden Ring of Crimea this is the Sevastopol - Yalta highway . Watching the changing landscapes from Laspi To Yalta, one famous artist from Germany (with extensive travel experience) formulated a very simple idea: " Yes, you have a new country around every turn of the highway! We just saw Italy, and now Greece. Yeah, and here it is Austria, and just 15 minutes ago there was Switzerland"Something like that...

One can, of course, say that in Soviet times Africa or the Arctic were filmed in Crimea due to cost savings and the inability to travel abroad. But everything is much more complicated, and most importantly - more interesting!

CRIMEA – THE WHOLE WORLD ON SCREEN

EUROPE:
- Italy.
The film “Gadfly”, scenery and filming in Yalta.
Film "Anna Karenina", filming in the New World.
Film "Romeo and Juliet", scenery in Yalta.
Film "Twelfth Night", scenery in Yalta.
The film "Othello", scenery and filming in Yalta.
Film “Moscow-Genoa”, filming on the South Coast.
The film “The Royal Hunt”, set and filming in Artek.
Film “Marco Polo” (produced in Canada), set design
“Streets of Venice” and filming in Yalta.

- Spain.
The film "Don Quixote", scenery and filming in Yalta and Ai-Petri.
Film “Dog in the Manger”, filming at the Livadia Palace.
Film "The Adventures of the Royal Archer Sharpe"
(produced in Great Britain), scenery and filming
under Mount Demerdzhi, in the Baydar Valley, on Ai-
Petrie and in other places.
The film "Pirate Empire", scenery and filming in
Sudak and Yalta.

-France.
The film “Sky Swallows”, filming in the Vorontsov Palace and Yalta.
The film “Prisoner of Europe” (produced in Poland), sea filming in Artek.
Film “The Prisoner of the Castle of Yves” (“The Count of Monte Cristo”), filming
marine scenes with the sailing ship "Comrade" in Gurzuf.
Film “Napoleon Kaput”, filming in the Vorontsov Palace
and in the Mountain Crimea.

- England.
Film "Ten Little Indians", rocky island with a castle
(Swallow's Nest, Diva rock in Simeiz).
Film "Captain Blood's Odyssey", scenery and sea
filming in Artek and Gurzuf.
Film "Hornblow" (produced in Great Britain),
scenery and marine filming in Artek.

- Germany.
Film “In the Empire of Eagles”, sea filming in Artek,
decoration on Ai-Petri.

- Poland.
The film "Pan Blob's Academy", filming on the South Coast.

- Denmark.
The film "Hamlet", filming at the Swallow's Nest.

- Norway.
The film “And Trees Grow on Stones”, set and filming in Gurzuf.

- Greece.
Film "Ships storm the bastions", Corfu island
(Genoese fortress in Sudak).
Film "Sapho", Lesbos island (set and filming in
Balaklava and Chersonese).

- Yugoslavia.
Film “Reporter”, filming in Sevastopol.

ASIA:
- Arab East.
Film "Aladdin's Magic Lamp", set
“Ancient Baghdad” and filming in Omega Bay (Sevastopol).
Film “And Another Night of Scheherazade”, filming
in Yalta, in the Three-Eyes cave on Ai-Petri, in Nikitskaya
crevice, in the Beketovsky quarry, above Foros.
- Volcanic island.
Film “Wind of Hope”, filming of a volcanic eruption at Cape Sarych.
- Island in the Pacific Ocean.
The film “Pirates of the 20th Century”, filming in the bays of the New World, on Tarkhankut, set “Native Village” in Quiet Bay (Koktebel).

