Crimean Mountains

The Crimean Mountains or Yayla Mountains are a range of mountains running parallel to the south-eastern coast of Crimea, between about from the sea. Toward the west, the mountains drop steeply to the Black Sea, and to the east, they change slowly into a steppe landscape. The Crimean Mountains consist of three subranges. The highest is the Main Range, which is subdivided into several yaylas or mountain plateaus (yayla or yaylak is Turkic for "alpine meadow"). They are: Baydar yayla Ai-Petri yayla Yalta yayla Nikita yayla Hurzuf yayla Babugan yayla Chatyr-Dag yayla Dologorukovskaya (Subatkan) yayla Demirci yayla Qarabiy yayla Highest peaks