Karadag Nature Museum. Kara-Dag Nature Museum Samples of geological research
Karadag Nature Museum (Koktebel, Russia) - exhibitions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.
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Every year more than 25 thousand people come to the Karadag Nature Museum, located in the vicinity of Koktebel, in the village of Kurortnoye. Its history began in 1914, almost simultaneously with the opening of the Karadag scientific station. The first exhibits of the museum fit into two cabinets located on the ground floor of the laboratory complex. Two years later, the museum was visited by a group of students from Yekaterinburg, and in the 1920s. The museum's research activities began to develop steadily. Over time, the museum's holdings expanded, replenished with new exhibits, and by the 1970s. The collection already included more than 1 thousand geological and about 200 biological exhibits, as well as several stuffed birds. The museum staff also focused on educational activities: fascinating lectures, thematic seminars and meetings were held here, which were attended by schoolchildren and students.
Every year more than 25 thousand people come to the Karadag Nature Museum, located in the vicinity of Koktebel, in the village of Kurortnoye.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the museum underwent reconstruction, during which it was significantly modernized. The renovated museum opened its doors to visitors in 2004.
Museum exposition
The exhibition space of the museum covers an area of 103 square meters. m and is divided into several thematic sections: historical, geological and mineralogical, land and marine biospheres. Close attention is paid to the natural features of the Karadag mountain range. As an introduction, visitors are invited to study the layout map “Karadag and its surroundings”. The exposition of the historical section tells about the most important milestones in the activities of the scientific institution, organized at the foot of the mountain. Historical photographs, books, and biographical materials about station employees are collected here.
The geological and mineralogical section presents in detail samples of rocks characteristic of Karadag, both sedimentary and volcanic. The Karadag mountain range is a real mineralogical storehouse. Museum visitors can study in all their diversity the minerals of the zeolite group, varieties of quartz, chalcedony, and carnelian. The collection contains samples of sedimentary rocks: sandstones, clays, gypsum and others.
The section of the exhibition dedicated to the land part of the reserve tells about the features of the plant and animal life of Karadag, which is diverse, despite the seemingly inhospitable landscapes. Here, in connection with their habitat, stuffed animals of local mammals and birds, amphibians and reptiles are collected, butterflies are widely represented, as well as the peculiar Crimean flora. Particular importance is attached to rare and protected species.
Much in Crimean nature is inaccessible to the casual observer or is characteristic only of certain times of the year. The museum's exposition reveals such inconspicuous pages of Karadag, helping to get closer to the world of its protected nature.
For nature lovers vacationing in Crimea, there is an opportunity to visit a wonderful corner of nature on the Crimean Peninsula - the Karadag Nature Reserve. And before your trip, you can always get complete information about nature, the unique flora and fauna of these places in a very informative nature museum.
Story
The museum exhibition began on the basis of a scientific station at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1914-1915, a fairly spacious, well-lit room in the basement of the laboratory building was allocated for museum exhibits, special museum cabinets were purchased, and two exhibitions were organized: zoological and geological. Since then, there has been constant addition and modification of the collection. By the seventies of the last century, the museum's exposition consisted of a complete geological collection, consisting of more than one thousand specimens, about two hundred hydrobiological exhibits and ten stuffed birds. In the nineties, the premises where the museum was located were used exclusively as a laboratory.
The turning point in the fate of the museum was its restoration in 2004, when an updated museum exhibition was opened.
Today the museum of nature is available to everyone who wants to get acquainted with the nature of these places. It consists of a hall with an area of one hundred and three square meters and a small storage room for funds. The entire exhibition is divided into sections dedicated to history, geology, mineralogy, the nature of the land and the fauna of the Black Sea. The exhibition includes six hundred exhibits.
In the first section, materials tell about the scientific station itself and the history of the Karadag Nature Reserve. The opening of the station took place in 1914, and from the very first days it turned into a serious scientific organization.
