Kerch Peninsula

Kerch Peninsula. (Map: Kerch Peninsula.) A 3,000-sq-km, riverless peninsula in the eastern Crimea, connected to it by the 17-km Parapach Isthmus. It is washed by the Sea of Azov to the north, the Black Sea to the south, and the Kerch Strait to the east. The rich Kerch Iron-ore Basin is found there. The soils are mainly chestnut alkaline; chernozems are found in pockets in the north and southeast. The vegetation is mostly of the treeless steppe variety. Ruins of the ancient Bosporan Kingdom are located on the coast. The main city in the peninsula is Kerch. The peninsula's hilly northern parts consist of calcites, marls, and sandstone; saline lakes (from which salt is extracted) and many mud volcanoes are found there. Its southern part is steppe land.