Interesting facts about the Crimea: geography, climate, flora and fauna. Trolleybus "Simferopol - Yalta". Caves, therapeutic lakes of the Crimea. Health resorts of Crimea

About the Crimea very often say that this is a "world in miniature." And it is not surprising, because the peninsula is a unique place where you can not only have a good rest on the seashore, but also get great pleasure from visiting the local cultural and historical monuments with which this ancient land is rich. Today in the article we decided to collect the most interesting facts about the Crimea. They are able to completely turn your idea about this unusual place, where it is necessary to go to rest in the near future.

Republic of Crimea: general description

The Crimean peninsula deservedly receives a lot of admired epithets, which it is awarded by Russian and foreign tourists. The pearl of Europe (so often called these lands) is at the junction of two latitudes, and here you can see almost all the diversity of the nature of our planet. In the Crimea there are mountains, rivers, lakes, ancient volcanoes and steppes - you will not enumerate everything. This beauty you need to see with your own eyes.

The Republic of Crimea is a part of the Russian Federation and has more than two and a half thousand kilometers of land and sea borders. The peninsula is washed by the Black and Azov seas. The total area of the Crimea is almost twenty-seven thousand square kilometers, and with the continent it is connected by a narrow isthmus.

The peninsula has always interested people who have settled here since ancient times. Then the Crimea was called Tavrida, and here several dozens of different peoples lived together. Now the composition of the republic is no less colorful, there are more than one hundred and twenty five nationalities on the peninsula. It's no wonder that when tourists come here to relax and hear from the guides a variety of interesting facts about the Crimea, many of them seem to be truly fantastic stories.

Crimea: the climate

The climate of the Crimea allowed to turn the peninsula into a health resort, where tourists from all over the world come every year. Most of the peninsula has a temperate continental climate, but the southern territories are characterized by subtropical features. This leads to the fact that the average winter temperature varies from plus one to plus four degrees Celsius. Winter is usually very mild and warm, often rains. In the mountains it is always a bit colder, but there are many more clear sunny days. In summer, the thermometer does not fall below twenty-five degrees of heat and there is a moderate precipitation.

For many people, the climate of the Crimea is ideal and even has a healing power. Therefore, in the peninsula, many health resorts and boarding houses have been built, which provide an opportunity to relax at the resort and substantially improve their health.

Ancient peninsula: geography

The geography of Crimea and its relief attract tourists and numerous scientists who work on this land, making one historical discovery after another. The peninsula is deeply exposed to the Black Sea, and from the east it is washed by the waters of the Azov Sea. Both water areas form fairly even banks with bays. On the Black Sea coast are the following bays:

• Calamitic;
• Theodosius;
• Karkinitsky.

To the water area of the Azov Sea are:

• Sivash;
• Kazantip Bay;
• Arabat Gulf.

If you look at the peninsula from a bird's eye view, then its outlines look very romantic. To many they resemble a heart or a bunch of grapes. Everyone is ready to see here something of their own - special.

The geography of Crimea is quite interesting - on the peninsula there are mountains, rivers, lakes and plains. The Crimean mountains divide the peninsula into two parts. The greater part (about 70% of the entire territory) consists of plains and lowlands, and the smaller part is represented by mountain ranges.

Over the territory of the peninsula there are more than two hundred and fifty rivers and about fifty saline lakes are located. There are many natural reserves in the republic, in which the entire flora and fauna of the Crimea is represented.

Flora and fauna of the Crimean peninsula

Flora and fauna of Crimea is something absolutely special, it is extremely rich and diverse. More than half of the two and a half thousand plants belong to the Mediterranean. In addition, about ten percent of the species are endemic, they do not grow anywhere else, except for these places. Many scientists argue that some of the plants are characteristic of the historical period, which ended approximately two million years ago. But others were as if transferred from the Siberian taiga back in the Ice Age.

If you, having found yourself in the Crimea, make an ascent to the mountains, then you will notice how the plant world is changing as you progress. You can see pines, oaks, juniper bushes, strawberry, wintergreen and many other kinds of plants. Tourists are happy to visit the reserves, which impress the imagination with a wealth of species.

The fauna of the peninsula is very rich. On the peninsula, there are more than ninety species of rare birds, poisonous insects and reptiles. The pride of Crimea is a noble deer - one of the oldest inhabitants of these territories. Small predators are represented by caress, badger, fox and numerous ferrets. However, in recent years the peninsula has lost more than twenty-six species of mammals. They were destroyed as a result of unreasonable human activity, and it is unfortunately impossible to restore the population, unfortunately.

The most interesting facts about Crimea

The Crimean peninsula is filled with various man-made and natural sights that are worthy of a separate mention in our article:

• The caves of the Crimea conceal many secrets and surprises. Archaeologists have managed to find here numerous sites of Neanderthals, perfectly preserved to the present day. On the peninsula is one of the deepest karst caves with a length of more than sixteen thousand meters.
• Almost all the lakes of the peninsula are saline, some of them are medicinal.
• On the territory of the Crimea there are about a hundred mineral springs.
• From Yalta to Simferopol can be reached by trolley.
• The peninsula is the most powerful solar station on the planet.
• The inhabitants of the Crimea have always been kind to fresh water of good quality. In ancient times, it even transformed into a special cult, in which the life-giving moisture was practically deified.
• At the Simferopol reservoir is the largest in the whole of Europe earth dam.

