Reportage4
The Caucasus is a mountainous country located south of the East European plain, between the Black Sea in the west and the Caspian Sea in the east. The position of the Caucasus between Europe and Asia has long been a source of disagreement between geographers and politicians: does the region belong in Europe or in Asia?
The Caucasus is often divided into two parts: the Northern Caucasus and Transcaucasia. These are separated by the Glavny (Vodorazdelny) Ridge of the Greater Caucasus. Although frequently used, this regional model is hardly appropriate from the physiogeographical point of view as it breaks the system of the Greater Caucasus into two parts, with the northern macroslope belonging to the Northern Caucasus and the southern macroslope being a part of Transcaucasia. More correctly at least three entities should be recognized: the Caucasus Foreland, the Greater Caucasus, and Transcaucasia. The Greater Caucasus includes three provinces: northern macro-slope, southern macroslope, and the central part. This is further subdivided into western, central, and eastern sectors with the borders corresponding to the highest summits, the Elbrus (5644 m) and the Kazbek (5033 m). The Rioni-Kura depression, stretching between the Black and the Caspian Seas, separates the Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Transcaucasia includes the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus, the Armenian-Dzhavakhetian volcanic plateau extending beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union (FSU) into Turkey and Iran, the Talysh mountains, and the Lenkoran lowland (Figure 15.1).
The Caucasus is a mountainous country located south of the East European plain, between the Black Sea in the west and the Caspian Sea in the east. The position of the Caucasus between Europe and Asia has long been a source of disagreement between geographers and politicians: does the region belong in Europe or in Asia?
The Caucasus is often divided into two parts: the Northern Caucasus and Transcaucasia. These are separated by the Glavny (Vodorazdelny) Ridge of the Greater Caucasus. Although frequently used, this regional model is hardly appropriate from the physiogeographical point of view as it breaks the system of the Greater Caucasus into two parts, with the northern macroslope belonging to the Northern Caucasus and the southern macroslope being a part of Transcaucasia. More correctly at least three entities should be recognized: the Caucasus Foreland, the Greater Caucasus, and Transcaucasia. The Greater Caucasus includes three provinces: northern macro-slope, southern macroslope, and the central part. This is further subdivided into western, central, and eastern sectors with the borders corresponding to the highest summits, the Elbrus (5644 m) and the Kazbek (5033 m). The Rioni-Kura depression, stretching between the Black and the Caspian Seas, separates the Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Transcaucasia includes the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus, the Armenian-Dzhavakhetian volcanic plateau extending beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union (FSU) into Turkey and Iran, the Talysh mountains, and the Lenkoran lowland (Figure 15.1).
The Caucasus is a mountainous country located south of the East European plain, between the Black Sea in the west and the Caspian Sea in the east. The position of the Caucasus between Europe and Asia has long been a source of disagreement between geographers and politicians: does the region belong in Europe or in Asia?
The Caucasus is often divided into two parts: the Northern Caucasus and Transcaucasia. These are separated by the Glavny (Vodorazdelny) Ridge of the Greater Caucasus. Although frequently used, this regional model is hardly appropriate from the physiogeographical point of view as it breaks the system of the Greater Caucasus into two parts, with the northern macroslope belonging to the Northern Caucasus and the southern macroslope being a part of Transcaucasia. More correctly at least three entities should be recognized: the Caucasus Foreland, the Greater Caucasus, and Transcaucasia. The Greater Caucasus includes three provinces: northern macro-slope, southern macroslope, and the central part. This is further subdivided into western, central, and eastern sectors with the borders corresponding to the highest summits, the Elbrus (5644 m) and the Kazbek (5033 m). The Rioni-Kura depression, stretching between the Black and the Caspian Seas, separates the Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Transcaucasia includes the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus, the Armenian-Dzhavakhetian volcanic plateau extending beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union (FSU) into Turkey and Iran, the Talysh mountains, and the Lenkoran lowland (Figure 15.1).