Boarders and Geographical Location. Climate

The Autonomous Republic of Crimea (from 1954 to 1991 it was the Crimean Region) is part of the Ukraine. The administrative border in the north stretches along the Perekop Swell and the Sivash, a shallow bay of the Sea of Azov. In the north east of the peninsula there is a long sand spit, called the Arabat Spit, whose northern half, the broader part, is within the Kherson Region of Ukraine. In t he south west of Crimea is the city of Sevastopol, it has, along with Kiev, been self-administered and directly sub­ordinate to the Government of Ukraine.

The capital of Crimea, Simferopol (popula­tion about 370,000), is the economical and cultural center, and joins all the roads of the peninsula. The capital's name, translated from Greek, is the City of Benefit, or City of the Gatherer. Crimea is equidistant from the Equator and the Northern Pole. Lying at the meeting point of Europe and Asia, it has been impacted by Antique, Judaic, Christian, and Muslim cultures, and has forever become a crossroad of peoples and civilizations, with an unmatched diversity of natural and historical landmarks.

Area. 000 square km, which for a peninsula is quite a lot. Crimea is only slightly smaller than Belgium, Albania or Haiti, and is bigger than Israel, Cyprus, and Lebanon. Crimea contains a variety of natural features, including mountains and plains, good agricultural land, and has a long beautiful coastline.

Relief. The flat portion of Crimea is much like the neighbouring steppe regions of Ukraine, but in the west, the plain turns into the lime terraces of the Tarkhankut, running their steep edge into the sea line. In the east are the hilly ridges of the Kerch Peninsula.

The Crimean Mountains in the south extend in three parallel ridges from Sevastopol to Feodosiya, spanning 150 kilometres. Their southern slopes are almost vertical, whilst the northern ones slope gently down into ridge lined valleys or plains. Two ridges in the north, small in height, form the Crimean foothills. They are cut into separate tracts by picturesque river valleys, and the main ridge, called Yaila (in the Crimean Tatar language this stands for "summer pasture") forms as an almost continuous barrier whose central part is over a thousand meters high. The ridge protects a narrow patch of land to the south from the cold winds, the famous Southern Coast of Crimea.

Climate. Overall, it is that of a temperate zone. However, the southern coast of Crimea from Cape Aya in the west to Mount Kara-Dag in the east, is called Sub-Mediterranean, since climatically this coast is similar to the Mediterranean region. The sunshine, water and air temperature, quantity of precipitation, wildlife and vegetation is the kind observed in the subtropics. The average temperature in January is 4 ° C. The climate in the northern, flat part of is continental, like a temperate zone. Although infrequently there can be severe frosts and temperature as low as minus 30 ° C, the average in January is between minus 2 ° C to and plus 1 ° C.

Summer in Crimea is hot throughout the whole territory (the average temperature in June is 24 ° C, in August the heat can exceed 40 ° C, but it is possible to withstand this since the air is dry), and sunny days are refreshed by short showers - mostly in the afternoon. The time frame of the summer vacation period is typically from the middle of May (though the resorts are also popular on national holidays at the beginning of May) through to the end of September. Autumn treats you to frequent sunny days (and sometimes weeks), with some rain as well. Winter normally does not differ much from late autumn, but in the mountains there is a different climate, with dry frosty air, and clean fluffy snow. Crimeans in their thousands travel to Angarsk Saddle-Point and Mount Ai-Petri. In spring, the deep waters of the Black Sea warm up more slowly around Yalta and Alushta, than they do at the northern and eastern coasts of Crimea. Due to this, March and April are much better on the western coasts and in the Foothills.

Quantity of Sunshine at the Crimean resorts substantially exceeds that of both Nice and Sochi. Within the warm period of the year alone, from April until October, in Evpatoria, according to longstanding records, the sun shines in cloudless skies for 1982. This is more than what is received in Sochi for the whole year.

If you start the bathing season in the Steregushchie village on May 6 and finish it in Yalta on October 23, it lasts nearly half a year!

Relative humidity in Crimea is generally always and throughout low, around 65 - 80%, and thus you can breathe easily, even in the heat. The relative humidity in Yalta's area, according to a number of climatic records, are the lowest in Europe.