Many interesting places in Russia. These include the Chushka Spit, an inconspicuous and unsuitable land corner in the Kerch Strait, but it is here that one of the most important transport facilities is located - the Caucasus port, one of the most important ports in Russia and occupying second place on the Azov-Black Sea section after Novorossiysk.
Location and Geographical Description
In the north of the Kerch Strait there is a unique natural object - Chushka Spit. It takes its beginning from Cape Achilleion and extends 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 washing up of sand, which is washed off to the Black Sea from the eastern side.
The surface of the spit consists entirely of a homogeneous mixture of quartz sand and shell rock. The attraction of the spit is a volcano with the funny name Blevaka, given by the local population for its characteristic eruption.
Value
At the location of the spit is the narrowest point of the Kerch Strait. Since ancient times, trade routes connecting the Caucasus to the Crimea have passed through a sandy spit, as it is believed that the ancient Bospor path, which is also called the “bull path”, is located here. Chushka Spit has not lost its relevance today. Here, a highway and a railroad pass to the port of Kavkaz , from where the North Caucasus and the Crimean peninsula are connected via a ferry.
origin of name
The strange name "Chushka Spit" in the Kerch Strait received thanks to the blunt-nosed dolphins, which are found in large numbers in this part of the sea. They also say that for some reason they are sometimes thrown ashore. Locals call them porpoises or pigs. And so the name went - 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 courtyards. Why people live here is hard to say, since the conditions of the scythe 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. Water is delivered here from the neighboring village of Ilyich.
The formation of the village dates back to 1946, when the construction of a ferry crossing began on the territory of the spit, more precisely on its outskirts. A construction team was based on the spit. Trailers were brought here for living. After the construction was completed, the people remaining on the spit lived in dugouts, working at the local fish farm. Gradually, they began to build small, most often adobe houses. After the collapse of the Union, the fishery farm has sunk into oblivion, and people live without hope, nobody needs them.
Ecological situation
A unique natural object, which, according to environmental organizations, is experiencing a real environmental disaster, leading to disruption of the natural balance and the disappearance of the spit, which gradually goes under water. This is facilitated by the location of the tank farm and port. 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. They simply are not needed by anyone.
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 normal housing on the beach. Fearing to lose housing, people stayed in the village, breathing sulfur, chemical fumes of fertilizers, suffering from allergies and slowly dying. Together with them, the unique spit Chushka (Krasnodar Territory), dividing the two seas: Black and Azov, will disappear.
A huge danger is the tank farm, 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 to environmentalists, the port and tank farm, occupying half of the spit, have turned this unique facility into an industrial zone.
Port Caucasus
Spit is of strategic importance in terms of its position, as the border between two seas. Construction on the spit Chushka port of the Caucasus was completed in 1953. Its main purpose was and remains the ferry crossing, which allows you to transport millions of tons of cargo, transport vehicles, trains, passenger transportation. A railway station with the same name Caucasus was built near the port. At this station, shunting operations are being carried out to form trains being ferried.
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 intense life. A passenger boat began to walk from the port to the Kerch Sea Station. But soon this route was closed.
The port has four ferry routes. The main one goes to the Kerch ferry . The ferry from the port of Caucasus goes to Varna (Bulgaria), Zonguldak (Turkey) and Poti (Georgia).