About the reserve
The need to assign the status of a reserve to the Karadag massif was justified in 1922. Even then, scientists understood that Karadag’s nature, unique relief and magnificent landscapes were in no way inferior to the famous Yellowstone Park in the United States of America.
However, only since 1963 Karadag first became a natural monument of local and later republican significance. Today the reserve occupies two thousand eight hundred hectares, including a sea area of eight hundred nine hectares. The flora and fauna of the reserve is amazing. More than two and a half species of plants grow here, among which there are many endemics - plants that live only in this area. These places are inhabited by a large number of animals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, and mollusks. Many of them can be seen in the museum’s exhibition dedicated to the landscape complexes of the reserve.
A unique museum telling about the virgin nature of Karadag
Here, photographs of plants and herbariums alternate with skillfully made stuffed birds and animals that convey specific natural scenes taken from the life of the inhabitants of the reserve.
A fox with her cubs warily looks into the distance, a goshawk attacked a pheasant, a concentrated badger looks out for prey, a curious stone marten looks out from its shelter - all the reproduced scenes are so captivating that you can look at them endlessly. The exhibition includes many ducks and other representatives of waterfowl, a large number of passerines, as well as swans, herons, ibis, and shelducks. Stuffed owls, kites and other species of birds of prey look impressive. There are reptiles and amphibians here. Stuffed stingrays, sharks, and many other species of fish from the Black Sea basin are placed in a stylized marine environment, which is a model of the underwater rocks of Karadag and a painted background in the form of the sea depths. The museum has an excellent collection of insects. It contains delightful butterflies with elegant wings, numerous arachnids, including the deadly karakurt that lives in these parts, and other insects.
Particular attention in the museum exhibition is paid to rare and endangered species.
The extensive geological and mineralogical collection attracts attention, which includes rock samples typical of Karadag, many varieties of quartz, frequently occurring carnelian, chalcedony, and other minerals. It is no coincidence that Karadag is called a storehouse of minerals.
The Museum of the History of Karadag allows you to get closer to the unique flora and fauna of this natural place, with pages inaccessible to a simple observer, to feel the unique nature of Crimea from the inside and prepare for further knowledge of it while hiking along the path of the reserve.
Karadag Nature Museum video
The museum welcomes visitors all year round.
Operating mode from May 1 from 8.00 to 17.00, break from 12.00 to 13.00 seven days a week.
Accepting group applications by phone. +7-36562-26287, +7-978-75-61-454.
Ticket price for adults is 100 rubles, for children (from 7 to 14 years old) - 50 rubles, children under 7 years old - free, adult ticket - from 14 years old.
On September 23, 1914, the Karadag Scientific Station named after. T.I. Vyazemsky. The Committee of Trustees for the Karadag Scientific Station of the Society for Promoting the Success of Experimental Sciences and Their Practical Applications, composed of the chairman, academician A.P. Pavlov, manager T.I. Vyazemsky, his assistant A.F. Sludsky set one of the station’s tasks to create a museum that “determined the properties and composition of local scientific material and would give indications of possible scientific work at the Station.”
The Museum of History and Nature of Karadag was founded in 1915. A bright and large room was chosen for it in the basement of the laboratory building and “two large museum-type cabinets were purchased for storing and exhibiting the collected collections in geology and zoology.” In April 1916 A.F. Sludsky writes to A.P. Pavlov: “The museum has already started its small business: the other day an excursion of students from the Ekaterinoslav Mining Institute arrived... and the students received their first acquaintance with the rocks and minerals of Karadag in our museum.” Extracts from 1923-1927 testify to successful scientific and educational activities. from the Guest Book of the Station Museum, which were preserved in the archives of its first director A.F. Sludsky.
Later, in the pre- and post-war years, the museum’s exposition was changed and supplemented, and by the 70s of the last century it had a full-fledged (more than 1000 exhibits) geological collection, about 200 hydrobiological exhibits, as well as a small (10 pieces) number of stuffed birds. The museum held lectures with schoolchildren, students, and visitors, which contributed to the promotion of scientific knowledge.
