Covering an area of , Crimea is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea and on the western coast of the
Sea of Azov; the only land border is shared with Ukraine's
Kherson Oblast on the north. Crimea is almost an island and only connected to the continent by the
Isthmus of Perekop, a strip of land about wide. Much of the natural border between the Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland comprises the
Syvash or "Rotten Sea", a large system of shallow lagoons stretching along the western shore of the Sea of Azov. Besides the isthmus of Perekop, the peninsula is connected to the Kherson Oblast's
Henichesk Raion by bridges over the narrow
Chonhar and
Henichesk straits and over Kerch Strait to the
Krasnodar Krai. The northern part of
Arabat Spit is administratively part of Henichesk Raion in Kherson Oblast, including its two rural communities of
Shchaslyvtseve and
Strilkove. The eastern tip of the Crimean peninsula comprises the
Kerch Peninsula, separated from
Taman Peninsula on the Russian mainland by the
Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov, at a width of between . Geographers generally divide the peninsula into three zones: the
steppe, the
Crimean Mountains, and the
Southern Coast.
Places Given its long history and many conquerors, most towns in Crimea have several names.
West: The
Isthmus of Perekop/
Perekop/
Or Qapi, about wide, connects Crimea to the mainland. It was often fortified and sometimes garrisoned by the Turks. The
North Crimean Canal now crosses it to bring water from the Dnieper. To the west
Karkinit Bay separates the
Tarkhankut Peninsula from the mainland. On the north side of the peninsula is
Chernomorskoe/Kalos
Limen. On the south side is the large
Donuzlav Bay and the port and ancient Greek settlement of
Yevpatoria/Kerkinitis/Gözleve. The coast then runs south to
Sevastopol/
Chersonesus, a good natural harbor, great naval base and the largest city on the peninsula. At the head of
Sevastopol Bay stands
Inkermann/Kalamita. South of Sevastopol is the small
Heracles Peninsula. and
Novyi Svit South: In the south, between the
Crimean Mountains and the sea runs a narrow coastal strip which was
held by the Genoese and (after 1475) by the Turks. Under Russian rule it became a kind of
riviera. In Soviet times the many palaces were replaced with
dachas and health resorts. From west to east are:
Heracles Peninsula;
Balaklava/Symbalon/Cembalo, a smaller natural harbor south of Sevastopol;
Foros, the southernmost point;
Alupka with the
Vorontsov Palace (Alupka);
Gaspra;
Yalta;
Gurzuf;
Alushta. Further east is
Sudak/Sougdia/Soldaia with its Genoese fort. Further east still is Theodosia/Kaffa/
Feodosia, once a great
slave-mart and a kind of capital for the Genoese and Turks. Unlike the other southern ports, Feodosia has no mountains to its north. At the east end of the
Kerch Peninsula is
Kerch/
Panticapaeum, once the capital of the
Bosporian Kingdom. Just south of Kerch the new Crimean Bridge (opened in 2018) connects Crimea to the
Taman Peninsula.
Sea of Azov: There is little on the south shore. The west shore is marked by the
Arabat Spit. Behind it is the
Syvash or "Putrid Sea", a system of lakes and marshes which in the far north extend west to the Perekop Isthmus. Road- and rail-bridges cross the northern part of Syvash.
Interior: Most of the former capitals of Crimea stood on the north side of the mountains.
Mangup/Doros (Gothic, Theodoro).
Bakhchysarai (1532–1783). Southeast of Bakhchysarai is the cliff-fort of
Chufut-Kale/Qirq Or which was used in more warlike times.
Simferopol/Ak-Mechet, the modern capital.
Karasu-Bazar/Bilohirsk was a commercial centre. Solkhat/
Staryi Krym was the old Tatar capital. Towns on the northern steppe area are all modern, notably
Dzhankoi, a major road- and rail-junction.
Rivers: The longest is the
Salhyr, which rises southeast of Simferopol and flows north and northeast to the Sea of Azov. The
Alma flows west to reach the Black Sea between Yevpatoria and Sevastopol. The shorter
Chorna flows west to Sevastopol Bay.
Nearby: East of the Kerch Strait the Ancient Greeks founded colonies at
Phanagoria (at the head of
Taman Bay),
Hermonassa (later Tmutarakan and
Taman),
Gorgippia (later a Turkish port and now Anapa). At the northeast point of the Sea of Azov at the mouth of the Don River were
Tanais, Azak/
Azov and now
Rostov-on-Don. North of the peninsula the Dnieper turns westward and enters the Black Sea through the east–west
Dnieper-Bug Estuary which also receives the Bug River. At the mouth of the Bug stood
Olbia. At the mouth of the estuary is
Ochakiv.
