The Caucasus

The Caucasus is a mountainous region located at the border where Eastern Europe meets Western Asia, wedged between two large bodies of water: the Black Sea to the west and the Caspian Sea to the east. It is widely considered a natural continental boundary between Europe and Asia.

The region is defined by two parallel mountain systems:

  • Greater Caucasus (North): A massive mountain wall running about 1,200 km from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. It contains Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe (5,642 m), and sits primarily across southern Russia, northern Georgia, and northern Azerbaijan.
  • Lesser Caucasus (South): A parallel, lower highland range about 100 km to the south, running through southern Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northeastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran.
  • Transcaucasia (South Caucasus Lowlands): The fertile valleys and plains sandwiched between these two mountain ranges, drained by rivers like the Rioni and Kura.

Culturally and historically, the Caucasus is one of the most diverse regions on Earth, often called a “mountain of languages.” It is home to dozens of distinct ethnic groups (such as Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Circassians, Chechens, and Avars) speaking indigenous language families found nowhere else. Because of its location connecting the Eurasian steppes, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, it served for millennia as a vital crossroads and frontier contested by major empires, including the Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Mongols, Ottomans, and Russians.

 

Mountain Range Countries / Regions / Areas Covered

Greater Caucasus

• Russia (North Caucasus republics & territories): Krasnodar Krai, Republic of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia–Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan

• Northern Georgia: Svaneti, Racha, Khevi (Kazbegi), Tusheti, Khevsureti, and Abkhazia

• Northern Azerbaijan: Guba, Gusar, Shaki, Zaqatala, and the Abşeron Peninsula (sloping toward Baku)

Lesser Caucasus

• Southern Georgia: Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli, and the Trialeti/Mesjeti ranges

• Armenia: Across most of the Armenian highlands and surrounding mountain chains (e.g., Bazum, Pambak, and Sevan ranges)

• Southwestern Azerbaijan: Karabakh highlands, Shahdagh range, and the Murovdag range

• Northeastern Turkey: Eastern Pontic Mountains transition zone (provinces of Artvin, Ardahan, and Kars)

• Northwestern Iran: Fringe spurs and volcanic uplands extending toward the Iranian Azerbaijan region / Aras River basin