The Crimean Mountains ( uk, Кримські гори,
translit. ''Krymski hory''; russian: Крымские горы,
translit. ''Krymskie gory''; crh, Qırım dağları) are a
range of mountains running parallel to the south-eastern coast of
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
, between about from the sea. Toward the west, the mountains drop steeply to the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
, and to the east, they change slowly into a
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate gras ...
landscape.
The Crimean Mountains consist of three subranges. The highest is the Main range. The Main range is subdivided into several masses, known as
yaylas or mountain plateaus (''Yayla'' is
Crimean Tatar for "Alpine Meadow"). They are:
* Baydar Yayla
* Ay-Petri Yayla
*
Yalta Yayla
*
Nikita Yayla
*
Hurzuf
Gurzuf or Hurzuf ( uk, link=no, Гурзуф, russian: Гурзу́ф, crh, Gurzuf, gr, link=no, Γορζουβίται) is a resort-town (urban-type settlement) in Yalta Municipality of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized b ...
Yayla
* Babugan Yayla
*
Chatyr-Dag Yayla
* Dologorukovskaya (Subatkan) Yayla
* Demirji Yayla
* Karabi Yayla
Highest peaks
The Crimea's highest peak is the
Roman-Kosh (; , crh, Roman Qoş) on the Babugan Yayla at . Other important peaks over 1,200 metres include:
*
Demir-Kapu ( uk, Демір-Капу, russian: Демир-Капу, crh, Demir Qapı) 1,540 m in the Babugan Yayla;
* Zeytin-Kosh (; , crh, Zeytün Qoş) 1,537 m in the Babugan Yayla;
* Kemal-Egerek ( uk, Кемаль-Егерек, russian: Кемаль-Эгерек, crh, Kemal Egerek) 1,529 m in the Babugan Yayla;
* Eklizi-Burun ( uk, Еклізі-Бурун, russian: Эклизи-Бурун, crh, Eklizi Burun) 1,527 m in the Chatyrdag Yayla;
* Lapata (; , crh, Lapata) 1,406 m in the Yaltynska Yayla, Yalta Yaylası;
* Northern Demirji ( uk, Північний Демірджі, russian: Северный Демирджи, crh, Şimaliy Demirci) 1,356 m in the Demirci Yayla;
*
Ai-Petri ( uk, Ай-Петрі, russian: Ай-Петри, crh, Ay Petri) 1,234 m in the Ay Petri Yaylası.
Passes and rivers
The passes over the Crimean Mountains are:
*
Angarskyi Pass (752m) near
Perevalne, on a road from
Alushta to
Simferopol
*
Baydar Gate (503m) near
Foros, connecting
Baydar Valley and the sea coast
*
Laspi Pass (350m) near
Cape Aya, on a road from
Yalta to
Sevastopol.
Rivers of the Crimean Mountains include the
Alma River,
Chernaya River, and
Salhir River on the northern slope and
Uchan-su River on the southern slope which forms the
Uchan-su waterfall, and the highest waterfall in Crimea.
History
Archaeologists have found the earliest
anatomically modern humans in Europe in the Crimean mountains'
Buran-Kaya caves. The fossils are 32,000 years old, with the artifacts linked to the
Gravettian
The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by 2 ...
culture. The fossils have cut marks suggesting a post-mortem defleshing ritual.
Gallery
Image:Karabi_mountain_plateau.jpg, Karabi mountain plateau
Image:Karabi_mountain_plateau2.jpg, Karabi mountain plateau
Image:Karabi_mountain_plateau3.jpg, Mountain plateau of Karabi
Image:Chatyr_dag_plateau2.jpg, Mountain plateau of Chatyr-Dag mountain
Image:Crimean mountains.jpg, Crimean mountains
See also
*
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
References
External links
Crimean mountains- view on all parts of mountains of Crimea
Mountains of Crimea- Great collection of Crimean mountains from private mountain guide Sergey Sorokin
Landforms of Crimea
Mountain ranges of Ukraine
{{Crimea-geo-stub