Latitude of Crimea on the map. Coursework: Physical and Geographical Features of Crimea

Crimea is located within 44о23 ′ (Cape Sarych) and 46о15 ′ (Perekop ditch) north latitude and 32о30 ′ (Cape Karamrun) and 36о40 ′ (Cape Fonar) east longitude. The area of ​​the Crimean peninsula is 26.0 thousand km2, the maximum distance from north to south is 205 km, from west to east - 325 km.
A narrow eight-kilometer strip of land in the north (Perekop Isthmus) connects Crimea with the mainland, and 4-5 km - the width of the Kerch Strait in the east (the length of the strait is about 41 km) - separates it from the Taman Peninsula. The total length of the Crimean borders exceeds 2500 km (taking into account the extreme tortuosity coastline northeast). In general, the shores of Crimea are little indented, the Black Sea forms three large bays: Karkinitsky, Kalamitsky and Feodossiysky; The Azov Sea also formed three gulfs: Kazantip, Arabat and Sivash.

Physical and geographical position of Crimea in general, it is distinguished by the following most characteristic features. First, the location of the peninsula at 45 ° north latitude determines its equal distance from the equator and the North Pole, which is associated with a fairly large amount of incoming solar energy and a large number of hours of sunshine. Secondly, Crimea is almost an island. This is connected, on the one hand, with a large number of endemics (plant species that are not found anywhere except in this area) and endemics (similar animal species); on the other hand, this explains the significant deprivation of the Crimean fauna; in addition, the climate and other natural components are significantly influenced by the marine environment. Thirdly, the position of the peninsula in relation to the general circulation of the Earth's atmosphere is especially important, leading to the prevalence of westerly winds in Crimea. Crimea occupies a borderline position between the temperate and subtropical geographic zones.

Features of the transport and geographical location of Crimea in the past determined the nature of the population of the peninsula and the specifics of its economy. In the Middle Ages, Crimea was a kind of dead end on the path of many nomadic tribes. Many settled here and perceived the local languages, culture, and religion.
The maritime environment of the Crimea determined not only the peculiarities of external economic relations, but also the development of seaside recreation. Through the Danube and Dnieper rivers, Crimea has access to the ports of Central Europe, the Baltic States and Scandinavia, and through the Don and the canal system of European Russia - to the Baltic and White Seas, the Caspian states.

A favorable feature of the economic and geographical location of Crimea is its neighborhood with the economically developed Kherson and Zaporozhye regions of Ukraine and with the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation.

State and territorial structure
The capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is the city of Simferopol. The territorial-administrative structure of Crimea includes villages, urban-type settlements, cities. Sevastopol has a special status of “a separate administrative unit”, but it is an integral part of Crimea.

Languages ​​used on the territory of Crimea- Russian, Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar.

The central figure of the coat of arms of Crimea is a white (silver) griffin holding a shell with a blue (azure) pearl in its raised paw. The griffin (a winged lion with an eagle's head) is a mythological creature - a symbol of the ancient cities of Chersonesos, Panticapaeum and others, in later times - the cities of Sevastopol and Kerch.
Since ancient times, protective properties have been attributed to the griffin. On the coat of arms of Crimea, he is depicted as a symbol of the guardian and defender of the republic. The blue pearl symbolizes Crimea as a unique corner of the planet, the unity of all its peoples, religions and cultures.
The griffin is placed on the Varangian shield (small coat of arms) - a symbol of the intersection of important trade routes, and its red color is a symbol of courage, bravery and courage of the Crimean peoples of all ages.
The shield is held by antique marble columns. The crown of the coat of arms is the rising golden sun - a symbol of rebirth and prosperity, warmth and light.
Under the shield, wrapped in rings around the columns, is a blue-white-red (in the colors of the Crimean flag) motto ribbon with the inscription: “Prosperity in unity”.

Crimea nature
The nature of the Crimea is called a natural museum. There are few places in the world where a variety of comfortable and picturesque landscapes would be combined in such an original way. They are largely due to the originality of the geographical location, geological structure, relief, climate of the peninsula. The Crimean mountains divide the peninsula into two unequal parts. Big - northern - is located in the extreme temperate zone, southern - the Crimean sub-Mediterranean - refers to the northern edge of the subtropical belt.
The flora of Crimea is especially rich and interesting. Only wild higher plants account for more than 65% of the flora of the entire European part of the Commonwealth countries. Along with this, about 1000 species of foreign plants are cultivated here. Almost all the flora of Crimea is concentrated in its southern mountainous part. This is a truly museum richness of flora.

The climate of most of Crimea- this is the climate of the temperate zone: mild steppe - in the flat part; more humid, typical for deciduous forests - in the mountains. The southern coast of Crimea is characterized by a sub-Mediterranean climate of dry forests and shrubs.
The Crimean peninsula is provided with a lot of heat not only in summer, but also in winter. In December and January, there is 8-10 times more heat per unit of the earth's surface per day than, for example, in St. Petersburg.
Crimea receives the greatest amount of solar heat in summer, especially in July. Spring is cooler here than autumn. And autumn is the best season of the year. The weather is calm, sunny and moderately warm. True, sharp fluctuations in pressure during the day sharply exacerbate cardiovascular diseases in people who are not entirely healthy.
In Crimea, which is well supplied with heat, the biological productivity of plants, including agricultural crops, and the resistance of landscapes to stress largely depend on the amount of moisture. And the need for water is constantly growing among the local population and the national economy, primarily in agriculture and health resorts. So the water in Crimea is a true engine of life and culture.
A relatively small amount of atmospheric precipitation, a long dry summer, the spread of karst rocks in the mountains led to the poverty of the Crimea in surface waters. Crimea is divided into two parts: a plain steppe with a very small number of surface watercourses and a mountain forest with a relatively dense river network. There are no large freshwater lakes here. In the coastal strip of the flat Crimea there are about 50 estuary lakes with a total area of ​​5.3 thousand square kilometers.

In Crimea, there are 1,657 rivers and temporary watercourses with a total length of 5996 km. Of these, about 150 rivers are dwarf rivers up to 10 km in length. The Salgir River alone is more than 200 km long. The river network is extremely unevenly developed on the peninsula.
Depending on the direction of the surface water runoff, the Crimean rivers are divided into three groups: rivers on the northwestern slopes of the Crimean mountains, rivers on the southern coast of Crimea, rivers northern slopes Crimean mountains.
All rivers on the northwestern slopes run almost parallel to each other. Until about the middle of their course, they look like typical mountain streams. The largest of them are Alma, Kacha, Belbek and Chernaya.
The rivers of the southern coast of Crimea are short, have very steep channel slopes, stormy temper in floods.
In the west, besides the usually dry ravines and the Khastabash brook, the largest is the Uchan-Su river. Quickly running down to the sea, it forms waterfalls in four places. The uppermost and largest of them (Volatile Water).
The rivers of the northern slopes of the Crimean Mountains are distinguished by the fact that outside the mountains they deviate to the east and flow into the Sivash - the lagoon of the Azov Sea. In the upper reaches of the river, it is constantly with water, and within the plains in summer, their channels are often dry.
Salgir is the longest river in Crimea. Together with the tributary Biyuk-Karasu, it represents the largest water system in Crimea. The upper reaches of the Salgir are formed from the confluence of the Angara and Kizil-Koba rivers. A large tributary of the Ayan flows into Salgir near the village of Zarechnoye. Salgir fills the large Simferopol reservoir, built in 1951-1955. Below Simferopol, the river receives its right tributaries - the Beshterek, Zuya, Burulcha rivers, and 27 km from Sivash - Biyuk-Karasu. The Taiganskoye and Belogorskoye reservoirs have been built on Biyuk-Karasu.

Population of Crimea
The population of Crimea is unevenly distributed throughout the territory. 50% of the population of the republic lives on the coast. In 1991, 69% lived in cities, and 31% in rural areas. 43% of the Crimean population lives in four large cities: Sevastopol (371.4 thousand people in 1991), Simferopol (357 thousand people), Kerch (189.5 thousand people) and Evpatoria (113.3 thousand people).
Crimea is characterized by an increase in the number of cities and urban-type settlements and the relative stability of rural settlements. In recent years, cities such as Krasnoperekopsk, Armyansk, have appeared on the map of Crimea. The number of urban-type settlements is growing rapidly - since 1959 more than doubled.
The bulk of the population of Crimea is made up of workers (about 60 percent), office workers - 28, peasants - less than 11 percent.

Education
Crimea has always been distinguished not only by a high proportion of the urban population, but also by a high level of literacy and education of its inhabitants. For every thousand inhabitants in cities there were 900, and in villages 730 people with higher, secondary specialized and secondary education.
The training of highly qualified specialists is carried out by 6 state higher educational institutions (Simferopol State University, Crimean Medical Institute, Crimean Agricultural Institute, Sevastopol Instrument-Making Institute. Crimean Institute of Environmental Protection and Resort Construction, Crimean State Industrial Pedagogical Institute), two branches of universities - Kiev Economic University (in Simferopol) and the Kaliningrad Fish University (in Kerch), as well as several commercial universities.
Military specialists are trained by the military institute in Sevastopol and the civil engineering school in Simferopol.
In recent years, colleges have been established on a commercial basis. 30 secondary specialized educational institutions are engaged in the training of specialists. Vocational schools train personnel in 120 specialties.
In Crimea, there are academic institutes and cultural institutions. There are several professional theaters and a philharmonic society, an art gallery in Feodosia. A large number of newspapers are published. There are a large number of museums in Crimea, many of which are associated with the destinies of prominent writers, artists, scientists who lived on the peninsula.

The economic appearance of the Crimea
The economic appearance of the Crimea, the structure, the nature of the location of industries and the population evolved mainly in accordance with its natural and socio-economic conditions.
Until 1917, the republic's economy was predominantly agrarian. Gradually, it developed into an industrial-agrarian one.
Crimea is distinguished by a diversified agriculture and recreational economy, the production of soda ash, titanium dioxide, sulfuric acid, technological equipment for the food industry, televisions, ocean vessels, fish and fish products. In addition to mechanical engineering, chemical industry, agriculture and recreation, the industries of specialization also include the food industry, which produces grape wines, canned fruits and vegetables, and essential oils.
In the structure of industrial production, the leading place belongs to the food industry, followed by mechanical engineering and metalworking, the chemical industry, industry building materials.
Agriculture of the Crimea is specialized in grain and animal husbandry, viticulture, horticulture, vegetable growing, as well as in the cultivation of essential oil crops (lavender, rose, sage). The volumes of gross production of livestock and crop products are balanced.
Sea transport is of great importance for the republic. Export-import transportation of various cargoes is carried out through the Crimean ports. The most important ports are Kerch, Feodosia, Yalta, Evpatoria. The largest port city is Sevastopol.

Recreational economy is one of the leading industries in the republic. From the Latin language, recreation is translated as "recovery", meaning the restoration of the physical and psychophysiological conditions of a person. The recreational facilities include; sanatoriums, boarding houses, houses and recreation centers, tourist hotels and tourist centers, campings, children's camps. The recreational farm operates on beach, balneological and climatic resources, curative mud, sea water, landscape resources.

Branches of social infrastructure of Crimea- utilities, consumer services, public education, public catering, trade, health care, social security, culture, physical education, credit and insurance, science and scientific services - are distinguished by a high level of development.

The Crimean peninsula is located in the south of Russia. Latitude of southern France or northern Italy. From the east, the coast of Crimea is washed by the waters of the Azov Sea, and from the west and south - by the Black Sea. The Crimean Peninsula is connected to the continent only along a narrow isthmus, a maximum of eight kilometers wide. The name of the isthmus at first glance seems unexpected - Perekopsky (why did they want to dig it up, but did not have time?!).