Currently, the Museum of History and Nature of Karadag occupies an exhibition hall with an area of 103 square meters. m and a storage facility with an area of 22.5 sq. m. The exhibition presents the following sections: historical, geological and mineralogical, land nature, Black Sea. The total number of exhibits is more than 600 units. During the calendar year, the museum is visited by more than 25,000 people.
Within the structure of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "KNS - PZ RAS" the Museum of History and Nature of Karadag continues the traditions of scientific and educational activities and is not only a repository of natural values and local history relics, but also an object of environmental education. The purpose of museum work, first of all, is to disseminate complete, comprehensive and objective information about the state and dynamics of natural processes; formation of a personal, interested attitude of visitors to the nature of Crimea. The environmental component in the work of the museum is determined by the specifics of the collections.
The exhibition of the Museum of History and Nature of Karadag is a well-organized system of information about the nature of south-eastern Crimea, it is aesthetically and emotionally attractive and is designed for an audience of different ages. A large amount of textual, illustrative and cartographic material has been prepared for each section of the exhibition. In order to make the sections of the exhibition interesting for visitors of different ages and backgrounds, experts offer three levels of information presentation. The first level is the external form: decorations, collections of rocks and minerals, stuffed animals, insects, multimedia, photographs. Second level information - descriptions, maps, diagrams, drawings. Information for specialists constitutes the third level and is stored in the museum’s information and reference apparatus. All the main elements of the exhibition (forests, steppes, ponds, etc.) are interconnected and function together as part of one big picture - a natural conservation system. This approach helps visitors understand how all parts of an ecosystem are interconnected and see that even small parts play an important role in its functioning.
The route for visiting the exhibition hall of the Museum of History and Nature of Karadag begins with an acquaintance with the layout map “Karadag and its surroundings”. Visitors get acquainted with the toponymy and orography of the area, and also receive information about the environmental significance of the territory.
The historical section of the exhibition tells about the main stages of development of the scientific institution at the foot of Karadag. Rare photographs and personal belongings of the founder of the Karadag scientific station, Terenty Ivanovich Vyazemsky, are displayed on stands and in display cases. Many materials about the life of the station and its employees were obtained from the archive of the family of the first director, Alexander Fedorovich Sludsky.
The following contains information about the history of hydrobiological research in the waters of Karadag and the first dolphinarium in the USSR, built in 1977. Material about the modern life and activities of the institution is compactly presented.
The hundred-year history of research of the Karadag mountain range is represented by stands with the names and discoveries of several generations of geologists. A logical continuation of this topic is acquaintance with the geological and mineralogical part of the exhibition, which presents characteristic samples of the main groups of igneous rocks of the Karadag mountain range. These include basalts, andesites, trachytes, and dacites. A significant group of rocks is identified as volcanic tuffs. Minerals of the zeolite group, alkali and alkaline earth elements are demonstrated in all their diversity. Minerals of the quartz group (SiO2) are of greatest interest to visitors. In addition to rock crystal crystals with ideal natural cuts and samples of milky-white quartz, chalcedony is widely represented here, distinguished by its individuality: agates with concentric and linear patterns, moss agate with carnelian, multi-color agate. The play of red-pink shades of carnelian surprises. A special mood is created by the scattering of variegated pebbles found in the bays of the protected Karadag, which until recently were called “Koktebel pebbles”. The museum's collection includes single-color jaspers - green, yellow, wax, pink, as well as spotted (brocade) and banded agate. The latter have beautiful patterns and picturesque landscape drawings. Varieties of calcite - a companion of chalcedony and zeolite - are represented by regular whole crystals in geodes, Iceland spar, and coarse-crystalline aggregates in placers. The collection contains samples of sedimentary rocks: sandstones, clays, gypsum, etc.
