Topography, Etc.— Ukraine covers a varied surface configuration, but on a large scale, not as in western or central Europe confined in a small area, for one may travel hundreds of miles in any direction without encountering any change of scenery. There are landscapes of high and central chains of mountains, pictur esque hill districts and richly cut plateaus, marshy plains and steppes strewn with barrows. The closed group of plateaus extending from the foot of the Carpathians and the Polish part of the Vistula region to the Sea of Azov form the morphological nucleus of the Ukraine. To this group the names of Pontian Plateau and Avratinian Ridge are commonly but erroneously applied. This Ukrainian Plateau group (a more apposite title) is divided into the follow ing sections : The Rostokh, between the San and Bug rivers; Volin or Volhynian, between the San and the Teterev; Podolia, between the Dniester and the Boh ; the Pocutian, or Bessara bian Plateau, between the Dniester and the Pruth ; the Dnieper Plateau, between the Boh and the Dnieper. The plateau character con tinues at the rapids section of the last-named river on the left bank where,•at some distance, the last member of the plateau group lies — the Donetz Plateau. The plateau group is bordered on the north and south by two plain districts, the former consisting of adjoining lowlands— Pidlassye, Polissye and the Dnieper plain (with their extensions along the Donetz), and the latter of the long stretch of the Pontian steppe-plain, which merges into the Caspian desert-steppe at the foot of the Caucasus. The Ukraine also takes in part of three European mountain systems—parts of the Carpathians, the little Yaila chain of Crimea and the western parts of the Caucasus. Altogether, more than nine-tenths of the whole territory is taken up by plains and plateaus; its western boundary extends beyond the defile of Poprad. The range of the Tatra is visible from the mountain country where the last Ukrainian villages lie. The territory reaches the Prislop Pass in the eastern part of the Carpathians, at that point where they are highest and most developed, though less than one-third of that mountain curve lies within Ukrainian national territory. It is only within the last 25 years that Ukrain ian civilization spread to the Yaila Mountains of Crimea, three parallel ranges barely 100 miles long and separated by longitudinal val leys, along the southeast shores of the penin sula. The southern main range declines to ward the sea in steep precipices, flat and rocky on top and intersected by deep gorges. The Caucasus forms the eastern boundary of the Ukraine and lies like a huge wall of rock be tween Europe and Asia.
Of the plateaus, the Podolian is the highest and most massive, though not lacking in fine scenery. Its surface is covered with a thick crust of loess, of which the uppermost layer has been transformed into the famous black earth (Chornozem) noted for its fertility. Centuries of exploitation has diminished the forests with the result that many springs and brooks have dried up and rivers have been almost obliterated, causing serious droughts in the hot, dry summers. The Pocutian-Bes sarabian Plateau reaches the valleys of the Bistritza and Vorona in the sub-Carpathian region and passes over into the Pontian steppe plain in the southeast. The western part (Pokutye) has a flat, undulating surface and a number of funnel-shaped depressions called Vertep (caves), famous for their beautiful stalactites of white alabaster. The south eastern or Bessarabian part is divided into nar row marshes by the flat valleys of the Pruth and Reut rivers. The Rostokh Plateau, also known as the Lemberg-Lublin Ridge, is a pro fusely cut, hilly, narrow plateau which merges on the south with the Podolian near Lemberg, where it becomes an erosive hill country. To ward the east it resolves itself into parallel hill ridges which gradually become lower and em brace marshy valleys. The soil is not very
fertile owing to extensive sand and marl soil. The Volhynian Plateau is divided into several sections of different size by the swampy low land of the Polissye. The surface soil is black soil only in the south, while many regions of loamy ground are rich in vegetable soil of considerable fertility. The hills have steep de clines and flattened rocky peaks. The valleys of the rivers, broad, flat, with gentle slopes and marshy bottoms, differentiate the landscape from that of the Podolian, presenting a view of flat, wooded hills, slowly-flowing streams, marshes, marshy meadows and sandy ground. The Dnieper Plateau is parted into several sec tions by broad river valleys and broad depres sions which traverse it. Its configuration is varied, rising south of Berdichiev to 1,000 feet, sinking constantly lower to the east and south east by irregular stages. To the furthest west is a level plateau, where the tributaries of the Teterev, Irpen and Ross flow slowly in flat valleys through whole rows of ponds, entering the plain between steep granite banks. The declivity of the right bank of the Dnieper is torn by gorges, presenting the appearance of a chain of mountains. The aspect of Kiev and the Shevchenko barrow is one of the most beau tiful in the whole country. Dropping con stantly lower toward the southeast, the land rises again in the region of the source of the Samara and along the Donetz. Here begins the Donetz Plateau, the easternmost member of the group, stretching in a long flat ridge from N.W.W. to S.E.E. and extending a flat side ridge to either side. The surface is level, declining flatly toward all sides and sprinkled with countless tumuli. The coalfields of the Donetz are the richest in what was once the Russian Empire. Here also are quicksilver mines and great deposits of rock-salt. A number of factories have sprung up in recent years. Zinc, lead, copper and gold are ex tracted.
The principal river system of the Ukraine concentrates in the Black Sea, which receives streams from north, northwest and east. The western boundaries of the country lie on the Baltic slope, while in recent times its coloniza tion has reached parts of the Caspian slope on the Kuma and Terek rivers. The main river is the majestic Dnieper (1,300 miles), affection ately termed °Father Dniepero and regarded as the symbol of the Ukraine, of its life and its past. During the spring floods all the islands, sand banks, swamps, meadows and river branches disappear beneath an interminable ex panse of yellowish water, rolling slowly toward the south, leaving behind, as it recedes, a layer of fertile river mud. The Don River, of Which less than a quarter lies within the Ukraine, was formerly an eastern border stream until the borders were extended into the Kuban region and to the Caspian Sea. Of the steppe rivers tending toward the Sea of Azov only the Yeia reaches its goal; the rest end their courses in lagoons. The Kuban (500 miles) receives many mountain streams from the northern Caucasus and carries its waters partly to the Black Sea and partly to the Sea of Azov, embracing the peninsula of Taman. Barely half of its course is navigable. The river Dniester (850 miles) possesses the greatest variety of distinct sec tions of river of all the Ukrainian streams. Rising in Galicia on the northeastern slope of the Carpathians, it receives numerous tributa ries from that range and from Podolia—the Zlota Lipa, Stripa, Sereth, Zbruch, Smotrich, Uzhitsa, Murakhva, Yakhorlik, etc. Though navigable for about 500 miles of its course, the river has not become an important waterway. There are numerous smaller rivers, canals and streams, such as the Boh, Pripet, etc., besides lakes and lagoons, which form terminals for the weaker streams.