Dzharylgach

Dzharylhach

Dzharylhach

Sandbank in Ukraine


Dzharylhach (Cyrillic: Джарилгач, also spelled as Dzharylgach; Crimean Tatar: Carılğaç) is a sand bank in Skadovsk Raion, Kherson Oblast near Crimea in Ukraine. Along with the Tendra island that lies to the west, in the past it was a spit that Greeks called "Course of Achilles".[1] To the west it stretches as a spit and as a shoal, which sometimes dries up, and connects to the continental portion of Kherson Oblast near the town of Lazurne. The wider portion used to be called Tamyraca.[1] It was named after an ancient town of Tamyraca located on the continent across the bay.

Quick Facts Native name: Джарилгач, Geography ...
The Mercator's map

Across from the island over the Dzharylhach Bay is the city of Skadovsk. Dzharylhach and its bay is part of the Dzharylhach National Nature Park.

Its area of 56 km2 and length of 42 km make it the Black Sea's biggest sand bank, located at the Karkinit Bay. The island has clean sandy beaches and mineral springs. In the middle of the island there is a fresh water spring, and more than four hundred small salty lakes are scattered all over its territory. The unique flora and fauna of Dzharylhach have been well preserved. It is a habitat for wild boars, deer, mouflon, as well as numerous seagulls and cormorant, hunting crabs, raps whelk and shrimp.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

In the spring of 2023, Russian invaders covered the crossing to the island with sand, permanently connecting it with the occupied part of the Kherson region of Ukraine.[2] Russian invaders also created a military training ground on the island.[3]

In August 2023, a large-scale fire occurred on the island. The fire destroyed more than 1,500 hectares of the area of the nature reserve on the island.[4][5]


References

  1. Strabo (1903). "The Geography of Strabo". Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Dzharylgach, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.