How many nature reserves and national parks are there in Evpatoria? Specially protected areas and reserves of Crimea
Crimea is reserved
South Bank and the mountain-forest region are, in essence, two Crimeas, completely different from each other. Together they create a surprisingly seamless and wonderful composition.
On the South Coast there are snow-white buildings of sanatoriums and holiday homes, immersed in green parks, crowded, noisy embankments and beaches; on gentle slopes and in river valleys- geometrically regular rows of gardens and vineyards.
In the mountainous Crimea everything is different. Nature, as if deliberately, has piled high mountains bristling with forest next to the sea and the long-inhabited coastline in order to shine in all the splendor of its pristine beauty and power. Here, a wide variety of landscape elements are combined in unexpected and bizarre forms: smooth, grassy mountain plateaus (yayls) and wind-gnawed, rain-whipped rocky outcrops; overgrown with beech and oak forests gentle slopes are adjacent to deep gorges cut by mountain rivers...
The mountainous part of the peninsula consists of three ridges stretching from southwest to northeast, separated by valleys. The highest of them is the Main Ridge. In its central part there are such large mountain ranges as Babugan and Chatyrdag. Some peaks of Babugan exceed 1500 m above sea level, and Mount Roman-Kosh reaches 1545 m. The peak of Chatyrdag Eklizi-Burun (1525 m) is somewhat inferior to it in height.
Adjacent to the northern spurs of Babugan are the Bolshaya and Malaya Chuchel and Chernaya mountains, whose height exceeds 1000 m. Together they form a kind of amphitheater in the upper reaches of the Alma River - the Central Basin, covered with magnificent forests. Here in the very center Crimean mountains, in 1923 the Crimean state reserve with a forest biological station.
A long struggle for the creation of a reserve in the mountainous Crimea was waged at the beginning of the 20th century by advanced Russian scientists who were members of the Crimean Society of Naturalists and Nature Lovers. At their insistence, in 1913, the Tauride provincial zemstvo initiated a petition to preserve “all state-owned forests by stopping logging in them and declaring them reserves, to buy into the treasury all privately owned forests in the mountainous part of Crimea and to afforest the bare slopes of the yayla.” The dream of progressive figures in Russia came true: the territory of the Tsar’s reserve was declared National Nature Reserve.
The best attraction of the protected mountain Crimea is the forests. According to academician V.N. Sukachev, they are “the guardians of the waters of the Southern Coast, the regulator on which the well-being of the entire mountainous part of the peninsula depends.” Almost all rivers of Crimea originate in the protected forest, including Alma, Kacha, Ulu-Uzen, which have important in supplying the peninsula with water. Not far from the boundaries of the reserve, the Salgir, the largest river in Crimea, originates.
The water conservation role of forests is especially important: after all, Crimea is generally poor in fresh water supplies.
Extremely great soil-protective role mountain forests. They are better protection from mudflows (mud-stone) flows. Their balneological significance is also enormous. It is the forests, along with the sea, that act as the determining factor in the formation of that special, healing climate for which Crimea has long been famous.
But the reserve is not only a kingdom of mountains and forests, a source of coolness, clean air and clean water. This is also a habitat for animals and birds. Animals find shelter here, many of them are already considered rare.
In the pre-war years, a territory protection service was established in the reserve, a lot of work was done to restore the herd of wild ungulates, and scientific laboratory and a museum, office premises and residential buildings for farm workers were built. In 1925, the area of the protected forest was increased to 20 thousand hectares, and currently the protected area covers over 30 thousand hectares.
In 1949, the Lebyazhy Islands, located off the northwestern coast of Crimea, were included in the hunting reserve. This is a real kingdom of birds, one of the largest concentrations of waterfowl in our country.
