Caucasus Mountains

• 1. Tectonic Collision And Volcanic Fire

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  The Caucasus Mountains formed largely as the result of a tectonic plate collision between the Arabian plate moving northwards with respect to the Eurasian plate. This geological process began from the Late Triassic to the Late Jurassic during the Cimmerian orogeny at the active margin of the Tethys Ocean. The uplift of the Greater Caucasus is dated to the Miocene during the Alpine orogeny. As the Tethys Sea was closed, the Arabian plate collided with the Iranian plate and was pushed against it. Simultaneously, the clockwise movement of the Eurasian plate towards the Iranian plate caused their final collision. The rocks that had been deposited in this basin from the Jurassic to the Miocene were folded to form the Greater Caucasus Mountains. This same collision also caused the uplift and the Cenozoic volcanic activity in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. The entire region is regularly subjected to strong earthquakes from this activity. While the Greater Caucasus Mountains have a mainly folded sedimentary structure, the Lesser Caucasus Mountains are largely of volcanic origin. The Javakheti Volcanic Plateau in Georgia and the surrounding volcanic ranges which extend well into central Armenia 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-alkaline basalts and andesites in the Pliocene. The highest summits of the Caucasus, the Elbrus, and the Kazbek, formed as Pleistocene-Pliocene volcanoes. The Kazbek is no longer active, but the Elbrus erupted in postglacial times. Fumarole 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 in Dagestan and in northern Armenia. Many devastating earthquakes have been documented in historical times, including the Spitak earthquake in December 1988 which destroyed the Gyumri-Vanadzor region of Armenia.

• 2. Summits And Continental Boundaries

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  Mount Elbrus, at an elevation of five thousand six hundred forty-two meters, stands in the Caucasus Mountains. It is sometimes cited as the highest peak in Europe. Mount Elbrus is eight hundred sixty-three meters higher than Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps and Western Europe at four thousand eight hundred ten meters. However, there are some technical disagreements over whether Mount Elbrus is in Europe. The crest of the Greater Caucasus Mountains is usually taken to define the Greater 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. The table below lists some of the highest peaks of the Caucasus. With the exception of Shkhara, the heights are taken from Soviet one-to-fifty-thousand mapping. The list includes the ten ultras and all mountains over four thousand five hundred meters height with three hundred meters prominence. Mount Ağrı in Turkey is just south of the Lesser Caucasus. Other notable summits include Dykh-Tau in Russia and Shkhara shared by Georgia and Russia. Pushkin peak and Janga also rise within these ranges. Ushba stands tall in Georgia while Aragats dominates the landscape of Armenia. These peaks vary in country ownership, with many straddling borders like Kazbek and Katyn-Tau.

• 3. Weather Zones And Snow Depths

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  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 in Sokhumi, Abkhazia at sea level is fourteen degrees Celsius. On the slopes of Mt. Kazbek at an elevation of three thousand six hundred forty-two meters, average annual temperature falls to minus two degrees Celsius. The northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range are three degrees Celsius colder than the southern slopes. The highlands of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia 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 including Dagestan and the southern portions of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains are the driest. The absolute minimum annual precipitation is one hundred millimeters in the northeastern Caspian 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 twelve hundred to two thousand millimeters while in the Eastern and Northern Caucasus precipitation ranges from four hundred to eight hundred millimeters. The absolute maximum annual precipitation is two thousand five hundred millimeters around the Mt. Mtirala area which lies on the Meskheti Range in Adjara. 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 the Black Sea. The average winter snow cover of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains ranges from thirty centimeters to one meter. Snow cover in several regions like Svaneti and northern Abkhazia may reach three meters. The Mt. Achishkho region, which is the snowiest place in the Caucasus, often records snow depths of two meters.

• 4. Forests And Alpine Meadows

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  The Caucasus Mountains have a varied landscape which changes according to elevation and distance from large bodies of water. The region contains biomes ranging from subtropical lowland marshes and forests to glaciers in the Western and Central Caucasus. Highland semideserts, steppes, and alpine meadows exist in the south mainly in Armenia and Azerbaijan. The northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains are covered by oak, hornbeam, maple, and ash forests at lower elevations while birch and pine forests take over at higher elevations. Some of the lowest areas of the region are covered by steppes and grasslands. The slopes of the North-western Greater Caucasus including Kabardino-Balkaria and Cherkessia also contain spruce and fir forests. The alpine zone replaces the forest at around two thousand four hundred meters above sea level. The permafrost or glacier line generally starts around two thousand eight hundred meters. The southeastern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains are covered by beech, oak, maple, hornbeam, and ash forests. Beech forests tend to dominate in higher locations. The south-western slopes of the Greater Caucasus are covered by Colchian forests containing oak, buxus, beech, chestnut, hornbeam, and elm at lower elevations. Coniferous and mixed forests like spruce, fir and beech take over at higher elevations. The alpine zone on the southern slopes may extend up to three thousand meters above sea level while the glacier or snow line starts at two thousand six hundred meters. The northern and western slopes of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains are characterized both by Colchian and other deciduous forests at lower elevations. Mixed and coniferous forests mainly spruce and fir dominate at higher elevations. The southern slopes of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains are largely covered by grasslands and steppes up to an elevation of two thousand meters. Volcanic and other rock formations are common throughout the region. The volcanic zone extends over a large area from southern Georgia into Armenia and southwestern Azerbaijan.

• 5. Ancient Passes And Shepherds

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  Crossing the Caucasus Mountain range was an important section of the northern arm of the Silk Route. Tusheti shepherds of Georgia have been herding livestock to seasonal grazing grounds, a practice known as transhumance for over ten thousand years. There was one pass on the southeast end in Derbent known as the Caspian Gates or Gates of Alexander. Multiple passes exist throughout the range including Jvari Pass at two thousand three hundred seventy-nine meters and above the Darial Gorge on the Georgian Military Road. Mamison Pass sits on the Ossetian Military Road at two thousand nine hundred eleven meters. Roki Tunnel reaches an altitude of two thousand three hundred ten meters. These routes facilitated movement across the rugged terrain connecting different regions. The history of these crossings reflects centuries of human adaptation to high-altitude environments. Trade goods moved along these paths while local populations maintained their traditional lifestyles through seasonal migration patterns. The geography dictated the flow of commerce and culture between Europe and Asia for millennia.