The location of Karadag on the border of land and sea, mountains and plains, at the junction of temperate and subtropical climate zones led to the formation of a complex border natural complex. The museum displays seasonal photographs, botanical and zoological exhibits and collections according to their affiliation with the following protected landscapes:
- mountain-forest landscapes;
- shiblyak (from drought-resistant, heat-loving deciduous shrubs and low-growing trees) and steppe landscapes of the foothills of low-mountain ridges;
- landscapes of sea coasts with a strip of beaches, with abrasive cliffs and halophytic (capable of tolerating high levels of soil salinity) vegetation.
The museum's exposition, dedicated to the mountain-forest landscapes of the reserve, contains photographs and herbarium specimens of tree species - downy oak with acorns, sessile oak, tall ash in autumn decoration, common hornbeam; Shrubs are represented: flowering and fruiting dogwood, elegant leather mackerel, euonymus, privet. The decoration of the Karadag forest in spring are rare protected plants: folded snowdrop, two-leaved scilla, Crimean peony. Particular attention is drawn to a plant dangerous to human health - holocolumnar ash.
The fauna of the reserve is represented by skillfully created exhibits of artistic taxidermy. Excellent work by taxidermist O.B. Spivakov can be absolutely fully used for demonstration, educational and scientific purposes. In each of them you can see the distinctive characteristics of the species, the uniqueness of the animal and the characteristics of its behavior in nature. Mammals of the mountain-forest landscapes of the reserve are represented by the composition “Fox with Cubs”, exhibits: wild boar, stone marten, badger, squirrel. The diversity of forest birds is demonstrated by more than 50 stuffed animals. The attention of visitors is attracted by a miniature yellow-headed wren on a pine branch, hardworking handsome woodpeckers, and a bright jay. Behind the glass of the display cases you can see singers that are invisible in nature - the nightingale and the blackbird, and also compare the appearance features of the Crimean owls: the smallest - the scops owl and the largest - the eagle owl.
The atmosphere of the spring flowering of the mountain slopes is conveyed by a series of photographs representing the shiblyak and steppe landscapes of the foothills of the Karadag ridges. The population of fragrant tulip and thin-leaved peony is pleasing with its brightness; photographs of rare endemic species - Transchel's navel and Poyarkova's hawthorn - attract attention. Compositions from skillfully preserved herbarium specimens provide an opportunity to examine and study communities of herbaceous plants growing in fescue-feather grass and petrophytic (rocky) steppes. In addition, the vegetation of rocks and rocky outcrops is presented: ephedra, ironweed, thyme, etc., adapted to harsh soil and climatic conditions.
The caves and grottoes of the reserve have become a habitat for very vulnerable animals in need of protection. These are bats - echolocators of land, belonging to the order Chiroptera. Thanks to high-quality photographs and stuffed animals of the great horseshoe bat and the sharp-eared bat, you can get acquainted with the external features of these unfamiliar mammals that lead a nocturnal lifestyle.
Other representatives of the fauna of the steppe landscapes of the reserve are no less naturally and vividly demonstrated. Nowadays, only in the museum can you see the typical steppe rodents that lived on Karadag in the last century - the large jerboa and the gray gopher. Among the bird diversity (more than 60 stuffed animals), large exhibits stand out: a rare guest of Karadag - the black vulture, two predators from the Red Book - the peregrine falcon and the saker falcon. Mountain slopes are nesting places for the rock partridge - chukar; warblers and buntings find refuge in the bushes. Looking at the exhibits, you can determine the features of adaptation of animals to their environment.
The entomological section of the museum's exhibition is represented by a collection of insects (more than 200 species). Among the butterflies, large exhibits of the hawkmoth family stand out; they delight with the amazing heavenly coloring of the wings of the blueberry; they attract attention: the rare handsome podalirium, the elegant peacock eye and the swallowtail. On a gray stone there is a bright purple Crimean ground beetle - a relict protected endemic of the peninsula. Among the grass, a bandaged empusa froze - the rarest among mantises.
Amphibians are presented in small compositions and photographs: green toad, tree frog, spadefoot and reptiles: Crimean gecko, Crimean lizard, yellow-bellied snake, snakes and Karadag snakes.