Currently, the Crimean State Game Reserve (as it has been called since 1957) is a large environmental and research institution, widely known abroad. Its task is not only to preserve and study the nature of the mountainous forests of Crimea, but also to promote the idea of nature conservation in general. The farm is closed to tourists and excursionists. To get acquainted with it, we recommend visiting a very interesting, tastefully and scientifically decorated museum of nature in Alushta (Putsatova St., 29). Its exhibition tells about the history of the reserve, the current work of employees to preserve flora and fauna, and the research activities of several generations of scientists. Well-executed dioramas reflect the life of protected forests, flora mountain plateaus, show the uniquely beautiful landscapes of the mountain-forest Crimea. The excursions are accompanied by birdsong recorded on film in spring forest.
In the summer of 1981, a dendrozoo with an area of 6 hectares opened next to the museum. It presents 150 species of trees and shrubs and 170 species herbaceous plants. Animals and birds live in enclosures and nest boxes - the most interesting inhabitants Crimean forest.
North-west of Alushta, near the Babugan mountain range, immediately beyond the Sadovyi cordon, the territory of the reserve hunting area begins. Here is the descent into the Central Basin. From all sides it is surrounded by high mountains: from the south it is covered by the rocky Babugan, from the southwest - by the Malaya Chuchel and Bolshaya Chuchel mountains, from the west and north-west - by Mount Chernaya. In the distance to the north you can see the Chatyrdag massif.
Dissected by deep valleys and the beds of numerous rivers and streams, the Central Basin is occupied dense forest. On the protected yayls they are abundant karst forms relief, in river valleys there are hundreds of springs.
The flora of the reserve consists of almost 1,100 species of plants, including 90 species endemic to Crimea (Steven's maple, Bieberstein's spruce, sainfoin, Yaila, ash-loving onion, listed in the Red Book). In the forest you can find giant trees: oak, yew, alder, pine. In total, there are more than 200 such giants in the reserve hunting area. In the valley of the Ulu-Uzen River, the thickest tree grows - linden, the trunk of which reaches a circumference of almost 6.5 m. In total, in the forests of Crimea there are about 800 giant trees, the circumference of which is exceeds 3 m.
The protected forests are home to deer, roe deer, mountain fox, badger and other mammals - 30 species in total. Mouflon from Corsica, squirrel from Altai and wild boar from the Far East have been successfully acclimatized here.
The pride of the protected forests is the Crimean deer. This is the largest and most beautiful animal of the mountainous Crimea. The number of animals is maintained at a certain level: deer 1300-1500, roe deer - 300, wild boars - 300-400, mouflons - 150-200 heads.
Scientists and specialists maintain the necessary balance in nature and take care of the future of the mountain-forest Crimea. The protected area serves as a base for the work of other scientific institutions in the country and as a place for internships for biology and geographer students.
The road, which is usually followed by employees of the game reserve, members of scientific expeditions, and student interns, leads from the Central Basin up to the Chuchelsky Pass. From there a magnificent panorama of the mountainous Crimea opens. In the south rises Babugan with the peak of Roman Kosh, to the west the mountains Demir Kapu and Kemal Eterek are visible. The northern spurs of the Main and steep slopes of the Inner mountain ranges are visible in the blue haze. All visible mountain slopes are covered beech forests. And young pine growth climbs the slopes above the forest boundary, right up to the peak of Roman-Kosha.
Before completing the story about the reserve, a special word should be dedicated to the Crimean birch. The only indigenous area where it grows is located within the game reserve, near the Golovkinsky waterfall. Each of these northern beauties- a living heir to a distant ice age. On the mountain slopes, birch trees occupied a vast area. Gradually, with warming, it began to die out and survived only in the form of small groves in the most inaccessible, shaded and damp places The main mountain range.
The first birch tree to be discovered in Crimea was not a botanist, but our great poet A.S. Pushkin, when he crossed the Main Ridge along the ancient Shaitan-Merdven pass (Devil's Staircase) in 1820. In 1824, in “Excerpt from a letter to D.” the poet recalled: “We crossed the mountains, and the first object that struck me was a birch, a northern birch! My heart sank: I began to yearn for the sweet afternoon, although I was still in Taurida, I still saw poplars and grapevines.” This birch habitat was apparently located at an altitude of about 600-800 m in the Priyailin forests of the northern slope of the Main Ridge, in the area of the Baydar Basin.
