One of the main rivers of the Crimea, together with the Salgir they form the basis water system peninsulas. It starts from the powerful mountain spring Karasu-Bashi, there is so much water in it that there is enough for two reservoirs - Belogorsky and Taigansky.

Biyuk-Karasu is also called simply Karasu or Karasevka - this is the largest of the tributaries of the Salgir on the right side in the lower reaches. Its beginning is hidden in the Karasu-Bashi tract, Karabi-yayly rises nearby. It flows into Salgir near the village of Nizhnegorsky.
Reservoirs on the river are located near Belogorsk. The waters of Biyuk-Karasu irrigate fields and supply water to settlements in the Belogorsk region.

The river is fed from several sources:

• The first is the karst sources of groundwater, at the beginning of the river, forming the same mountain source;
• The second is rain resources, especially during the season when the river overflows its banks after heavy rains;
• The third is snow, from the annual melting of snow;
• Tributaries also give their percentage. The largest and most famous of them are Sary-Su, Kuchuk-Karasu, Tana-Su.

During the year, the river behaves like many of its counterparts on the peninsula - it dries up in summer and replenishes in winter. Sometimes it does not even reach Salgir on hot days, the water level drops significantly.
On the banks of the river you can find beautiful gardens.

Modern tendencies

Unfortunately, over time, the river slowly shallows. The reasons are still not exactly clear, perhaps because of the dams that people once built on many rivers, taking control water resources. Maybe a lot of water is taken by cities and towns. A century ago, Karasevka was deep, up to two and a half meters and wide, up to 4 meters. Pure water, lots of fish. Then the channel was expanded by dams, the depths became smaller, but in some places the whirlpools were preserved - secret fishing places.
It was the demolition of the dams that changed the situation, when locals noticed with the flood water in their cellars. The water pressure demolished the rest of the dams, and Karasevka flowed into Salgir with redoubled energy. And then a few dry years passed.
Now, of course, it has decreased, this is especially noticeable in the steppe.

Location on the map

It is also called Karasevka, Bolshaya Karasevka, Biyuk-Karasu. The largest of the tributaries on the right side. It is considered a river from the northern slope in the Crimean mountains. Literally, its name can be translated in the Crimean Tatar dialect as “big black water”.
At the same time, the first part of the toponym "kara" - "black" - earth. And the meaning of the translation is “earth-born water” or “water emanating from the bowels of the earth.” It has already been noted earlier that in ancient times people divided the rivers. “Blacks” were called those originating from underground sources, that is, it was the water coming out of the “black” bowels of the earth. And Ak-Su " white water" is a stream whose source is a glacier or simply snow. In the Crimean peninsula there are no rivers of the second type at all, most of them feed on a mixed basis, although many are found vaguely whitening into hollow water (flowing through marls). Such rivers are called Sary-Su "yellow water", mixed.

Big black water

It turns out that Kara-Su can mean one thing - strong karst underground sources, this is when the stream comes out immediately, not in weak trickles and gradually. On the Crimean peninsula, it can only be karst - the river breaks out of the captivity of the dungeons.

Therefore, the Biyuk-Kara-Su River itself is quite full of water. It is well nourished by the largest source in Kyrma underground water Kara-Su-Bashi, it flows in the lowlands of the northern slopes of Karabi-yayla. The river was called Karasevka not so long ago, as an attempt to simply translate the Crimean Tatar words into Russian. Carp are not found in the river.
The left tributary of the river is called Kuchuk-Karasu, which literally means “small black water”.
This shows how much people of antiquity paid precisely to the reasons for the appearance of certain objects around them and connected the names with this. The river - where it originates from, how exactly, what is nearby. Thus, in the name they could convey some basic characteristics of the object without even seeing it, and the interlocutor immediately understood what it was about.