Of course, this is far from all interesting facts about the Crimea. After all, to list all the beauties and sights of the peninsula within the framework of one article is simply impossible. But we decided to tell about some of them in more detail.

Caves of Crimea

A lot of tourists come to the peninsula to explore the caves. They are surprisingly beautiful here and are located in easily accessible places. Newcomers, experienced speleologists and those who have nothing to do with science can come here, but simply for the sake of curiosity descends into the bowels of the earth.

For tourists caves are divided into three categories of availability:

• Publicly available;
• Sports;
• Equipped.

The first category is a favorite place for independent tourists. Caves have a small slope or are completely horizontal, this allows them to study without special equipment. Therefore, everyone can go down here and get into an amazing underground kingdom.

There are a lot of sport caves in the Crimea. They usually have several levels, complex labyrinths and sheer wells. In Soviet times, such caves were studied by enthusiasts and only after some time attracted the attention of serious speleologists.

Equipped caves are intended for visiting as a part of tourist groups. They are well lit and have fences. For a small fee to get here can absolutely everyone, it is more interesting to go down here together with the guide. He will tell the story of these places and indicate what to pay more attention to.

In order not to be unfounded, we decided to mention some of the most famous caves of the Crimean peninsula. The most beautiful is the Marble Cave. It was opened in the late eighties of last century and almost immediately became popular with tourists. Located underground galleries on the plateau Chatyr-Dag and consist of marble limestone. Tourists can go through the numerous halls and galleries under the beautiful musical accompaniment. On the way, they will meet bizarre figures, unusual crystals that show all the colors of the rainbow in the light of lanterns, and a mineralogical museum, where you can go on a special route.

Red caves are one of the longest in Europe. Until now, they have not been fully studied, because the lower levels are completely flooded with water from the river, which formed these bizarre and mysterious galleries. To date, scientists have been able to study only six tiers, but they amaze their imagination with their beauty. The difference in altitude between the various galleries in some places is more than two hundred meters. Tourists can see only five hundred meters of caves.

Lakes of Crimea

Curative lakes of the Crimea attract annually to the peninsula a lot of tourists. Treatment is done with the help of healing mud, which is extracted from the bottom of the lake. From here she goes to sanatoriums and health resorts of the Crimea. Many tourists prefer to treat themselves independently, finding the next salt lake. But doctors categorically against this option, because self-medication can even lead to the death of a person.

Sakskoe Lake supplies the entire peninsula with curative mud. With its help, treat the following diseases:

• Urogenital system;
• infertility;
• Skin problems;
• Disorders of the musculoskeletal system and many others.

The dirt itself looks like a dark oily substance, lying only at a depth of half a meter from the surface of the reservoir. This is the smallest lake in the Crimea, but the reserves of therapeutic mud here are truly large - four and a half million cubic meters.

Boarding houses and clinics of Crimea

For more than two hundred years people have come to the peninsula to be treated. To this end, different methods are used:

• mineral water;
• balneotherapy;
• Mud cure and the like.

In hospitals, even people with malignant neoplasms can restore their health, which is a rarity in our country. The entire peninsula is divided into resort areas, where sanatoriums and health resorts of the Crimea are located:

• Yalta;
• Alupka;
• Livadia;
• Danilovka;
• Gurzuf;
• Kurpaty;
• Gaspra;
• Koreiz;
• Foros;
• Alushta;
• Koktebel;
• Theodosius;
• Pike perch and the like.

In all, about twenty-four zones can be counted. In many there are several large sanatoriums. For example, in Koktebel there are four, and in Alupka two - "Green Cape" and "South Coast".

The longest trolleybus route in the world

In the middle of the last century, Simferopol and Yalta connected a trolleybus line stretching for eighty-six kilometers. There are several trolleybuses on the route, so you can travel around the Crimea in a very unusual way, because such a long branch is not found anywhere else in the world.

The most common route is the trolleybus № 55 "Simferopol - Yalta". He connects the railway stations of two cities and is on the road for two and a half hours. Tourists can ride on the oldest trolleybus in the CIS in 1971 or choose a new transport with air conditioning and TV. During the day, twenty-one flights are made with an interval of forty minutes. The very first trolleybus departs at half past five in the morning, the last at ten o'clock in the evening.

Crimean peninsula: astrophysical observatory

In the early twentieth century, one of the Crimean rich men - Nikolai Maltsev - decided to build on Mount Koshka an observatory to observe the heavenly bodies. So the first astrophysical observatory in the Crimea appeared, which has now turned into a full-fledged scientific center.

It is located at an altitude of six hundred meters above sea level and formed a whole town, which received the name "Science". Here live and work more than three hundred families, for their convenience in the mountains built all the infrastructure up to kindergartens.

The specialists of the observatory work in six areas, among them very relevant studies on the physics of the Sun.

A few words in conclusion

The peninsula Crimea can not be described in words. Here literally every centimeter of the earth is unique and unique, and also filled with the spirit of ancient times. If you want to feel it, then come here and make your list of the most interesting facts about the Crimea.