In 1846, the most extensive (75 hectares) area of birch forest was discovered in the upper reaches of the Alma River, on the northern slope of the Main Ridge. IN different times small relict stands of birch were also found in the upper reaches of the Ulu-Uzeni River (Yaman-Dere gorge, near the Golovkinsky waterfall), in the upper reaches of Kachi, in the Sukhaya Alma valley. Nowadays in the mountainous Crimea there is only one natural forest - on the southeastern clone of Babugan, in an inaccessible Yaman-Dere gorge.
However, scientists and foresters have not come to terms with the disappearance of birch from the Crimean forests. In 1960 management forestry About 30 thousand birch trees were brought from the Zhitomir region, they were planted on the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla. Three years later, another 100 thousand seedlings were delivered from Volyn. In subsequent years, they continued to arrive from the Chernigov region.
Planted together with other tree species on Ai-Petri and Demerdzhi, the birch has taken root and is developing successfully.
Thus, the age-old problem of afforestation of the village, along with natural reforestation, is being solved by creating artificial plantations of pine, birch, maple and other tree species. Afforestation of yayls is the right path to solving the acute problem for Crimea water problem.
To the east of Babugan, beyond the Kebit Pass, stretches a chain of eastern yayls of the Main Ridge.
The peninsula has always been a popular destination for health and wellness due to its natural factors. The nature of Crimea is unique and needs vigilant protection and preservation. Numerous reserves have been created to preserve rare species of birds, animals and insects.
Yalta Mountain Forest Nature Reserve
From Gurzuf to Foros, a 40-kilometer strip stretches the territory of the Yalta mountain forest reserve. It is valuable because 66% of the vascular plants that are found in the entire Mountain Crimea grow here: pistachio blunt-leaved, Siberian Sobolevskaya, tall juniper, Crimean cistus. The protected area is also rich in endemic species.
The fauna is represented by rare species of animals. The imperial eagle, badgers, mouflons, Crimean lizards and geckos, and European roe deer feel at ease in the protected area. Rare insects living in the reserve are listed in the Red Book and are of interest to scientists.
An important part of the environmental complex is the Three-Eye Cave, the battlements of Mount Ai-Petri, and the Devil's Staircase pass.
Nature Crimean peninsula unique. Trees, herbs and flowers grow here that are not found anywhere else in the world. To preserve the floristic fund in Crimea, 6 natural reserves were created, on the territory of which only scientific works and laid tourist routes. Any economic activity in protected areas is prohibited.
The Opuksky Nature Reserve is the youngest of all similar territories in Crimea. It is closed to visitors, and scientists can carry out the necessary research only after receiving special permission. Here, not only a piece of land is protected, but also the surrounding water area.
Only one trail is designated for tourists to reduce the risk of trampling valuable grasses and disturbing the rest of nesting birds.
Crimean Nature Reserve
The largest protected area in Crimea is almost a hundred years old. It was created in 1923 on the site of the “Royal Hunting Reserve”. The area of the reserve occupies more than 33 hectares in the center of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains. It is here that, due to the abundance of precipitation and lush vegetation, many small and large rivers peninsulas - Derekoyka, Marta, Ulu-Uzen, Alma. The famous underground spring Savlukh-Su, whose waters have a healing effect due to the presence of natural silver ions in them, also descends from the local peaks.
Of particular value are the pine, beech and hornbeam forests that densely cover most of the reserve. It is thanks to them that a favorable environmental situation is maintained.
The protected area is home to more than a thousand species of animals, many of which are rare and need protection and careful treatment.
"Swan Islands"
Limited from economic activity zone "Swan Islands" - part Crimean Nature Reserve, which is of interest to ornithologists around the world. Its area is 9 and a half hectares. More than 250 species of birds choose this nesting site. Flamingos, several species of ducks, herons, and waders live here. The reserve protects several species of fish and large marine mammals.
Swan Islands are the main migration point for many birds.