The fact that our steppe rivers are drying up has long been known. But in their lives, many people have never seen this. Also in Soviet time the channels of the Salgir, Biyuk-Karasu and Kuchuk-Karasu, all the Indoles and Bulganaks were regulated, blocked by dams, ponds and backwaters were created on them. There has always been water. Even few people thought that scientists predicted the drying up of rivers. We give data on Biyuk-Karas, in local vernacular -, from most interesting book"Sunny Crimea. Physical-geographical essay”, published in 1976. “The Bolshaya Karasevka River (Biyuk-Karasu) is the most significant tributary of the Salgir. It begins with the Karasu-Bashi karst spring on the northeastern slope of the Karabi-yayla. Its length is 86 km, the basin area is 1160 sq. km. The average long-term consumption is about 1.8 cubic meters. m/sec. The waters of the river are used for irrigation. For this reason, the river summer period dries up and does not always reach Salgir.

Then there was talk of irrigation as a reason for the low water of the river and its drying up. But now many farms on the banks of the Biyuk-Karasu have collapsed and the problem with irrigation with water from the river is no longer so acute. There were few gardens left, and the lion's share of the water went just to water the trees. I remember that in the vicinity of the so-called "new dam" there was a water pumping station, and water was supplied through trays taller than human height not only to the gardens of the Kirov collective farm, but also to other farms even in the neighboring Sovetsky district. Now there are no gardens, no trays, no water pumps. And it turned out that there is no river.

About a hundred years ago, Karasevka was deep, up to 2-2.5 meters, a river and 3-4 meters wide. Such a ditch in hundred-year-old thick poplars, with pits-pools and clean water. And with fish. Then the channel because of the dams expanded, the floodplain increased. The depths have decreased, but the whirlpools remain - the secret fishing spots of fishermen from the surrounding villages.

Photo by Vyacheslav Kharchenko

And none of them thought that much would change in just ten years. The main trouble came with the destruction of the dams. First, a small dam was torn down in Novoivanovka, the lowest on the river. At the beginning of the spring flood, local residents noticed water in their cellars. Without thinking twice, they drove a tractor with a bucket, dug a couple of times near the dam - and the pressure of water, having licked off the remains of an earthen embankment, rushed to Salgir. Then, due to the increase in the speed of the water flow, the embankment on the previous, Uvarov, dam fell off. There was a bypass pipe there, through it for more than a dozen years excess water. But someone looked after her for scrap metal ... Then the Demyanovskaya dam broke through, the uppermost, concrete-stone, which "also helped to break through." The destruction of the dams resulted in rapid siltation of the riverbed. Previously, silt did not accumulate like this, because it was delayed by dams in the upper reaches and many kilometers of reeds along the banks (the reeds have now been burned). Clay was dispersed over a large volume of water. The abundance of fish also influenced the formation of silt, because part of the silt was included in the food chain. And most importantly, the river flowed more slowly, held back by dams, and the banks were not so eroded, the clay from which made up most of this very silt. Trees also played their part. “The poplars here were some three hundred years old,” says local fisherman Yura. “I remember exactly where they grew up. The channel was deep, the banks completely covered with vegetation. But now all more or less large trees have been cut down. They live in villages along the river either on a pension or on casual earnings. So they began to cut poplars along the river - like no man's. Rapidly the river became shallow: "duck - knee-deep."

Already after the confluence of the Biyuk-Karasu, beyond Novoivanovka, the main Crimean stream looked like a narrow ditch. And I didn’t see the merger of Karasevka with Salgir. In the area of ​​the so-called "duker" Biyuk-Karasu dried up. Slightly higher along the channel, the water remained only in large pits.

It can be seen that our conversation attracted attention, or maybe because the fisherman sees the fisherman from afar.

We were first approached by a boy with a homemade fishing rod with a huge reel - Roman. Fisherman's happiness immediately smiled at him - he pulled out a small redfin. And then an elderly man arrived on a moped. Also a fisherman, "already from Uvarovka." But he didn't want to meet. On the other hand, he spoke a lot about private traders who keep ponds along the river and do not even allow a worm to dig on their banks. And there are also stocked rates, but fishing there is paid. “So these private traders specially big fish then they caught it with nets and launched it into their stakes, ”the man told us. And he turned down such salty fishing words addressed to entrepreneurs ... But he didn’t say anything about the dried-up Karasevka, shrugged his shoulders - drought.