The section of the museum exhibition dedicated to the landscapes of sea coasts and fresh water bodies in the vicinity of the reserve consists of more than 90 exhibits, compositions and photographs. The bird population of Karadag reaches its maximum species diversity during spring and autumn migrations. For migration routes, many migratory birds use the border of land and sea, so the shores of the Karadag mountain range and ice-free coastal waters are chosen not only by permanent feathered inhabitants, but also by many waterfowl migrating from the north. Looking at the exhibits, you can get acquainted not only with the external characteristics of the species, but also make sure that the life of these birds is entirely dependent on the aquatic environment. The description of the coastal strip is complemented by a series of photographs of the flora of the sea shores: Koktebel katran, yellow poppy, seaweed.
The water area of the reserve is presented in the exhibition section of the museum, which introduces visitors to the main characteristics of the Black Sea. Cartographic and schematic materials contain information about the area and volume, depth and currents, salinity and chemical composition of sea water of one of the most inland seas of the Atlantic. The uniqueness of the deep-sea Black Sea basin is noted - the presence of a lower hydrogen sulfide layer. Tables of the composition of marine flora and fauna contain data on the water area of the Karadag Reserve, as a typical area of the open coast. A separate showcase displays a herbarium collection of algae - macrophytes of the Black Sea. In addition to poster information, the section contains a model of the underwater part of the rocky shores of Karadag.
A visit to the museum gives tourists, students, and schoolchildren the opportunity to get acquainted with the world of protected nature, to reveal unknown and unnoticed pages of the life of plants and animals in different seasons.
IN The exposition of the Kara-Dag Nature Museum presents almost all types of animals and plants found on Kara-Dag. The creation of the museum's collection began more than 90 years ago. The museum contains stuffed animals of 203 species of birds and mammals, 167 species of butterflies, 246 specimens of amphibians and reptiles, and various minerals of the Kara-Dag. Of the 305 different Crimean minerals, 100 species are present on Kara-Dag. Among them are agates, carnelians, amethysts, varieties of calcite, quartz, chalcedony, opal...
Karadag Nature Reserve
TO The Aradag Nature Reserve protects the unique landscapes, flora and fauna of eastern Crimea. The relief of its area is formed by a volcanic massif of the Jurassic period with the extinct Karadag volcano. The age of this mountain is 150 million years. There is a strict security regime on the territory of the reserve, so you can only visit it as part of excursions. During a sea excursion, tourists can explore the coast with the bizarre rocks of the Golden Gate, Lion, and Ivan the Robber. The walking route with a total length of 7 km runs overland and also covers these sites.
Karagach ridge with the King, Queen and Svita rocks
TO In addition, during a walking tour, tourists can get acquainted with geological objects located in the interior of the island. This is the Karagach ridge with the King, Queen and Svita rocks, viewpoints with coves hidden between them, the highest point of the reserve, Mount Sacred with the Sphinx and Devil's Finger rocks. The fauna of Karadag includes 5,300 species, including 130 species listed in the Red Book. The Karadag Nature Reserve has a Museum of Nature, an aquarium and a dolphinarium.
Address: Feodosia, town. Resort, st. Sciences, 24.
Job: all departments of the museum are open during the spring-summer period - the aquarium daily 9.00-18.00, the museum - daily, except Mondays, 8.00-16.00. Sea excursions are conducted in May-October, walking excursions - in May-September (groups are accepted daily 8.00-9.00, 14.00-15.00).
Route: sea excursions depart to Feodosia, Koktebel, and the New World. Walking tours start from the biological station of the reserve in the village. Resort, there are regular buses from Feodosia and Sudak to the village.
Visiting conditions: For walking excursions, sports shoes are required, and it is recommended to bring drinking water with you.
Website: http://zapovednik-karadag.com/
On July 19, the “Big Kara-Dag” pedestrian route reopened in the Karadag Nature Reserve. This is the main excursion trail with a length of 8 km.
