Chatyr-Dag (; ; ) is a mountainous massif in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, near the

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Alushta Alushta (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and Russian language, Russian: ; ; ) is a city of regional significance on the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula which is within the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a region internationally recognised as ...

highway.

Overview

The mountain consists of two plateaus: the lower (north) and the upper (south). The lower plateau slopes gently down to its northern side, which is covered in

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

grass. On its southern end (near the steep slope of the higher plateau), the lower plateau is covered with

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

forests and

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

glades. It has many hiking trails and several beautiful

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s (listed below). On the east side of the lower plateau there is a grove of yews. The upper plateau has the shape of a giant bowl and on its rim; the highest peaks are each named. The upper plateau is covered with

alpine meadow Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

s. Its slopes are very steep and offer some routes for multipitch climbing (

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

routes longer than length of one climbing rope). The highest peak is Eklizi-Bourun (1527 m above sea level). Caves in the Chatyr-Dag massif include: * Marble Caves * Emine Bair Hosar cave * Fur-tree cave * Obvalnaya cave * Vyalova cave * Artuch-Koba * Vyalova cave system

External links

{{Tourist attractions in Crimea Crimean Mountains One-thousanders of Ukraine

Overview

See also

External links