Svaneti Range ( ka, სვანეთის ქედი) is an 85 km long sub-mountain range of 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 ...
, in the
Svaneti
Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians.
Geography
Situated on the southern slop ...
region of Georgia, located south of the main Caucasus ridge in a west–east direction.
[Devdariani G., ]Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( ka, ქართული საბჭოთა ენციკლოპედია, ქსე) is the first universal encyclopedia in the Georgian language, printed in Tbilisi from 1965, the editor in chi ...
, vol. 9, pages 310-311, 1985.
The Svaneti Range runs along the border between the regions of
Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti
Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti ( ka, რაჭა-ლეჩხუმი და ქვემო სვანეთი, ''Rach’a-Lechkhumi da Kvemo Svaneti'') is a region (Mkhare) in northwestern Georgia with a population of 28,500 (2021), mak ...
and
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, ...
(North and South Svaneti) in the north of Georgia. It forms the
watershed between 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 .Tskhenistsqali
Tskhenistsqali ( ka, ცხენისწყალი, ''Cxenisċqali'', also: ''Tskhenistskali'') is a river in northern Georgia. Its source is in the main range of the Caucasus Mountains, in the easternmost part of the Lentekhi Municipality, l ...
(to the south). The right Tskhenistsqali tributary Cheledula separates the mountains from the further south
Egrisi Range
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 t ...
. The Svanetic Mountains reach a maximum altitude of 4009 m at the
Lahili Peak. The ridge is partially
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
.
Geology
Svaneti Range is composed mainly of sedimentary (
mica,
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...
) and partly of
metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...
s (
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...
,
slate ).
Vegetation
On the slopes grow
subalpine
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
and alpine vegetation.
The slopes of the Svaneti Range at lower elevations are covered with forests of
beech,
spruce and
fir.
References
{{Georgia-geo-stub
Mountain ranges of Georgia (country)
Glacial landforms