Nature Reserve "Cape Martyan"
On Cape Martyan in the eastern part of Nikitsky botanical garden The reserve of the same name is located - the smallest in Crimea. His main task- preserve the area where Mediterranean plants live. A relict forest grows here, in which there are more than 500 species of representatives of the Mediterranean flora. Uniqueness protected area The fact is that it is here that a sufficient amount of small-fruited strawberry has been preserved, which has long been listed in the International Red Book.
Karadag Nature Reserve
The Kara-Dag Nature Reserve extends in the eastern part of the peninsula near Feodosia. Valuable minerals were found on its area - more than a hundred varieties of minerals were extracted by scientists from the soils of the area.
The flora and fauna of the Karadag Reserve is diverse. More than 1,000 representatives of the flora grow here, 29 of which are listed rare species Red List and endangered complete disappearance. The list also includes 18 species of animals. The reserve's rivers serve as spawning grounds for several species of fish.
Area: 1592.3 hectares (including 62 hectares of the Black Sea with the Elken-Kaya islands). The purpose of the commandment: preservation of typical steppe landscapes The Crimean Peninsula and the adjacent Black Sea with unique flora and fauna. The reserve includes Mount Opuk with the cape of the same name, the salty Koyash Lake, as well as the adjacent coastal aquatic complex of the Black Sea with the islands of the Ship Rocks (Elken-Kaya), located 4 km from the shore. Mountain […]
Area: 50 hectares. The purpose of the reserve is to preserve wetlands - habitats for many species of birds, including rare and endangered ones. A visit to this small reserve will be especially interesting for lovers of observing the life of birds, as there are a great many of them here. The Astana (Oysul) floodplains are a kind of green oasis among the arid steppe landscapes of the Kerch Peninsula. The floodplains are located in the swampy valleys of the lower reaches of the river. Samarli (the largest in [...]
Area: 6806 hectares (including 360 hectares of the Azov Sea). The purpose of the reserve: to preserve the biological and landscape diversity of one of the largest steppe tracts in Europe, to provide conditions for organized recreation for the population. Many lovers of outdoor recreation consider Karalar one of the most scenic spots Kerch Peninsula: on the one hand there are endless steppe expanses, on the other there are numerous cozy rocky bays […]
Area: 450.1 hectares. The purpose of the reserve: preservation of typical and unique steppe natural complexes Azov coast Crimea and adjacent waters. The reserve is located in the north-west of the Kerch Peninsula and occupies Cape Kazantip, which extends far into the Sea of Azov and is washed by its bays - Arabat and Kazantip. Here the expanses of the steppe break off into the sea with cliffs, and the air is filled with the smells of the sea and the steppe. The cape has a rounded shape and [...]
The Kerch Peninsula is called " Far East» Crimea. This is an isolated region with a unique landscape and climate, where the elements of endless steppes, sea, sun and winds combine: any point of it is no further than 20 km from the shores of the Black or Azov Seas, and the treeless steppe expanses allow the winds to run wild. Historically, the peninsula was sparsely populated; until recently, numerous military training grounds were also located here, which was the reason […]
Area: 840 hectares. Purpose of the commandment: preservation unique place, which has no analogues in Europe in terms of aerodynamic properties. The natural complex of the park with areas of preserved natural landscapes includes the Uzun-Syrt ridge, Mount Koklyuk and the Barakol depression. Translated from Turkic, Uzun-Syrt means a long ridge, a back, and it looks like the long, wide back of a giant with a perfectly flat flat top, stretching 7.5 km in length. […]
Area: 1508 hectares (including 218 hectares of marine waters). The purpose of the reserve: preservation of the original natural complex, which has great bioecological, landscape, historical, archaeological and cultural value. The bay itself and its surroundings are the standard of the landscapes of Cimmeria, glorified by M. Voloshin. It was the landscapes of Quiet Bay, where pastel colors dominate the soft forms of low mountains, that inspired him to create the famous “Koktebel watercolors”. The unique position of the bay, from all […]
