Located in southern Ukraine, the Crimean peninsula juts into the Black Sea and connects to the mainland by a narrow strip of land at Perekop. Dry steppes cover more than two-thirds of the peninsula, and the Crimean mountains in the south rise up to 1,500 m. (5,000 ft.) before they drop down sharply to the Black Sea. The southern coast, protected by the mountains, has a mild climate. The Arabat Spit, which is a sand bar (110 km long) that extends northeast from the Kerch peninsula, separates the marshy Sivash Sea from the Sea of Azov. The Crimea covers an area of 27,000 square kilometers.

Agriculture, tourism, mining, fishing, and winemaking provide the mainstay in the Crimea. Farms in the steppes produce wheat, cotton, tobacco, and garden crops. Health resorts and tourist facilities are found along the coastal areas. There is limited mining (salt beds and iron ores) on the Kerch peninsula.

The major cities are Simferopol (Ak Mesjid), the capital; Sevastopol (Akyar), the base of Russian Black Sea Fleet; and Yalta and Evpatoria (Gözleve), major tourist areas. Bakhchisaray (Bahçesaray) was the capital of the Crimean Khanate. The population of the Crimea was 2,550,000 in 1991, consisting of Russians (65%); Ukranians (22%); Crimean Tatars (10%); and Belorussians, Armenians, Greeks, Germans, and Karaims (3%).

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