Ukraine, the land and its people : $b an introduction to its geographyRudnytskyi, Stepan
Science
Ukraine, the land and its people : $b an introduction to its geography
Rudnytskyi, Stepan
Ukraine; Ukrainians
The great amounts of precipitation are to be found in [95]the mountains of the Ukraine, where rising currents of air help along the condensation
of the water vapor. Even in the Low Beskid the precipitation exceeds 1000 mm. (Yasliska
1170 mm.), in the Gorgani and Chornohora we find in large areas, especially on the
southern slope, a precipitation of over 1200 mm., in a few places 1400 mm. (Kobiletzka
Polana 1377 mm., Bradula 1419 mm.). The amount of precipitation is still large in
the entire Pidhirye, but at only a short distance it decreases considerably. Lemberg
has only 735 mm. of rainfall, the southern part of the Rostoche as much as 900 mm.
in places, since the western edges act like chains of mountains to the west winds.
But Czernowitz, near as it is, has only 619 mm. and the Podolia on the Dniester still
less. The Khotin lying in the yar of this river has only 300 mm., which best illustrates
the significance of local conditions. At a greater distance from the curve of the
Carpathians the amount of precipitation shows a slow but regular decrease toward the
southeast. Only in the northern part of the Rostoche and the northwestern part of
Podolia does the amount of precipitation attain 600 mm., while further toward the
south and east a wide zone stretches out with only 500–600 mm. (Pinsk 581 mm., Kiev
534 mm., Uman 546 mm., Poltava 532 mm.). Another wide zone, which extends from the
mouth of the Dniester to the bend of the Don, has a precipitation of between 400 and
500 mm. (Kharkiv 465 mm., Katerinoslav 475 mm., Kishinev 471 mm., Yelisavet 444 mm.,
Odessa 408 mm.). The next narrow zone of the Pontian and Crimean steppe has a precipitation
of less than 400 mm. (Mikolaiv 360 mm., Sevastopol 386 mm., Luhan 379 mm.), a corner
of Crimea on the peninsula of Tarkhankut has even barely more than 200 mm.
The Yaila Mountain Range is too small to have any marked influence on the increase
in the amount of precipitation. Yalta has only 508 mm. precipitation. On the [96]other hand, the influence of the Caucasus is very great. The sub-Caucasus Kuban region,
to be sure, has only 400–500 mm. precipitation, Stavropol 720 mm., Novorossysk 691
mm. However, the amount of precipitation on the southwestern side of the Caucasus
Mountains increases uncommonly. At the borders of Ukrainian territory, Sochi has not
less than 2071 mm.
From this account we see clearly enough that, in comparison with Central and Western
Europe, the Ukraine is rather poor in rainfall, especially in the southeast. But the
distribution of the precipitations among the seasons is so favorable that most of
them fall at the time they are most needed, namely, in the early part of summer. The
entire Ukraine lies within the area of the summer rains, only the narrow strip of
the south coast of Crimea and the Caucasus are within the area of the winter rains.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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