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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.