TheCaucasus Mountains[a] is amountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between theBlack Sea and theCaspian Sea, they are surrounded by theCaucasus region and are home toMount Elbrus, thehighest peak in Europe at 5,642 metres (18,510 ft) above sea level.
The Caucasus Mountains include theGreater Caucasus in the north and theLesser Caucasus in the south. The Greater Caucasus runs west-northwest to east-southeast, from theWestern Caucasus on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea to close toBaku on the Caspian Sea, inAzerbaijan. The Lesser Caucasus runs parallel to the Greater about 100 km (62 mi) south.[2] The Greater and Lesser Caucasus ranges are connected by theLikhi Range, and to the west and east of the Likhi Range lie theColchis Plain and theKur-Araz Lowland respectively. TheMeskheti Range is a part of the Lesser Caucasus system. In the southeast, theAras River separates the Lesser Caucasus from theTalysh Mountains which runs through theGreater Azerbaijan region. The Lesser Caucasus and theArmenian Highland constitute theTranscaucasian Highland, which at their western end converges with the highland plateau of EasternAnatolia. The Caucasus Mountains were part of theSilk Road.
The Caucasus Mountains formed largely as the result of atectonic plate collision between theArabian plate moving northwards with respect to theEurasian plate. As theTethys Sea was closed and the Arabian plate collided with theIranian plate and was pushed against it, and with the clockwise movement of the Eurasian plate towards the Iranian plate and their final collision, the Iranian plate was pressed against the Eurasian plate. As this happened, the rocks that had been deposited in this basin from the Jurassic to the Miocene werefolded to form the Greater Caucasus Mountains. This collision also caused the uplift and theCenozoic volcanic activity in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains.[5]
The entire region is regularly subjected to strongearthquakes from this activity.[6] While the Greater Caucasus Mountains have a mainly folded sedimentary structure, the Lesser Caucasus Mountains are largely ofvolcanic origin.[7]
TheJavakheti Volcanic Plateau inGeorgia and the surrounding volcanic ranges which extend well into centralArmenia are some of the youngest features of the region. Only recently was the Caucasus a scene for intense volcanic activity: the Armenian highland was flooded by calc-alkalinebasalts andandesites in thePliocene and the highest summits of the Caucasus, theElbrus, and theKazbek, formed asPleistocene-Pliocene volcanoes. The Kazbek is no longer active, but the Elbrus erupted in postglacial times andfumarole activity is registered near its summit. Contemporary seismic activity is a prominent feature of the region, reflecting active faulting and crustal shortening. Clusters of seismicity occur inDagestan and in northernArmenia. Many devastating earthquakes have been documented in historical times, including theSpitak earthquake in December 1988 which destroyed theGyumri-Vanadzor region of Armenia.
Mount Elbrus, at 5,642 m (18,510 ft), in the Caucasus Mountains, is sometimes cited as the highest peak in Europe. Mount Elbrus is 832 m (2,730 ft) higher thanMont Blanc, the highest peak in theAlps and Western Europe at 4,810 m (15,780 ft). However, there are some technical disagreements over whether Mount Elbrus is in Europe.[8] The crest of the Greater Caucasus Mountains is usually taken todefine theGreater Caucasus Watershed which marks the continental boundary between Asia and Europe for the region between the Black and Caspian seas. This classification would place Mount Elbrus at the junction with Asia.[4]
The table below lists some of the highest peaks of the Caucasus. With the exception ofShkhara, the heights are taken from Soviet 1:50,000 mapping. The list includes the tenultras (mountains of more than 1,500 m prominence) and all mountains over 4,500 m height with 300 mprominence.Mount Ağrı (5,137 m) inTurkey is just south of the Lesser Caucasus.
Some of the Highest peaks in the Caucasus Mountains
The climate of the Caucasus varies both vertically (according to elevation) and horizontally (by latitude and location). Temperature generally decreases as elevation rises. Average annual temperature inSokhumi,Abkhazia at sea level is 15 °C (59 °F) while on the slopes of Mt.Kazbek at an elevation of 3,700 metres (12,100 ft), average annual temperature falls to −6.1 °C (21.0 °F). The northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range are 3 °C (5.4 °F) colder than the southern slopes. The highlands of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains inArmenia,Azerbaijan, andGeorgia are marked by sharp temperature contrasts between the summer and winter months due to a more continental climate.
Precipitation increases from east to west in most areas. Elevation plays an important role in the Caucasus and mountains generally receive higher amounts of precipitation than low-lying areas. The north-eastern regions (Dagestan) and the southern portions of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains are the driest. The absolute minimum annual precipitation is 250 mm (9.84 in) in the northeasternCaspian Depression. Western parts of the Caucasus Mountains are marked by high amounts of precipitation. The southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range receive higher amounts of precipitation than the northern slopes. Annual precipitation in the Western Caucasus ranges from 1,000 to 4,000 mm (39.37–157.48 in) while in the Eastern and Northern Caucasus (Chechnya,Ingushetia,Kabardino-Balkaria,Ossetia,Kakheti,Kartli, etc.) precipitation ranges from 600 to 1,800 mm (23.62–70.87 in). The absolute maximum annual precipitation is 4,100 mm (161.42 in) around the Mt. Mtirala area which lies on theMeskheti Range inAdjara. The precipitation of the Lesser Caucasus Mountain Range (SouthernGeorgia,Armenia, westernAzerbaijan), not including theMeskheti Range, varies from 300-800 mm (31.50 in) annually.
