Kosa Chushka: unique position, strategic importance and ecological situation

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Many interesting places in Russia. These include the Chushka Spit, an inconspicuous and uninhabitable corner of land in the Kerch Strait, but it is here that one of the most important transport facilities is located - the port of Kavkaz, which belongs to the most significant ports in Russia and ranks second in the Azov-Chernomorsky section after Novorossiysk.

Location and geographical characteristics

In the north of the Kerch Strait there is a unique natural object - the Chushka Spit. It starts at Cape Achilleion and stretches almost 18 kilometers southwest into the Black Sea. From the western part, the coast of the spit is straight. Multiple branches leave from the east to the Black Sea. This is due to the fact that on the surface of the spit from the side of Azov there is a constant alluvium of sand, which is washed off into the Black Sea from the eastern side.

The surface of the spit is completely composed of a homogeneous mixture of quartz sand and shell rock. The attraction of the spit is a volcano with a funnythe name Blewak given by the local population for its characteristic eruption.

Meaning

At the location of the spit is the narrowest point of the Kerch Strait. From ancient times, trade routes connecting the Caucasus with the Crimea went through the sandy spit, as it is believed that it is here that the ancient path of the Bosporus, which is also called the "bull's path", is located. The spit Chushka has not lost its relevance even today. Here, a highway and a railway pass to the port of Kavkaz, from where the North Caucasus and the Crimean peninsula are connected through a ferry crossing.

Origin of the name

The spit in the Kerch Strait got its strange name "Chushka" thanks to the blunt-nosed dolphins that are found in this part of the sea in large numbers. They also say that, for unknown reasons, they sometimes wash ashore. The locals call them porpoises or pigs. And so the name went - the spit Chushka.

Village Chushka

The small village of Chushka, located on the spit, belongs to the Temryuk district of the Krasnodar Territory. The village consists of 132 households. It is difficult to say why people live here, since the conditions of the spit are completely unsuitable for living. First of all, because of the soil, consisting of sand and shell rock, on which nothing grows. And most importantly, there is no fresh water here. Water is delivered here from the neighboring village of Ilyich.

The formation of the village dates back to 1946, when construction began on the territory of the spit, more precisely on its outskirtsferry crossing. A construction team was based on the spit. Wagons were brought here to stay. After the construction was completed, the people who remained on the spit lived in dugouts, working at the local fish farm. Gradually began to build small, mostly adobe houses. After the collapse of the Union, the fish farm sank into oblivion, and people live without hope, useless.

Environmental situation

A unique natural object, which, according to environmental organizations, is experiencing a real ecological disaster, leading to a violation of the natural balance and the disappearance of the spit, which gradually goes under water. This is facilitated by the presence of an oil depot and a port here. There is an open transshipment of sulfur and fertilizers, which are carried by the wind for many kilometers around. The difficult life of the villagers becomes simply unbearable and dangerous. Nobody needs them.

The management of the enterprise offered them compensation for moving to another place, but it amounted to a ridiculous amount, which is not enough to buy a normal housing on the coast. Afraid of losing their homes, people stayed in the village, breathing sulfur, chemical fumes from fertilizers, suffering from allergies and slowly dying out. Together with them, the unique Chushka Spit (Krasnodar Territory), which separates two seas: the Black and Azov, will disappear.

The oil depot poses a huge danger, which poisons the territory for many kilometers around. During a storm in 2007, an oil spill occurred, the consequences of which caused irreparable damage to the flora and fauna of the spit. According toecologists, the port and oil depot, occupying half of the spit, have turned this unique facility into an industrial zone.

Port Kavkaz

The spit is of strategic importance in terms of its position, as the border between two seas. The construction of the Kavkaz port on the Chushka Spit was completed in 1953. Its main purpose was and remains a ferry crossing, which allows transporting millions of tons of cargo, transporting cars, trains, and passenger transportation. Not far from the port, a railway station with the same name Kavkaz was built. At this station, shunting work is being carried out to form trains transported by ferry.

From 1980 to 2004, rail and passenger traffic was stopped through the port. After the reconstruction and installation of new railway ferries, the port began to live a new intensive life. A passenger boat began to run from the port to the Kerch Marine Station. But soon this route was closed.

The port operates four ferry routes. The main one goes to the Kerch ferry crossing. The ferry from the port of Kavkaz runs to Varna (Bulgaria), Zonguldak (Turkey) and Poti (Georgia).