Crimean Mountains

The Crimean Mountains or Yayla Mountains /jaɪːlə/, /jeɪːlæ/ 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.

Crimean Mountains
Twilight on Demirci yayla
Highest point
Peak	Roman-Kosh
Elevation	1,545 m (5,069 ft)
Coordinates	44°36′47″N 34°14′36″E
Naming
Native name	Qırım dağları (Crimean Tatar) Кримські гори (Ukrainian) Крымские горы (Russian)
Geography
Location	Southern Crimea
Range coordinates	44°45′N 34°30′E
Geology
Rock age	Cretaceous

Subranges

The Crimean Mountains consist of three subranges. The highest is the Main Range, which is subdivided into several yaylas or mountain plateaus (yayla or yaylak is Turkic for "alpine meadow"). They are:

• Baydar yayla
• Ai-Petri yayla
• Yalta yayla
• Nikita yayla
• Gurzuf yayla
• Babugan yayla
• Chatyr-Dag yayla
• Dologorukovskaya (Subatkan) yayla
• Demirci yayla
• Qarabiy yayla

Highest peaks

Crimea's highest peak is the Roman-Kosh 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 passes over the Crimean Mountains are (from east to west):

• Angarskyi Pass (752m) near Perevalne, on a road from Alushta to Simferopol
• Okhotnyche (1185m) near Ai-Petri mountain peak, on the road from Yalta to Bakhchysarai
• Baydar Gate (503m) near Foros, connecting Baydar Valley and the sea coast
• Laspi Pass (350m) 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, and the highest waterfall in Crimea.

History

Archaeologists have found the earliest anatomically modern humans in Europe in the Crimean Mountains' Buran-Kaya 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.

Gallery

• 
  Qarabiy yayla
• 
  Qarabiy yayla
• 
  Qarabiy yayla
• 
  Mountain plateau of Chatyr-Dag mountain
• 
  The Crimean Mountains

See also

• Tepe-Kermen
• Perchem
• Yuke-Tepe (1025)

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