Area: 2874.2 hectares (land territory 2065.1 hectares; water area - 809.1 hectares). The purpose of the reserve: conservation of biological and landscape diversity, monitoring of land and marine ecosystems; fundamental and applied research in the field of ecology and nature conservation; environmental education and education, participation in vocational training environmental specialists. Karadag Reserve was created in 1979 on the basis of the Karadag Biological Research Station - the oldest scientific institution on the peninsula. […]
Area: 1560 hectares (including water area - 310 hectares). The purpose of the reserve: protection of an area with high biological and landscape diversity, which also has high recreational and scientific significance. This corner southeast coast with its ascetic nature, it attracts with its extensive pebble beach, diving in clear water, the opportunity to climb the mountains and enjoy the fantastic scenery of neighboring Karadag. There is no residential development on the coast of Fox Bay, but […]
South-eastern Crimea - amazing world on the border of mountains, sea and steppes, mysterious and romantic Cimmeria, glorified by Maximilian Voloshin. The natural and cultural attractions of this region are unique and no less interesting than those that are the object of summer pilgrimage to the South Coast. There is a special arid hot climate here (Cape Meganom is the driest place in Crimea), and under its influence a specific natural complex has formed, the basis of which […]
Area: 470 hectares. The purpose of the reserve: to preserve a special variant of relict forest on the coastal limestone slopes of the mountains. The Novosvetskoye coast is one of the most attractive: here, in a small area, you can observe a combination of amazingly beautiful bays, picturesque rocky capes and mountain peaks, a kind of reserved nature. The territory of the reserve frames the village like an amphitheater New World, climbing from the sea into the mountains covered with relict woodlands of Stankevich pine and juniper […]
Area: 160 hectares. The purpose of the reserve: protection of a unique tract with open forests of tall juniper and blunt-leaved pistachio. The territory of the reserve includes the lower part of the southeastern slope of Mount Yan-Turu (343 m above sea level) and the right bank slope of the Kanaka River valley, known as the Kanakskaya Balka, or Kanaka. This is one of the few relatively untouched protected areas of southern Crimea. Here, on the slopes along the sea, the ancient Mediterranean flora has been preserved: relict juniper-oak […]
Area: 527 hectares. The purpose of the reserve is to preserve the mountain forests of the Crimean sub-Mediterranean region. Ayu-Dag, or Bear Mountain, shaped like an animal leaning towards the Black Sea, is one of the symbols of Crimea, which can be observed from almost all sides of the Southern Coast. This place has been known since ancient times: the ancient geographer Strabo mentions Ayu-Dag under the name Kriumetopon - Ram's forehead. Dome Mountain (571 m) is a failed volcano, which […]
Area: 120 hectares of land, 120 hectares of sea waters. The purpose of the reserve is to preserve relict subtropical and coastal marine ecosystems. The uniqueness of this reserve lies in the fact that only here, in a small area, the natural landscapes of the Mediterranean subtropics, typical of the Crimean coast, have been preserved. It is here that you can see what the southern coast of Crimea looked like a couple of centuries ago, long before the appearance of parks, palaces, and resorts with their exotic decorative flora. The relief of the reserve […]
Area: 1340 hectares (including 280 hectares of marine waters). The purpose of the reserve: to protect the unique landscape of the South Coast with a sub-Mediterranean complex of plants and animals. From Cape Aya on the western side, the southern coast of Crimea begins with its special climate, close to the Mediterranean. Here Home mountain range with its rocky bulk, Kokia-Kala (557 m above sea level) directly approaches the sea and […]
Area: 31.77 hectares. The purpose of the reserve is to preserve the unique natural complex of the ancient volcanic massif with original relief forms. Fiolent is one of the most beautiful capes of Crimea, located on the southern side of the Heraclean Peninsula. It amazes with its harsh steep cliffs up to 150 m high, plunging into the sea. This wild beauty an ancient volcanic massif with preserved lava flows and tuff layers in the coastal cliffs. The shore in the area [...]
