Crimean Mountains

Crimean Mountains
Crimean Mountains
	Twilight on Demerdji Mountain
Highest point
Peak	Roman-Kosh
Elevation	1,545 m (5,069 ft)
Coordinates	44°36′47″N 34°14′36″E / 44.61306°N 34.24333°E
Naming
Native name	Кримські гори (Ukrainian); Крымские горы (Russian); Qırım dağları (Crimean Tatar)
Geography
Location	Southern Crimea
Range coordinates	44°45′N 34°30′E / 44.750°N 34.500°ECoordinates: 44°45′N 34°30′E / 44.750°N 34.500°E
Geology
Age of rock	Cretaceous

The Crimean Mountains (Ukrainian: Кримські гори, translit. Krymski hory; Russian: Крымские горы, translit. Krymskie gory; Crimean Tatar: Qırım dağları) are a range of mountains running parallel to the south-eastern coast of Crimea, between about 8–13 kilometers (5–8 miles) from the sea. Toward the west, the mountains drop steeply to the Black Sea, and to the east, they change slowly into a steppe landscape.

The Crimean Mountains consist of three subranges. The highest is the Main range. The Main range is subdivided into several masses, known as yaylas or mountain plateaus (Yayla is Crimean Tatar for "Alpine Meadow"). They are:

Baydar Yayla
Ay-Petri Yayla
Yalta Yayla
Nikita Yayla
Hurzuf Yayla
Babugan Yayla
Chatyr-Dag Yayla
Dologorukovskaya (Subatkan) Yayla
Demirji Yayla
Karabi Yayla

Highest peaks[]

The Crimea's highest peak is the Roman-Kosh (Ukrainian: Роман-Кош; Russian: Роман-Кош, Crimean Tatar: Roman Qoş) on the Babugan Yayla at 1,545 metres (5,069 ft). Other important peaks over 1,200 metres include:

Demir-Kapu (Ukrainian: Демір-Капу, Russian: Демир-Капу, Crimean Tatar: Demir Qapı) 1,540 m in the Babugan Yayla;
Zeytin-Kosh (Ukrainian: Зейтин-Кош; Russian: Зейтин-Кош, Crimean Tatar: Zeytün Qoş) 1,537 m in the Babugan Yayla;
Kemal-Egerek (Ukrainian: Кемаль-Егерек, Russian: Кемаль-Эгерек, Crimean Tatar: Kemal Egerek) 1,529 m in the Babugan Yayla;
Eklizi-Burun (Ukrainian: Еклізі-Бурун, Russian: Эклизи-Бурун, Crimean Tatar: Eklizi Burun) 1,527 m in the Chatyrdag Yayla;
Lapata (Ukrainian: Лапата; Russian: Лапата, Crimean Tatar: Lapata) 1,406 m in the Yaltynska Yayla, Yalta Yaylası;
Northern Demirji (Ukrainian: Північний Демірджі, Russian: Северный Демирджи, Crimean Tatar: Şimaliy Demirci) 1,356 m in the Demirci Yayla;
Ai-Petri (Ukrainian: Ай-Петрі, Russian: Ай-Петри, Crimean Tatar: Ay Petri) 1,234 m in the Ay Petri Yaylası.

Passes and rivers[]

The most important passes over the Crimean Mountains are:

Angarskyi Pass near Perevalne, on a road from Alushta to Simferopol
Baydar Gate near Foros, connecting Baydar Valley and the sea coast
Laspi Pass near Cape Aya, on a road from Yalta to Sevastopol.

Rivers of the Crimean Mountains include the Alma River, Chernaya River, and Salhir River on the northern slope and Uchan-su River on the southern slope which forms the Uchan-su waterfall, a popular tourist attraction and highest waterfall in Crimea.

History[]

Archaeologists have found the earliest anatomically modern humans in Europe in the Crimean mountains' caves. The fossils are 32,000 years old, with the artifacts linked to the Gravettian culture. The fossils have cut marks suggesting a post-mortem defleshing ritual.^[1]^[2]

Gallery[]

Karabi mountain plateau
Karabi mountain plateau
Mountain plateau of Karabi
Mountain plateau of Chatyr-Dag mountain
Crimean mountains

References[]

^ Prat, Sandrine; Péan, Stéphane C.; Crépin, Laurent; Drucker, Dorothée G.; Puaud, Simon J.; Valladas, Hélène; Lázničková-Galetová, Martina; van der Plicht, Johannes; et al. (17 June 2011). "The Oldest Anatomically Modern Humans from Far Southeast Europe: Direct Dating, Culture and Behavior". plosone. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020834.
^ Carpenter, Jennifer (20 June 2011). "Early human fossils unearthed in Ukraine". BBC. Retrieved 21 June 2011.

External links[]

Crimean mountains - view on all parts of mountains of Crimea
Mountains of Crimea - Great collection of Crimean mountains from private mountain guide Sergey Sorokin