The Crimea also includes two peninsulas:

• Kerch, it is located in the east between the Black and Azov seas,
• Tarkhankutsky, occupies the western part of the Crimea.

The southern coast of the Crimean peninsula is not without reason considered the most favorable: the sea is located from the southeast, and the mountains protect from the winds from the northwest. This creates a velvety climate of dry subtropics.

The Crimean peninsula has borders with Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Georgia. The capital and the largest transport hub on the peninsula is the city of Simferopol. The population of Simferopol is about 400 thousand inhabitants.

Geographic characteristics

Territory - 26860 km². Length: from east to west - 360 km, from south to north - 180 km.
The southernmost part is Cape Sarych; the westernmost cape - Priboiny; a cape with the telling name Lantern is in the east.

There are many seaports, the largest are Evpatoria, Feodosia, Yalta, Kerch.

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The length of the coastline of the Crimean Peninsula is more than 2,500 km. Of these, almost 50% falls on the Sivash Bay, 750 km - the Black Sea coast and about 500 km - the Azov Sea coast. The shores of the peninsula are indented with numerous bays, bays and coves.

The territory of Crimea is 72% of plains, 20% of mountains and 8% of lakes and rivers.

Relief

The Crimean peninsula in the distant years, judging by the results of the study, had favorable natural conditions. People have been living here for a long time. Here are found monuments from the Middle Paleolithic (about 150 thousand years ago), Mesolithic, Neolithic, Eneolithic and Bronze Age.

In many Crimean museums of local lore, unique archaeological finds are stored, found in grottoes, caves, under the canopies of rocks, where primitive people found a natural refuge.

Here are some natural and historical monuments of Crimea:

• burial of Neanderthals in the Kiik-Koba cave, located near the village. Zuya in the Belogorsk district,
• Wolf grotto and Chokurcho near Simferopol,
• Staroselie near Bakhchisarai,
• Ak-Kai near Belogorsk.

No older finds are known in Europe.

The relief of the Crimean peninsula consists of three unequal parts:

• North Crimean Plain with the Tarkhankut Upland (about 70% of the territory),
• Kerch Peninsula
• and in the south - the mountainous Crimea stretches in three ridges.

The highest is the Crimean Mountains is Mount Roman-Kosh (1545 m).

Crimean mountains

Once upon a time, 200 million years ago, waves of the Tethys primordial ocean were kneading at this place. Crimean and Caucasus mountains rose from it 7-8 million years ago. These mountains divided the ocean waters to form the Black and Caspian Seas.

They have three main ridges, which are separated by valleys. These ridges begin in the southwest of Crimea. Here are their names:

• The main one (aka South) - begins at and follows along the coast to Feodosia. It has a length of almost 180 km. Ends at the Cape of St. Elijah;
• Inner ridge (Middle), stretches from the Mekenziev mountains towards the Old Crimea;
• External - starts from the Kara-Tau upland, which is on the watershed of the Belbek and Kacha rivers, and follows to Simferopol.

The width of the mountain strip reaches 50 km.

Crimean mountains are very picturesque and not like others. They are like huge frozen waves. The main ridge to the north has gentle slopes, and to the south it breaks off with high steep walls. It has its own peculiarity - it has not the usual tip of the top, but wavy mountain plateaus. In Crimea, they are called yayls (translated as summer pasture).

In Alushta, the Main Ridge is divided into separate massifs bearing the names Babugan, Chatyr-dag and Demerdzhi. The gently sloping Dolgorukovskaya Yayla goes to the north, and the largest Karabi-Yaila in terms of area goes to the east. It is connected with Demerdzhinskaya only by a “bridge” in the form of the Table-Mountain.

After that, the Main Ridge finally disintegrates, only individual mountain ranges, peaks and volcanic massifs remain, of which the most interesting and unusual is Karadag.

In many places on the East Coast, the ancient "Tauride platform" protrudes directly from the ground, forming an unusual form of elevation with collapses, cracks, and ravines. Further, to the east of Feodosia, there are roads and paths of a sparsely populated land, the relief of which is called the Kerch Hill Mountains.

To the north and north-west of the Feodosiya Bay, almost the entire small Crimea was occupied by the huge Crimean steppe, in comparison with the coastal resort strip. So “Cimmeria” (sometimes called “Kimtavria”) is a land of contrasts - mountains, coast, flat hills, steppe.

Steppe

The steppe occupies the most extensive part of the territory of Crimea. It is the southern edge of the East European, or Russian, plain and slopes slightly to the north. The Kerch Peninsula is divided by the Parpach Ridge into two parts: the southwestern - plain and the northeastern - hilly, which is characterized by the alternation of ring-shaped limestone ridges, gentle depressions, mud hills and coastal lake basins.

In the flat part of the peninsula, varieties of southern and calcareous chernozems prevail; dark chestnut and meadow-chestnut soils of dry forests and shrubs, as well as brown mountain-forest and mountain-meadow chernozem-like soils (on yayls), are less common.

The Crimean peninsula has extensive agricultural land. More than 52% of the territory is occupied by arable land, there are not so many orchards and vineyards - about 5%. It's not even clear where the Crimean wines came from in our stores now! Part of the land is used for pastures. There are also forests.

Rivers and lakes

On the Crimean peninsula, more 1600 rivers and temporary drains. Their total length is about 6,000 kilometers. However, these are usually small streams, which almost dry up in summer. There are only 257 rivers with a length of more than 5 km.

The most significant of the rivers, according to their geographic location, are divided into several groups:

• rivers of the northern and northeastern slope of the Crimean mountains (Salgir, the longest river of the peninsula, - 232 km; Wet Indol - 27 km; Churuksu - 33 km, etc.);
• rivers of the northwestern slope (Black - 41 km, Belbek - 63 km, Kacha - 69 km, Alma - 84 km, Western Bulganak - 52 km, etc.);
• rivers of the Southern coast of Crimea (Uchan-Su - 8.4 km, Derekoyka - 12 km, Ulu-Uzen - 15 km, Demerdzhi - 14 km, Ulu-Uzen Vostochny - 16 km, etc.);
• beams of the flat Crimea and the Kerch Peninsula.

The rivers of the northwestern slopes of the Crimean Mountains flow almost parallel to each other, up to the middle of the course they are typically mountainous. The rivers of the northern slopes in the plain deviate to the east and flow into the Sivash. The short rivers of the South Bank, flowing into the Black Sea, are typically mountainous along their entire length. The mountain river Uchan-Su runs down to the sea, forming waterfalls in four places.

There are also many lakes and estuaries on the territory of the peninsula - over three hundred. Some of them are mud. The lakes along the coast are mostly salty. On the Tarkhankut Peninsula there is a fairly large freshwater Ak-Mechetskoye lake. Mountain lakes are mainly artificial reservoirs. There are more than 50 salt lakes in Crimea, the largest of which is Lake Sasyk (Kunduk) - 205 sq. Km.

Weather in Crimea

The natural conditions of the Crimean peninsula are quite extraordinary. This amazing region is endowed with fertile lands, and magnificent sea coast, and majestic, unique in their beauty, mountain ranges. The Crimean peninsula has a mild climate throughout the peninsula.

In the south and north, however, there are differences. On the southern coast, the Crimean peninsula is close to the Mediterranean and subtropical, and in the northern part of the peninsula it is continental.

Summers are sunny and quite hot, with occasional but heavy rains. It usually begins in mid-May and lasts until the end of September. The air in these places is not very humid. Autumn in Crimea is rainy, but warm, almost calm, smoothly turning into winter with little snow with rare, not severe frosts.

Geographical position of Crimea

The Crimean peninsula has a relatively small territory: for comparison, we can say that it is 20 times smaller in area of ​​the Iberian and Balkan peninsulas, and 15 times smaller than Kamchatka and Asia Minor. Crimea is located at 44 and 46 degrees. w., i.e. this is the southern territory, it corresponds to the south of France, the Ciscaucasia or the Great American Lakes in North America.

Crimea is an integral part of the huge continent of Eurasia, while it is located almost at an equal distance from both the North Pole and the equator, since a latitude of 45 degrees crosses the peninsula near the city of Dzhankoy. Around here is the border of two climatic zones: the temperate zone and the subtropics, therefore, in Crimea, on this small peninsula, one can observe atmospheric and natural processes and phenomena characteristic of both belts.

The Crimean peninsula occupies a relatively small territory - in area it is 20 times smaller than the Iberian and Balkan peninsulas, 15 times smaller than Kamchatka and Asia Minor. But Crimea became famous, significant and attractive largely due to the peculiarities of its nature, and above all to its peculiar geographical location.

Perekop isthmus - extreme north point Crimean peninsula. It is located at a distance of 207 km from Cape Sarych (the southernmost point). From the extreme western point - Cape Kara-Mrun, located on the Tarkhankut Peninsula, to Cape Fonar on the Kerch Peninsula - 324 km. And the three capes, like the three legendary biblical whales lying in the Black and Azov Seas, seem to "support" the peninsula afloat.

In shape, the Crimea resembles a slightly distorted rhombus, but if you turn on your imagination, you can see in the outlines of the peninsula - a bird that dives into the waters of the Black Sea. But the beauty of the peninsula, in combination with its outlines, gave the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda a dream to call Crimea "the most magnificent medal on the breast of the Earth."

The figurative expression "Crimea Island" is also close to the truth. The thing is that only the Perekop Isthmus connects it with the land, the width of which narrows in places to only 7 km. And all transport highways in the Chongar Strait region are laid across the Sivash Bay on a dike and a bridge.

Sometimes, in old guidebooks, the Perekop Isthmus was compared with the Isthmus of Panama in its geographical significance, but instead of deep ocean waters, it is surrounded by shallow waters and viscous gray mud of the Rotten Sea (Sivash). In the distant revolutionary times, the isthmus was dug by a deep, up to 10 m, ditch, next to which an 8-meter high earthen rampart was built, up to 11 km long.

The almost "insular" geographical position of Crimea, surrounded by two - the Black and Azov seas, enhances the isolation of the peninsula, and is noticeably reflected in the features of its landscapes, flora and fauna. That is why not only many rare species are found here, but also endemic species found on Earth only in the Crimea.

The Crimea is also characterized by a circular (circum-island) distribution of climatic phenomena, which manifests itself in less precipitation, longer sunshine, the presence of breezes on the coast, which distinguishes them from the central parts of the peninsula. A special place of the peninsula is the Crimean Mountains, which form another internal "island" with their own special and unique features and characteristics.

The Crimean peninsula, located in the extreme east of the vast Mediterranean, is a connecting "bridge" connecting the East European Plain, Asia Minor and the Caucasus. Therefore, in the Crimea, there is a change in the areas of the geographical distribution of a number of plant and animal species, which gives originality to the flora and fauna of the peninsula.

The landscapes of the peninsula are also diverse, where vast flat plains alternate with dissected uplands, and in the south they are replaced by mountain ranges that abruptly drop off to the Black Sea. Due to the sublatitudinal location of the Crimean Mountains, even in a relatively small area of ​​the peninsula, there is a sharp contrast between the moderate steppe climate flat part and almost sub-Mediterranean on the southern coast of Crimea.

1.1 Relief and river network

Introduction

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is located within the boundaries of several physical and geographical regions, including about 50 landscapes. In the north of the peninsula lies the Crimean steppe province, which includes the natural-territorial complexes of the Crimean-Sivash low-lying fescue-feather grass steppe, the Central Crimean plain feather-grass-fescue-forb steppe and the Kerch hilly petrophytic-xerophytic grass-grass-grass-xerophytic grass-grass steppe.

