Few types of recreation or leisure can compete with being in the lap of nature? Who will refuse the pleasure of feeling the spirit of complete freedom, breathing in clean air saturated with the aromas of herbs and foliage?
Depriving oneself of the opportunity to contact nature more often is a retribution for the benefits provided by scientific and technological progress. From year to year, fewer places remain that would retain their original appearance. The issue raised prompted the birth of eco-tourism, which is responsible for helping organize cultural activities. Reserves and the national park of Crimea cannot be ignored.
Crimean nature reserve: creation
Almost a hundred years have passed since the formation of the Crimean nature reserve. It was in the pre-revolutionary 1913 that the tsarist government decided to create the “Reserve of Imperial Hunts”. Then on its territory there appeared such rare artiodactyls as the bison, Dagestan tour, Corsican mouflon, bezoar goat, Caucasian deer.
Another 10 years have passed. Passions connected with revolutionary events calmed down a bit, the civil war died out. The Council of People's Commissars of the young Soviet country issued a special decree on the transformation of the former tsarist reserve into a nature reserve. Initially, its territory had an area of 16 thousand hectares, but by the end of 1923 it was increased by 7 thousand hectares. Reserves and national parks of Crimea are increasingly attracting vacationers who are supporters of eco-tourism.
At the end of the 50s, the reserve changed its status. With the light hand of Khrushchev, it becomes the Crimean State Reserve-Hunting Farm, where only high-ranking officials could be. Only in 1991 the government of the Ukrainian SSR signed a decree thanks to which the territory again turned into a state reserve. It is located in the center of a group of mountain ranges under the general name Main Crimean Range. Currently, the Crimean National Park occupies almost 33.4 thousand hectares.
Climate and flora of the reserve
The climatic conditions of the Crimean reserve can not be called stable. The exposure of the slope and altitudinal zonation have a huge impact on this factor. For example, in the uppermost zone, negative temperatures can be held for up to four months during the year. In highlands, precipitation falls in large quantities (more than 1000 millimeters per year), due to which the sources of many rivers of Crimea appeared in the center of the reserve, including the Tavelchuk, Alma, Kacha and others. There are almost three hundred keys in the mountains of the Crimean reserve. Many of them are healing, the famous source of Savlukh-Su stands out especially - its water is saturated with silver ions.
The flora of the territory under state protection is quite diverse, the number of species exceeds 1200. Forests grow separately from each other, where one of the following tree species predominates:
- Crimean pine and Scots pine;
- oak;
- hornbeam;
- beech.
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of forests in this conservation area in terms of soil protection and water conservation. Not all locals know what national parks are in Crimea.
Who lives in the main reserve of Crimea?
Animals of the vertebrate class are represented by more than two hundred species. A noble deer or mouflon, a rapidly roaming Crimean roe deer that appeared from behind trees, should not cause surprise. Black vultures, griffon vultures and owls, of which there are several species, feel at ease. The state has protected fifty-two species of animals, and thirty are listed in the Red Book of Europe. These include:
- black stork;
- bustard;
- gray crane;
- owl;
- Crimean scorpion;
- starling pink , etc.
The rivers of the protected area cannot boast of a large number of species of freshwater inhabitants. But among them there are such rare fish as Crimean barbel and brook trout. There are not many corners of the planet where you can meet freshwater crab. The nature reserves and national parks of Crimea are the natural heritage of the whole people, therefore people should be careful about such magnificent places.
Here, especially for tourists, at one time created ecological trails and recreational sites. Everyone who wants to get acquainted with the rich nature of Crimea has a unique opportunity to see it with their own eyes.
Yalta Mountain Forest Nature Reserve
The reference point of the reserve with an area of 14 thousand 176 hectares is considered to be 1973. What nature reserves national parks are in the Crimea, excites many vacationers. In Soviet times, this territory was the main health resort, so people are wondering if there are forests and ecologically clean corners today.
On the slopes of the mountains of this reserve grow trees with fairly high trunks - Crimean and ordinary pine. Thickets of oak and beech are sometimes replaced by undergrowth, which consists of evergreen representatives of the Mediterranean. And this is not surprising, since the climate at the foot is the same as in the resorts of the Mediterranean Sea. The higher the slope, the greater the contrast.
Protected Plants of the Reserve
The number of species of those plants that need protection from the state is 78. Here are some of them:
- Crimean adenophora;
- adiantum (or venerein hair);
- small-fruited strawberries;
- juniper high ;
- Crimean cistus;
- Crimean peony;
- Crimean violet;
- Bieberstein’s stalk, etc.
There are also such species that have spread only within the protected area (the scientific term is “endemic species”), for example:
- Crimean bindweed;
- cloves are low;
- Crimean geranium;
- Dubrovnik Yailinsky;
- Crimean peony and others.
Such national parks of Crimea should be under special protection. A list of park zone names can be found in this article.
The wildlife of the reserve
In rare grass, reptiles crawl or bask on stones: the Crimean lizard, the Crimean gecko, snakes, yellow-bellied (legless lizard), and copperfish (from the family of antarctica). Under the reliable protection of the state there are animals from the genus of bats: bat, night-night, horseshoe carrier and evening-light.
Pride of the Yalta Reserve can be considered Ai-Petri, Uchan-Su waterfall (only 8 km from Yalta), Trekhglazka cave on Ai-Petri, Devil's staircase pass (or in the Turkic version of Shaitan-Merdven).
Employees of the Yalta Reserve pay special attention to educating the population on environmental issues. Ecological trails and trails serve this purpose for anyone who wants to get more information about local attractions. The national parks of Crimea are becoming increasingly famous. The names of these places were approved in the distant times of the USSR. It is important to carefully treat these places so that our ancestors can also appreciate the natural beauties of Russia.
Azov-Sivash National Natural Park
This park appeared almost twenty years ago - in 1993. Before that, there was the Azov-Sivash Nature Reserve. Although the nature park is considered Crimean, some of it is located within the Kherson region. In other words, it occupies the western coast of the Sea of Azov with an area of 57,400 hectares.
The lion's share of the park is located on a sea spit called Biryuchy Island and the other small islands located nearby. Almost fifty species of fauna that live in the Azov-Sivash National Park have been included in the Red Book. Of course, the main national park of Crimea cannot be compared with this territory.
Cape Martian Nature Reserve
If you drive a little eastward of the famous Nikitsky Botanical Garden, you will definitely meet the Cape Martyan Reserve on the way. The entire area of its territory, including the Black Sea, is 240 hectares. The status of the reserve was assigned to him in 1973, although the state took it under protection back in 1947.
The visiting card of the reserve is a relict forest, where at least five hundred species of vegetation grow, mainly belonging to the Mediterranean type. The name "Strawberry tree red" (or "Strawberry small-fruited") can be found in the International Red Book. This is a rare representative of broad-leaved evergreen trees, which are found mainly in the eastern part of the European continent. This is also a national park of Crimea, therefore, the inhabitants and plants of this area are treated in a special way.
The Swan Islands Nature Reserve
In the Karkinitsky Gulf - a part of the Black Sea bounded by the northwestern Crimean coastline - there are the Swan Islands and a nature reserve of the same name. Its total area is 9612 hectares.
The reserve is part of the trajectory along which birds migrate from Europe to the south (to Asia, Africa). The islands were chosen by cormorants, flamingos, silver gulls, herons, etc. for the construction of their nests. In total, there are up to 265 species of birds.
Everyone should visit the Crimean national parks, a list of which is presented in this article. These places delight and amaze with their naturalness.