Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tchernomorsk

TCHERNOMORSK, a government of Caucasia, Russia, consisting of a narrow strip of land between the main Caucasus chain and the Black Sea, formerly inhabited by the Adyghe mountaineers of Caucasus. This strip, protected by the mountains from the cold winds of the north, is in respect of climate one of the most favoured parts of the Black Sea littoral. Owing to extensive emigrations of its inhabitants to Turkey since the Russian conquest of 1864, it is very thinly peopled, the population numbering but 25,980, mostly Russians, on an area of 2824 square miles. The steep slopes of the Caucasus, whose summits range from 2000 to 10,000 feet, are furrowed by narrow gorges, and bear a luxuriant vegetation. The wild vine—a relic of former gardens—grows freely in the forests, which are almost impassable on account of the underwood and decaying trees. The moistness of the atmosphere contributes to the spread of the Caucasian fever, which is characteristic of the littoral. Notwithstanding the proximity of the mountains to the sea, a road is now being constructed along the coast,—for military reasons.

Agriculture is carried on, but only in the south,—gardening and the culture of the vine and tobacco being the chief occupations besides fishing and hunting. Some manufactures are rising up at Novorossiysk (3330 inhabitants) and Anapa (5360), the two principal towns, which also have some foreign trade. The region is a separate province under a military governor residing at Novorossiysk, where a new harbour is being constructed.