The Lesser Caucasus, also called Caucasus Minor, is the second of the two main
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
s of
Caucasus mountains
The Caucasus Mountains,
: pronounced
* hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ,
: pronounced
* az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced
* rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ
* tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
, of length about . The western portion of the Lesser Caucasus overlaps and converges with east Turkey and northwest Iran.
It runs parallel to the
Greater Caucasus
The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...
, at a distance averaging about south from the
Likhi Range
Likhi Range ( ka, ლიხის ქედი, tr) or Surami Range ( ka, სურამის ქედი, tr) is a mountain range in Georgia, a part of the Caucasus mountains. It connects the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus ranges and be ...
(
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 ...
) and limits east Turkey from the north and north-east.
It is connected to the Greater Caucasus by the
Likhi Range
Likhi Range ( ka, ლიხის ქედი, tr) or Surami Range ( ka, სურამის ქედი, tr) is a mountain range in Georgia, a part of the Caucasus mountains. It connects the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus ranges and be ...
(Georgia) and separated from it by the
Kolkhida Lowland
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 ...
(Georgia) in the west and
Kura-Aras Lowland
The Kura-Aras Lowland, Kura-Aras Depression or Kura-Aras Basin ( az, Kür-Araz ovalığı) is a vast depression in central-southern Azerbaijan defined by the valleys of the Kura River and Aras River. It is situated by the West shore of the Casp ...
(
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
) (by the
Kura River) in the east.
The highest peak is
Aragats, .
The borders between Georgia, Turkey,
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, Azerbaijan and Iran run through the range, although its crest does not usually define the border.
The range was historically called ''Anticaucasus'' or ''Anti-Caucasus''
(Greek: Αντι-Καύκασος,
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: Антикавка́з, Анти-Кавка́з). This usage is commonly found in older sources. Current usage tends towards using the name Lesser Caucasus, but Anticaucasus can still be found in modern texts.
References
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Mountain ranges of Azerbaijan
Mountain ranges of Georgia (country)
Mountain ranges of Armenia
Mountain ranges of Turkey
Mountain ranges of Iran
Physiographic sections
Mountain ranges of the Republic of Artsakh
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