The Main Caucasian Range (russian: Главный Кавказский хребет; ka, კავკასიონის მთავარი წყალგამყოფი ქედი; az, Baş Qafqaz silsiləsi) is a mountain range in the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographic ...

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 t ...

and

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 ...

. It is the dividing range of the Greater Caucasus. The protected areas of the range are the

Teberda Nature Reserve Teberda Nature Reserve (russian: Тебердинский) (also Teberdinsky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict ecological reserve) located on the northern slopes of the western section of the Caucasus Mountains. It is the most visited nature reser ...

, Kabardino-Balkaria Nature Reserve and the

North Ossetia Nature Reserve North Ossetia Nature Reserve (russian: Северо-Осетинский заповедник) (also Severo-Osetinsky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) in the high mountains on the northern slope of the Caucasus Mountains with the ...

.Заповедник.ru
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Geography

The Main Caucasian Range marks the divide between the North Caucasus to the north and the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

to the south. It stretches from Mount Chugush near the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, ...

, to the

Khizi District Khizi District ( az, Xızı rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the east of the country and belongs to the Absheron-Khizi Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Siyazan, Shabran, Quba, Shamakhi, Go ...

of Azerbaijan near the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad s ...

. The main range runs parallel to the southern side of the Lateral Range, along

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which v ...

, Adygea, the

Krasnodar Territory Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of t ...

, Karachay-Cherkessia,

Kabardino-Balkaria The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (russian: Кабарди́но-Балка́рская Респу́блика, ''Kabardino-Balkarskaya Respublika''; kbd, Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр Республикэ, ''Ķêbêrdej-Baĺķêr Respublik� ...

, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya and

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North ...

federal subjects of Russia, as well as the countries of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The range is characterized by numerous alpine landforms and, unlike its parallel ranges to the north, it forms a continuous, uninterrupted, system of mountain ranges. Google Earth The Main Caucasian Range forms a watershed, separating the basins of rivers flowing on the northern slopes of the Greater

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

, such as the Samur, Kuban,

Terek Terek may refer to: Places China * (), a list of township-level divisions of Xinjiang, town in Xinjiang, China Kyrgyzstan *Terek, Alay, a village in Alay District, Osh Region *Terek, Kara-Kulja, a village in Kara-Kulja District, Osh Region *Terek ...

and Sulak, from those flowing on the southern slopes of the mountain system, such as the Kodori, Enguri, Rioni and Kura. The highest and rockiest section of the range is located in its central part. Although not as high as the topmost summits of the Lateral Range to the north, the highest elevations of the Main Caucasian Range include the high Shkhara, the high Mount Bazardüzü —highest point of Dagestan— and the high Mount Shani —highest point of Ingushetia. There are several glaciated areas in the range system, including Bezengi the largest glacier in the Caucasus. Parts of the lower and middle slopes of the mountains are covered by forests up to heights of about .

References

External links

*{{commonscat inline, Main Caucasus Range
Schematic maps of the Caucasus
(in Russian) Mountain ranges of Russia Mountain ranges of Azerbaijan Mountain ranges of Georgia (country) Mountain ranges of the Caucasus

Geography

See also

References

External links