Waterfalls of Ukraine

Shipot waterfall is 14 m

Ukraine is the second-largest country in Europe. Its various regions have diverse geographic features ranging from the highlands to the lowlands. A vast number of rivers run through the mountain ranges in Ukraine, with the Dnipro river traversing north to south and emptying into the Black Sea. The snow melt from the mountains feeds the rivers, and natural changes in altitude form a sudden drop in elevation and create many opportunities for waterfalls to form.

Carpathian waterfalls

Kamianka waterfall

The Carpathian Mountains reach into Ukraine in the western part of the country. The highest peak is Hoverla, which is 2061 m tall. Shipot is a famous waterfall where an annual festival is held with the same name, attracting thousands of tourists each year. The festival has taken place every year since 1993.¹

The Beskids and Bieszczady Mountains are also in western Ukraine. Kamianka waterfall is part of Bieszczady Mountains in Lviv Oblast.

Uchan-su waterfall

Crimean waterfalls

In southern Ukraine, the Crimean Mountains drop steeply into the Black Sea on the western part of the range. To the east, they change into a steppe landscape.

Uchan-su waterfall is part of the Crimean mountain range and a popular tourist attraction. It is located on the southern slopes of the Crimean Mountains close to the city of Yalta. The Uchan-su river begins at the foot of the Ai-Petri Mountain and flows upstream the gorge. Then at a distance of 2 km (1 mi) from the source, it forms the Uchan-su waterfall, which is 98 metres (322 ft) high at an altitude of 390 metres (1,280 ft) and is most powerful during the spring when it is fed by snow melt from the mountains.

Changes in elevation

Relief map of Ukraine

Most of Ukraine consists of regular plains with the average height above sea level being 175 metres (574 ft). They are bordered by mountains to the west and extreme south. Wide spaces of the country's plains are located in the south-western part of the East European Plain. The plains have numerous highlands and lowlands caused by the uneven crystallized base of the East European craton.

The highlands are characterized by Precambrian basement rocks from the Ukrainian Shield. Ukraine's various highland regions include the Volyn-Podillia Upland and the Near-Dnipro Upland (on the right bank of Dnipro River) in the west, the south-western spurs of the Central Russian Uplands upon which runs the border with Russia in the east, and the Donets Ridge and the Near Azov Upland near the Sea of Azov. The major lowlands are the Polissian Lowland in the north, the Black Sea Coastal Lowland in the south, and the Dnipro River Lowland that is located on the left bank of Dnipro River towards the north.