- India.
The film "The Black Prince", the scenery of an eastern city in
Yalta.
- Middle East.
The film “The plane flies to Russia”, the setting “Military Base” in Blue Bay.
- Japan.
Film “Dreams about Russia”, scenery and filming in Artek and Utes (Alushta).
- Pirate Island in Indian Ocean . The film "Pirate Empire", scenery under Mount Demerdzhi, in Artek and
Yalta (Republic of Libertalia).
- Türkiye.
The film "Roksolana", filming in the Khan's Palace of Bakhchisarai, in Chufut-Kale and on the southern coast of Crimea.
- Afghanistan.
The film “9th Company”, the scenery “Afghan village” in the area of ​​the village. Ordzhonikidze (Feodosia).
- Israel.
Film "The Master and Margarita", biblical Jerusalem.
- China(Hong Kong).
The film "Passenger", the scenery "Port Street" in Balaklava, a hotel near Yalta (the estate of Count Ustinov).

AMERICA:
- USA.
Film "The Mexican" (based on Jack London).
The film "The Headless Horseman", decoration and filming under
Ak-Kaya rock (Belogorsk).
The film “Business People” (based on O. Henry), one of the short stories
filmed in the Crimean Mountains.
Film "The Man from the Boulevard des Capucines", set and

Film “Chingachgook the Great Serpent” (GDR production),
filming under Mount Demirdzhi and in other places of the Crimean Mountains.
Film "The Star and Death of Haokino Murrieta", scenery and
filming under the Ak-Kaya rock (Belogorsk).
- Flint the Pirate Island.
The film “Treasure Island”, scenery in Sosnyak, filming in the Nikitskaya Crevice, on Red Stone, in Malorechenskoye, under the Shaan-Kaya rock, in
Partenite and in Laspi Bay.
- Chile.
The film “This sweet word is freedom”, scenery and filming
in Yalta (Ignatenko St.) and Koktebel.
- Cordillera.
Film "Captain Grant's Children", filming a scene
“Avalanche in the mountains” (in winter on Ai-Petri).
- Caribbean Sea. Film "Captain Blood's Odyssey", scenery and
marine filming in Artek and Gurzuf.
- Haiti. Film “The Age of Enlightenment”, set “City Embankment”
Port-au-Prince" in Utes (Alushta), sea filming in Artek.
- Caribbean Islands . The film "Hearts of Three", scenery and filming in
Cliff, under Mount Demerdzhi, in Artek, on Lake Kastelskoe, on
Ai-Petri.

AFRICA:
- South Africa, port of Cape Town. Film "Maximka", filming in
Yalta port with the participation of the sailing ship "Comrade".
- Equatorial Africa. Film “The Rape of the Savoy”, filming
at the Angarsk training ground (Perevalnoe village).
- North Africa. Film "Fire Drums", scenery and
marine filming in Artek, Blue Bay, at the Swallow's Nest.

USSR (Russia)

Arctic tundra:
- The film “Trace of the Wolverine” (the action takes place on
Taimyr) - filming was carried out in winter on the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla.
- The film “Korolev” (the action takes place in Kolyma) –
The filming took place in winter on the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla.

Siberian taiga:
- The film “What was the taiga silent about?” was held in the forests above Yalta
filming scenes that took place in the Altai Mountains.
- The film “King of the Ringmaster”, filming took place in the area
Wuchang-Su waterfall with a live bear.
- The film “The Lost Expedition”, filmed under Mount Ai-Petri
scenes in which the actions took place in the Sayan Mountains.
- The film “The Sixth”, the action takes place in a small Siberian
town, filming took place under Mount Ai-Petri and in other
places in the Crimean Mountains.

Far East:
- Film “Let's Talk, Brother”, filming of the transition
Far Eastern partisans through a rocky ridge
were produced on the Ai-Nikola rock (Upper Oreanda).
- The film “The Right to Shot”, the action took place off the coast
Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, filming took place in Kamyshovaya Bay
(Sevastopol) and at Cape Aya.
- Film “Admiral”, filming scenes naval battles Russian times
Japanese war (filming took place in the Sevastopol area).
- Film “Korolev”, filming scenes of S. Korolev’s sailing from Magadan
took place in Sevastopol.

Central Asia:
- Film “The Taste of Halva” (about the childhood of Khoja Nasreddin), filming
were produced in Feodosia.
- The aforementioned film “Aladin's Magic Lamp”.
- Film “Officers”, railway station in Turkestan, filming
in Inkerman (Sevastopol).
- The aforementioned film “And Another Night of Scheherazade.”

