Cape Martian in Crimea: description and location

The nature of our planet is unique. And the nature untouched by civilization is doubly beautiful. On the ground, there are not many places where you can enjoy the beauty of the Mediterranean subtropics. Most likely, they can be counted on the fingers, but even they are more than enough to plunge into the world of wildlife, to hear the singing of rare birds, to see with their eyes endangered species of animals.

A wonderful place that everyone should visit is Cape Martyan Nature Reserve. It is located in the Crimea near Yalta. A large city does not affect not only the reserve itself, but also the surrounding area.

Tourists who appreciate eco-tourism, and this movement has become quite popular in recent years, will plunge into a protected reserve where landscapes are completely untouched and the air is crystal clear. Such a trip will be not only interesting, but also useful and entertaining.

The territory of the reserve itself appeared due to the movement of tectonic plates - part of the Nikitsky Ridge, which collapsed into the sea at the moment of plate movement, formed after itself a cape, debris at the water's edge (they are also called “stone chaos”).

The mountains that surrounded the ridge, and now the cape, still protected and protected the territory from the north winds, thereby providing the terrain smooth climate, without extreme temperature extremes. This climate is considered characteristic of the southern coast of Crimea.

The climate is formed under the influence of geographic latitudes and atmospheric processes, which are created under the influence of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Nevertheless, weather conditions on the peninsula are different in that the southern coast is surrounded from the north by mountain ranges. That is, due to the geographical position of the cape cold air does not fully fall outside the ridge, and if it passes, it is not with such force.

It turns out that the temperature here is never too cold even if we accept the fact that the reserve is located close to the sea.

Territorially Cape Martyan is not so big, only 240 hectares, and the Black Sea Cape is also included in this figure.

Now the territory of the reserve refers to the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, considered natural science lab.

Thanks to the works of academician Peter Simon Pallas, a botanical garden was created on a cape. In his writings he described the authentic landscape and natural vegetation preserved in this territory, which, in his opinion, is considered the benchmark of Mediterranean vegetation.

Other representatives of the Red Book, which grow in the reserve, can be considered:

• juniper high;
• pistachio stupid.

It is noteworthy that the age of some juniper bushes reaches 100 years, but there are also such rare specimens whose age is more than 500 years.

The reserve is very young, because it received this status only in 1973. In 1969, the ancient fortresses on its territory, the construction of which is dated to the XIII-XV centuries, were taken under observation, namely, the status of a monument of archeology received a fortress called Ruskofil-Kale, built in the XIII century.

But if you delve into the history of the formation of the reserve, you can understand that it was considered to be a natural monument back in the 40s of the last century.After all, it was during these years that scientists realized that on the cape there are rare species of animals and plants that make the territory unique.

The idea of ​​creating a juniper reserve was supported by many scientists and workers of the botanical garden, and therefore in 1947 the grove on the cape was given the title of reserve, which was taken under protection.

But legally the territory was not a reserve until February 20, 1973. It was on this day that the reserve was registered, indicating that the total length of the territory is 240 hectares, of which 120 are land (groves, forests and botanical gardens) and the second half of 120 hectares is the water area of ​​the Black Sea.

Many tourists from all over the world travel a long way to see the amazing and beautiful sights of the Crimea. It is not hard to guess that plants and animals are also in great demand. Especially if there is an opportunity to see with your own eyes so rare representatives of flora and fauna.

As mentioned earlier, there are about 500 species of trees. This is a truly unique place where juniper and other rare plants can be found.

On the territory of the reserve plants are divided into those that bloom all year round, and those that bloom seasonally. Usually about 68% of plants bloom all year round, and the rest are those that grow in summer or winter. The vegetation of flowering due to climate in some species can last from 10-15 days and even go up to two months.

The main part of the land is covered with forests of fluffy oak (the height of this tree is up to 4-8 meters in 60 years), representatives of juniper high occupy a little less. Even in the reserve you can find the Crimean pines - their height reaches 10 meters, the diameter of the trunk varies from 20 to 40 cm, and the average age is 90 years, which is 2 times more than that of oak.

Due to the large amount of precipitation, the vegetation extends farther and higher. Of course, it does not do without the help of a person that cares for rare plants.

Small strawberry, which is found on the territory of the cape, is considered an evergreen deciduous tree. Its height is approximately 20 meters. It grows in a community, cyclically, in small groups.

This tree is under special observation, as it is thermophilic and dies at temperatures below minus 15 degrees. And for him, spring frosts are considered a dangerous time, when, after several days of warm weather, the tree leaves the hibernation state. Sudden frosts can destroy it.

The beginning of flowering is considered to be the period from the beginning of April, the plant will bloom in mid-May, and in June the leaves fall. The fruits on the tree begin to ripen at the end of October, and their ripening continues until January.

And also worth noting a wide variety of orchids. They are 22 species, and they are all protected.

About 130 species have been discovered in the coastal waters of Cape Martyan seaweed On the part of the animal world, you should not rely too much on the fact that here you can see any large mammals, since they are not found on Cape Martian.

But you can see a lot of insects:

• grainy ground beetle;
• large centipede skolopendr;
• praying mantis;
• large cicadas;
• butterflies "Polyxena".

On the territory of the Cape are found different types of lizards (in particular, a rare species of the Crimean rocky lizard and the Crimean bare-footed gecko).

Among the birds can be found avifauna (all nine species that exist in the world), Crimean jay, goose-bush, crossbreed, pika.

It is almost impossible to meet especially large mammals in the reserve, but still rare species of animals live there. One of these representatives can be considered Crimean stone marten, which is also called a mountain fox or a forest mouse.

The quickest way to get to the reserve is from Yalta.Shuttle buses will need to get to the village of Nikita. For a more convenient journey, you can use the coordinates of the cape. N 44.506379 E 34.245028. If you want to see the sea, then there is a ship route from Yalta to Gurzuf (the route goes through the reserve).

About the features of the reserve, see the next video.