Crimea is located within 44 ° 23 "(Cape Sarych) and 46 ° 15" (Perekop ditch) north latitude, 32 ° 30 "(Cape Karamrun) and 36 ° 40" (Cape Fonar) east longitude. The area of ​​the Crimean peninsula is 26.0 thousand km the maximum distance from north to south - 205 km, from west to east - 325 km.

A narrow eight-kilometer strip of land to the north (the Perekop Isthmus) connects Crimea with the continents, and 4 - 5 km - the width of the Kerch Strait in the east (the length of the strait is about 41 km) - separates it from the Taman Peninsula. The total length of the Crimean borders exceeds 2500 km (taking into account the extreme tortuosity of the northeast coastline). In general, the shores of the Crimea are little indented, the Black Sea forms three large bays: Karkinitsky, Kalamitsky and Feodosia; The Sea of ​​Azov also formed three gulfs: Kazantip, Arabat and Sivash.

The physical and geographical position of Crimea as a whole is distinguished by the following most characteristic features. First, the location of the peninsula at 45 ° north latitude determines its equidistance from the equator and the North Pole, which is associated with a fairly large amount of incoming solar energy and a large number of hours of sunshine. Secondly, Crimea is almost an island. Associated with this, on the one hand, is a large number of endemics (plant species that are not found anywhere except in this area) and endemics (similar animal species); on the other hand, this explains the significant impoverishment of the Crimean fauna; in addition, the climate and other components of nature are significantly influenced by the marine environment. Thirdly, the position of the peninsula in relation to the general circulation of the Earth's atmosphere is especially important, leading to the prevalence of westerly winds in Crimea. Crimea occupies a borderline position between the temperate and subtropical geographic zones.

This work consists of content, introduction, two chapters, conclusion, appendix, bibliography.

I. Physical and geographical features of Crimea

1.1 Relief and river network

The Crimean peninsula (Fig. 1) is surrounded on almost all sides by the sea from the south by the deep-water part of the Black Sea, from the west by the Evpatoria and Karkinitsky bays, and from the east by the Sea of ​​Azov. Along the northern and northeastern coast of Crimea stretches the Sivash - the gulf of the Sea of ​​Azov, characterized by a very indented coastline and dividing by the Chongar Peninsula into the Western and Eastern Sivash. The Sivash is cut off from the Sea of ​​Azov by a long braid - the Arabat arrow. The Crimean peninsula is connected to the mainland only by the narrow Perekop isthmus. The eastern end of Crimea is called the Kerch Peninsula, which is separated from the Tamansky Peninsula by the Kerch Strait.

By the nature of the relief, Crimea is divided into three main parts: the southern - mountainous, northern - flat and the Kerch Peninsula, which is distinguished by a peculiar hilly-ridge relief. The Crimean Mountains, which occupy the smaller, southern part of the Crimean Peninsula, stretch for 160 km along the Black Sea coast from Sevastopol in the west to Feodosia in the east, reaching a maximum width of 50-60 km. Within the mountainous Crimea, the following geographical parts are distinguished: the Main Ridge, the Southern Coast and the Foothill Ridges.

The main ridge of the Tauride Mountains stretches along the Black Sea coast from Cape Aya in the west to the Feodosia Gulf in the east. This is the highest strip of the Crimean Mountains, in the central part it reaches absolute heights of over 1500 m ( highest point Roman-Kosh 1543 m). To the west and east, the ridge gradually decreases. In the extreme west, it ends near Balaklava with the Karan heights (316 m), and in the east, near Feodosia, with the hilly heights of Cape Ilya (310 m). Geomorphologically, the main series is heterogeneous. Within its limits, three sections can be distinguished - western, middle and eastern.

The western low-mountain part of the range with heights from 316 to 1000 m is located between Cape Aya and Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla and has a length of about 30 km. Here the main ridge consists of a number of rocky ridges and intermontane basins. The heights of the ridges fluctuate within 600 - 700 m, the bottoms of the basins have marks of 300 - 350 m. The basins are interconnected by gorges or canyons. The largest intermountain basins are: Balaklava, Varnautskaya, Baydarskaya and Uzundzhinskaya.

The middle part of the Main rseries of the Crimean mountains of the Uzundzhinskaya depression to the valley of the river. Thanas is a series of high uplands known as the yaila: Ai-Petrinskaya, Yalta, Nikitskaya, Babuganskaya, Chatyrdagskaya, Demerdzhi-yayla (Fig. 2), Dolgorukovskaya and Karabi-yayla. The largest highlands reach a width of 10-12 km and a length of 20-30 km. They are separated from each other by narrow bridges or upper reaches of river valleys, the most famous passes are usually confined to these areas: Kebit-Bogazsky (600 m), Anra (762 m), Baydarsky gate (520 m), etc. Jurassic, they are distinguished by a very high degree of karst formation: there are many carrs, sinkholes, hollows, grooves, karst wells, mines, caves and other forms. The largest mines are: Molodezhnaya at Karabi-Yaila (depth 261 m) and No. 309 at Ai-Petrinskaya Yaila (depth 246 m). Among the most famous caves are the Red Cave (Kizil-Koba) with a length of 11250 m in the area with. Perevalnoe, as well as Thousand-headed and Cold caves on Chatyrdag.

The eastern part of the main ridge, stretching 75 km from the river valley. Thanas to the Feodosiya Gulf is a low mountain, dissected into many separate rocky ridges, small mountain ranges and rocks, separated by various kinds of depressions. The watershed consists of a series of peaks stretching along the sea, forming the Ayu-Kaya, Terkez, Perchem near Sudak and the Mandzhil ridge. The highest peak in eastern Crimea, Mount Kozya (688 m), is located east of Sudak. The main ridge ends with the picturesque Karadag group of mountains between Schebetovka and Planersky. Further to the east, up to Cape Ilya, the Tete-Oba hilly foothill ridge stretches. The northernmost mountain in the eastern part of Crimea is Agarmysh, at the foot of which there are mountains. Old Crimea.

All the rivers of the Crimean peninsula begin on the slopes of the Crimean Mountains, and some of them are completely located within their boundaries. In this regard, the mountainous Crimea is distinguished by a rather large density of the river network: on the northern slope of the Crimean rop, it is 0.24 km / km 2, and on the northwestern slope, 0.30 km / km 2.

According to their location and some hydrological characteristics, the rivers of the mountainous Crimea are divided into three groups: southern, northern and northwestern slopes.

The rivers on the southern slope of the Main Ridge are very short. The most significant of them are: p. Khostabash near Alupka, the Uchan-Su (Vodopadnaya) and Derekoyka (Bystraya) rivers flowing into the Yalta bay, the Avunda and Eastern Putamis rivers flowing into the Gurzufsky bay, the Alushta river or Ulu-Uzen West and the river. Demerdzhi, flowing into the sea near Alushta, r. Ulu-Uzen Vostochny near Solnechnogorsk, r. Uskut in the area with. Greetings, p. Raven near the village. Morskoe, Cydakskaya river within the city of Cydaka, Otuzka near the village. Crimean Primorye near Karadag.

The main ridge, formed in the upper part by fractured and karst limestones and well moistened, plays the role of an important catchment area for the rivers of the southern group. However, the rock layers composing this ridge fall to the north and northwest, therefore the surface, and also, obviously, the deep watersheds of the Crimean Mountains are very shifted to the south. All this determines the insignificant length of rivers in length, their small catchment areas, low water content, large slopes and flow rates. In some places, the rivers of the southern group form waterfalls: Uchan-Su on the river of the same name, Golovkinsky on the Alushta river, Dzhur-Dzhur on Ulu-Uzen Bostochny.

The rivers of the southern group also differ in the insignificant duration of spring floods. In conditions of warm and mild winters and in autumn, melting snow and rainfall often entail powerful rises in the level of rivers of this group.

The rivers of the northern slopes of the Crimean Mountains flow into the Sea of ​​Azov, more precisely into its Sivash Bay. This is the Salrir with its right tributaries: Maly Salgir, Zuya, Beshterek, Burulcha and Bolshoi Karasu, Tanas, then Vostochny Bulganak and Indol. The most full-flowing river in Crimea is Salgir.

The rivers of the northwestern slopes of the main ridge flow into the Black Sea on the western coast of Crimea. These are Western Bulganak, Alma, Kacha, Belbek, Black. All rivers in the mountainous Crimea are fed by numerous sources, most of them karst.

The northern and northwestern slopes of the Crimean mountain uplift are much wider and flatter than the southern. In this regard, the rivers here are longer, more significant drainage areas, smaller slopes, less rapid flow and more full-flowing.

The thinness of the snow cover, the high absorption of melt water by karst voids, which transfer the surface runoff to the underground, - all this determines the peculiarities of the feeding of the Crimean rivers. As a rule, they are among the rivers of mixed feeding, but with a predominance of rainfall, which accounts for 44-52% of the annual runoff. Groundwater provides 28-36% of the annual runoff, while snow supply accounts for 13-23% of the average annual runoff. The annual regime of the levels and discharges of the Crimean rivers is characterized by great variability.

Crimea relief climate geographic

The runoff of the most significant rivers is regulated: on the Salrir rivers near Simferopol, Biyuk-Karasu near Beloorsk, Alma near the village. Postal, Kacha near Bakhchisarai, Belbek near the village. Schaslyve, Chernaya in the Baydar Basin and others have been built reservoirs. Mudflows are observed in the river basins of the mountainous Crimea. This phenomenon is especially characteristic for the eastern part of the southern slope of the Main Ridge, where sometimes huge fanning cones are formed at the mouths of gullies and river valleys, which causes great damage and destruction to gardens, vineyards, and tobacco plantations.

The southern coast of Crimea is the lower, coastal, most gentle part of the southern slope of the Main Ridge from Cape Aia in the west to Planerskoro in the east. Its width is from 1 - 2 to 6 - 8 km, the maximum height is 400 - 450 m. The formation of the steep southern slope of the Krymsky Mountains was caused by the intensive uplifts of the recent geological time in the area of ​​the main ridge and the subsidence of the Black Sea bottom. The intrusive massifs prepared by denudation (Kuchuk-Ayu rocks near the village of Frunzenskoye and Kuchuk-Lambat between Gurzuf and Alushta, the Medved Mountain, or Ayu-Dag mountains, near Gurzuf and Kastel near Alushta, a small mountain range Pilyaki-Khyr near Simeiz and the difficult relief mountain group Karadag).

In the most picturesque western part, between the Baydar Gate and Alushta, where Alupka, Yalta, Gurzuf and most of the sanatoriums and resorts are located, the southern coast is very narrow. Between Alushta and Sudak, the mountains move away from the sea and a wide strip of small ridges and hills stretches along the coast. Near Sudak, rocky heights again approach the very coast. To the east, behind Cape Megan, near the Karadag and Koktebel bays, the coastal strip has an insignificant width, and at the foot of the Karadag it disappears altogether. Koktebel Bay is bordered from the east by a narrow, elongated into the sea cape Kiik-Atlama.

The southern coast is distinguished by great erosional dissection; its landscape is characterized by numerous gullies and ravines (Fig. 3), terraced river valleys, and erosional amphitheaters (Yalta, Gurzufsky, Alushta, etc.) well-defined in the western half of the South coast. Numerous limestone boulders are very typical of the South Shore, cluttering river valleys and ravines and often completely covering watershed areas. Separate limestone rocks are also distinguished (Sakharny traps in Laspinsky region, Isary rocks near the blue bay, Foros rocks, Koshka and Diva near Simeiz, Genuez in Gurzuf, etc.), mountain ranges (Laspi, Krestovaya near Alupka, Alchak, Sokol and Orel near Pike perch) and ridges (Mogabi mountain, Ai-Todorsky, Makkandrovsky and Nikitsky ridges). Landslide processes are widely developed on the southern coast, in some places there are landslide terraces, mounds and hollows. The nature of the coast along its entire length is abrasion-bay with sand-gravel-pebble beaches.

