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The Black Sea coast of
Russia
Mountains and the
sea created the Caucasus. As a result, one sees
magnolia trees, palms and banana plants in abundance in the
Russian Black Sea coast. The forest area in hinterland has been
declared a Russian biosphere
reserve - covering 282 thousand ha and including
over 2000 species of plants in the coastal subtropical zone of
evergreen woods. There are mixed forests of oaks, chestnuts and
beech trees in the mountains up to 1200m above sea level, then at
1200-1300m - the forests of furs and pines, followed up to 1400m
by mixed forests of birches, maples, Caucasian beech trees, above
which there are alpine meadows up to 2400m, grass zone at
2400-2500m above sea level, and tundra above 3000m. The forests
are populated by Caucasian bisons, deers, bears, wild boars,
aurochs, chamois.
The climate of the western part of the coast (between
Novorossiisk and Sochi) is of the Mediterranean type with the dry
and hot, sunny summer, and a rainy and comparatevely cold winter.
The average annual temperature in this region is 14.3C, the
average temperature of January is 2C, and the average temperature
of July is 23C. The bathing season lasts from the middle of May
to the end of October. Since the mountains between Novotossiisk
and Sochi are low (maximum 1000m), cold air masses brought by the
Northeast bora wind occasionally reach the coastal area.
The climate of the southeastern part
of the coast between Sochi and Adler is that of the humid
subropics. The average annual temperature reaches 14.9C, while
the average temperature of January is 6C, and the average
temperature of July is 24C. The bathing season lasts from april
to nearly December. The annual presipitation here is greater than
in the other coastal reageons, but is distributed more evenly
throughout the year.
An observant sea traveller will notice the changing colours of the Black Sea waters -
near Odessa they are grey green, near the Crimea - emerald green
with a blue tint, near Sochi - sky blue in Summer and deep blue
in Autumn.
The Russian Black Sea coast is administratively
a part of the Krasnodar territory, also known as
Kuban. Kuban covers an area of 83 th sq km and it has a
population of nearly 5 mln. This region is unequalled in the
Rusian Federation in the variety of natural
resources. There is high grade oil, natural gas, unique
cement maris, gypsum, rock-salt, etc. The fertile Kuban-Azov
plain, famous for its steady abundant crops, is situated in the
North Western part of Krasnodar Territory, one of the country's
best grain producing areas.However, Krasnodar Territory is not
only a vast agricultural area. A
large number of important industries have
been developed here: machine building plants, cement works,
natural gas extraction, oil refinaries, lumber mills and
factories of the light industries, chiefly - food. The latter has
more than 20 divisions, producing nearly half of the Territory's
industrial output. The chemic industry is developing rapidly,
with many large plants now in operation.
The Black Sea coast has plaid an important role in the history of
the Krasnodar territory. Prior to the October revolution the best
arable lands belonged to the nobility, rich Cossaks and the royal
Romanovs family. Today the Russian Black Sea area is one of the
world's unique resorts, having a variety of accommodation
facilities and tourist attractions.
Anapa is
famous in Russia as a resort for children, as there are 270 sunny
days per year in Anapa, sandy shallow beaches, developed
infrastructure for holidays and health recreation. Its present
growth can be entirely attributed to the mineral water springs,
climate and the warm sea. Yet, Anapa is one of the oldest
settlements on the coast. In V century BC it was the city called
Sinidaka, which later became a popular trade centre and port
Gorgippia of the Bosphorus kingdom. Since the end of the XIX
century archeologists have found many peculiar frescoes,
depicting Heracles (Hercules) and other findings. Anapa and its
neigbouring settlements could be gradually turned into a museum
of ancient cultures - the archeological findings discovered in
the region have been transferred to the museums of Moscow,
St.Petersburg, Cambridge, London, Odessa, Krasnodar, Yalta,
Feodosia. Gorgoppia was a rich city on the cross roads between
Scythia, Caucasus and Tauria (in the Crimea). The ancient
Bosphorus kingdom covered vast lands to the West and to the East
of the present Kerch stray, thus present both in Europe and in
Asia. To the North of Gorgoppia, in the Taman bay, there was the
Asian capital of the kingdom - Fanagoria. Excavations of this
capital discovered that 35ha of land and 18ha of the present sea
area constituted the city's territory. But it was in the sea that
the first ancient monuments - big marble sculptures of lions -
and some small articles were discovered in the 1820-es. In the
last century one could see the walls of ancient buildings and
columns underwater, when the sea was quiet. Similar records were
made of the ancient Temple of Achilles, fountains, swimming pools
and buildings of other ancient cities along the shores, all of
which are underwater at present. For centuries the sea has
changed the shore line, so unfortunately, many of the written
notes even of the last century archeologists can not serve as a
guidance. Excavations on the shore are also difficult - for 2,5
thousand years 12 metres of soil covered the old settlements.
