The Kara Dag ("Black Mount") is a volcanic rock formation which rises to a height of 577 meters between the Crimean coastal town of Koktebel and the Otuzka River valley.
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Преградой волнам и ветрам
Стена размытого вулкана,
Как воздымающийся храм,
Встаёт из сизого тумана.
По зыбям меркнущих равнин,
Томимым неуёмной дрожью,
Направь ладью к её подножью
Пустынным вечером — один.
И над живыми зеркалами
Возникнет тёмная гора,
Как разметавшееся пламя
Окаменелого костра.
Из недр изверженным порывом,
Трагическим и горделивым,
Взметнулись вихри древних сил —
Так в буре складок, в свисте крыл,
В водоворотах снов и бреда,
Прорвавшись сквозь упор веков,
Клубится мрамор всех ветров —
Самофракийская Победа!
М. Волошин.
The other day I visited a small village by the Black Sea called Koktebel, during my visit I got to see one of the coolest mountains I've ever laid my eyes on! Actually a volcano, but an extinct one.
The best views of the volcano are from the sea, so me and my friends decided to check it out in a boat.
A very very long time ago, about 150 million years ago actually, Kara Dag was an underwater volcano, unfortunately it broke in half and the other part of sank into the sea. The good thing about it is that at least anyone visiting can take a look at what a volcano looks like from the inside, ancient volcano ash and some lava trails, which I thought was sweet!
The main rocks that make up the Kara-Dag massif are of volcanic origin, some of them are keratophyre, glassy andesite and basalt.
All of the Koktebel pebbles used to be of volcanic origin too, but most of them were collected for building purposes during the Soviet times however according to our guide it is still possible to find numerous varieties of quartz, chalcedony, agate, opal, amethysts, citrine in the Kara Dag nature reserve.
One of the main attractions at the Kara Dag sea tour is a unique rock that is called Golden Gate or Devil's Gate. The reason they called it golden is that during the winter solstice when the sun is really low it looks golden, simple! The height of the rock above the sea level is 8 meters.
When our boat went through the gate, people had to through some change into the sea and make a wish, they say those wishes come true! It's probably a lie haha.
There are 1176 plant species in the Kara dag nature reserve, 25 of which are not found anywhere else in the world. Needless to say it is not allowed to visit it without a guide and paying a fee. I'm going to need to come back and take a hike to enjoy this magnificent monster from above.
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