Crimea is a first-level division of Russia, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 45.0551° N, 34.3290° E.

What is the largest city in Crimea?

Sevastapol is the largest city mapped in Crimea, with a metropolitan population of about 379,200.

How many cities are in Crimea?

YearMaps maps 6 cities and towns in Crimea, with a combined metropolitan population of about 1.12 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.

What is the largest lake in Crimea?

The largest lake mapped in or beside Crimea is Syvash, at about 2,339 km².

Crimea Map — Cities & Geography, Russia

Interactive Map of Crimea

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About Crimea

Crimea ( kry-MEE-ə) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey. The population is 2.4 million, and the largest city is Sevastopol. The region, internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, has been under Russian occupation since 2014.

Called the Tauric Peninsula until the early modern period, Crimea has historically been at the boundary between the classical world and the steppe. Greeks colonised its southern fringe and were absorbed by the Roman and Byzantine Empires and successor states while remaining culturally Greek. Some cities became trading colonies of Genoa, until conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Throughout this time the interior was occupied by a changing cast of steppe nomads, coming under the control of the Golden Horde in the 13th century from which the Crimean Khanate emerged as a successor state. In the 15th century, the Khanate became a dependency of the Ottoman Empire. Lands controlled by Russia and Poland-Lithuania were often the target of slave raids during this period.

In 1783, after the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774), the Russian Empire annexed Crimea. Crimea's strategic position led to the 1854 Crimean War and many short lived regimes following the 1917 Russian Revolution. When the Bolsheviks secured Crimea, it became an autonomous soviet republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. It was occupied by Germany during World War II.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Crimea (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Crimea in Depth

History

The recorded history of Crimea begins around 5th century BCE when several Greek colonies were established on its south coast, the most important of which was Chersonesos near modern-day Sevastopol, with Scythians and Tauri in the hinterland to the north. The Tauri gave the name the Tauric Peninsula, which Crimea was called into the early modern period. The southern coast gradually consolidated into the Bosporan Kingdom which was annexed by Pontus in Asia Minor and later became a client kingdom of Rome from 63 BCE to 341 CE.

The south coast remained Greek in culture for almost two thousand years including under Roman successor states, the Byzantine Empire (341–1204 CE), the Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461 CE), and the independent Principality of Theodoro (ended 1475 CE).

Geography

Covering an area of 27,000 km2 (10,425 sq mi), Crimea is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea and on the western coast of the Sea of Azov; the only land border is shared with Ukraine's Kherson Oblast on the north. Crimea is almost an island and only connected to the continent by the Isthmus of Perekop, a strip of land about 5–7 kilometres (3.1–4.3 mi) wide.

Much of the natural border between the Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland comprises the Syvash or "Rotten Sea", a large system of shallow lagoons stretching along the western shore of the Sea of Azov. Besides the isthmus of Perekop, the peninsula is connected to the Kherson Oblast's Henichesk Raion by bridges over the narrow Chonhar and Henichesk straits and over Kerch Strait to the Krasnodar Krai.

Economy

In 2016 Crimea had Nominal GDP of US$7 billion and US$3,000 per capita.

The main branches of the modern Crimean economy are agriculture and fishing oysters pearls, industry and manufacturing, tourism, and ports. Industrial plants are situated for the most part in the southern coast (Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch) regions of the republic, few northern (Armiansk, Krasnoperekopsk, Dzhankoi), aside from the central area, mainly Simferopol okrug and eastern region in Nizhnegorsk (few plants, same for Dzhankoj) city. Important industrial cities include Dzhankoi, housing a major railway connection, Krasnoperekopsk and Armiansk, among others.

Demographics

As of 2014, the total population of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol was 2,248,400 people (Republic of Crimea: 1,889,485; Sevastopol: 395,000). This was down from the 2001 Ukrainian Census figure of 2,376,000 (Autonomous Republic of Crimea: 2,033,700; Sevastopol: 342,451).

According to the 2014 Russian census, 84% of Crimean inhabitants named Russian as their native language; 7.9% Crimean Tatar; 3.7% Tatar; and 3.3% Ukrainian. It was the first official census in Crimea since a Ukrainian-held census in 2001.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Crimea (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Crimea: Key Facts

Key facts about Crimea
Population	2,340,921 (2017)
Area	27,000 km²
Highest point	Roman-Kosh

Facts from Wikidata Q7835 (CC0).

History of Crimea: Empires and States

The atlas records 17 polities whose mapped territory included part of Crimea, from Scythia in 450 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Crimea, in chronological order
Polity	Period here
Scythia	450–224 BCE
Kingdom of Pontus	91–64 BCE
The Roman Empire	68–476 CE
Cimmerian Bosporus	78–372 CE
Huns	373–425 CE
Hunnic Empire	426–468 CE
Eastern Roman Empire	469–632 CE
The Byzantine Empire	469–1055 CE
Halych-Volhynia occupation	1206–1240 CE
The Mongol Empire	1241–1293 CE
Golden Horde	1294–1362 CE
Blue Horde	1363–1449 CE
Crimean Khanate	1450–1782 CE
The Russian Empire	1783–1916 CE
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics	1922–1991 CE
Ukraine	1992–2023 CE
Russian Federation	2014–2024 CE

Historical Maps of Crimea

Crimea on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting Crimea

Crimea (Russian: Крым, Ukrainian: Крим, Crimean Tatar: Qırım, Къырым) is a peninsula jutting into the Black Sea south of Ukraine. Long known for its idyllic and luxurious beach resorts, it was once a playground for the Imperial Russian and Soviet elites.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Crimea (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Largest Cities in Crimea

6 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Crimea
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Sevastapol	379,200	Crimea	Admin-1 capital
2	Simferopol	358,108	Crimea	Admin-1 capital
3	Kerch	152,195	Crimea	Populated place
4	Yevpatoriya	105,223	Crimea	Populated place
5	Yalta	79,509	Crimea	Populated place
6	Dzhankoy	43,879	Crimea	Populated place

Largest Lakes in Crimea

1 lake mapped. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Largest Lakes in Crimea
#	Name	Surface Area	Type
1	Syvash	2,339 km²	Alkaline Lake

Ports in Crimea

6 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

Ports in Crimea
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Temryuk	53 m	Very Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels
2	Yevpatoriya	53 m	Very Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels
3	Sevastopol	42.1 m	Major	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels
4	Kerch	42.1 m	Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels
5	Yalta	42.1 m	Very Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels
6	Kavkaz Oil Terminal	—	Very Small	Black Sea & Sea of Azov	medium vessels

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Crimea

1 World Heritage Site mapped. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Crimea
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora	2013	Cultural	(ii) (v)

Crimea: Quick Answers

Where is Crimea?: Crimea is a first-level division of Russia, in Asia. Its mapped cities centre on 45.0551° N, 34.3290° E.
What is the largest city in Crimea?: Sevastapol is the largest city mapped in Crimea, with a metropolitan population of about 379,200.
How many cities are in Crimea?: YearMaps maps 6 cities and towns in Crimea, with a combined metropolitan population of about 1.12 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
What is the largest lake in Crimea?: The largest lake mapped in or beside Crimea is Syvash, at about 2,339 km².