After the Angarsk Pass, a picturesque panorama of the southern coast of Crimea opens - a unique natural landscape. The main ridge of the Crimean mountains, which fenced off these lands from the northern winds, and the warm Black Sea created natural conditions, in many ways close to the Mediterranean: with mild, short winters and hot, sunny summers. The southern coast is a narrow strip (up to 9 km), enclosed between the mountains and the Black Sea, stretching from Cape […]
Area: 4,316 hectares. The purpose of the reserve: preservation of the classic karst topography. The reserve occupies the upper plateau of Karabi-yayla - the largest of the Crimean yaylas. The massif rises almost a thousand meters above sea level, highest point- Mount Tai-Koba (1262 m above sea level). Karabi amazes with its unearthly landscape: an endless grassy hilly plateau dotted with craters (more than 4 thousand), dotted with rock ridges, buffes and stones of various shapes […]
Area: 14,523 hectares. The purpose of the reserve: preservation and study of typical and unique natural complexes of the southern part of the Crimean Mountains in order to improve the soil protection, water protection, balneological and aesthetic properties of mountain forests, and strengthen their protection, in particular from fires. The reserve for the richness and beauty of nature is one of the most unique and interesting objects not only of Crimea, but also Eastern Europe. Along its territory there are trails known since ancient [...]
The Grand Canyon of Crimea is one of the natural wonders peninsula, an amazing creation of nature, which is a deep mountain gorge, cutting more than 3 kilometers into the depths of the Ai-Petrinsky massif.
The Grand Canyon of Crimea is one of the natural wonders of the peninsula, an amazing creation of the great Mother Nature, which is a deep mountain gorge, cut more than 3 kilometers into the depths of the Ai-Petri massif. The gorge amazes with the harsh beauty and originality of the landscape. From the entrance to the canyon from the Kokkoz Valley, a majestic panorama of the giant gorge opens up. To the right and left, cliffs rise steeply for tens and hundreds of meters, and menacing cliffs rise overhead.
As we move deeper into the canyon, the slopes of the giant chasm become higher and steeper, and they come closer and closer to each other. In the narrowest places, the width of the canyon does not exceed 3 - 5 meters. The depth of the gorge reaches 250 - 320 meters. The clear waters of the Auzun-Uzen River, the main sculptor of the Grand Canyon, flow along the bottom of the canyon. Over the course of thousands of years, flowing waters cut through the rock mass and separated the table-shaped Boyka massif from the northern Ai-Petrinskaya yayla with a deep gorge.
In the canyon there are more than 150 boilers and baths up to 2-3 m deep and 5-6 m wide. The water in winter and summer has almost same temperature- about 11°. In the heart of the canyon lie the famous “lakes” Goluboe (Love) and Kara-Gol (Bath of Youth), and the Paniya spring, one of the 19 largest springs in the Crimean Mountains, quenches the thirst of tourists.
The largest of the “lakes,” called the “Bath of Youth,” reaches a depth of four meters. Legend says that after bathing in it, a person regains his strength and becomes younger.
The Dzhangul tract is located near the village of Olenevka. This landslide coast, about 5 km long, combines on its territory the most beautiful arrays of bizarre screes and various landslides. The coastline is harsh and wild; it is considered one of the “energy” places of the peninsula.
The Dzhangul tract is a romantic and creative place. The name Jangul itself means “Flower of the Soul” from the language of medieval Eastern Farsi poets. Most often, the Dzhangul tract is compared to the buildings of imaginary giant children - chunks of the coast seem to have been cut off by huge shovels and pushed into the sea.
It is somewhat similar to the coastal areas of the mountainous Crimea. The upper part of Dzhangul is steppe. The gently undulating territory is dissected by gullies, which, approaching the sea, transform into canyons and form a landscape similar to a mountain. In the lower part, Dzhangul looks completely different - it is already a landslide massif with accumulations of rock chaos and a large number of bizarre limestone figures created by weathering and abrasion.
The Dzhangul tract is famous for its unique 40-meter limestone column, amazingly maintaining balance. The reserve captivates tourists with its pristine beauty. There is also the Dzhangul nature reserve, almost completely covered with greenery. Dzhangul is especially beautiful during the period “late spring - early summer”, when green Crimean plants cover it with a carpet of rich colors.
