Caucasus
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The Ethnolinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map |
The
Caucasus or
Caucasia is a region in
Eurasia bordered on the south by
Turkey and
Iran in
Asia, on the west by the
Black Sea, on the east by the
Caspian Sea, and on the north by
Russia. Caucasia includes the
Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands.
The Caucasus Mountains are commonly reckoned as a dividing line between Asia and Europe, and territories in Caucasia are variably considered to be in one or both
continents; for example, the
Persian name for the region (harking of Asiatic links) is
Qafqâz. The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the
Ciscaucasus and the southern portion as the
Transcaucasus. The highest peak in the Caucasus is
Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) which, in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, is generally considered the highest point in Europe.
The Caucasus is one of the most
linguistically and
culturally diverse regions on
Earth. The
nation-states that comprise the Caucasus today are northeastern
Turkey, the
post-Soviet states:
Georgia,
Armenia,
Azerbaijan, as well various parts of Russia. The Russian divisions include
Krasnodar Krai,
Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of
Adygea,
Kalmykia,
Karachay-Cherkessia,
Kabardino-Balkaria,
North Ossetia,
Ingushetia,
Chechnya, and
Dagestan. Three territories in the region claim independence but are not generally acknowledged as nation-states by the international community:
Abkhazia,
Nagorno-Karabakh and
South Ossetia.
The Caucasus is an area of great ecological significance. Among its native animals are
leopards,
brown bears,
wolves,
European bison,
marals and golden
eagles. The natural landscape of the Caucasus is one of mixed forest, with substantial areas of rocky ground above the treeline.
The Biblical
Mount Ararat where
Noah's Ark is said to have landed is regarded as the landmark of the ancient Armenian realm. The peak of Ararat is seasonally capped with snow. In
Greek mythology, the
Caucasus or
Kaukasos was one of the pillars supporting the world.
Prometheus was chained there by
Zeus. The
Roman poet
Ovid placed Caucasus in
Scythia and depicted it as a cold and stony mountain which was the abode of personified hunger.
*
Caucasian languages*
Ibero-Caucasian languages*
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline*
Ciscaucasus*
Transcaucasus*
Transcontinental nations
*
BBC News: North Caucasus at a glance, September 8 2005
*
United Nations Environment Programme map: Landcover of the Caucasus*
United Nations Environment Programme map: Population density of the Caucasus*
Information about the history