Foothill ridges border the main ridge from the north, stretching for about 120 km and reaching a width of 20-30 km. Altogether there are two cuesta ridges, the Predgornaya and Vneshnaya (formerly they were called the Second and Third ridges of the Crimean mountains), separated from each other and from the main ridge by depressions, which received the names of longitudinal valleys. The foothill ridge stretches from Inkerman in the west to the Staporo Crimea in the east. In the western part (near Bakhchisarai) the ridge reaches a height of 500 - 590 m, to the east of Simferopol it is weakly expressed, in the area of ​​Belogorsk its height increases again and reaches 739 m (Mount Kubalach). The southern, erosional slope of the Foothill Ridge is steep, highly dissected and often steep. In some places, completely isolated erosional remnants are observed, abruptly breaking off in all directions.

The outer ridge begins with Sapungora near Sevastopol and stretches to Simferopol. Further, it is poorly expressed and to the east it gradually disappears altogether. The ridge reaches its highest height (349 m) in the region of Bakhchisarai. Its southern slope is also steep, while the northern slope is gently sloping and, gradually lowering, merges with the plain stretching at the foot of the mountains. Its eastern continuation is the Parpach ridge of the Kerch Peninsula.

Longitudinal valleys, which are wide zones of depressions washed in loose Tertiary and chalk clays and marls, are fertile areas, many settlements, gardens and important roads are confined to them. The terraced river valleys crossing them expand here, while in the sections of the breakthrough of cuesta ridges, they often have a canyon-like character.

Plain Crimea is a relatively flat surface, gradually rising to the south, towards the Crimean Mountains. Here stand out: the West Crimean, East Crimean, Central, Tarkhankut and North Crimean plains.

The West Crimean lowland plain corresponds structurally to the Alma depression. Its border in the east generally coincides with the watershed between rivers and gullies that flow into the Black and Azov Seas, respectively. It is an almost flat, slightly dissected and slightly sloping plain to the sea, cut by shallow gullies and the lower reaches of the Belbek, Kacha, Alma, Western Bulganak rivers. There are many salt lakes in the coastal zone: Oybur, Salt, Mainak, Sasyk-Sivash, Saki, Kizil-Yarskoe and a number of smaller ones. The most big lake Lake Sasyk-Sivash, separated from the sea by a sandy embankment 13 km long and up to 1 km wide, is the Western Crimean Plain and the entire Crimea. Saki and Mainak lakes are widely known for their curative mud. The sea coast in the described area is generally flat, concave, with a slight break at Cape Lukul. To the north of Lake Kizyl-Yar, the coast is accumulative, low and gentle, to the south of this lake, it is abrasive, relatively high and steep.

The East Crimean lowland plain, which corresponds structurally to the Indola depression, is bounded in the west by the valley of the river. Big Karasu. The plain gradually descends to the north-east towards the Sivash. It is cut by fairly long beams originating at the northern foothills of the Crimean Mountains, as well as the valleys of the Salgir, Biyuk-Karasu, Eastern Bulganak, Mokryi and Sukhoi Indol, Churuk-Su, which usually dry up in summer, and others. River valleys are shallow, with weakly expressed terraces, with the exception of the floodplains, which are well developed and represent important agricultural land. In the coastal strip at an altitude of 1-3 m above sea level, an estuary-sea terrace with solonetzic soils is developed. The coast of the Eastern Sivash is low, abrasion-accumulative, but highly dissected.

The central elevated plain, structurally corresponding to the Simferopol uplift, is located in the central part of the Crimean peninsula. Its height gradually decreases from south to north, and the flat surface is complicated by the gullies and valleys of the Salgir and its tributaries (Zuya, Burulcha). In the river valleys, the modern floodplain and the first above the floodplain terraces are well expressed (the last in the Salgir valley reaches 1-2 km in width). The first terrace above the floodplain gradually and almost imperceptibly turns into a wide flat interfluve. Burial grounds and guard mounds are very characteristic of the landscape of the Central Plain.

The Tarkhankut elevated plain in the north is limited by the line Bakalskaya spit - with. Luxurious, in the east - the Chatyrlyk gully. In the south, its border runs north of Evpatoria. The relief of the Tarkhankut elevated plain is distinguished by great complexity: in the east is the East Tarkhankut plateau, reaching an altitude of 120-130 m, and in the western part in the relief there are four ridges replacing from south to north, separated by depressions. The surface of the plain is highly dissected: in the depressions there are long, winding and relatively gentle gullies, shorter and steep ravines cut through the slopes of the ridges. The shallow occurrence of Neogene limestones and their frequent outcrops on the surface of the earth cause a fairly wide development of karst (karr, ponory, saucers, small grottoes and caves). The karst content of limestones is different: in some places it manifests itself to a depth of several tens of meters, in others - up to 100-120 m, in the third - their entire thickness is karst.

In the coastal zone of the Tarkhankut upland plain, there are a number of estuary-type salt lakes: Dzharylgach, Bakalskoe, Panskoe, Liman and Donuzlav (Fig. 4). The last lake is a large body of water, stretching for more than 30 km in the northeastern direction and reaching a depth of over 25 m. The shores of the lake are meandering, mostly steep.

The shores of the Tarkhankut elevated plain are abrasive type, high (30-50 m), steep. The mechanical and dissolving effect of water led to a large dissection of the coastal cliff, the formation of stratal steps with a mass of various kinds of depressions, niches, grottoes and caves. Landslides are developed on the Dzhangul section of the coast, which stretches 5 km north of Cape Kapa-Murun (Fig. 5.6). At the base of the high (up to 60 m) coastal cliff, there are Sarmatian clays, along which the overlying limestones slide into the sea. Landslide circuses, terraces, boraxes, bulging shafts and block breaks are widely developed here.

The North Crimean lowland plain is bounded in the south by the line Bakalskaya spit - the city of Nizhnegorsk - the mouth of the Salgir. Structurally, it is the Sivash depression. It is a completely flat plain, gradually rising to the south. Geomorphologically, it is an area of ​​Pliocene and Quaternary accumulation. The retreat of the Sivash due to the rise of the lowland in the modern era led to the formation of a terrace 1.5-2.5 m above sea level, covered by estuary-marine sediments. The monotony of the lowland is somewhat disturbed by pods (steppe saucers), dry valleys and gullies Samarchik, Chatyrlyk, Stepnaya, Pobednaya, giving it a slightly undulating character in places. There are river terraces in the valleys of dry rivers. Dry rivers and large gullies flow into the narrow bays of the Sivash and Karkinitsky gulf, which are estuaries, i.e. estuarine parts of river valleys and gullies flooded by the sea. Lakes of the estuary type are a characteristic geomorphological element of the coastal zone, the largest and practically important of them are the lakes of the Perekop group (Staroye, Krasnoye, Kiyatskoye, Kerleutskoye, Aigulskoye). The lakes have a shape elongated from northwest to southeast, their shores are rather high and steep. Seashore the lowlands of the estuary type are very winding, low, precipitous, and in places gently sloping.

The Arabat arrow, separating the Sivash from the Sea of ​​Azov, is a narrow alluvial sand-shell barrage created by the activity of the surf and sea currents. In the southern part, its width is about 1 km, height is 4-5 m, to the north, the arrow expands significantly and consists of several former islands connected by barrows up to 20-25 m high.

Only in the southernmost part of the lowland Crimea, adjacent to the mountains, there is a rare river network, in the rest of the territory there are only ravines, gullies and dry rivers.

There is water in them only during snow melting and after showers. Therefore, for the flat Crimea, irrigation facilities are extremely important; at present, the construction of the Severe-Krymsky canal is underway there.

In the flat Crimea there are more than fifty salt lakes located near the coast.

According to geomorphological features, the Kerch Peninsula is divided into two regions: southwestern and northeastern. The border between these areas runs along the Parpachsky ridge, folded by limestones, going from the village. Vladislavovka to the east to the village. Marfovka and further with a bend to the south to Cape Opuk. Geographically, the ridge is a dump with usually gentle northern and steep southern slopes; in some cases it is barely visible in the relief, in others it takes the character of well-defined hills or a rather high scarp, very dissected by erosion.

The southwestern region is a wavy-hilly, erosion-denudation low-lying plain. Gentle hills and hills up to 50-80 m high (Dzhau-Tepe, Dyurmen) are divided here by usually flat-bottomed, often extensive depressions occupied by salt marshes.

There are small depressions of subsidence origin - pods, or if. The area is characterized by active mud hills. The largest of them is Jau-Tepe. The beams are shallowly incised, gently sloping, in the upper reaches they are often strongly ramified. On the coast, there are Quaternary sea terraces up to 20 m above sea level (Chaudinskaya).

The northeastern region is a hilly ridge plain with a complex combination of anticlinal basins surrounded by rocky limestone ridges and synclinal valleys separating them. Anticlinal basins are confined to the cores of anticlines, which are composed, in most cases, of easily eroded clays. Mud hills are a characteristic, rather widespread form of relief (Fig. 7). They are usually confined to anticlines, reach in places a relative height of 30-40 m and have a conical shape.

There are many salt lakes in the coastal area. The largest of them are Aktashskoe, Chokrakskoe, Churubashskoe, Tobechinskoe and others. On steep slopes, landslides are developed with well-pronounced separation walls and landslide bodies, sometimes tense. On the sea coast of the Kerch Peninsula, there are sections of a steep, abrasive and accumulative low-lying coast with sandy-pebble and sandy-shell beaches, spits and barrows.

1.2 Climate

Climate is one of the most important factors in the formation of landscapes. It determines the main regularity of the geography of landscapes - their wide zoning. The climate of most of the Crimea can be described as the climate of the temperate zone - mild steppe in the plains, more humid broad-leaved forest in the mountains. The southern coast of Crimea is characterized by a sub-Mediterranean climate of dry forests and shrubs.

The climate of any territory is formed by three interconnected atmospheric processes: heat exchange, moisture circulation and general atmospheric circulation. These processes take place in a specific geographic setting of the territory. Consequently, the characteristics of the climate, their distribution depend on these geographic factors. The main ones are: the geographical latitude of the place, the height above sea level, the distribution of land and sea, the relief (orography), the underlying surface of the landscape (vegetation, snow and other covers). A special place is occupied by human activity, which affects climate-forming processes by changing certain geographical factors. All factors, naturally, act simultaneously, and we separate them only for the convenience of study.

1.2.1 Geographical factors of climate

Geographic latitude mainly determines the mode of solar radiation. Geographic zoning in the distribution of climate elements depends on it.

The Crimean peninsula, located in the south of Ukraine, is provided with a lot of heat not only in summer, but also in winter.

The radiation regime mainly depends on the duration of the sunshine, which, in turn, is determined by the latitude and topography of the place, the cloudiness regime. Crimea is one of the sunniest regions of Ukraine. The annual duration of sunshine here varies from 2180 to 2470 hours. The maximum duration is in July (320-360 hours). It is especially great on a flat sea coast, where breeze winds prevent the formation of clouds (Evpatoria, 365 hours).

Crimea receives about 10% of the annual amount of radiation in winter, 30% in spring, 40% in summer and 20% in autumn. The unequal intensity of the total radiation during the year depends mainly on the change in the height of the sun, the length of the day, the amount and shape of clouds, the transparency of the atmosphere, as well as on the humidity, color and, accordingly, the reflective properties of the landscape surface (their albedo).

Although in spring Crimea receives one and a half times more heat from the sun than in autumn, nevertheless, spring is cooler than autumn. This is due to the large consumption of heat in spring for heating the soil, evaporating moisture from it, heating the upper layers of water cooled during the winter in the Azov and Black Seas. In autumn, much less heat is consumed for these purposes, and the air receives it additionally from the soil and water that have warmed up over the summer.

