Skalisty Range (russian: Скалистый хребет) is a mountain range in 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 ...

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 ...

Geography

The Skalisty Range is a chain of ten separate mountain massifs stretching parallel to the northern side of the

Lateral Range The Lateral Range (russian: Боковой хребет; ka, გვერდითი ქედი; az, Yan silsiləsi) is a mountain range in the Russian Federation and Georgia, with a very small part in Azerbaijan. The range is part of the Grea ...

along 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 The Karachay-Cherkess Republic (russian: Карача́ево-Черке́сская Респу́блика, ''Karachayevo-Cherkesskaya Respublika''; krc, Къарачай-Черкес Республика, ''Qaraçay-Çerkes Respublika''; Cir ...

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

and

North Ossetia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north' ...

federal subjects. Its high mountain massifs are separated by the upper reaches of the rivers flowing on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus. It extends from northwest to southeast for 931 km from the upper course of the Belaya River, a left tributary of the

Kuban Kuban (Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and the Caucasus, and separated fr ...

, to the west, reaching almost the

Terek River The Terek (; , Tiyrk; , Tərč; , ; , ; , ''Terk''; , ; , ) is a major river in the Northern Caucasus. It originates in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia and flows through North Caucasus region of Russia into the Caspian Sea The C ...

in the east, in the area of

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located in ...

town. Google Earth The average height of the Skalisty Range is between and in the west, reaching in the east. The highest point is high Karakaya, located between rivers

Chegem Chegem (russian: Чеге́м; kbd, Шэджэм; krc, Чегем, ''Çegem'') is a town and the administrative center of Chegemsky District of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, located north of Nalchik, at the elevation of about . Popula ...

and

Cherek The Cherek (russian: Черек) is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, a right tributary of the Baksan (Terek basin). ...

in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. The ridge has steep, in places vertical, southern slopes, while the northern slopes are gentler, though broken by numerous narrow river valleys from the basins of the Kuban and Terek rivers. There are numerous karst formations.

Flora

The northern slopes of Skalisty Range are largely covered with deciduous forests, while the southern slopes and the areas above the tree line include

mountain steppe Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than th ...

and pasture in the non-rocky areas.

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline Mountain ranges of Russia Mountain ranges of the Caucasus North Caucasus

Geography

Flora

See also

References

External links