Egrisi Range ( ka, ეგრისის ქედი), also known as the Samegrelo Range (სამეგრელოს ქედი) or the Odishi Range (ოდიშის ქედი), is an east–west mountain range that runs parallel to the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in the
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti ( Georgian: სამეგრელო-ზემო სვანეთი) is a region (Mkhare) in western Georgia with a population of 308,358 (2021) and a surface of . The region has Zugdidi as its administrative center, ...
region of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. The Range is connected to the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range via the Svaneti Range. The length of the Egrisi Range is and the width is . The Range is bounded by the Tskhenistsqali River Valley to the east and the
Enguri River
The Enguri ( ka, ენგური, tr, xmf, ინგირი, ingiri, ab, Егры, ''Egry'' russian: Ингури, ''Inguri'') is a river in western Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
The highest point of the Egrisi Range is Mount Chitagvala which rises to an elevation above sea level. Peaks that exceed in elevation include Tsalmagi, Tekhurishdudi, Lakumurashdudi, Didghalidudi, Otepura and others. The name of the range is derived from the early medieval Georgian region of
Egrisi
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians are generally though ...
, roughly equivalent to the
Colchis
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia (country), Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians a ...
of
Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
.
Geology
Most of the Egrisi Range is composed of
porphyritic
Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology to describe igneous rocks with a distinct difference in the size of mineral crystals, with the larger crystals known as phenocrysts. Both extrusive and intrusive rocks can be porphyritic, meaning all ...
rock that is of Jurassic Age. The southern periphery of the Range consists of
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
limestones
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when th ...
. There are many
karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
massives and caves in this portion of the Mountains. There are small glaciers and traces (remnants) of old glaciers at the highest elevations of the Range. The
glacial lake
A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier.
Formation
Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...
Tobavarchkhili is located at an elevation of above sea level. Other lakes include Okhoja and Didi Tobavarchkhili.
Climate
The southern slopes receive precipitation in excess of per year, with some of the higher peaks receiving precipitation that exceeds . The northern slopes of the Egrisi Range receive of annual precipitation. Most of the mountains are covered by significant amounts of
snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
in the colder months. Many locations reach snow depths of or more, with the highest elevations of the Range recording snow depths in the range.
In the center of the Range near the head of the Tekhuri river at an elevation of 1600 meters is the Lebarde
balneological
Balneotherapy ( la, balneum "bath") is a method of treating diseases by bathing, a traditional medicine technique usually practiced at spas. Since ancient times, humans have used hot springs, public baths and thermal medicine for therapeutic ef ...
resort. It was originally set up in the Soviet era, but has since been more or less abandoned, operating with limited infrastructure. In 2019 a new road leading to Lebarde was announced for further development of the area with sanatoriums, hotels and ropeways.
Vegetation
The slopes of the Egrisi Range are mainly covered by
Colchian
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians are generally thou ...
Deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
forests consisting of
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
,
chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
and
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Origin of names
The common English name ''hornbeam' ...
up to an elevation of above sea level.
Coniferous
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...
forests that are made up of
Nordmann Fir
''Abies nordmanniana'', the Nordmann fir or Caucasian fir, is a fir Indigenous (ecology), indigenous to the mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia (country), Georgia and the Russian Caucasus. It occurs at altitudes of 900 ...
and
Oriental Spruce
''Picea orientalis'', commonly known as the Oriental spruce or Caucasian spruce, is a species of spruce native to the Caucasus and adjacent northeast Turkey.
Description
It is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 30–45 m tall or 9 ...
take over from and reach elevations of above sea level. The
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
and
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
Megrelian Birch (''Betula megrelica'') grows in a few locations in the mountains. A significant portion of Georgia's
temperate rain forest
Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain.
Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American Paci ...
s are located within the Egrisi Range. The highest reaches of the Range are covered by subalpine and alpine meadows.