The total heat supply of a territory is determined by the value of its radiation balance, which is the difference between its absorbed total radiation and effective radiation. The radiation balance is positive if the underlying surface absorbs more heat than it loses, and negative if, on the contrary, this surface absorbs less heat than it gives to the surrounding space. In general, the radiation balance in Crimea is positive for the year. Only the monthly mean values ​​for December and January are negative on the yayls.

With height above sea level (in the mountains), the changes in the climatic properties of places are much greater than the changes associated with movement in latitude. A special mountain climate is created. With altitude, atmospheric pressure decreases, air transparency increases, and radiation is especially effective. For this reason, despite the increase in solar radiation with increasing altitude, the radiation balance, air temperature and the amplitude of its daily variation decrease. In Crimea, with an ascent for every 100 m, the radiation balance decreases by an average of 25 MJ / (year m2), and the air temperature - by 0.65 °. At the same time, the amount of atmospheric precipitation and, as a rule, the wind speed increase with height. For this reason, high-altitude climatic zoning is manifested in the mountains, which, in turn, determines the same zoning in the distribution of other components of landscapes, especially soil and vegetation cover.

The distribution of land and sea is connected, first of all, with the identification of types of climate, maritime and continental. The location of a place relative to the coastline to a large extent affects the temperature and humidity of the air, cloudiness and precipitation, and determines the degree of continentality of its climate. True, in this case, the position of the site in the conditions of the general circulation of the atmosphere also plays an important role.

Crimea is surrounded by the Black Sea, large in area (412 thousand km2), volume (537 thousand km3) and depth, and a small (about 38 thousand km2), with a volume of 300 km3, the shallow Sea of ​​Azov. At the same time, the peninsula is located among the large land area of ​​the northern half of the Eastern Hemisphere, which can also be called the Eastern continent. On the maps reflecting the degree of continentality of the climate of the regions of Southern Europe, Crimea, with the exception of the Sivash region, is located together with the coast of the eastern Mediterranean in the area outlined by the zero contour of continentality. Thus, the climate of almost the entire Crimea is less continental than even the climate of the waters of the Azov and northwestern Black Seas.

Large landforms (orography) have a large impact on the climate. Air currents are delayed and deflected by ridges, and meteorological fronts are deformed. In narrow passages between the ridges, the speed of air currents changes, and local mountain-valley winds arise. Over differently oriented slopes, unequal heating and cooling conditions are created, and therefore different modes of air and soil temperature. In connection with the overflow of air currents through the ridges on the windward slopes of the mountains, especially at the lower and narrower saddles, passes, conditions for an increase in cloudiness and precipitation are formed. On the leeward slopes, on the contrary, there are hair dryers with higher temperatures and lower air humidity. Over the heated slopes of the mountains, air convection increases and, consequently, cloud formation.

Warm air coming to Crimea from the south, due to the significant size of the vertical thickness, relatively freely penetrates through the low Crimean mountains into the steppe regions of the peninsula. When cold dense arctic air, which, on the contrary, has a small vertical thickness, invades, the mountains prevent its penetration to the southern coast. Consequently, for the South Coast, the most pillar is the protective role of the Crimean Mountains from the Arctic cold in winter. This can be seen from a comparison of the air temperature in the central part of the lowland Crimea (Krasnogvardeyskoe), where it is - 2 ° in January, and + 4 ° in Yalta, and its absolute minimum in the first point reached - 33 °, and in the second - 15 °.

If there were no mountains in the Crimea, then the South Coast would not differ much from the steppe coast of the Black and Azov Seas. Consequently, the Crimean Mountains are associated not only with the great differences in the climates of the South Coast and the rest of the peninsula, but also with significant landscape differences in these territories as a whole. At the same time, the role of the height of the Crimean Mountains is not so much important as their general direction from west to east, parallel to the coast.

On the formation of the climate big influence renders the underlying surface, i.e. the surface with which solar radiation and the atmosphere interact. So, the temperature of the soil and surface air also depends on the vegetation and snow cover. A dense grass cover reduces the daily amplitude and average temperature of the soil, and, consequently, the air. A large contrast during the daytime solar heating and nighttime cooling in summer is characteristic of the surfaces of loose dark soil, asphalted areas, pebble beaches.

The forest has a more significant, unique and complex influence on the climate, which allows many scientists to talk about its special phytoclimate. Crohn not only supports solar radiation, but also changes its spectral composition, absorbing most of the ultraviolet rays. At night, the forest retains the outgoing long-wave thermal radiation, which noticeably changes the temperature of the soil and air above its canopy. In summer, in the Crimean forest, the air temperature during the day is often 2-3 °, and the soil is even 25-30 ° lower than in an open place. In winter, the average monthly air temperature is higher in the forests by 0.2-0.5 °, and in the parks of the South Coast - by 1.5-2 °.

In the warm season, under the forest canopy, there is usually a higher air humidity. At noon in a pine forest, it is often higher by 4-5%, in a beech forest by 9-10%, in parks - by 3-7% than in open areas. The crowns of trees intercept atmospheric precipitation. The proportion of intercepted precipitation depends on the type of forest and its completeness. Coniferous trees usually retain more precipitation than deciduous ones. They account for up to 50-55%, and deciduous about 35% of the amount of precipitation in the open.

The forest is also a good accumulator of moisture. During the slow melting of snow during rains, the forest soil absorbs a lot of water, which then significantly affects the supply of sources and rivers. One hectare of Crimean mountain forest can transfer subsurface runoff up to 5-6 thousand cubic meters. m of water. The forest greatly reduces the wind speed. In the depths of even a forest devoid of foliage, its speed is often reduced by more than two times in comparison with an open area.

Snow cover reduces soil heat loss and temperature fluctuations. The very surface of the cover strongly reflects solar radiation during the day and is very cooled by radiation at night. In spring, a lot of surface air heat is spent on melting the snow cover, but the soil is enriched with moisture.

Man influences nature and climate through his economic activities. The result of this impact is predominantly negative. The decline in forest area is particularly important. Over the past 1000 years, in the world, they have decreased by 50-70%, and in the Crimea - by about one and a half times.

On large areas, a decrease in solar radiation is also due to atmospheric pollution by industrial enterprises, transport, which throw into the air a large amount of impurities (aerosols) consisting of fuel combustion products and dust. Every year, their total mass in the world is over 4 billion g. From fuel combustion, about 20 billion tons of carbon dioxide comes into the Earth's atmosphere, which, as many scientists believe, may significantly increase the air temperature in the future. As a result, the melting of ice will intensify (primarily in the Arctic and Antarctic), the level of the World Ocean will rise (flooding of the most habitable low-lying areas of the Earth, etc.).

Observations from satellites show that about 10-15% of the surface of the World Ocean (which corresponds approximately to the area of ​​Eurasia - 53 million km2) is simultaneously covered with an oil film. It also reduces evaporation from the water surface by about 10%. Due to such anthropogenic pollution of the World Ocean, evaporation from its surface, according to scientists, is reduced by about 5000 km3 of water, which, naturally, affects its flow to land, including the Crimea.

Along with this, people in some places improve the climate by irrigation, planting forests, forest belts and other land reclamation measures. Thanks to them, the albedo of the underlying surface decreases, the air becomes humidified, the temperature of the soil decreases in summer, etc.

1.2.2 Atmospheric circulation

In general, the western zonal air transport prevails over the peninsula, which is largely overlapped by large atmospheric eddies - cyclones and anticyclones, which, in turn, produce interlatitudinal air exchange. The activity of meteorological processes is determined, therefore, by cyclonic activity - the emergence, development and movement of cyclones and anticyclones in the atmosphere. In turn, this activity depends on the interaction of pressure zones called centers of action of the atmosphere. A cyclone is an atmospheric vortex with a lower center pressure and wind directed counterclockwise towards its center in the northern hemisphere. An anticyclone is an area of ​​high atmospheric pressure with a clockwise wind from the center (in the northern hemisphere).

Atmospheric circulation over Crimea has its own characteristics. Compared to the central and northern regions of Ukraine, atmospheric processes are less active here, cyclonic activity is weaker, anticyclones are more pronounced, especially in the summer season. They erode atmospheric fronts and promote the formation of air masses with local properties.

The greatest probability of precipitation in Crimea occurs when continental and marine tropical air (especially in the autumn-winter season), as well as sea air of the temperate zone, enters. Droughts and dry winds most often occur under conditions of the formation of powerful anticyclones and when continental tropical air enters from Asia Minor. The intensity and frequency of these dangerous weather phenomena in Crimea is highly dependent on local conditions.

The greatest amount of precipitation falls in the Crimea during the passage of meteorological fronts of cyclones. Scientists have calculated that from March to October 152 thousand km3 of moisture enter the airspace of the Crimea, and from November to February - 230.4 thousand km cold - 15.5%. Consequently, less precipitation falls in Crimea in winter than in summer. Precipitation is on average 27.6% of the amount of moisture contained in airspace Crimea throughout the year. Having studied the ways of influencing meteorological processes, it is possible to significantly increase this share. The reserve for increasing the volume of moisture re-entrapment is quite sufficient.

Features of the geographical location of Crimea determine special treatment circulation processes above it, on which the weather depends, and the meteorological elements forming the weather (according to the seasons of the year).

In winter, over the southern part of Ukraine in the latitudinal direction, you often establish an axis of high atmospheric pressure (two maxima - the Asian and Azores ones are connected), and over the Black Sea - a zone of low pressure. As a result, the Crimea is often invaded by cold and dry continental air of temperate latitudes or arctic air. It is associated with sharp drops in air temperature and the frequent recurrence of strong northeastern winds, especially in the steppe and northeastern part of the mountainous Crimea. In the same season, cyclones from the Mediterranean relatively often come here, in the warm sectors of which the marine tropical air moves. Mediterranean cyclones tend to linger in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. As a result, warm air affects primarily the southwestern part of the mountainous Crimea. As a result, winter in Crimea is relatively humid everywhere, with frequent precipitation and little evaporation. Due to frequent thaws in winter, the air temperature fluctuates greatly, and the snow cover is unstable and thin.

Spring in Crimea proceeds quickly, thanks to an increase in the height of the sun and the length of the day, a decrease in cloudiness due to the spread of the Azores anticyclone fort here and the influx of warm southern air. In the interior regions of Crimea, a significant increase in air temperature is observed already from February to March, and on the sea coast, spring is delayed by 1.5-2 months due to the cooling effect of the sea, especially the Sea of ​​Azov. Spring is the driest and windiest season of the year. In spring, there are often "returns of cold weather" with night frosts, morning frosts, especially in depressions and river valleys of the foothills, which negatively affects early flowering stone fruit trees and thermophilic grapes.

In summer, an anticyclonic field with small values ​​of pressure drop is established over the south of Ukraine and the Black Sea. Due to this, the Crimea is dominated by clear, hot and slightly windy weather with local breezes and mountain-valley and slope winds. Due to the fact that the continental air of temperate latitudes is transformed here into the local tropical air, dry weather prevails in the Crimea.

Summer precipitation is brought to Crimea by sea air masses of temperate latitudes and Atlantic cyclones. Abundant, intense, but most often short-term rains fall. If tropical air is established for a long time, then thermal thunderstorms and also short-term precipitation develop.

The summer type of atmospheric circulation begins in the second half of May and continues until the end of September. Thus, the summer in Crimea lasts 4-5 months.

Autumn in Crimea is the best season of the year. The weather is calm, sunny and moderately warm. Autumn is 2-3 ° warmer than spring in the central regions and by 4-5 ° in the coastal regions, which is primarily due to the influence of the seas and the preservation of the anticyclone over the Crimea.