The Caucasus Mountains are known for the high amount of snowfall, although many regions which are not located along the windward slopes do not receive nearly as much snow. This is especially true for the Lesser Caucasus Mountains which are somewhat isolated from the moist influences coming in from theBlack Sea and receive considerably less precipitation (in the form of snow) than the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The average winter snow cover of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains ranges from 10 to 30 cm (3.94–11.81 in). The Greater Caucasus Mountains (especially the southwestern slopes) are marked by heavy snowfall.Avalanches are common from November to April.
Snow cover in several regions (Svaneti and northernAbkhazia) may reach 5 metres (16 ft). The Mt.Achishkho region, which is the snowiest place in the Caucasus, often records snow depths of 7 m (23 ft).
Juta Valley inGeorgia, on the southern slopes of Greater Caucasus
The Caucasus Mountains have a varied landscape which changes according to elevation and distance from large bodies of water. The region containsbiomes ranging from subtropical lowland marshes and forests toglaciers (Western and Central Caucasus), and highlandsemideserts,steppes, andalpine meadows in the south (mainly inArmenia andAzerbaijan).
The northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains are covered byoak,hornbeam,maple, andash forests at lower elevations whilebirch andpine forests take over at higher elevations. Some of the lowest areas of the region are covered bysteppes andgrasslands. The slopes of the North-western Greater Caucasus (Kabardino-Balkaria,Cherkessia, etc.) also containspruce andfir forests. Thealpine zone replaces the forest at around 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level. Thepermafrost/glacier line generally starts around 2,800–3,000 metres (9,200–9,800 ft). The southeastern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains are covered bybeech,oak,maple,hornbeam, and ash forests.Beech forests tend to dominate in higher locations. The south-western slopes of the Greater Caucasus are covered byColchian forests (oak,buxus,beech,chestnut,hornbeam,elm) at lower elevations withconiferous and mixed forests (spruce,fir andbeech) taking over at higher elevations. The alpine zone on the southern slopes may extend up to 2,800 metres (9,200 ft) above sea level while theglacier/snow line starts at 3,000–3,500 metres (9,800–11,500 ft).
The northern and western slopes of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains are characterized both byColchian and otherdeciduous forests at lower elevations while mixed andconiferous forests (mainlyspruce andfir) dominate at higher elevations.Beech forests are also common at higher elevations. The southern slopes of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains are largely covered bygrasslands andsteppes up to an elevation of 2,500 metres (8,200 ft). The highest areas of the region too contains alpine grasslands.Volcanic and other rock formations are common throughout the region. The volcanic zone extends over a large area from southernGeorgia intoArmenia and southwesternAzerbaijan. Some of the prominent peaks of the region include Mt.Aragats,Didi Abuli,Samsari, and others. The area is characterized byvolcanic plateaus,lava flows,volcanic lakes,volcanic cones and other features. The Lesser Caucasus Mountains lack the type of glaciers and glacial features that are common on the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range.
^The elevation and coordinates given here are taken from aDGPS survey by Peter Schoen and Boris Avdeev, in association with"GeoAT".. It was carried out in July 2010 and"made available". November 2010. in November 2010.
Some sources, including theGreat Soviet Encyclopedia, give the estimation of only 5,068 metres (16,627 feet), but this is the correct height of the lower western summit. Soviet era 1:50,000 mapping shows a 5,158 metrespot height to the east, and this can be verified using a"panoramic photograph". taken fromElbrus. The true [maximum] elevation is on higher ground, still further east along the Shkhara ridge.
^Adamia, Shota; Zakariadze, Guram; Chkhotua, Tamar; Sadradze, Nino; Tsereteli, Nino; Chabukiani, Aleksandre; Gventsadze, Aleksandre (January 2011)."Geology of the Caucasus: A Review"(PDF).Turkish J. Earth Sci.20:489–544.
^Reilinger, R. E.; McClusky, S. C.; Oral, M. B.; King, R. W.; Toksoz, M. N.; Barka, A. A.; Kinik, I.; Lenk, O.; Sanli, I. (January 1997). "Global Positioning System measurements of present-day crustal movements in the Arabia–Africa–Eurasia plate collision zone".Journal of Geophysical Research.102 (B5):9983–9999.Bibcode:1997JGR...102.9983R.doi:10.1029/96JB03736.
Cornell, Svante E. (1 December 2000).Small Nations and Great Powers: A study of ethnopolitical conflict in the Caucasus (1st ed.). Routledge.ISBN978-070071162-8.Sets out a synthesis of the Caucasian conflicts and a conclusion on the place of the Caucasus in world affairs.
Redfern, Nick (2012).The World's Weirdest Places. The Career Press.ISBN978-1-60163-237-1.
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