| Crimean Mountains | |
| Photo Size: | 250 |
| Highest: | Roman-Kosh |
| Location: | Southern Crimea |
| Elevation M: | 1545 |
| Coordinates: | 44.6131°N 34.2433°W |
| Range Coordinates: | 44.75°N 64°W |
| Age: | Cretaceous |
The Crimean Mountains or Yayla Mountains /jaɪːlə/, /jeɪːlæ/ are a range of mountains running parallel to the south-eastern coast of Crimea, between about NaNkm (-2,147,483,648miles) from the sea. Toward the west, the mountains drop steeply to the Black Sea, and to the east, they change slowly into a steppe landscape.
The Crimean Mountains consist of three subranges. The highest is the Main Range, which is subdivided into several yaylas or mountain plateaus (yayla or yaylak is Turkic for "alpine meadow"). They are:
Crimea's highest peak is the Roman-Kosh on the Babugan Yayla at . Other important peaks over 1,200 metres include:
The passes over the Crimean Mountains are (from east to west):
Rivers of the Crimean Mountains include the Alma River, Chernaya River, and Salhir River on the northern slope and Uchan-su River on the southern slope which forms the Uchan-su waterfall, and the highest waterfall in Crimea.
Archaeologists have found the earliest anatomically modern humans in Europe in the Crimean Mountains' Buran-Kaya caves. The fossils are 32,000 years old, with the artifacts linked to the Gravettian culture. The fossils have cut marks suggesting a post-mortem defleshing ritual.[1] [2]