Caucasus Mountains

The Caucasus Mountains sit where Asia and Europe meet, running between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. This range, surrounded by the Caucasus region, includes Mount Elbrus—Europe’s tallest peak at 5,642 meters (18,510 feet) above sea level. The mountains split into the Greater Caucasus to the north and the Lesser Caucasus to the south, linked by the Likhi Range. On either side of the Likhi Range are the Colchis Plain to the west and the Kur-Araz Lowland to the east. The Lesser Caucasus also contains the Meskheti Range, and in the southeast, the Aras River separates it from the Talysh Mountains in the Greater Azerbaijan region. Together, the Lesser Caucasus and the Armenian Highland form the Transcaucasian Highland, which meets the highland plateau of Eastern Anatolia at its western end. Historically, the Caucasus Mountains were part of the Silk Road.

Geologically, these mountains belong to the Alpide belt, stretching from southeastern Europe into Asia and marking a continental border. The Greater Caucasus is mostly made of Cretaceous and Jurassic rocks, with older Paleozoic and Precambrian rocks in higher areas, plus some volcanic formations. The Lesser Caucasus, however, is mainly Paleogene rocks, with smaller amounts of Jurassic and Cretaceous material. The range began forming from the Late Triassic to the Late Jurassic during the Cimmerian orogeny at the Tethys Ocean’s active margin, while the Greater Caucasus uplifted later, in the Miocene, during the Alpine orogeny. This uplift resulted from the Arabian plate moving north into the Eurasian plate, closing the Tethys Sea and pressing the Iranian plate against Eurasia. Rocks deposited from the Jurassic to the Miocene folded into the Greater Caucasus, while the collision also triggered uplift and Cenozoic volcanic activity in the Lesser Caucasus. The region experiences frequent strong earthquakes from ongoing tectonic activity. The Greater Caucasus has a mainly folded sedimentary structure, while the Lesser Caucasus is largely volcanic. The Javakheti Volcanic Plateau in Georgia and nearby volcanic ranges extending into central Armenia are among the youngest features. Volcanic activity was intense here until recently: the Armenian highland was covered by calc-alkaline basalts and andesites in the Pliocene, and the highest peaks—Elbrus and Kazbek—formed as Pleistocene-Pliocene volcanoes. Kazbek is now dormant, but Elbrus erupted after the last ice age, and fumarole activity still occurs near its summit. Modern seismicity reflects active faulting and crustal shortening, with earthquake clusters in Dagestan and northern Armenia. Historical earthquakes include the devastating 1988 Spitak event, which destroyed the Gyumri-Vanadzor region.

Notable peaks include Mount Elbrus, sometimes considered Europe’s highest at 5,642 meters—832 meters taller than Mont Blanc, the Alps’ highest. However, there is debate over whether Elbrus lies in Europe. The Greater Caucasus Watershed, which marks the Asia-Europe boundary between the Black and Caspian seas, places Elbrus at the junction with Asia. Other high peaks include Shkhara and many ultras (mountains with over 1,500 meters of prominence) and all mountains above 4,500 meters with at least 300 meters of prominence. Mount Ağrı (5,137 meters) in Turkey sits just south of the Lesser Caucasus.

The climate varies with elevation and location. Temperature drops as altitude rises: Sokhumi, Abkhazia, at sea level averages 15°C (59°F), while slopes of Mount Kazbek at 3,700 meters average -6.1°C (21°F). The northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus are about 3°C colder than the southern slopes. In the Lesser Caucasus highlands of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, a more continental climate causes sharp temperature contrasts between summer and winter. Precipitation generally increases from east to west, with mountains receiving more than lowlands. The driest areas are northeastern Dagestan and southern Lesser Caucasus, with the Caspian Depression seeing as little as 250 mm (9.84 inches) annually.