The Bilokuzmynivka Rocks — a Wonder of Nature in the Virgin Steppe

In the Donetsk region, where the cities have merged into one continuous industrial agglomeration and the distance between them is about 5-10 kilometres, nature has given this industrial region an astonishing creation — The Bilokuzmynivka chalk cliffs.

They received this name from their close location to the village of Bilokuzmynivka in the Kostiantynivka district.

If you drive south-east from Kramatorsk, then after 10 kilometres the familiar flat terrain suddenly heaves up into a hilly ridge.

The hills, sparsely covered with vegetation, are separated from one another by gullies.

Water erosion has divided these mounds, not made by human hands, with ravines.

For the Donbas, with its stern slag heaps, white mountains with smooth peaks are a unique creation of nature.

The mountain nearest to the village has not a gentle slope but breaks off in rocky ledges.

The rock strata resemble the sails of a ship half-sunk in a stone abyss.

To someone, perhaps, the cliff will seem a ruined castle with towers as tall as a nine-storey building.

Someone will see a sharp knife or a dagger.

For its resemblance to a bladed weapon, the mountain was named "The Sword".

Scholars have calculated its age — about 90 million years.

The mountains formed in the Mesozoic era from the deposits of organisms that lived in a warm sea.

Fragments of formations of bizarre shapes are scattered everywhere by the elements of air and water.

One of the large boulders has broken away from the monolith,

while all the slopes are strewn with small ones.

In 1972 the Bilokuzmynivka chalk cliffs were awarded the status of a geological natural monument of local significance.

Its area is 0.35 hectares.

This is section No. 4 of the "Kramatorskyi" regional landscape park.

The slopes of the mountain resemble terraces, which rise like steps to the peaks.

The vegetation cover is represented by drought-resistant species of flora, many of which are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

I came across a wild rose bush.

And although there is no succulent grass here, the foot of the mountains serves as a pasture for animals.

And so the little cows of Bilokuzmynivka went on the attack against me too, blocking my way and forcing me to climb almost right up to the cliff.

At close range I examined niches, small caves, hollows.

Undoubtedly, some of them are the work of human hands.

People do not consider it their duty to protect beauty, but they invariably wish to leave their mark on it.

A small snake that slipped between the stones prompted me to climb down several metres in a second.

You can climb the mountain by another route, going round it along a path like a mountain serpentine.

The woman who was grazing the cows suggested which of the terraces was more convenient for the ascent.

On the white mountain I came across a little heap of black Donbas gold.

A cross, set up recently, as a talisman of the Donetsk land and the protected zone.

From here, at the top of the plateau, as if from an observation platform, you can survey the surroundings and the local landscapes with their unploughed feather-grass steppes.

The banks of the Bilenka river are overgrown with reeds.

But springs give life to an artificial pond with a beach.

The chalk composition of the stone pinnacles, with its flint veins, is clearly visible.

Ancient people worked flint in these parts.

Their encampment has been discovered nearby.

Bilokuzmynivka is very popular among tourists and rock climbers.

One would wish that the pristine appearance of this natural monument not be disturbed by travelling pilgrims.