ThePontic Mountains orPontic Alps (Turkish:Kuzey Anadolu Dağları, meaning 'North Anatolian Mountains'), form amountain range in northernAnatolia,Turkey. They are also known as the "Parhar Mountains" in the localTurkish andPontic Greek languages. The termParhar originates from aHittite word meaning 'high' or 'summit'.[1] Inancient Greek, the mountains were called the Paryadres[2] or Parihedri Mountains.[3]
The name of the mountains is derived from theGreek wordPontus (Πόντος [Póntos]), which means 'sea'. The Pontic Mountains, or "Pontus Mountains" (Πόντος Όρη [Póntos Óri]) in Greek, stretch along the southern coast of theBlack Sea, known inantiquity as the "Euxine Sea" or simplyPontus Euxinus (Πόντος Εὔξεινος [Póntos Éfxeinos]).
The range runs roughly east–west, parallel and close to the southern coast of theBlack Sea. It extends northeast intoGeorgia, and west into theSea of Marmara, with the northwestern spur of theKüre Mountains (and their western extension the Akçakoca Mountains) and the Bolu Mountains, following the coast. The highest peak in the range isKaçkar Dağı, which rises to 3,937 m (12,917 ft). TheNorth Anatolian Fault and theNortheast Anatolian Fault, which are east–west-runningstrike-slip faults, run along the length of the range.