Yes, dry. But both mismanagement and human selfishness killed the river. And water, the basis of all life on the planet, is gone.

With the rock of the same name. It rises more than a hundred meters above the plain.

It is surprisingly easy to visit it, and you should definitely do it, as it is fraught with a lot of interesting things.

From a large intersection in Belogorsk, on the way to the village. Nizhnegorsky, you need to drive about 5 km.

to the village White Rock. If the car allows, you can turn right and, after passing through a rural street

We are at an open stone chronicle for geologists, paleontologists and archaeologists. Admire this

"layer cake" of limestones of different strength. The processes of destruction of rocks ( denudation, erosion)

relentless, but limestones, composed of various marine organisms, lend themselves to them in different ways.

Main building material limestones were the smallest single-celled creatures - .

But if you are lucky, then on Ak-Kai you can see fossils and more complex marine animals.

For example, an ancient sea urchin.

And once in a quarry, during the extraction of stone, even the skeleton of an 8-meter whale was discovered.

Here is the world-famous monument of archeology - , where scientists discovered

more than 20 long-term sites of Neanderthals. Beams living in grottoes 100-40 thousand years ago,

our ancestors left about 5 thousand silicon tools to science.

Much later, about 2 thousand years ago, at the foot of Ak-Kai, a Scythian settlement arose,

now excavated by archaeologists.

But this is not all the delights of the mountain. In the northwestern, gently sloping part of the massif there is a grandiose grotto.

In the depths of the grotto there is a man-made reservoir, where water flows from the walls.

The inhabitants of the grotto blackbird And

rustic killer whale strictly monitor the guests, whether people will bring harm to their home.

They decided to climb the Yayla along a new road for themselves, from the northeastern spurs,

through Bai-Su river canyon and the abandoned village of the same name. Looking for ruins Bay-Su village

turned out to be difficult. The simplest of obstacles is a fallen tree.

Finally got there. The canyon is dry, only the baths are filled with water.

And here are the traces of the Bai-Su village. Remains of foundations in the dense forest.

A barely functioning spring in a hole, that's all.

Interesting story about this locality. On the map of the Crimea, he disappears in 1778, when

the Russian leadership decides to resettle the Christian population (Greeks, Armenians, etc.)

from Taurida to the north Azov coast. More than 30 thousand people, under the leadership of A.V. Suvorov

left their homes. 4 years before this event, after a series of military victories, Russia and

The Ottoman Empire concluded the Kuchuk-Kaynarji peace treaty, according to which Türkiye left the Crimea,

and the vassal Crimean Khanate gained independence.

Most historical sources resettlement is explained by the desire of Russia to economically

to bleed the Crimea, because it was the Christians who were artisans, winegrowers and gardeners.

And then take him under the crown of the empire. However, some historians interpret these events more deeply.

The fate of Taurida had already been decided, only five years remained before its annexation to Russia.

It would seem, why take out their co-religionists, their support? And this is where the hidden agenda comes into play.

Indeed, before the capture of the Crimea by the Ottoman Empire in 1475, the indigenous Christian population had historical statehood here. It could well have been such a turn of events - thanks brothers Slavs

for liberation, let's restore the status quo. But this was not part of the plans of Catherine II and Prince Potemkin.
The ascent to the yayla turned out to be quite steep, on bare large stones. But we are still at the top.

In the background is Ak-Kaya, in the foreground Ridge Kabarga.

On Karabi, according to tradition, we visit at least one of the many caves here.

Today it Karani (Turk. gloomy, dark).

The cave is easily accessible and unpretentious, but the hall is striking in its size, it is quite possible to arrange a volleyball court.

