Grand Canyon of the Crimea
In the Crimean Mountains, 5 km southeast of the village of Sokolinoye in the Bakhchisaray district located the largest canyon in Ukraine – the Grand Canyon, which is part of the Ai-Petri array.
Sometime in the past near Ai-Petri volcanoes were erupting and before that Crimea was nothing but a part of the Tethys Ocean. This is why in Crimea there a lot houses built from rakyshnyak (stone with shells). If you look at the structure of the Ai-Petri, you will find similarities to the coral reef. During many centuries the water was going away and exposing more and more of today's Ai-Petri. Huge rocks were moving and a large crack was formed. Today it is the Grand Canyon.
Nature has made its own magnificent architecture. Here you will find heaps of boulders and rapids, and waterfalls up to 3-4 meters high, and erosion boilers, popularly known simply as baths. Grand canyon is supplied by water by numerous mountain streams, rivers, springs. The best time to explore the entire canyon is the second half of summer and autumn, when the sources are drying up and the water remains only in the baths. The last are especially popular and loved by tourists. One of the most visited baths is the so-called Bath of Youth. In old times it was known as Kara-gol or the Black Lake. The water temperature here rarely rises above 11C. The name of the bath comes from a legend according to which people swim in it, gaining strength as a rejuvenated. In the Grand Canyon there is another popular and very beautiful lake the Blue Lake.
Grand Canyon of Crimea, in contrast to their American "colleague" is richer in flora. Here you will find hornbeam, beech, ash can, as well as rare species of ferns, and even a rare lady's slipper orchid. It should be noted that the existence of the Grand Canyon has been known to locals long before it was described by Professor Puzanov in 1925. The canyon was put on the topographic map before the Revolution, and in 1947 it was declared a natural monument. During the study of Grand Canyon here was formed touristic routes.
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