Mezmay ( ady, Мэзмые, russian: Мезма́й) is a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fina ...

in Apsheronsky District of

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of t ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, located in the valley of the

Kurdzhips River The Kurdzhips (russian: Курджипс), located in the Caucasus Mountains, is a river in the Apsheronsky District of Krasnodar region, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Belaya near Maykop. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The ri ...

near its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

with the Mezmay River, south-east of Apsheronsk. Population: less than a thousand inhabitants. It is a popular mountain resort. The village was linked with Apsheronsk by branch line of the

Apsheronsk narrow-gauge railway The Apsheronsk narrow-gauge railway (russian: italic=yes, Апшеронская узкоколейная железная дорога, ''Apsheronskya uzkokoleynaya zheleznaya doroga'') is a mountain narrow-gauge railway located in Krasnodar Kra ...

, yet, in 2010 this branch was almost completely dismantled, except length part between Mezmay and village Guamka. This remaining railway was from 2011 to 2017 interrupted due to a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

Name

The name Mezmay is formed of the two Circassian words Mez (forest) and Mye (wild apple), so Mezmay translated from Circassian as "wild apples forest."

Landmarks

Mezmay is a popular tourist site with a lot of natural attractions: (

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

s, etc.), the Clay Roman necropolis (Mezmayskoe burial) on the north-western outskirts of the village and the

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

of the Kuban State University. There is also

Mezmaiskaya cave Mezmaiskaya Cave (russian: Мезмайская пещера) is a prehistoric cave site overlooking the right bank of the Sukhoi Kurdzhips (a tributary of the Kurdzhips River) in the southern Russian Republic of Adygea, located in the northwest ...

, where, in 1993, was found perfectly preserved skeleton of a

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...

baby from which DNA was extracted. Причина вымирания неандертальцев – вулканическая зима?

Gallery

Mezmay, Krasnodar Krai.jpg, Rocks and mountains in the surroundings of Mezmay Fir and beech forest in Kurdzhips Canyon, Mezmay, Russia.jpg, Kurdzhips River Canyon near Mezmay Guam Canyon, Apsheronsk mountain railway, Russia.jpg, Apsheronsk mountain railway near Mezmay Вид на посёлок Мезмай.jpg, Mezmai surroundings

References

External links

Rural localities in Krasnodar Krai {{KrasnodarKrai-geo-stub