Caucasus:
- The film “Vertical”, a number of Caucasian scenes were filmed in
Crimea (in the rocky Nikitskaya crevice).
- The film “Taman”, filming at Cape Tarkhankut.
- The film “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, filming took place in
Alushta, under Mount Demerdzhi and other places in Gorny
Crimea.
- Film “Sportloto-82”, filming in Feodosia and Gorny
Crimea, on Ai-Petri, the run of the main characters through
burning suspension bridge.
- The film “Thieves in Law”, the action takes place in the Caucasus,
filming took place in the Crimean Mountains, on the embankment
Yalta and on the streets of the city.
- Film “The Feast of Belshazzar”, filming the hijacking of a passenger ship
militants led by the young Dzhugashvili, and scenes on
Stalin's Caucasian dacha (san. "Ukraine" in Miskhor) were produced in
Crimea.
- Film “Marco Polo”, on the Swallow’s Nest and in the Crimean Mountains
scenes were filmed that took place in
medieval Armenia.
- The film “I-Doll”, filming scenes of the attack of Chechen militants on
village in the Stavropol region (village Tylovoe in the Baydar Valley).

Filming underground:
- The film “Ordered to Survive”, filming took place in
Trekhglazka cave on Ai-Petri.
- The film “And Another Night of Scheherazade”, filming took place in
Three-Eyes Cave on Ai-Petri.
- The film “Yalta” over Yalta”, filming in the newly discovered
cave on the Ai-Petri plateau.

Filming underwater:
- The film “Amphibian Man”, filming in Laspi Bay.
- The film “Scuba Tanks at the Bottom”, filming in the New World.
- The film “The Little Mermaid”, filming took place at Cape Sarych.
- The film “Pirates of the 20th Century”, filming in the pool and at Cape Tarkhankut.
- The film “Aquanauts”, unprecedented in volume and complexity
underwater filming (scenery and various technical
products) were produced on the shelf of Cape Tarkhankut.
- The film “Through Hardships to the Stars”, for the first time in space
weightlessness was filmed underwater (in a swimming pool).

Filming fairy tales:
- Films by Alexander Row: “Marya the Mistress”, “Kingdom”
crooked mirrors", "Morozko", "Fire, water and copper pipes",
“Varvara is beautiful, long braid.”
- Films by Alexander Ptushko: “Sadko”, “Ilya Muromets”,
“The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, “Scarlet Sails”.
- Films by Boris Rytsarev: “Aladdin’s Magic Lamp”, “On
they were sitting on the golden porch.”
- Pavel Arsenov’s film “The Deer King”.
- Films by Mikhail Yuzovsky: “Merry Magic”, “There, on
unknown paths”, “After the rain, on Thursday”, “One, two -
grief is not a problem.”
- Films by Gennady Vasiliev: “Finist – Clear Falcon”, “Bye
the clock is striking", "The New Adventures of Captain Vrungel", "Black
prince".
- Films by Leonid Nechaev: “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, “About
Little Red Riding Hood", "Peter Pan".
- Films by Vladimir Bychkov: “City of Masters”, “The Little Mermaid”.
- Film by Irina Povolotskaya “The Scarlet Flower”.
- Film by Vladimir Grammatikov “Mio, my Mio.”
- Alexander Mitta’s film “The Tale of Wanderings.”
- Film by Tahir Sabirov “And Another Night of Scheherazade.”
- Films-fairy tales of Boris Nebieridze (“The Red Shoes”, etc.).
- Polish film fairy tale “Pan Blob’s Academy.”

Filming fantasy films:
- “Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin.”
- “Amphibian Man.”
- “Andromeda Nebula”.
- “Treasures of the Flaming Rocks.”
- “Moscow – Cassiopeia” and “Youths in the Universe”.
- “Sannikov Land”.
- “Aquanauts”.
- “Through thorns to the stars.”
- “Comet”.
- “It’s hard to be God.”
- “Purple Ball”.