Odesa stands where the coast turns southwest. Further southwest is
Tyras/Akkerman/
Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi.
Crimean Mountains The southeast coast is flanked at a distance of from the sea by a parallel range of mountains: the Crimean Mountains. These mountains are backed by
secondary parallel ranges. The main range of these mountains rises with extraordinary abruptness from the deep floor of the Black Sea to an altitude of , beginning at the southwest point of the peninsula, called
Cape Fiolent. Some Greek myths state that this cape was supposedly crowned with the temple of
Artemis where
Iphigeneia officiated as priestess.
Uchan-su, on the south slope of the mountains, is the highest waterfall in Crimea.
Hydrography There are 257 rivers and major streams on the Crimean peninsula; they are primarily fed by rainwater, with snowmelt playing a very minor role. This makes for significant seasonal fluctuation in water flow, with many streams drying up completely during the summer. The largest rivers are the
Salhyr (Salğır, Салгир), the Kacha (Кача), the
Alma (Альма), and the Belbek (Бельбек). Also important are the Kokozka (Kökköz or Коккозка), the Indole (Indol or Индо́л), the
Chorna (Çorğun, Chernaya or Чёрная), the Derekoika (Dereköy or Дерекойка), the Karasu-Bashi (Biyuk-Karasu or Биюк-Карасу) (a tributary of the Salhyr river), the Burulcha (Бурульча) (also a tributary of the Salhyr), the
Uchan-su, and the Ulu-Uzen'. The longest river of Crimea is the Salhyr at . The Belbek has the greatest average discharge at . The Alma and the Kacha are the second- and third-longest rivers. , which provided 85% of Crimea's drinking and agriculture water. There are more than fifty salt lakes and
salt pans on the peninsula. The largest of them is Lake Sasyk (Сасык) on the southwest coast; others include
Aqtas, Koyashskoye, Kiyatskoe, Kirleutskoe, Kizil-Yar, Bakalskoe, and
Donuzlav. The general trend is for the former lakes to become salt pans.
Lake Syvash (Sıvaş or Сива́ш) is a system of interconnected shallow
lagoons on the north-eastern coast, covering an area of around . A number of dams have created reservoirs; among the largest are the Simferopolskoye, Alminskoye, the Taygansky and the Belogorsky just south of
Bilohirsk in
Bilohirsk Raion. The
North Crimea Canal, which transports water from the
Dnieper, is the largest of the man-made irrigation channels on the peninsula. Crimea was facing an unprecedented
water shortage crisis following the blocking of the canal by Ukraine in 2014. and served as prime perquisites of the politically loyal. In addition, vineyards and fruit orchards are located in the region. Fishing, mining, and the production of
essential oils are also important. Numerous Crimean Tatar villages, mosques,
monasteries, and palaces of the Russian imperial family and nobles are found here, as well as picturesque ancient Greek and medieval castles. The Crimean Mountains and the southern coast are part of the
Crimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion. The natural vegetation consists of scrublands, woodlands, and forests, with a climate and vegetation similar to the
Mediterranean Basin.
Climate Crimea is located between the
temperate and
subtropical climate belts and is characterised by warm and sunny weather. It is characterised by diversity and the presence of microclimates. In the central and mountainous areas the climate is transitional between the continental climate to the north and the
Mediterranean climate to the south. In July mean temperatures range from in
Ai-Petri to in the central parts of Crimea to in Myskhor.
Strategic value (shown in purple) connecting
Uppsala with
Constantinople via
Cherson. The major centres of
Kievan Rus' –
Kyiv itself,
Novgorod and
Ladoga – arose along this route. The Black Sea ports of Crimea provide quick access to the
Eastern Mediterranean,
Balkans and Middle East.
Historically, possession of the southern coast of Crimea was sought after by most empires of the greater region since antiquity (
Roman,
Byzantine,
Ottoman,
Russian,
British and French,
Nazi German,
Soviet). The nearby
Dnieper River is a major waterway and transportation route that crosses the European continent from north to south and ultimately links the Black Sea with the
Baltic Sea, of strategic importance since the historical trade route
from the Varangians to the Greeks. The Black Sea serves as an economic thoroughfare connecting the
Caucasus region and the
Caspian Sea to central and Eastern Europe. According to the
International Transport Workers' Federation, there were at least 12 operating merchant seaports in Crimea. ==Economy==