Extreme points of Georgia. The state of the environment and nature conservation. Museums, libraries and scientific institutes

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18-04-2014, 16:33

Mountain peaks

• Bethlem cave
  The cave, located on the massif of the Kazbek peak, at an altitude of about 4100 meters above sea level. The entrance to the cave is carved into the red andesitic sheer rock at a height of 350-400 meters from the base.
• Kazbek
  An extinct stratovolcano, the easternmost five-thousander of the Caucasus, is located in the eastern part of the Central Caucasus, on the border of Russia and Georgia, in the eastern part of the Khokhsky ridge. The last eruption occurred in 650 BC. e. The height in the Baltic system of heights is 5033.8 m.
• Kolka
  Karovo-valley glacier, located in the upper reaches of the Genaldon river valley of the Terek river basin of the Greater Caucasus mountain system in the Genaldon gorge on the northern slope of the Kazbek-Dzhimarai mountain range. According to widespread, widely circulating data, the length of the Kolka glacier is 3.2 km, the area is 2.5 km². According to other, more accurate scientific data, the length of the glacier is much longer - 8.4 km, area 7.2 sq. km
• barbalo
  Mountain on the site of the Main Caucasian ridge, located . Some large rivers originate here: Iori, Alazani - and many tributaries of other rivers, incl. flowing to the north (Argun rivers, Terek basin) and east (Andean Koisu, Sulak basin). To the south of Barbalo, two significant spurs separate, serving as a watershed, one [Kartala (Kartli) ridge] - between the Pshav Aragvi and Iori, the other [Kakheti (Tsivi-Gombori) ridge] - between Iori and Alazani (all - the Kura basin). Barbalo (together with Tebulos-mta to the north) serves as the border geological structure Main Caucasian Range; thus, to the west of Barbalo, the mountains mainly consist of eruptive rocks (granite, crystalline schist, porphyry, etc.), and to the east - of rocks of sedimentary origin (clay shale, sandstones). Barbalo-big has a height of 3296 m above sea level, Barbalo-small is located somewhat north of the big one.
• Dzhangitau
  Mountain peak in the central part of the Main Caucasian (Dividing) Range. Height 5085 m. It is part of a unique 12-kilometer mountain range, known as the Bezengi Wall. It is located on the border of Russia (Kabardino-Balkaria) and Georgia. According to the latest topographic data, Dzhangitau peak is the highest point of the GKH and the highest point of Georgia. Previously, the highest exact GKH and the highest point of Georgia was Shkhara peak and had a height of 5203m. 5085 meters above sea level. Popular climbing site.
• Diklosmta
  A mountain range in the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus on the crest of the Snegovoi Ridge, which is the natural border of Chechnya, Dagestan and Georgia. It is mainly composed of Lower Jurassic shales and sandstones. The massif has significant glaciation, the total area of ​​nine large permanent glaciers is 5.1 km². Glaciers feed the Hulandoy, Chero, Gakko rivers, as well as tributaries of the Khargabe river.
• denunciation
  Peak in the Main Caucasian Range (Pirikit Range), on the border of Russia (Chechnya) and Georgia (Tushetia). The name is based on the name of the Sharoev clan Donoi (Danei), similarly to Maistismta.
• Zilga-Khokh
  Top of the watershed Caucasian Range, on the border of South Ossetia and Georgia. Altitude: 3,853 m (12,645 ft) above sea level. On the northeastern slope of the mountain is the source of the Terek.
• Kideganis
  A mountain in the east of the Main Caucasian Range, on the border of the northern outskirts of the municipality of Dusheti and the Republic of Ingushetia, on the watershed of the Armkhi and Assa rivers. The main peak has a height of 4275 m, several minor peaks. The mountain is composed of Jura shales. Glaciers. Fauna and flora characteristic of the mountain - meadow and glacial - nival-glacial zone.
• Komito
  Mountain peak in the Sharoi region of Chechnya. The height above sea level is 4261 meters. Located on the border with Georgia
• Tetnuld
  Peak in the spur of the Bezengi Wall, the Main Caucasian Range in the region of Upper Svaneti, Georgia, 2 km south of Gestola Peak and the border Russian Federation(Kabardino-Balkaria). Height - 4 869 m. The peak is two-headed, composed of ancient crystalline rocks. The glaciers Oish, Nageb, (sources of the Inguri), Adish and others flow down from Tetnuld. total area glaciers - 46 km². 22 km west of the summit is the regional center of Mestia.
• Ushba
  One of the peaks of the Greater Caucasus in the Georgian region of Upper Svaneti, 1.5 km south of the border with Russia (Kabardino-Balkaria). Although not among the 10 highest peaks in the region, Ushba is known as the "Matterhorn of the Caucasus" due to its picturesque double peak. Due to its steep profile and unstable weather, Ushba is considered by many climbers to be the most difficult peak in the Caucasus to climb.
• shang
  One of the peaks of the main ridge of the Greater Caucasus, on the border of Georgia and Ingushetia. The highest point of Ingushetia (4451 m.). Between the ridges Shan (in the east) and Kuro-Shino (in the west) is the gorge of the Kistinka River.
• Shoda
  Mountain on the southern slope of the Main Caucasian Range, forms the Shoda-Kedela Range, height 3609 meters. It has two peaks covered with eternal snow. There are deposits of albite - spectacular druses on sandstones, rock crystal - in the cavities of quartz veins; quartz - veins of the Alpine type in clay shales and sandstones, calcite, chlorite. At the foot of the mountain passes the Ossetian Military Road.
• Shkhara
  A mountain peak in the central part of the Main Caucasian (Dividing) Range, the highest point in Georgia. Height 5,068 m above sea level, some sources give an estimate of 5,201 m. Located in Svaneti from the south and Bezengi in Kabardino-Balkaria from the north, on the border with Russia, about 90 km north of the city of Kutaisi. It is part of a unique 12-kilometer mountain range known as the Bezengi Wall.

