Editing Sochi (section)

== Geography ==
Greater Sochi is elongated along the Black Sea coast for {{convert|145|km|sp=us}}. Sochi is approximately {{convert|1603|km|sp=us}} from [[Moscow]].<ref name="travelersguide360.com">{{Cite web |last=Mary |date=2014-03-05 |title=Travel Destinations Sochi Russia |url=http://travelersguide360.com/travel-destinations-sochi-russia-322/ |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=Travelers Guide 360 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The city of Sochi borders with [[Tuapsinsky District]] in the northwest, with [[Apsheronsky District]] and with [[Maykopsky District]] of the [[Adygea|Republic of Adygea]] in the north, with [[Mostovsky District]] in the northeast, and with [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]/[[Abkhazia]] in the southeast. From the southwest, it is bordered by the Black Sea.

{{Multiple image
| align             = center
| direction         = horizontal
| header            = 
| image1            = Sochi at Black Sea with Krasnodarski Krai.png
| width1            = 270
| alt1              = Map of Black Sea showing location of Sochi on the east coast
| caption1          = Map of Black Sea showing location of Sochi
| image2            = View on Sotsji from black sea.jpg
| width2            = 254
| alt2              = Sochi seen from the Black Sea
| caption2          = Sochi seen from the Black Sea
| image3            = Kitesurfer and Dolphins Cropped.jpg
| width3            = 254
| alt3              = [[Short-beaked common dolphin|Black sea common dolphins]] with a [[kitesurfing|kite-surfer]] off beach
| caption3          = [[Short-beaked common dolphin|Black sea common dolphins]] with a [[kitesurfing|kite-surfer]] off Sochi
}}

The vast majority of the population of Sochi lives in a narrow strip along the coast and is organized in independent microdistricts (formerly settlements). The biggest of these microdistricts, from the northwest to the southeast, are [[Lazarevskoye Microdistrict|Lazarevskoye]], [[Loo Microdistrict|Loo]], [[Dagomys]], central Sochi ([[Tsentralny city district, Sochi|Tsentralny city district]]), [[Khosta Microdistrict|Khosta]], [[Matsesta Microdistrict|Matsesta]], and [[Adler Microdistrict|Adler]]. The whole city is located on the slopes of the [[Western Caucasus]] which descend to the Black Sea and are cut by the rivers. The biggest rivers in Sochi are the [[Mzymta River|Mzymta]] and the [[Shakhe River|Shakhe]]. Other rivers include the Ashe, the Psezuapse, the [[Sochi River|Sochi]], the Khosta, and the [[Matsesta River|Matsesta]]. The [[Psou River]] makes the border with Abkhazia.

The northeastern part of the city belongs to the [[Caucasian Biosphere Reserve]] which is a [[World Heritage Site]] spanning areas in Krasnodar Krai and Adygea. Almost the whole area of the Greater Sochi, with the exception of the coast and of the area which belong to the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve, are included into [[Sochi National Park]].

Sochi has a [[humid subtropical climate]]<ref name="koeppen">{{cite web|url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/|title=World Map of Köppen−Geiger Climate Classification|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906034159/http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/|archive-date=September 6, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="s1">{{Cite journal|last1=Drozdov|first1=V. A.|last2=Glezer|first2=O. B.|last3=Nefedova|first3=T. G.|last4=Shabdurasulov|first4=I. V.|year=1992|title=Ecological and geographical characteristics of the coastal zone of the Black Sea|journal=GeoJournal|volume=27|issue=2|pages=169|doi=10.1007/BF00717701|bibcode=1992GeoJo..27..169D |s2cid=128960702}}</ref> with mild winters (average {{convert|11|C}} during the day and {{convert|4|C}} at night) in the period from December to March and warm summers (average {{convert|24|C}} during the day and {{convert|16|C}} at night) in the period from May to October.

=== Layout and landmarks ===
Sochi is unique among larger Russian cities as having some aspects of a [[subtropical]] resort. About two million people visited Greater Sochi each summer as of 2014,<ref>{{cite news |date=July 4, 2007 |title=Сочи, Пхенчхан и Зальцбург&nbsp;— претенденты на Олимпиаду-2014 |trans-title=Sochi, Pyeongchang, and Salzburg — candidates for the 2014 Olympics. |url=http://www.itar-tass.com/level2.html?NewsID=11684508&PageNum=0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705142505/http://www.itar-tass.com/level2.html?NewsID=11684508&PageNum=0 |archive-date=July 5, 2007 |access-date=January 7, 2014 |publisher=[[ITAR-TASS]] |format=in Russian}}</ref> when the city is home to the annual film festival "[[Kinotavr]]" and a getaway for Russia's elite.