A sharp change in weather occurs, as a rule, in the second half of November due to the change of the summer type of atmospheric circulation to the winter one.

1.2.3 Characteristics of meteorological elements

One of the main elements of the climate is air temperature. In Crimea, the annual change in air temperature almost coincides with the change in the inflow of solar radiation. Average monthly air temperatures mainly vary from north to south, with the exception of the South Coast, where the change occurs to the east and west. Most often, the coldest month is January or February, especially on the seaside. Lowest average temperature(-4 °) in January is observed in the mountains, and the highest (about 5 °) - on the SCC. The highest average monthly temperature most often occurs in July, when it reaches 23-24 ° in most of the peninsula, and 16 ° in the mountains.

During the day, the lowest temperatures are observed before sunrise, and the highest - at 12-14 hours. The highest daily air temperatures are in valleys and pits (especially in the foothills) with difficult air flow, and the lowest are in elevated places with good air exchange. Breeze winds reduce daytime temperatures and increase nighttime temperatures, as a result of which the daily amplitude at the seaside is less than far from the sea. At a distance of 10-15 km from the sea coast, the daily amplitude of the air temperature increases by 1.5-2 times. In all months, temperature amplitudes can reach 20-26 ° in the steppe, and 15-20 ° in the rest of the Crimea. During calm and clear weather, the daily amplitude is almost twice as large as during cloudy and windy.

The minimum air temperature in Crimea is observed during the invasion of the continental arctic air. The absolute minimum air temperature occurs mainly in January - February. It is in the central part of the steppe - 30. - 32, and in the foothills - up to - 35. - 37.

A decrease in air or soil temperature to 0 ° and below during the period of a generally positive temperature is called frost. They occur, as a rule, at night or early morning hours in clear calm weather as a result of intense radiation cooling of the underlying surface. The most frosty are the valleys and peaks of the Crimean mountains (150-160 days), and the least - the South Coast (frost-free 240-260 days).

According to the average dates of the stable transition of the average daily air temperature through 0 ° and 15 °, the year is conventionally divided into climatic seasons.

Summer is considered to be the period limited by the dates of the transition of the average daily air temperature through 15 °. First of all, summer begins on the South Coast - at the end of the first decade of May, and last of all - in the mountains - the first decade of July (Ai-Petri). However, approximately in every third year, such a stable transition of air temperature in the mountains is not observed, i.e. there is no summer season. Summer in Crimea is the longest season, it lasts from 150-160 days on the South Coast of Crimea to 130-140 days on the rest of the peninsula, except for the mountains.

Air humidity is an integral part of the water balance of the atmosphere. Cloud formation and precipitation largely depend on its value. The main source of air enrichment with moisture is the water of the seas and oceans, which, evaporating from their surface, in the form of water vapor is carried by air currents to various regions of the Earth.

Distinguish between absolute and relative air humidity. Absolute humidity is the amount of water vapor contained in a unit volume of air (expressed in grams per 1 m 3 of air). The health and well-being of people, the conditions for growing plants are significantly influenced not by the absolute, but by the relative humidity of the air, which is the ratio of the actual content of water vapor in the air to its maximum possible content at a given temperature (expressed as a percentage). Annual and daily changes in relative humidity are opposite to changes in air temperature. The lowest relative humidity is in summer and highest in winter.

Of particular interest are information about the relative humidity at 13 o'clock, when its values ​​are approaching a minimum. The days when it reaches 80% or more at this time are usually referred to as wet, and those days on which it drops to 30% or less are very dry. In the winter months, the midday relative humidity in Crimea varies from 60% in the foothills to 65-76% in the rest of the territory, and in summer from 40-44% in the steppe and foothills to 50-55% on the sea coast and on the yayls. In the Crimea, in the summer months, because of the dry air, vacationers feel much better than, for example, on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, where at this time the relative humidity of the air at noon rises to 70-75% and higher.

Along with air temperature, precipitation is an important element of the climate. Due to the complex relief structure and the peculiarities of atmospheric circulation, they are distributed very unevenly over the territory of Crimea - from 250 mm per year in the steppe to 1000 mm or more in the mountains. Most of the peninsula is characterized by insufficient moisture, especially the sea coast, where precipitation falls by 100-150 mm less than even in the central regions of the blind.

The conditions for the distribution of precipitation over the peninsula largely depend on the Crimean mountains, which, although not high, nevertheless contribute to the intensification of thermal and dynamic turbulence (vortex movement) of the air, its rise and the formation of a mountain mode of humidification.

The peculiarities of circulation and the joint influence of the Crimean Mountains and the Black Sea determine the formation of a subtropical (sub-Mediterranean) climate zone, especially in the southwestern part of the peninsula. Here, on the South Coast, although approximately as much (430-550 mm) precipitation falls per year as in the steppe regions, most of them, as in the Mediterranean countries, fall on the cold period. They are associated with Mediterranean winter cyclones.

In addition to the uneven distribution of precipitation across the peninsula, their amount fluctuates sharply from year to year. With an average value of 340-425 mm, their annual amount varies in the steppe regions from 115-250 to 490-720 mm, in the foothills at 450-490 mm - from 190-340 to 715-870 mm, on the South Bank at 430-550 mm - from 160-280 to 1030 mm, in western yayls at 960 mm from 410 to 1650 mm. For the normal growth of most plants in the main areas of the peninsula, an amount of precipitation of at least 500 mm per year is required.

Precipitation is unevenly distributed throughout the seasons. So, in the steppe and foothill Crimea, their maximum falls on June - July, on the South Coast and in the southern part of the mountains - in January or December, on the western and eastern coasts, precipitation falls relatively evenly throughout the year.

In Crimea, on average, 80-85% of the annual precipitation falls in the form of rain. The share of solid precipitation is less than 10%, and mixed - 5-8%. In the mountains, the proportion of liquid precipitation decreases with height. So, on Ai-Petri they are only 49%.

The number of days with rains ranges from 80-130 in the steppe regions to 150-170 in the mountains. Summer in Crimea is observed no more than 5-10 days with rains per month. However, extremely heavy rainfalls are common. During downpours in the ravines, on the rivers, there are often large mud-stone streams, which rush at the speed of a train and reach a height of 23 m in the narrow places of the channels. They cause great destruction: they destroy bridges, erode roads, wash away the fertile soil layer, or deposit powerful sediments in gardens, vineyards, etc. Mudflows can occur on almost any river or gully of the mountainous Crimea, but most often they occur in the area between Alushta and Sudak.

The unequal distribution of precipitation in winter over the territory of Crimea also determines the uneven distribution of the snow cover. Since the winters in Crimea are relatively warm, with frequent thaws, there is no stable winter cover in most of the peninsula in eight out of ten winters. Snow cover is stable only in the mountains, where the duration of its occurrence on average lasts 70-90 days, with fluctuations from year to year from 30 to 150 days. In the flat and foothill Crimea, a stable snow cover, lasting at least a month, occurs only in snowy winters. The total number of days with snow cover is 20-30 in the steppe, and about 40 days in the foothills. The smallest number on the coast is only 10-20 days.

Wind, or the movement of air relative to the earth's surface, is also an important meteorological element. It is characterized by speed (m / s or in conditional points) by correcting where it is blowing. The movement of air from place to place occurs under the influence of the difference in atmospheric pressure, friction force.

The frequency of occurrence of the directions and speed of winds in Crimea is predominantly influenced by the spur of the Azores anticyclone in the warm season, and by the Asian anticyclone in the cold season. Large changes in atmospheric pressure occur during the approach of cyclones and active atmospheric fronts to the Crimea, especially during cold winters. By the way, sharp fluctuations in pressure during the day exacerbate cardiovascular diseases in not completely healthy people.

Throughout the year, winds of the north-east, south-west and north-west directions prevail in Crimea. In winter, the frequency of northeastern winds is 45%, southwestern 25%, and southerly up to 20%. During late autumn and winter, very strong northeastern winds often last 270-325 hours per month. During these winds, the air temperature is usually 8-10 ° lower than with winds from other directions. In cases when northeastern winds are accompanied by the invasion of Arctic air, severe cold snaps occur in the Crimea.

In the spring, due to the weakening of cyclonic activity in the steppe Crimea, northeastern and northwestern winds blow equally often, and southern ones on the Black Sea coast. In May, the frequency of northeastern winds gradually decreases due to the intensification of the action of the spur of the Azores anticyclone. From June to mid-August, weak westerly and northwesterly winds usually prevail, lasting up to 300-350 hours per month.

In addition to directions, the characteristics of wind speeds are important. The highest wind speeds are observed in late winter - early spring, and the lowest in summer. In winter, average speeds are 7 m / s or more in the mountains, 6 m / s on the western and eastern coasts, 3 m / s on the South Coast of the Crimea, and less than 3 m / s in the protected valleys and basins of the foothills. In summer, even on Ai-Petri and Karabi-Yaila, the average wind speeds do not exceed 5 m / s.

Strong winds or storms (more than 15 m / s) are repeated an unequal number of times in different regions of Crimea. During the year, in the foothills, they usually last 10-17 days, on the southern coast - 20-24, on the western coast - up to 40, in the central steppe regions - 12-28, and on the tops of the mountains - 80-85 days.

Hurricanes (winds over 34 m / s) are formidable natural phenomena. In Crimea, they usually occur during prolonged storm winds of the northeastern direction, less often during southwestern storms. Such winds uproot trees, tear off poorly reinforced roofs, cut off power lines, etc.

In addition to the winds of the general circulation of the atmosphere, local winds are also observed in Crimea: breezes, mountain-valley and hair dryers.

Breezes blow during the day from sea to land (sea breezes), at night, on the contrary, from land to sea (coastal breezes). Most often (17-18 days a month) breezes blow in July and August. In the evening, in the period between the change in the direction of the breezes, a complete calm is often established, lasting for 2-3 hours. This is the best time for evening walks. The speed of these winds does not exceed 6-7 m / s during the day and 5 m / s at night. Only in Evpatoria and Kerch the speed of the sea breeze sometimes reaches 9 m / s. Sea breezes extend into the depths of the lowland Crimea by 20-30 km, and into the depths of the southern coast - by 2-4 km. On hot days, sea breezes sometimes lower the air temperature on the coast by more than 15-16 ° compared to the temperature 10 km from the coast.

Mountain-valley winds, like breezes, blow upward during the day and down the valley at night. On the South Coast, breezes are superimposed on mountain-valley winds. The speed of mountain-valley winds during the day is within 3-7 m / s, and at night - only 1-2 m / s. The streams of the mountain-valley cool air of forests saturated with phytoncides in summer have an extremely beneficial effect on humans.

In the Crimean mountains in winter or spring, a warm and dry dry wind is often formed. The relative humidity of the air sometimes drops to only 8%. Hair dryers last from several hours to 2-3 days. They are especially frequent in Simeiz.

Dust storms sometimes occur in the steppe Crimea. They appear during dry and windy weather in almost all months of the year. They worsen the sanitary and hygienic conditions of cities, damage crops of agricultural crops, carry away the upper part of the arable horizon from the fields and fill orchards, vineyards, forest belts, etc. with fine earth.

Depending on the relief conditions (plains, mountain ranges, river valleys, slopes of different exposures, etc.), mesoclimates (local climates) are formed - climates of large territories (in diameter from several kilometers to the first tens of kilometers), created under the influence of mesorelief forms due to a change incoming solar radiation, air temperature, precipitation, etc.

So, in the deep mountain valleys (the upper and middle part of the valleys of the Chernaya, Belbek, Kacha, Alma, Salgir, Biyuk-Karasu rivers, etc.), cold air accumulates, less solar energy is supplied due to shading by neighboring ridges. The slopes of the ridges, oriented to the south, are warmer, and oriented to the north - in reverse. There are breezes in the coastal areas. In cities there are more fogs, less duration of solar sowing, the temperature is 1-2 C higher.

