Caucasus Mountains Totally Explained

Everything about Caucasus Mountains totally explained

:This article is about the terrestrial Eurasian mountain range. For other meanings, see Caucasus (disambiguation) and Caucasia.
   The Caucasus Mountains are a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black and the Caspian sea in the Caucasus region.
   The Caucasus Mountains are made up of two separate mountain systems:

the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and
the Lesser Caucasus Mountains.
The Greater Caucasus Range extends from the Caucasian Natural Reserve in the vicinity of Sochi on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea, generally trending east-southeast and reaching nearly to Baku on the Caspian Sea, while the Lesser Caucasus runs parallel to the greater range, at a distance averaging about 100 km (60 mi) south. Meskheti Range is a part of the Lesser Caucasus system. The Greater and Lesser Caucasus ranges are connected by the Likhi Range, which separates the Kolkhida Lowland from the Kura Depression (Kura Lowland). In the South-East are the Talysh Mountains. The Lesser Caucasus and the Armenian Highland constitute the Transcaucasian Highland. The highest peak in the Caucasus range is Mount Elbrus in the Greater Caucasus, which rises to a height of 18,506 feet (5,642 meters) above sea level. Mountains near Sochi will host part of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Geology
The Caucasus Mountains formed ca. 28.49–23.8 million years ago as the result of a tectonic plate collision between the Arabian plate moving northward with respect to the Eurasian plate. The mountain system forms a continuation of the Himalaya, which are being pressed upwards by a similar collision zone with the Eurasian and Indian plates. The entire region is regularly subjected to strong earthquakes from this activity, especially as the fault structure is complex with the Anatolia/Turkey and Iranian Blocks flowing sidewise, which prevents subduction of the advancing plate edge and hence the lack of volcanoes on the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range (although stratovolcanoes such as Mount Elbrus, Mount Kazbek and others do exist). The Lesser Caucasus Mountains on the other hand, 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 and the most unstable geological features of the region.
   There are large granite, gneiss, petroleum (estimated reserves: up to 200 billion barrels) and numerous natural gas deposits found in the area.
Geographical affiliation
There is no clear agreement on whether the Caucasus Mountains are a part of Europe or Asia. Depending on the varying perspectives, Europe's highest mountain is either Mount Elbrus (18,506 feet / 5,641 m) or Mont Blanc in the Alps, at the Italian-French border, with a height of 15,774 feet (4808 m).
   The Caucasus Mountains are located in the middle of the Eurasian plate between Europe and Asia. Because the plate is geologically stable in this region, it's hard to determine the exact course of the continental borderline. Therefore, throughout history the borderline has changed from one place to another. The ancient Greeks saw the Bosphorus and the Caucasus Mountains as the border of Europe. Later this view changed several times for political reasons. In the Migration Period and the Middle Ages, Bosphorus and the river Don divided the two continents.
   The border was historically defined by the Swedish military officer and geographer Philip Johan von Strahlenberg, who suggested the border follow the peaks of the Urals, and then the lower Emba and the coast of the Caspian Sea, before passing through the Kuma-Manych Depression, which lies 300 km north of the Caucasus Mountains. In 1730, this course was approved by the Russian Tsar and since then was adopted by many scientists. Following this definition, the mountains are a part of Asia and according to this view, the highest European mountain is Mont Blanc.
   On the other hand, La Grande Encyclopédie clearly draws the border between Europe and Asia south of both Caucasian mountain ranges. Both Elbrus and Kazbek are here European mountains. In political terms, the present-day division is either considered to be between Russia (Europe) on one side and Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan (Asia) on the other, inclusive of Georgia and Azerbaijan within Europe but not Armenia, or inclusive of all three nations.
Notable peaks
The table below lists some of the highest peaks of the Caucasus. With the exception of Shkhara, the heights are taken from Soviet 1:50,000 mapping. There are higher and more prominent, but nameless, peaks than some of the peaks included below.
Further Information
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