Finding the caves on the Karabi plateau is not so easy, even with their coordinates and GPS in hand.

I had to walk around, but how cool this time of year, knee-deep in grass and flowers,

bathed in spring rains.

A spring nicknamed by tourists "In Mint", does not differ in serious debit, but with a shortage of water in Karabi

and he is for happiness.

At the watering hole is always busy - mass congestion pigeons,

moths kept in pairs.

At the southeastern tip of the yayla. WITH pass big gate a steep road leads to the sea.

From here there is a magnificent view of East Coast, up to

The very south of the Caribbean plateau, below us Chigenitra Gorge. In ancient times, a path from the coast passed along it.

to the north, to the foothill and steppe Crimea.

Breaks are impregnable here.

On the middle ground Mount Likon- outcast Karabi yayly. in Greek - "wolf place".

In ancient times, the wolf was a fairly common animal for our mountains.

No matter how our route along Karabi runs, drink some water and wash from Chaban-Chokrak well we have to.

So he is called on the maps, but we prefer to call him "Hispanic".

Why, take a look at the report in the diary.

From the southwestern part of Karabi, our path is straight along the meridian to the north. Kilometers 10 way and we are

half-abandoned military facility - an antenna field, it can be seen from afar.

Near the monument, here during the Second World War was Large partisan airfield,

where they received planes from the mainland.

Immediately, going down the path, on a cliff, they examined the archaeological monument - Aji-Koba grotto.

Our ancestors lived here tens of thousands of years ago.

6 rivers flow through the territory of the Soviet district: Sudzhilka, Vostochny Bulganak, Wet Indol, Dry Indol, Biyuk-Karasu, Kuchuk-Karasu.

The Wet Indole River belongs to the basin Sea of ​​Azov, river length - 71 km, catchment area - 342 km², forest cover - 30.6%, plowing - 35.1%. The river has two tributaries more than 10 km long - the Sala River and the Kurchinskaya gully.

The Dry Indol River belongs to the basin of the Sea of ​​Azov. The length of the river is 53 km, the catchment area is 156 km², forest cover is 26%, plowing is 46%. The river has no tributaries longer than 10 km.

The East Bulganak River belongs to the basin of the Sea of ​​Azov. The length of the river is 44 km. The catchment area is 485 km², forest cover - 4%, plowing - 63%. The river has no tributaries longer than 10 km.

The Biyuk-Karasu River belongs to the Salgir River basin and is its right tributary of the 1st order. The length of the river is 105 km, the catchment area is 1261 km², forest cover is 18.2%, swampiness is 0%, plowing is 32.4%. The river has three tributaries over 10 km long, with a total length of 132.2 km.

The Kuchuk-Karasu River is the right tributary of the Biyuk-Karasu River, the length of the river is 77.6 km. The catchment area is 268 km. Forest coverage is 32.4%, plowed area - 16.5%.

The Sudzhilka River, the length of the river is 14.04 km, the catchment area is 102 km.

The area occupied water bodies and water facilities is 21.89 thousand hectares. The area occupied by rivers, canals and ponds in the Sovetsky district is 1.653 hectares.

There are no lakes and reservoirs on the territory of the Sovetsky District.

The route of the North Crimean Canal crosses the Sovetsky District from the northwest to the southeast from PK 247.5 to PK 286.1. The North Crimean Canal within the region has a length of 38.6 km, including 18.9 km in the lining and 18.7 km in the earthen channel.

The main source of irrigation in the farms of the Soviet District is the waters of the North Crimean Canal. Water intake into the system is carried out by means of hydraulic structures and pumping stations.

In total, there are 16 water intake points in the Sovetsky district, 13 of them are from the SCC, three are inter-district (RM-10, RM-12, NS No. 74, RM-35, NS No. 117).

Water is supplied to the farms of the Soviet District through four inter-farm distribution channels - RM-11, RM-13, RM-15, RM- 16.

COLLECTOR AND DRAINAGE NETWORK OF THE SOVIET DISTRICT