Halfway from Anapa to Novorossiisk there is a town called Abrau Durso.
It's a picturesque settlement with a lake 85 m above sea level.
The lake is 11 m deep, its area is 190 ha, it's the biggest lake
in the Western Caucasus. In 1870 the Russian Ztar ordered that
the settlement would be turned into an advanced farm and
vineyard. This was the place where in the end of XIX the first
Russian Champaigne was produced, and till 1937 Abrau Durso was
the only place of Champaigne production in Russia.
Novorossiisk (pop.
approximately 200 000 people) is one of the largest sea ports for
foreign trade of Russia. The city is located on the shore of
Tsemesskaya bay, which is both large and deep, and is protected
from storms by the Sujukskaya Spit and Cape Dohob. The city is
hemmed in on the North, East and West by the foot hills of the
low Markotkh Range. The people of Novorossiisk can forecast the
weather by simple looking at the highest peak of the Range.
Novorossiisk was founded as a Rusian fortress by Vice-admiral
Mikhail Lazarev, Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, in 1840-es. As
it has been at the cross roads of trade, wars and cruises, it
witnessed many glorious historical events. Novorossiisk was
awarded the title of Hero City for the courage of its citizens
displayed during the Great Patriotic War (World War II). It was
nearly completely destroyed during the battles, but immediately
after the end of the war the city was named among those cities
which were to be reconstructed first in the USSR. The seaport has
been completely modernised and now has over 40 piers. The Naval
Engineering Academy is the top popular institute of higher
education in the city. Novorossiisk has no architectural
monuments of the past, not any ancient ruins.
The city's neighbouring town - Gelenjik
- is a famous sea resort and a centre of a large grape- and
fruit- growing region. It is one of the oldest Black Sea
settlements. Artifacts of the New Stone and Bronze ages were
discovered here. Ancient dolmens erected approximately 4000 years
ago are to be found near the Aderba river 6, 5 km from Gelenjik
in the direction of Tuapse. Geologists have studied the Gelenjik
bay: it has a tectonic origin. Beds of rivers that run into the
bay continue under the sea. Ancient amphoras have been taken from
the bottom - yet, it's unclear if they were remnants of an old
settlement, or the cargo of some ancient vessel. Some scientists
believe that there used to be a Greek city Torik somewhere in the
area.
Tuapse (pop.
54 000). The town is in a large valley, open to the sea from the
south and hemmed in by mountains on all other sides. It was
founded as a Russian fortress in 1828. In the end of the 19th
century the town stared developing rapidly due to the
construction of the highway from Novorossiisk to Sukhumi. When
Tuapse was oficcially declared a town in 1916 - it had the
population of 25 000. By the end of this century it has become an
important industrial and transportation centre of Russia. It is
one of the largest ports of the country specialized in exports of
oil and oil products. There are modern dry docks and a machine -
building plant. The surrounding mountains are famous: the
picturesque rocks inspired many well-known artists, nearly 40
caves attract speleologists, a group of dolmens 6 km away from
the city is a popular tourist attraction. A very special place is
the Honey Caves, inside of which honey of wild bees drips through
the cracks in the rocks.
Of the 450 km of Russian coast on the Black Sea, 145 km is the area of Sochi. There is one
motorway along the coast, which is mostly a picturesque zigzag
road inbetween the famed resorts and towns. The springs of
sulphur water which curative properties explain the development
of Sochi spas, are not the only mineral springs on the coast
line. Yet, the springs of Sochi - Matsesta - are unique - they
contain, besides hydrogen sulphide (in concentrations of over 400
mlg per litre), nitrogen, methane, carbonic acid, iodine, bromide
and fluorine. The curative "power" of the water is much
greater than that of such famed spas as Pyatigorsk (Russia),
Brusse (Turkey), Chalais (France), Stabilo (Italy) and Harrogate
(Great Britain). The temperature of the Matsesta Springs at the
surface fluctuates between 25 and 45C. Modern baths with all the
equipment were built in Sochi to provide natural treatment with
this water according to a variety of methods.