North Crimean Canal
North Crimean Canal | |
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Specifications | |
Length | 250.1 miles (402.5 km) |
History | |
Date of act | September 21, 1950 |
The North Crimean Canal (Ukrainian: Північно-Кримський канал) is a land improvement canal for irrigation and watering of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine, and the Crimean peninsula. The canal was constructed between 1961 and 1971 and has multiple branches.
Overview
The canal begins at the city of Tavriysk, where it draws from the Kakhovka Reservoir, and stretches out in a generally southeasterly direction, terminating at the small village of Zelnyi Yar (Lenine Raion); from there, a pipeline carries water to supply the city of Kerch at the eastern extreme of the Crimean peninsula. Seven water reservoirs lie along the main canal, which is 402.6 km (250.2 mi) in length. Water flows by gravity from Tavriysk to Dzhankoy, where it is elevated by four pump stations to a height of over 100 m (330 ft) to energize its continued downstream flow. In Crimea, numerous smaller canals branch off the main channel, including the Razdolne rice canal, Azov rice canal, Krasnohvardiiske distribution canal, Uniting canal, and Saky canal; through these, water is also supplied to the city of Simferopol.[1]
After the disputed annexation of Crimean territory by the Russian Federation during the 2014 Crimean crisis, Ukrainian authorities greatly reduced the volume of water flowing into Crimea via the canal, threatening the viability of the peninsula's agricultural crops, which are heavily dependent on irrigation.[2]
Gallery
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Sign with information about the canal
Branches
External links
- Berezovsky, E. Северо-Крымский - дорога куда? (North-Crimean is road to where?). "Ekologiya i Mir" (Crimean Republican Association).
- Nina Bogutskaya, Jennifer Hales [1] Crimean Peninsula. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World.
References
- ^ Tymchenko, Z. North Crimean Canal. History of construction. Ukrayinska Pravda. May 13, 2014 (Krymskiye izvestiya. November 2012)
- ^ "Russia fears Crimea water shortage as supply drops". BBC News. 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2014-04-26.