Entrance to the reserve is free, but walking along the trail is only allowed with a guide, since the area is rocky. There is a fee for visiting excursion sites and the dolphinarium:
- hiking trail "Big Kara-Dag", 220 rubles. for adults, 100 rub. for children and students;
- eco trail of Terenty Vyazemsky (100 rub./50 rub.);
- Museum of Nature (100 rubles / 50 rubles).
Children under five years of age are served free of charge, students upon presentation of a student card. Since some excursion sales points in Feodosia claim that Kara-Dag is closed to visitors, you can buy an excursion on the spot. To do this, you need to arrive at the Biostation by 8.00, the route starts from the Museum of Nature.
The Soviet conservation business had a good tradition of creating museum complexes at nature reserves, telling about the reasons for the protection of a particular territory, its riches and the history of protection. The Karadag Nature Museum is one of the oldest in Crimea. What is special about this place and why does it deserve tourist attention?
Where is the Museum of Nature located on the map
It is located in the village of Kurortnoye, not far from the mini-hotels “Aravana”, “Rodina”, “Parus”, “Sevilya”, “Iskander” and “Elina”. Nearby you will also find the Karadag Dolphinarium.
Worthy veteran
The fact is that there is reason to assume that this tradition of naming museums this way originated in Karadag. In 1914, shortly after the creation of a scientific station near the ancient volcano, a decision was formulated by the commission of trustees on the speedy formation of museum funds and exhibitions.
The next year the center was already opened. True, it consisted of only two special exhibition cabinets located in the basement of the laboratory. But the institution began to bring benefits almost immediately - in 1916, students from the Mining Institute from Yekaterinoslav (the famous Dnepropetrovsk Mining Institute in Soviet times) had already arrived here.
The museum has come a long way since then. The original two closets turned into 100 square meters. m of exhibition space, plus there is a special room for storing funds. In 2004, it underwent a large-scale reconstruction (creating suitable conditions for preserving historical documents and natural materials is not as easy as casual visitors think), and since then the average number of visitors per year has reached 25 thousand people.
Preparing for the walk
A visit to the Karadag Nature Museum is usually included in the program of tours of the site, passing through its administration. Such a visit helps future guests of the protected area better understand where they will end up and what exactly they should look at there.
You can visit the museum just like that - certain categories of vacationers (elderly and people with poor health) may not be able to walk along the ecological trail over rough terrain. Some species of animals and plants can be found in Crimea only in hard-to-reach places or at specific times of the year, and a visit here is the only way for the average tourist to get to know them. Ticket prices here are very modest, and discounts are provided.
Also, the staff of the institution are constantly engaged in educational work and popularization of knowledge about. Various kinds of lectures, specialized classes for students and tourists of various categories turn the complex into an important organization promoting environmental ideas to the masses. This is also typical of Soviet “natural museums” in Russia.
For a long time, the premises of this place were used for its original purpose - as a research laboratory. This application does not contradict the concept in any way.
Photos of the museum halls make it clear that the establishment has moved far from the original two cabinets. The biology department presents flora and fauna in the form of artistic compositions showing real objects (herbarium specimens or stuffed animals) and their natural habitat. The picture is complemented by photographic illustrations showing examples of landscapes typical for the habitat of a particular species. The coastal waters are presented in a similar way - with installations and photographs. And the collection of colorful Crimean insects can cause a fit of envy among jewelry lovers.
The richest section of the museum is geological. Tourists, 
Those who come on vacation to one of the resort villages located next to the protected mountain traditionally take home beautiful multi-colored pebbles - the local shores are very rich in them. After visiting, you can do this consciously and distinguish single-color jaspers from brocade agates. Valuable stones found in nature in the area are also presented - amethysts, moss agates, rock crystal. There are many samples of sedimentary rocks on display, including those with imprints of ancient organisms.
There is also a historical section here. It contains documents telling about the creation and development of the station and, personal belongings and books of its founders, published by the staff of the monograph. A separate stand is dedicated to the first in the USSR and scientific work on its basis. A large part of the department talks about geological discoveries made on local materials, and about the scientists who made these discoveries.