The climate of most of the Crimea can be described as the climate of the temperate zone - mild steppe in the plains, more humid, characteristic of deciduous forests in the mountains. The southern coast of Crimea is characterized by a sub-Mediterranean climate. The main factors that affect the climate of the peninsula are two: the Crimean mountains and the proximity of the sea. In winter, it plays the role of a huge "heating pad", and in summer it somewhat reduces the heat.

There are many intermediate options between these types of climates. For example, in the Foothills (Simferopol, Zuya, Belogorsk) the climate is transitional from steppe to mountain-forest - it can be called foothill forest-steppe.

In the plain Crimea, the climate is steppe, moderately continental, dry: cool winters (average January temperature from - 3 to 0 С) and hot summers (average temperature in July from +21 to +23 С) Amount of precipitation - 350 - 450 mm / year, and most of them fall in the summer as showers.

Differences are observed between the climates of the coastal territories (Chernomorskoye, Evpatoria, Kerch) and the central part of the peninsula (Krasnogvardeyskoye, Dzhankoy, Pervomayskoye, etc.); in the coastal part, the relative humidity of the air, the intensity of solar radiation, less cloudiness and the amount of precipitation are higher. This climate can be called a seaside steppe.

In the foothill part (Simferopol, Belogorsk), the amount of precipitation increases to 500-600 mm / year, summer temperatures decrease.

In the mountains, a decrease in summer and winter temperatures occurs, and the amount of precipitation increases. For every 100 m of altitude, the temperature decreases by an average of 0.5.0.6 о С, the amount of precipitation increases by 50-70 mm / year. Therefore, on the yayls, the average monthly winter temperatures are up to - 4. - 5 о С, and the amount of precipitation is 1000-1500 mm / year.

The South Coast is of the greatest climatic interest. This is the only place in Ukraine with a sub-Mediterranean, in other words - almost Mediterranean climate. Winters are mild here, with freezing temperatures.

The climate of Yalta is cooler in comparison with the points located on the Mediterranean Sea. This is especially true in winter, in Yalta, frosts sometimes occur up to -15 o C. Such low temperatures limit the possibility of growing subtropical crops.

In Crimea, there are several hundred varieties of local climates.

The climate in the Salgira valley, for example, differs from the climate on the cuesta ridges by higher daytime temperatures and lower nighttime temperatures. Valley winds often blow here, bringing cool air from the mountains.

A specific climate is formed in the Baydar Valley. This part of the Chernaya River valley is hollow, therefore, in calm weather, cold air accumulates in it, flowing down from the slopes of the surrounding mountains. As a result, the absolute minimum air temperature in the valley is lower than in the adjacent areas.

Local climates are also formed due to hair dryers, breezes, mountain-valley winds. The influence of breezes is especially pronounced in Crimea. They occur in summer and are associated with uneven heating of the land and sea: during the day the wind blows from the sea to the land, and at night - vice versa. Breezes can be considered as microanalogues of the Asian monsoons, only there the mainland (Asia) and the ocean (Pacific) interact, and the wind direction changes in summer and winter. Breezes on the coast soften the summer midday and afternoon heat. The location of Crimea within the territory with the maritime climate variant of the Eastern Mediterranean makes its climatic conditions quite comfortable. Even in Simferopol, located not on the coast, but in the central part of the peninsula, the climate is much more comfortable for humans compared to the same latitudes (45) of the Eastern Hemisphere (with colder winters and a contrasting climate in the seasons of the year) and Western (where the summers are comparatively cooler). ). Here are some climate "records" for the Crimean peninsula over the past 150-200 years:

· The highest temperature in summer - an absolute maximum (+ 40.7 C) - was recorded in August 1930 in the village of Klepinino.

· The lowest temperature in winter - the absolute minimum (-36.8 C) - was recorded in January 1940 in the village of Nizhnegorsky.

The coldest and snowiest winter was 1953-1954, when the temperature kept below -10 C for almost 50 days.

· The warmest was the winter of 1965-1966, when there was no snow at all on the yayls, and in Simferopol the thaw lasted for almost three months.

· The maximum amount of precipitation - 1718 mm - was recorded in 1981 at Ai-Petri.

· The drought of 1947 was the longest, when even in the mountains it did not rain for almost 100 days.

· The maximum number of foggy days (not only in Crimea, but also in Ukraine) is observed on Ai-Petri (in 1970 - 215 days).

· The windiest point not only in Crimea, but also in Ukraine - Ai-Petri (in 1949 the wind at a speed of over 15 m / s blew here for 125 days). Ai-Petri also recorded the highest wind speed - 50 m / s.

1.3 Land cover

Crimea is distinguished by a wide variety of soils and vegetation, which is directly dependent on the features of the geological structure, the variety of parent rocks, relief and climate. A characteristic feature of the distribution of the soil-vegetation cover of the mountainous Crimea is the existence of vertical zonation. Brown and partly brown forest soils are developed on the southern coast. Brown soils are common under dry sparse forests and shrubs and are formed on clay shales of the Taurida series and red-colored weathering products of limestones; brown forest is typical for less dry places.

The vegetation of the South Coast is distinguished by its xerophytic character, richness of Mediterranean forms and many alien cultural forms. The most common are the formations of forests, shrubs and thickets of dry-loving grasses and dwarf shrubs. The forests are undersized and formed by a fluffy oak, tree juniper, wild pistachio, Crimean pine, hornbeam, wild strawberry. Shrub thickets, which are an analogue of the Eastern Mediterranean shiblyak, consist of shrubby forms of fluffy oak, hornbeam, grip-tree, scumpia, sumach, scaly pear, dogwood, iris, cistus, etc. Open, dry and stony areas are covered with semi-woody grasses. Crimean analogue of the East Mediterranean Freegans. The parks are home to cypresses, cedars, spruces, pines, sequoias, firs, laurels, magnolias, palms, cork oaks, plane trees, and Lankaran acacias.

Vineyards, orchards and tobacco plantations are also characteristic of the South Coast landscape.

Orographic and climatic differences of 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 gullies. Due to the low-mountainous relief and its great fragmentation, the vertical zoning of the soil-vegetation cover is poorly expressed here. Forests of fluffy oak, arboreal juniper, wild pistachio (kevo tree) with an underbrush of hornbeam, dogwood, hold-tree and thorn prevail. Stunted juniper forests grow on rocky soils and rocky areas. Higher on the slopes, more tall-stemmed mixed deciduous forests of beech, oak, hornbeam, and ash grow. Lots of wild grapes and ivy. The valleys and hollows are characterized by herbaceous meadow-steppe vegetation. To a greater extent, the hollows have been 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. The vertical vegetation zoning is quite well expressed here.

The lower part of the northern slope of the Main Ridge is occupied by a low-stemmed oak forest, which is heavily sparse. The forest is formed mainly by fluffy and rocky oak and partly by pedunculate oak. In the undergrowth, dogwood and hornbeam. Occasionally there are small areas of pine, oak-pine and juniper forests. The open areas of the slope are occupied by forest and steppe herbaceous vegetation, which has already penetrated here (sealer, kupena, forest bluegrass, fragrant woodruff, feather grass, fescue, wheat grass, etc.). Higher up the slope (up to 600 m) there is a tall oak forest with an admixture of ash, field maple, aspen, and large-fruited mountain ash. In the underbrush, hornbeam, dogwood, hazel, buckthorn, hawthorn, scumpia. Even higher (from 600 to 1000 m) a tall-trunked 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 tree-like juniper groves and single yews. At altitudes above 1000 m, there is already a stunted 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 800-1,000 m, there is a Crimean pine forest. Fluffy oak and arboreal and shrub juniper are found as an admixture. To the east of Gurzuf, the distribution of the Crimean pine is already of an insular nature, and to the east of Alushta, only individual specimens of this tree are found. Pine forests give way here to forests of fluffy oak, hornbeam, treelike juniper, wild pistachio and dogwood. Above 1000 m there is a forest of beech, Scots pine and partly Crimean pine, oak, maple, linden, hornbeam.

Yayly, as a rule, are treeless and covered with herbaceous meadow-steppe vegetation on mountain chernozems and mountain-meadow chernozem-like soils. The eastern part of the Main Ridge is characterized by low-stemmed sparse forests of oak, beech, ash, hornbeam and shrub thickets of dogwood, hawthorn, hold-tree, skumpia on brown mountain forest soils and steppe varieties of mountain brown soils.

The foothills are occupied by a forest-steppe with a mosaic alternation of treeless (steppe) and forest areas. Soils are calcareous chernozems, crushed soddy-calcareous and brown soils. Treeless areas are characterized by herbaceous grasses and herbs: feather grass, fescue, wheatgrass, wheatgrass, saffron, adonis or spring adonis, sage, peon, yarrow, immortelle, etc. They are mostly plowed and developed for fields, vineyards, tobacco plantations and - oil-bearing plants. Orchards and vineyards are widespread in the river valleys. Forest areas consist of low-growing trees, forest bushes (downy oak, rocky and pedunculated oak, field maple, ash, elm, hazel and dogwood). Shrubs include scumpia, hawthorn, blackthorn, wild rose, buckthorn, etc.

In the central part of the lowland Crimea and in the northeastern part of the Kerch Peninsula, heavy loamy and clayey southern chernozems are widespread. These soils were formed on loesslike rocks under thinned grass vegetation and contain little humus (3-4%). Due to the peculiarities of their mechanical composition, the southern chernozems float during the rain, and when they dry, they become crusty, however, despite this, they are still the best soils of the plain Crimea. With the right agricultural equipment, southern chernozems can provide good harvests of grain and industrial crops, grapes. The southern part of the lowland Crimea adjacent to the mountains and partly the northeastern region of the Kerch Peninsula is characterized by slightly humus carbonate chernozems.

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 of saline groundwater on loesslike rocks. The humic content in these soils is only 2.5-3%. Chestnut soils are also characteristic of the southwestern region of the Kerch Peninsula, where they formed on saline Maikop clays. With proper farming techniques, chestnut soils can provide fairly high yields for a variety of crops.

On the low-lying coast of the Sivash and Karkinitsky Bay, where groundwater is very close to the surface and is highly saline, salt licks and salt marshes are developed. Similar soils are also found in the southwestern region of the Kerch Peninsula. The natural vegetation cover of the plain Crimea was a typical steppe. In the herbage, the main background was sod grasses: various feathery feather grass, feather grass (tyrsa), fescue (or steppe fescue), tonkonog, steppe keleria (or kipts), wheatgrass. Forbs were represented by sage (wilted and Ethiopian), kermek (Tatar and Sarepta), alfalfa yellow, spring adonis, katran steppe, yarrow, etc. A characteristic element were plants of a short spring growing season - ephemera (annual species of fires, barley and hare and etc.) and ephemeroids (tulips, steppe irises, etc.). Considerable areas were occupied by the so-called deserted steppe on chestnut-type soils. Along with the predominant grasses (fescue, wheatgrass, tyrsa, etc.), Crimean wormwood was very widespread there as a result of increased grazing. Ephemerals and ephemeroids were also quite characteristic.

Petrophytic (rocky) steppe is located on the stony-gravelly slopes of the ridges and hills of the Tapkhankut and Kerch peninsulas. Here, along with grasses (feather grass, fescue, wheatgrass, etc.), xerophytic dwarf shrubs (wormwood, Dubrovnik, thyme) are widespread. There are shrubs of wild rose, hawthorn, blackthorn, etc.

Saline vegetation (sarsazan, saltros, sveda) is widespread on the saline soils of the coast of the Karkinitsky Bay, Sivash and the southwestern part of the Kerch Peninsula. On drier and less saline soils, grasses grow there (volosnets, ratites, riparian).

