Here, the narrow strip of coast and the slopes of the mountains are covered with greenery. This “riviera” stretches along the southeast coast from capes Fiolent and Aya, in the south, to Feodosia. There are many summer sea-bathing resorts such as Alupka, Yalta, Gurzuf, Alushta, Sudak, and Feodosia. The largest of them is Lake Sasyk (Сасык) on the southwest coast; others include Aqtas, Koyashskoye, Kiyatskoe, Kirleutskoe, Kizil-Yar, Bakalskoe, and Donuzlav. Lake Syvash (Sıvaş or Сива́ш) is a system of interconnected shallow lagoons on the north-eastern coast, covering an area of around 2,560 km2 (988 sq mi). The North Crimea Canal, which transports water from the Dnieper, is the largest of the man-made irrigation channels on the peninsula.
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Mean annual temperatures range from 10 °C (50.0 °F) in the far north (Armiansk) to 13 °C (55.4 °F) in the far south (Yalta). The frost-free period ranges from 160 to 200 days in the steppe and mountain regions to 240–260 days on the south coast. Greeks colonised its southern fringe and were absorbed by the Roman and Byzantine Empires and successor states while remaining culturally Greek. When the Bolsheviks secured Crimea, it became an autonomous soviet republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
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The southern coast gradually consolidated into the Bosporan Kingdom which was annexed by Pontus in Asia Minor and later became a client kingdom of Rome from 63 BCE to 341 CE. Following the end of Nazi occupation during World War II, indigenous Crimean Tatars were forcibly deported and the autonomous republic was abolished in 1945, replaced with an oblast-level jurisdiction. When Ukraine became independent, Crimea remained a republic within the country, leading to tensions between Russia and Ukraine as the Black Sea Fleet was based on the peninsula. Solar photovoltaic SES plants are plentiful on the peninsula, including a small facility north of Sevastopol. The Crimean Mountains and the southern coast are part of the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion.
The Crimean mountains greatly influence the amount of precipitation present in the peninsula. The plains usually receive 300 to 400 millimetres (11.8 to 15.7 in) of precipitation per year, increasing to 560 millimetres (22.0 in) in the southern coast at sea level. The western parts of the Crimean mountains receive more than 1,000 millimetres (39.4 in) of precipitation per year. The Southern Coast is shielded from cold air masses coming from the north and, as a result, has milder winters.
The Genoese–Mongol Wars were fought between the 13th and 15th centuries for control of south Crimea. However, support for the second question would have restored the republic’s autonomous status within Ukraine. Aksyonov then said that he asserted sole control over Crimea’s security forces and appealed to Russia “for assistance in guaranteeing peace and calmness” on the peninsula. Three days later, several Ukrainian bases and navy ships in Crimea reported being intimidated by Russian forces and Ukrainian warships were also effectively blockaded in Sevastopol. The peninsula is connected on the northwest to the mainland by the Perekop Isthmus, a 5-mile- (8-km-) wide strip of land that has been the site of numerous battles for the control of Crimea.
The northern parts of Crimea have a moderate continental climate with short but cold winters and moderately hot dry summers. A subtropical, Mediterranean climate dominates the southern coastal regions, is characterised by mild winters and moderately hot, dry summers. Simferopol, the administrative centre of the republic, is located in the foothills Spinday of the Crimean Mountains. Along the southern coast, tourism is extremely important, with Yalta, Gurzuf, Alushta, and Alupka among the main centres.