mountain ranges

• Arsian Ridge
  A mountain range in the northwestern frame of the Armenian Highlands (the Lesser Caucasus system) located in southern Georgia and eastern Turkey. The northern part of the ridge, entering Georgia, borders the upper reaches of the Adzharistskali River from the east and adjoins the western tip of the Lesser Caucasus. The southwestern end of the ridge lies at the confluence of the Oltu and Chorukha rivers. The total length of the ridge is about 150 km. Max Height- 3165 m (Mount Arsiyan). The ridge is composed of shales and sandstones, which alternate with volcanogenic strata. Retains moisture brought from the sea. The slopes of the ridge are covered below with beech-chestnut, above with beech and fir-spruce forests, then with alpine meadows.
• Bezengi wall
  13-kilometer mountain range, the highest section of the Main Caucasian (Dividing) Range.
• side ridge
  The mountain range of the Greater Caucasus, stretching from north side parallel to the Main Range. Unlike the Main Caucasian Range, the Side Range does not represent a single continuous chain of mountains, but is divided into independent mountain ranges by transverse faults. It is separated from the Main Caucasian Range by a deep intermountain depression - a depression that runs along the fault line of the earth's crust.
• Main Caucasian Range
  An uninterrupted mountain range extending over 1,100 km from the northwest to the southeast from the Black Sea (Anapa region) to the Caspian Sea (Mount Ilkhydag northwest of Baku). The Caucasian Range divides the Caucasus into two parts: Ciscaucasia (Northern Caucasus) and Transcaucasia (South Caucasus). The Main Caucasian Ridge separates the basins of the Kuban, Terek, Sulak and Samur rivers in the north and the Inguri, Rioni and Kura rivers in the south. The mountain system, which includes the Main Caucasian Range, is called the Greater Caucasus (or the Greater Caucasian Range), in contrast to the Lesser Caucasus, a vast highland located south of the Rioni and Kura valleys and directly connected with the uplands of Western Asia.
• Javakheti Range
  The mountain range in Georgia and Armenia is about 50 km long. The highest peak of the range is Mount Achkasar (3196 m, Armenia). The Javakheti Range is formed by a chain of numerous volcanoes active in the Quaternary period. The name Wet Mountains is associated with the climate of these places - there is a lot of precipitation here. The vegetation is characteristic of mountain steppes, subalpine and alpine meadows. The rivers Tzakhkashen, Ghukasyan and Chichkhan originate on the ridge.
• Kartli Range
  A mountain range in Georgia, on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, located between the Pshavskaya Aragvi and Iori rivers. The length of the ridge is over 100 km. Heights reach 3000 m in the north. The ridge is composed mainly of sandstones, marls, and shales. The slopes are covered with beech and oak forests. On the tops there are mountain meadows.
• Kakheti Range
  Mountain range in Georgia, in the southern part of the Greater Caucasus. It serves as a watershed for the Iori and Alazani rivers. The length of the ridge is about 120 km. The maximum height is 2506 m. The ridge is composed mainly of sandstones, marls, and shales. The slopes are covered with broad-leaved forests and shrubs. At an altitude of 2000 m - mountain meadows. In the lower parts of the slopes there are vineyards.
• Lechkhum Range
  Mountain range in Georgia. It is the front range of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus. The length of the ridge is about 60 km. The highest height is 3584 m (Mount Samertskhle). It is composed of porphyrites, shales, and flysch in the northeast. Subalpine and alpine meadows, beech and dark coniferous forests.
• Likhsky ridge
  The ridge of the Georgian-Imereti and Meskhi mountains. Located on the territory of South Ossetia and Georgia. It is the only continuous watershed ridge connecting the Greater Caucasus with the Lesser. Altitude up to 1926 m. It starts at the top of Zikari (12563 feet) of the Main Caucasian Range, then goes southwest and, adjoining the latitudinal chain, which is the northern margin of the Lesser Caucasus, divides the Kura and Rioni basins, dividing Transcaucasia into two very different climates , vegetation and other parts - eastern and western. The Likh Range is composed of granites and chalk rocks. In the middle part, there is a rather convenient Suram pass (3027 feet), leading (under the Russian Empire) from Imeretia to Kartalinia (from Kutaisi to Tiflis province).