Beautiful places are open for tourists numerous places for relaxation, but only narrow beaches can be found here. The landslide routes turn into a sheer 60-meter wall that breaks over the sea. At the mouths of the ravines you can find tiny picturesque shallows; they often end in cool grottoes.
If you walk 3 km north of Olenevka, the Dzhangulskoe tract will reveal weathering figures, fantastic and picturesque outlines - kekur. The word kekur was borrowed from the Siberian Tatars; the most famous kekur has a vertical graceful shape and is called Candle. Many travelers claim that the Jangul Gorge can compete in the amount of “positive” energy with Tibet itself!
The Dzhangul tract is ideally created by nature itself for kite surfing, diving, and wind surfing. There is a huge concentration here recreational potential– having come to admire Dzhangul, you can see phenomenal excursion objects, improve your health with the help therapeutic mud and relax on beautiful beaches.
Many people, when they hear the word “Crimea,” imagine only the sea and the beach, but this is only a small part of the peninsula. Its main wealth is nature. She is unique and that's why most The territory of Crimea has long become nature reserves, nature reserves and national parks. South Coast, mountain Crimea and the steppe are, in essence, three different Crimeas, but all together they make up amazing land, mysterious and beautiful at all times of the year.
Reserve at Cape Kazantip
The cape is located on the northern coast of the peninsula and is washed by Sea of Azov. The place is unique not only because of its nature, but also because of its relief and the structure of the cape. The cape itself is an ancient calcareous reef with rugged shores, which continue to be eroded by the sea and winds, and its surface is covered by virgin steppe. Cold and windy in winter, in spring it is covered with bright stars amazing beauty Schrenk and Scythian tulips. It was from these Crimean steppes that the flower spread throughout the world, and if Dutch tulips are the pinnacle of evolution, then Crimean tulips can be called the ancestors.
The fauna of the Kazantip Nature Reserve is famous for its large number of waterfowl and valuable fish, and the seemingly lifeless cliffs are home to a very beautiful and rare butterfly - the marigold.
Opuksky Nature Reserve
On the southern part of the Kerch Peninsula is located no less famous nature reserve– Opuksky, which got its name from the name of the mountain. Mount Opuk is surrounded by tectonic faults, and this seems to divide the entire territory into isolated areas, where their own natural complexes have been formed, which have no analogues in Crimea.
The primeval steppe, as it was thousands of years ago, has now retained its endemics, among them Crimean saffron, Schrenk tulips, Mithridates katran and the endless sea of feather grass.
The fauna of the reserve is rich in all kinds of animals: mammals - the well-known hares and foxes and rare Mediterranean pipistrelle and great horseshoe bats, fish - Black Sea salmon and Azov and bottlenose dolphins, birds, of which there are 200 species, and among them the rarest rose-colored starling, skelter and black-headed bunting , and reptiles - yellowbellies and steppe vipers.
But the largest “pearl” of the reserve is considered. Amazing view opens up to travelers: a narrow spit, on one side there is a bright blue sea, and on the other - a bright pink lake! It acquired its amazing pink color due to dunaliella algae, and its silt medicinal qualities almost the same as the mud of Lake Saki.
Karadag Reserve
Of all the reserves and parks of Crimea, it is the most famous. The thing is that Kara-Dag is extinct volcano, and on its slopes you can still see frozen lava flows, mineral veins and even a channel through which molten lava flowed millions of years ago. This is, in fact, a geological book of the Earth, because here you can find rock crystal and agates, amethysts and opals, a huge number of different minerals.
Among all the reserves and national parks There is no other place in Crimea where the rarest plants, not found anywhere else, would be collected on one territory: Poyarkova’s hawthorn and Koktebel tulip, Transchel’s anthemis, which grows only on volcanic rocks, and Biberstein’s geranium, also called Crimean edelweiss, relict Pallas sainfoin and limodorum underdeveloped - a rare orchid, relict juniper and pistachio, which are already more than one thousand years old.
