Mount Ayu-dag

Bear Mountain

Crimea, Alushta

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Categories: Nature Alushta

Rating 7.0

Based on 1 reviews

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GPS: 44.5601, 34.3326

Mount Ayu-dag

Bear Mountain

Crimea, Alushta

The form of Mount Ayu-Dag (Bear Mountain) is characteristic of all laccoliths - the so-called "failed volcanoes". The domed peak was formed as a result of cooling of magma in the thickness of the earth's crust. The volcano, as it were, did not have enough energy to eject molten substances from the bowels of the earth and, exhausted, it froze on the surface like a stone mushroom.

The height of the Bear Mountain is small - 577 m above sea level, but its area is impressive - 5.4 sq. km.

Ayu-Dag is a state reserve. This mountain juts out into the sea, forming a cape, clearly visible from almost all sides of the southern coast. For sailors, this is a great guide. As early as the beginning of our era, the ancient geographer Strabo, describing shopping centers on the Crimean coast, mentions Ayu-Dag under the name Criumetopon, which means "Lamb's forehead". This name has been preserved on geographical maps for a long time. But already to the inhabitants of the Middle Ages, this peak seemed like a huge bear leaning towards the sea and as if drinking water from it. Many legends and true stories are associated with this peak of the Southshore.
Distance hides a lot. From a distance, it seems that the mountain is overgrown with shrubs, but in fact, the hair of a gigantic stone bear is a real dense and shady forest. It has ancient roads, paths, vast green glades, and right next to it are stone cliffs, scree, rocks, on which waves break below.

Ayu-Dag is called one of the natural mineralogical museums of the South Coast. Tribunes on Red Square in Moscow were made from Crimean diabase. Recently, a mineral, previously unknown in the Crimea, was found here - Vesuvian. The total number of minerals discovered at Ayu-Dag has reached 18. The relict vegetation covering the slopes and the top of the mountain is also interesting: evergreen strawberry tree, bushes Pontic needle, Crimean rockrose. This is the only habitat in the Crimea of a special type of forest cabbage and the only habitat in Ukraine of a rare fern - the pteris-like hornwort.

REVIEWS

All reviews (1)

Iren48

Traveled 8 years ago

Rating 7

For lovers of not too high mountains

We went up there twice - in 2012 and 2017. Both times on the fourth of January (accidentally happened). But the weather was very different. If in 2012 it was absolutely dry, ladybugs crawled and dandelions bloomed, then in 2017 there was quite a lot of snow on the mountain and the climb was quite extreme, since the trail was icy. Both times, for the rise, the bear went to the "rear". But there is another way. I wrote about it in detail here http://www.turpravda.ua/uc/yalta/blog-201362.html→

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