Southwest of Crimea is famous for the Belbek River. It rightfully bears the title of the most full-flowing stream of the peninsula. The Belbek River originates on the main mountain range of Crimea. It is there that the waters of karst springs feed the watercourse. Let's take a closer look at its features.
Hydronym
Translated from the Turkic language, the name of the river means "strong or strong back". Why do such associations arise? Belbek, of course, deserved such a name. And all because during its floods it becomes a turbulent stream with a strong current and, as if on its back, carries away the trees uprooted from the ground along with the roots. Also, the Belbek River in Crimea has another name - Kabarta, which means "puffed up" or "swollen". The scientist P. S. Pallas tells a legend explaining the origin of this toponym by the fact that Kabardians allegedly lived in the upper reaches of the watercourse. But there is also another option. It can be said to be even more logical than the previous one, in translation it means “the main narrow passage in the mountain.”
Features of the upper reaches of the river
Upper reaches of Belbeklocated on the slopes of the Crimean mountain range, more precisely, in the northwest. Here the channel is formed by two streams: Ozenbash and Managotra. These are real mountain rivers, which are turbulent streams. Sufficiently narrow, they rapidly carry their waters among the rocky slopes. The Belbek River, until it begins to flow between the Main and Inner Ranges of the Crimean Mountains, appears as a standard mountain stream with a fast current. Not far from the settlement of Golubinka, the channel increases significantly, reaching a width of about 40–50 meters. Belbek becomes narrower at the stage of crossing the Inner Mountain Range. Here, a proud river reservoir forms the incredibly beautiful Belbek Canyon.
Description of the valley
The river valley at its narrowest point is about 300m wide. The depth here reaches 160 m. On the right side of the river valley, archaeologists discovered 2 grottoes, which were given the names Syuyuren-I and Syuyuren-II. In these caves, the sites of the Cro-Magnon people of the late Paleolithic era were found. These settlements were engaged in hunting, gathering and fishing. These facts are confirmed by various remains and bones of aquatic representatives found during the study of the area.
Since 1969, the Belbek Canyon has been recognized as a natural monument and has become one of the most attractive sights created by nature. The river valley widens only closer to the sea.
Characteristics of the river in the lower reaches
In the lower reaches, the river overcomes global drifts of clay, due towhich slows down the running of its waters.
Since the peninsula has access to two seas, it is very interesting where the Belbek River flows into? The watercourses of Crimea can belong to two basins: the Azov or the Black Sea. The mouth of Belbek is located near the village of Lyubimovka, a few kilometers from the Sevastopol Bay. It is here that the river flows into the Black Sea. The bed of the reservoir in this place is more like a ravine. It reaches a width of 25–30 meters.
In 1980, the Belbek channel was divided into two. This was due to the fact that the river often overflowed. But after a while, floods became an infrequent occurrence, and at the moment there is water in only one valley.
Tributes of the Belbek River
The largest tributary of the Belbek can be called the Kokkozka watercourse. It is about 18 km long. And also its tributaries are the Auzun-Uzen and Sary-Su rivers. The first one flows between Mount Boyko and Ai-Petri Yayla. This place is also called the Grand Canyon. Sary-Su is located in a crevice, which is considered the Small Canyon. Here, this tributary turns into a waterfall flowing over mossy stones. It is called the Silver Jets and is considered the quietest waterfall, as it makes almost no noise when flowing over the moss.
Animal world
As for the representatives of the flora of the most full-flowing river of Crimea, its famous inhabitant can be called a brook trout. This beautiful fish is covered with small shiny scales, each scale seems to be outlined in white. Trout is a predator. It is quite difficult to see her, as she is very shy. The favorite habitat of this species of trout is the Belbek River in the upper reaches. Most often, it can be seen under small waterfalls. Usually trout reaches a length of 25-35 centimeters. However, sometimes there are rare specimens of a larger size.
Attractions
The Belbek River is famous for its unique natural monument, such as the Belbek Canyon. Also in the valley of the watercourse is the medieval Syuyren fortress. It was partially destroyed in 1475 by Turkish invaders. Only small fragments of walls and a tower have survived from the fortress, but many tourists still want to see this building with their own eyes. Also not far from it is located no less remarkable place - the monastery of Chelter-Koba, which is one of the famous cave monasteries of the Crimea.
In the upper reaches of the most full-flowing river of Crimea in 1964, a hydrotechnical complex was built. It combines three reservoirs: on the Biyuk-Uzenbash River, on the Managotra River and on the Karst Stream.