The fauna is no less rich: hundreds of different species of crustaceans and mollusks, arachnids and butterflies, many birds, reptiles and mammals coexist on this land: the squirrel, a permanent resident of the Crimean forests, and the rare stone marten, hedgehogs and wild boars, brown hares and roe deer, foxes and rock lizards.
The water area has become home to 80 traditional Black Sea species of fish and dolphins: the bottlenose dolphin, the owner of these places, the butterfly dolphin and the Azov dolphin, which looks into the Black Sea from the Azov Sea.
People in Crimea love legends, and every famous place has its own. But sometimes they turn out to be very similar to the truth, in any case, no one has yet proven the opposite. One such legend is associated with the Kara-Dag monster. It is known that the underwater part of the Kara-Dag has many caves, but even the most experienced divers go down there rarely. According to legend, it is in one of them that a monster lives. Stories about it have come down from ancient times, when the Greeks and Byzantines, who settled on the Crimean shores, saw a huge gray snake with a terrible toothed mouth that easily overtook their sailing ships. The monster was seen by both the Turks and the Russian admiral Ushakov, who even reported this to the emperor. And of the facts confirmed in our time, there are only two, when fishermen pulled out a dead dolphin in their nets with traces of a bite that could have been inflicted by a huge animal.
Kara-Dag was also called the Holy Mountain for its ability to heal the sick. Scientists explain this by the fact that geomagnetic energy accumulates in this place, which has a positive effect on all living things.
You can only get to Kara-Dag with a guided tour, and then only to the area accessible to tourists; most of the reserve, due to its uniqueness, is absolutely closed to the public.
Crimean Reserve
Of all the reserves and national parks of Crimea, this is the most extensive. It covers 44 thousand hectares, and here you can see almost the entire nature of the peninsula: flat and mountain streams, passes and gorges, mountains and hills, forests and waterfalls.
The central part of the reserve is the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains, the slopes of the internal mountains and the valleys between them. This also includes the Gurzuf and Yalta yailas, Chatyr-Dag and Babugan-yailas, and the most high mountains− Roman-Kosh, Black and Big Scarecrow. Among all the reserves and national parks of Crimea, there are the most mountain springs and rivers, lakes and waterfalls, some of them dry up in the summer, but there are also those that are full all year round.
The mountains of this largest of all the reserves and national parks of Crimea are made of ancient rocks Jurassic period: limestone, sandstone, slate, so this part of Crimea is replete with gorges and caves, grottoes and karst wells.
Among all the reserves and national parks of Crimea, almost half of all species of flora and fauna of the peninsula are concentrated in this one. The vegetation on the slopes of the mountains is located in belts: up to 450 meters you can see rocky and fluffy oak, Crimean pine or Pallas, higher up grow beech and hornbeam, pine and ash, euonymus, dogwood and rowan, and already from 1100 meters the yayls begin, as they are called in the Crimea alpine meadows. And these are very special places - such a lush kingdom of flowers in spring cannot be found anywhere else! Bright yellow adonis and lilac crocuses, amazingly colored irises and violets, adonis and Crimean edelweiss cover the ground in huge carpets, and the purest mountain air is filled with the smell of thyme, lemongrass and oregano.
To say that there are many animals in this Crimean reserve is to say nothing:
- 160 species of birds, including owl and pheasant, nightingale, starling and woodpeckers, rare black vulture and griffon vulture, buzzard and hawk, and even the endangered black stork, which was once exterminated in the Crimea, but now there is hope that they will again nest in the Crimean forests;
- many large ungulates: red deer and roe deer, mouflon and wild boar; the most numerous hedgehogs, foxes, badgers, weasels and hares, mice different types and shrews.
That's why this place is considered largest reserve and the Crimean National Park. And all this despite the fact that during the Great Patriotic War thousands of hectares of protected forests burned and almost all large animals were exterminated.
What nature reserves, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries are there in Crimea? There are many of them, and they are all different, but it is the magnificent combination of sea and mountains, meadows, forests and steppes that create the amazing landscape and climate of Crimea, which not a single person has ever resisted.