<gallery class="center" widths="210" heights="160">
File:Promenade in Sochi, Nov. 2010.jpg|Sochi's quay
File:Dendrarium Sochi Amours fontain.JPG|[[Cupid]] fountain in [[Sochi Arboretum|Arboretum]]
File:Morskoy lane in Sochi, hotels.jpg|Hotels
File:Tower on the Akhun mountain.JPG|[[Mount Akhun]]
File:Аэрофотоснимок гостиницы Приморская 02.jpg|Aerial view of Sochi
File:Памятник Петру I (Сочи).jpg|Monument to [[Peter the Great|Peter I]] in the seaport berth
</gallery>

A [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]], the {{convert|2957|km2|acre|sp=us}} [[Caucasus Nature Reserve]], lies just north from the city.<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/900/ Western Caucasus] at Unesco Heritage Site. Retrieved July 7, 2007</ref> Sochi also has the region's most northerly [[tea]] [[plantation]]s.

=== Climate ===
{{Main|Climate of Sochi}}
Sochi has a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Cfa''),<ref name="koeppen" /> at the lower elevations. Its average annual temperature is {{convert|18.9|C}} during the day and {{convert|11.5|C}} at night. In the coldest months—January and February—the average temperature is about {{convert|10|C}} during the day, above {{convert|3|C}} at night and the average sea temperature is about {{convert|9|C}}. In the warmest months—July and August—the temperature typically ranges from {{convert|25|to|29|C|F}} during the day, about {{convert|20|C}} at night and the average sea temperature is about {{convert|23|-|27|C|F|abbr=}}.

Yearly sunshine hours are around 2,200. Generally, the summer season lasts three months, from June to September. Two months—April and November—are transitional; sometimes temperatures reach {{convert|20|C}}, with an average temperature of around {{convert|16|C}} during the day and {{convert|9|C}} at night. December, January, February and March are the coldest months, with an average temperature (for these four months) of {{convert|11|C}} during the day and {{convert|4|C}} at night. Average annual [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] is about {{convert|1700|mm|sp=us}}.<ref name="GSE"/><ref name="s1" /><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Rybak, Elena A.|author2=Rybak, Oleg O.|author3=Zasedatelev, Yuri V.|name-list-style=amp|year=1994|title=Complex geographical analysis of the Greater Sochi region on the Black Sea coast|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00813147|journal=GeoJournal|volume=34|issue=4|pages=507–513|doi=<!-- broken 10.1007/BF00813147 -->|bibcode=1994GeoJo..34..507R }}</ref>

Sochi is situated on the same latitude as [[Nice]] but strong cold winds from the south make winters less warm. In fact, temperatures drop below freezing every winter. The highest temperature recorded was {{convert|39.4|C}}, on July 30, 2000, and the lowest temperature recorded was {{convert|-13.4|C}} on January 25, 1892.<ref name="pogoda2">{{cite web|url=http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/37099.htm|title=Weather and Climate – The Climate of Sochi|publisher=Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)|language=ru|access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref> Sochi lies at 8b/9a [[hardiness zone]], so the city supports different types of palm trees.<ref name="travelersguide360.com" />

{{Sochi weatherbox}}
{|style="width:100%;text-align:center;line-height:1.2em;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto" class="wikitable"
|-
!Colspan=14|Beach climate data for Sochi
|-
!Month
!Jan
!Feb
!Mar
!Apr
!May
!Jun
!Jul
!Aug
!Sep
!Oct
!Nov
!Dec
!style="border-left-width:medium"|Year
|-
!Average sea temperature °C (°F)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|10.6}}"|10.6<br />(51.08)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|9.4}}"|9.4<br />(48.92)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|9.4}}"|9.4<br />(48.92)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|11.5}}"|11.5<br />(52.7)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|17.3}}"|17.3<br />(63.14)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|22.9}}"|22.9<br />(73.22)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|25.6}}"|25.6<br />(78.08)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|26.9}}"|26.9<br />(80.42)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|24.7}}"|24.7<br />(76.46)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|20.5}}"|20.5<br />(68.9)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|16.4}}"|16.4<br />(61.52)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|12.8}}"|12.8<br />(55.04)
| style="{{Weather box/colsea|17.333333}}"|17.3<br />(63.2)
|-
!Colspan=14 style="background:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-size:100%;"|Source:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://russia.pogoda360.ru/836124/ |title=Погода в Сочи сейчас. Температура воды в море. Подробный прогноз. Сочи на карте погоды}}</ref>
|}