Filming in ancient policies, fortifications, fortresses and architectural and historical ensembles (the number of films cannot be counted):

Cave cities Chufut-Kale, Eski-Kermen, Kachi-Kalyon, etc.

Genoese fortress in Sudak.

Palace of the Crimean Khans in Bakhchisarai.

Massandra Palace.

Yusupov Palace.

Note:

The idea for this review probably belongs to Crimean journalist Mike Lvovsky.
Just in case - an exact copy of the “eyeliner” from Valery Pavlotos’ letter:
"I was asked by Segodnya newspaper special correspondent Mike Lvovsky to compile a list of films (filmed in Crimea) whose action takes place in different countries and on different continents."

Crimea is not only the sea coast, mountains and ancient parks with exotic plants. Few people know that approximately two-thirds of the peninsula is occupied by the steppe. And this part of Crimea is also beautiful, unique and charming in its own way. This article will focus specifically on the Steppe Crimea. What region is this? 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).
• Yuzhnoberezhnaya or abbreviated as South Coast (III).
• Kerch ridge-hilly (IV).

If you look at physical card peninsula, you can see that about 70% of its territory is occupied by the plain (or steppe) Crimea. In the south it is directly adjacent to the Outer Range 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 of this 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 completely or partially located within the Steppe Crimea:

• Pervomaisky.
• Razdolnensky.
• Krasnoperekopsky.
• Dzhankoysky.
• Krasnogvardeisky.
• Nizhnegorsky.
• Black Sea.
• Saki.
• Soviet.
• Kirovsky (partially).
• Belogorsky (partially).
• Simferopol (partially).

The unofficial “capital” of the Crimean steppes can be called the city of Dzhankoy. Other large settlements in the region are Armyansk, Krasnoperekopsk, Evpatoria, Saki, Nikolaevka, Nizhnegorsky, Sovetsky, Oktyabrskoye. Almost each of them has enterprises that process one or another type of local agricultural raw material. 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 Epi-Hercynian Scythian plate, composed of sediments 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 (Prisivashskaya, North Crimean, Indolskaya 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 sublimity with a stretch. After all, the maximum point of Tarkankut is only 178 meters. Nevertheless, due to its coastal location, the elevation differences here are quite impressive. Some coastal cliffs rise 40-50 meters above the sea waters.

The region's topography is conducive to residential construction, the construction of roads and railways, and active agricultural development of land.

Climate and inland waters

The climate of the region is temperate continental and quite arid. 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 changeable, especially during the transition 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 in the future would become the main cause of poverty in this region. During the year, no more than 400 mm of precipitation falls here, which approximately corresponds to the level of humidity in the semi-desert zone. The North Crimean Canal plays an important role in supplying the peninsula with fresh water. The only one relatively large river Steppe Crimea - Salgir. In summer, many of its tributaries dry up completely or partially.

Flora and fauna

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

The fauna of the Steppe Crimea is quite poor. It is dominated by small mammals living in burrows - gophers, 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. Virgin, untouched areas of natural landscapes can be found today only in nature reserves and on the slopes of ravines.

Main attractions

A sophisticated tourist who has traveled up and down 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 chosen ten attractions of the Steppe Crimea that are worth visiting first. This:

• Landscape park"Kalinovsky".
• Tyup-Tarkhan Peninsula (“bird paradise” of Crimea).
• National Park"Magic Harbor" on Tarkhankut.
• Estate "Nizhnegorye" with a park.
• Juma-Jami Mosque and Karaite kenas in Evpatoria.
• Ancient Perekop shaft.
• Neo-Gothic Church “Heart of Jesus” in Aleksandrovka.
• Tulip fields in the village of Yantarnoye.
• Abuzlar tract with mysterious petroglyphs.

Holidays 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 sea ​​resorts. Among them are Evpatoria, Saki, Chernomorskoe, Nikolaevka, Olenevka, Mezhvodnoe and others.