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

II. Ecological problems of Crimea

Crimea is characterized by a wide variety of natural conditions and landscapes, which are associated with its geographical position and complex geological and geomorphological structure. The diversity of landscapes was facilitated by long-term anthropogenic impact, which led to both the degradation of many natural landscapes and the formation of completely new anthropogenic landscapes. Currently, natural, poorly transformed landscapes occupy only 2.5% of the territory of Crimea. These are mountain deciduous forests, mountain forest-steppe on yayls, salt marshes and halophytic meadows of the Sivash region and the Kerch Peninsula. Most of the territory of the peninsula (62%) is developed for constructive landscapes: arable land, gardens, cities, roads, etc. The rest of the territory (35.5%) is represented by derivative landscapes.

The main features of the modern flora and fauna in the Crimea were formed about 5 thousand years ago. At this time, people moved from gathering and hunting to agriculture and animal husbandry. For many centuries, economic pressures did not lead to significant changes in landscapes. Until the 19th century, in the Plain Crimea, residents were engaged in cattle breeding, and in the mountainous part and on the southern coast they grew grapes, wheat, apples, pears. But in the XIV - XVII centuries. and here cattle breeding was greatly developed, which led to the deforestation of large areas and the expansion of pastures at the expense of them. At the beginning of the XIX century. the area of ​​forests in Crimea was 361 thousand hectares, and in 1913 it was already 318 thousand hectares, in 1929 only 274 thousand hectares. The Crimean forests were badly damaged during the Great Patriotic War - by 1946 their area was reduced to 210 thousand hectares. In recent decades, thanks to reforestation work, the area of ​​forested areas has increased and at present the total area of ​​Crimean forests is 338 thousand hectares.

Not only the Crimean forests were badly damaged, but also the yayls, which at the beginning of the century were a place of grazing for both the local population and the cattle driven from the southern regions of Russia and even from Romania and Bulgaria.

In the Foothill and Plain Crimea, extensive livestock raising was gradually giving way to agriculture. Especially great changes took place after the abolition of serfdom. From 1865 to 1890 the population of Crimea doubled, and the sown area increased from 222 thousand hectares to 925 thousand hectares. In Soviet times, the expansion of the arable land continued and in 1995 it amounted to 1,154 thousand hectares. Foothill steppe communities with a predominance of feather grass vegetation were destroyed on 50% of their area, and the degradation of steppe communities in the Plain Crimea became close to 100%.

A significant impact on the natural environment occurred with the commissioning of the North Crimean Canal. The area of ​​irrigated land in Crimea has reached approximately 20% of all arable land. However, due to the poor technical condition of the canal, about half of the water is lost, and this caused an increase in the level of groundwater, flooding of lands, and salinization of the soil. Irrigation has led to a qualitative change in landscapes: rice fields, the area of ​​orchards, vegetable and row crops has increased. New settlements arose, and the population of agricultural regions grew.

Recreational loads on landscapes have increased, especially on the southern coast of Crimea. The number of recreators grew like an avalanche: in 1928, 110 thousand rested in Crimea, in 1938, 270 thousand, in 1958 - 700 thousand, in 1970 - 6.5 million, in the 80s - up to 10 million people annually. In addition to the direct impact on nature (trampling of vegetation, soil compaction, logging for fires, forest fires, littering, etc.), the influx of vacationers demanded the construction of new sanatoriums and rest homes, roads, reservoirs, and exacerbated the problem of water supply. All this has led to an increase in the volume of polluted wastewater, degradation of some coastal marine and forest ecosystems.

Industry and transport developed intensively. The construction in the Crimea of ​​the main chemical industries, some of which work on imported raw materials, belongs to the 60-80s. By the beginning of the 90s, industrial production reached the highest volume, and emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere reached the maximum value - 565 thousand tons. In recent years, due to a drop in production volumes, the value of emissions into the atmosphere decreased: - 430 thousand tons, in 1993 - 295 thousand tons, in 1994 - 190 thousand tons, in 1995 - 150 thousand tons, in 1996 - 122.5 thousand tons.

Rivers, reservoirs and coastal waters of the Black and Azov Seas are polluted by industrial and domestic wastewater. Sewerage treatment facilities have insufficient capacity, as a result, in 1996, 230 million cubic meters were discharged into open water bodies. m of waste water, of which contaminated - 106, normatively treated - 124 million cubic meters. m. More than 42 million cubic meters have been accumulated on the territory of Crimea. m of solid household waste.

In general, the pollution of the peninsula and adjacent waters is very high. The flat part of Crimea in terms of pollution (especially soils) is second only to the Kryvyi Rih-Dnieper region, the southern parts of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions and is approximately on the same level with the Donbass. Such significant pollution is associated with the use of a large amount of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. Average pollution of air and soil, as well as disturbance of land in Crimea is lower than the average for Ukraine. Water pollution is also approximately two times lower, but pesticide pollution is more than two times higher than in Ukraine. The general anthropogenic transformation in Crimea is inferior to the industrial Dnieper and Donbass, but surpasses other regions.

In Mountainous Crimea, despite the prohibitions, cattle grazing continues. Of great concern is grazing on yayls, where a significant part of the river flow of the peninsula is formed. The karst and fractured limestones that compose the Yaylinsky plateaus contribute to the rapid infiltration of contaminated surface waters and their entry into rivers and reservoirs.

Crimea is washed by the waters of two internal seas. Their peculiarity lies in the limited connection with the World Ocean, and, therefore, their hydrological regime significantly depends on the river runoff and water exchange through the Bosphorus Strait. And although the hydrogen sulfide contamination of the deep layers of the Black Sea determines the absence of organic life below 150 m, the coastal surface waters of the sea are distinguished by high biological productivity. Until recently, the Sea of ​​Azov was one of the most productive seas of the World Ocean.

Modern natural conditions in the Azov-Black Sea basin developed approximately 4-6 thousand years ago. However, the presence of relict organisms and specific conditions of speciation determined a rather high - more than 10% - endemism of the basin fauna. It is home to over 1200 species of algae and higher plants, 2100 invertebrates, 192 species of fish and 4 species of mammals.

Already at the beginning of the twentieth century, the influence of anthropogenic loads on the coastal ecosystems of the Crimea was noted, mainly due to the intensive catch of valuable fish species. Regulation of river flow in the 50s of our century had a very detrimental effect on hydrological regime and the structure of biological communities of the Azov Sea. The increase in the salinity of the sea waters has led to the suppression of many species of bottom fauna - the main food for food valuable fish. Pollution of the river waters of the Danube and Dnieper, in turn, determined the eutrophication of the shallow northwestern part of the Black Sea and regular kills in the summer. Anthropogenic pollution of the waters surrounding the Crimean Peninsula caused the suppression of brown and increased development of green algae, the massive reproduction of the comb jelly - a new "tenant" of the sea, whose gluttony led to a noticeable decrease in zooplankton, and finally, water bloom. In recent decades, near the southern coast of Crimea, the area of ​​the most abundant representative of brown algae, cystoseira, has decreased by 40%.

Nevertheless, against the background of significant general pollution of the Azov-Black Sea basin, the southern and West Coast The Crimea found itself in a relatively prosperous position due to the peculiarities of water circulation. The greatest damage to the Crimean coastal waters is caused by local local sources of pollution, and the most affected are the waters of bays and bays with weak water exchange. Less damage is done to aquatic ecosystems off the open shores.

In general, the environmental problems of Crimea are associated with a complex of socio-economic and natural-resource reasons, which are reflected in the nature of nature management.

Conclusion

The nature of the Crimea is called a natural museum. There are few places in the world where diverse, comfortable and picturesque landscapes would be combined in such an original way. In many respects, they are due to the originality of the geographical location, geological structure, relief, climate of the peninsula. The Crimean mountains divide the peninsula into two unequal parts. Big - northern - is located in the extreme south of the temperate zone, southern - the Crimean sub-Mediterranean - refers to the northern edge of the subtropical belt.

The flora of Crimea is especially rich and interesting. Only wild higher plants account for more than 65% of the flora of the entire European part of the Commonwealth countries. Along with this, about 1000 species of foreign plants are cultivated here. Almost all the flora of Crimea is concentrated in its southern mountainous part. This is a truly museum richness of flora.

The climate of most of Crimea is the climate of the temperate zone: mild steppe - in the flat part; more humid, typical for deciduous forests - in the mountains. The southern coast of Crimea is characterized by a sub-Mediterranean climate of dry forests and shrubs.

Crimea, especially its mountainous part, due to its comfortable climate, richness of clean air toned with phytoncides, sea salts, pleasant aroma of plants, also has great healing power. The bowels of the earth also contain healing mud and mineral waters.

The reserve fund accounts for more than 135 thousand hectares of the peninsula's territory, which is 5.2% of its area. The reserve fund plays a significant role in preserving the creations of inanimate and living nature, stabilizes the ecological situation on the peninsula.

Crimea is a unique region of Ukraine, where 152 objects of nature reserve fund are located on a relatively small territory, including: 6 nature reserves, 30 reserves, 69 natural monuments, 2 botanical gardens, 1 dendrological park, 31 parks-monuments of landscape gardening , 8 protected natural boundaries, 1 zoo.

More than 200 mineral deposits are known in Crimea. Of national importance are iron ores (Kerch iron ore basin), salts of Sivash and coastal lakes (Staroye, Krasnoye, etc.), natural gas (Black Sea deposits), flux limestones (Balaklava, Kerch deposits, etc.), cement marls (Bakhchisarai), pottery and bleaching clays (foothills). For medicinal and recreational purposes, therapeutic mud and mineral springs (Saki, Evpatoria, Feodosia, etc.), sandy and pebble beaches (western and southern coast, Azov Sea) are used. Unfortunately, many steppes are plowed up for wheat, corn, rice paddies, vegetable plantations, vineyards and orchards.

Regional development problems:

1. Lack of rational use of natural conditions and resources;

2. Poor water supply to the Crimean Peninsula;

3. Contradictions in the location and development of heavy industry enterprises, in the formation of a large port economy, on the one hand, and the use of recreational resources, on the other;

4. Pollution of the west of Crimea leads to a weakening of the healing properties of the Saki mud;

5. Threatening ecological state of the Black and Azov Seas and Sivash Lake-Gulf;

6. Extraction of pebbles and limestone on the beaches negatively affects the natural features of the resorts of the Crimea;

7. Naval bases and air forces create great noise pollution;

8. Implementation of the program for the protection of cultural monuments of the Crimean peninsula.

Crimea today is a specific region, where a huge number of rare species of animals and plants, unique climatic zones and ecological reserves are concentrated. If no drastic and radical measures are taken to stabilize the ecological situation, then we will simply lose this unique region. The government of both Ukraine and Crimea should pay more attention to this issue, tightening environmental policies and applying more severe sanctions against violators of environmental legislation.

Bibliography

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Application

Fig. 1. Overview map of Crimea

Fig. 2. Mount Demerdzhi

Columnar weathering of the Upper Jurassic conglomerates

Fig. 3. the south coast of Crimea

Erosional landforms in Taurian clay shale,

at s. Merry (near Sudak).

Fig. 4. North-eastern shore of the lake. Donuzlav

Fig. 5. Dzhangul landslide coast. Tapxankut Peninsula

Fig. 6. Landslide terraces of the Dzhangul coast.

Tarkhankut Peninsula

Fig. 7. Surface of a mud hill with a crater and fresh mud flow

Table 1. Duration of sunshine, h

Table 2.

Table 3. Total solar radiation, MJ / m2

Table 4.

Table 5. Air temperature, evaporation (E) and volatility (Eo)

Table 6. Annual sums of temperatures above 10C

Table 7. Average long-term amounts of atmospheric precipitation, mm