The Charming Harbor National Nature Park or Tarkhankut National Park (; ) covers a coastal sector of the Tarkhankut Peninsula (itself a part of the

Crimean peninsula Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

) on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. The

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

protects and exhibits steppe landscape as it descends to the seacoast in a semi-arid environment and with dramatic cliffs and rock formations. The park is in the administrative district of Chornomorske Raion.

Topography

The park covers three separate sections of the western Crimean Peninsula, where the dry mountain steppe meets the Black Sea in a rugged and rocky coast. The three areas are: * Bolshoy Castel, which features a gorge running down to a beach, and ruins of former settlements. * Atlesh, a sector of significant coastal rock formations in the southern section of the park. *

Canğul Canğul (Russian and ), officially known in Russia as the Canğul landslide coast (; ; ) is a coast and regional nature reserve (zakaznik) located on the Tarkhankut Peninsula in Crimea, a peninsula internationally recognised as part of Ukraine ...

, are area of "beams" or dry gullies with flat bottoms that are only periodically inundated. These formations, also referred to as " arroyos" in English, are typically 5 – 50 meters deep, and widen into rocky canyons as they reach the coast. Cr-151 09

Ecoregion and climate

The park is in the ''

Pontic–Caspian steppe The Pontic–Caspian Steppe is a steppe extending across Eastern Europe to Central Asia, formed by the Caspian and Pontic steppes. It stretches from the northern shores of the Black Sea (the ''Pontus Euxinus'' of antiquity) to the northern a ...

'' ecoregion. The official climate designation for the Tarkhanhut area is ''

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

- hot summer sub-type'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Dfa), with large seasonal temperature differentials and a hot summer (at least four months averaging over , at least one of which is over . Park management claims 2,350 hours of sunshine per year. Summer runs from late May to mid-September, with 316 mm of average annual precipitation.

Flora and fauna

The area is notable for preserving some of the last primeval coastal steppes, particularly in the gullies of the Castel sectors, where 50 plant species are found that are not generally found in the greater coastal steppes, and over 400 species of vascular plants have been recorded on site. Overall, the park includes coastal steppe, shrub-steppe, and shrub habitats.

Public use

As a national park, NNP Charming Harbor is divided into four zones, providing for a protected area, a regulated recreation zone, a local recreation area, and an 'economic zone'. There are recreational facilities in each of the main sections, with heated cabins available for rent, boats, fishing, and campsites. Park administration requests checking in with the visitor center to register and for review of the park's rules. Hiking on the ecological trails in the protected zones requires escort by park staff.

References

External links