• Meskheti Range
  Mountain range in Georgia, in the northern part of the Lesser Caucasus. The length from west to northeast is about 240 km. The highest height is 2850 m (Mepistskaro). Karst is widely developed. On the slopes, broad-leaved and dark coniferous forests are not uncommon, and at an altitude of more than 2000 m, subalpine and alpine meadows, which serve as excellent pastures in the warm season. It is one of the ridges along which the watershed between the Black and Caspian Seas passes.
• Pontic mountains
  A mountain system in northern Turkey, stretching along the southern coast of the Black Sea, from the mouths of the Yeshilyrmak River to the mouths of the Chorokh River and even a little further to the peak of Karchal (3428 meters), which can be considered its eastern tip.
• Racha Range
  Mountain range in Georgia and South Ossetia, in the central part of the Greater Caucasus on the south side. The highest height is 2862 m. The Racha Range separates the basins of the Kishelta, Tsata, Bolshaya Liakhvi in ​​the east and Jochiara, Jodzhora and Rioni in the west. Karst is widely developed. On the slopes there are beech and dark coniferous forests, subalpine and alpine meadows. The Tkibul coal deposit is located near the southwestern spurs. Near the north-eastern - Kvaisskoe deposit of lead-zinc ores.
• Samsar Range
  The watershed plateau (3000 m above sea level) separates the basins of the Paravani and Khrami rivers, the right tributaries of the Kura. The Samsar plateau is composed mainly of trachyte lavas. Samsari peak (3284 m) rises in the center of the Samsari plateau, located between the lakes of Tabatskuri and the largest lake in Georgia, Paravani. The climate on the plateau is the most severe in Georgia: summers are short and cool, winters are unusually cold (frosts -25 to -35 degrees Celsius). There are no forests on the plateau.
• Svaneti Range
  Mountain range in Georgia. It is the front range of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus. The length of the ridge is 85 km. The highest height is 4,008 m (Mount Laila). It is composed of shales and quartzites. The crest of the ridge is occupied by glaciers with a total area of ​​about 30 km². On the slopes there are alpine meadows, turning into coniferous and beech forests. The northern slopes of the ridge face the valley of the upper reaches of the Inguri River (the historical region of Upper Svaneti), the southern slopes face the upper reaches of the Tskhenistskali River (the historical region of Lower Svaneti).
• Somkhet Range
  A mountain range in Armenia and Georgia, located in the middle part of the Lesser Caucasus. The length of the ridge is 75 km. The maximum height reaches 2543 m (Mount Lalvar). The ridge is dissected by the transverse gorge of the Debed River. It is composed of basalts, andesites, sandstones and limestones with granitoid intrusions. The ridge has gentle slopes in the western half, steep slopes in the eastern. The northern slope of the ridge is covered with forest, the southern slope is dominated by mountain steppe with sparse shrubs. Also, a deposit of copper ores (Alaverdi) was discovered on the southern slope.
• Trialeti ridge
  A mountain range in Georgia on the right bank of the Kura to the west of Tbilisi, the length is estimated from 150 to 200 km, the width is about 30 km. The ridge serves as a major watershed. Formed by volcanic activity of the Paleogene era, it is composed of flysch and volcanogenic rocks. On the northern slope of the ridge is the medieval monastery of Kvatakhevi.
• Tusheti ridge
  Mountain range, in the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus, on the border of Georgia, as well as Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan. It is located between the upper reaches of the Argun and Andi Koisu rivers. The ridge belongs to the system of the Lateral Range of the Greater Caucasus, extending parallel to the lower Dividing Range. The length of the ridge is 80 km. The highest point is Mount Tebulosmta (4493 m). The ridge is composed of shales and sandstones of the Lower Jurassic age. On the slopes there are alpine and subalpine meadows. There are glaciers on the highest massifs.
• Khokhsky ridge
  A mountain range in the Caucasus Mountains, part of the Lateral Caucasian Range, passing through the territory of Georgia and Russia ( North Ossetia). The Khokhsky Range runs north of the Main Caucasian Range, separated from it by the Trusovsky Gorge. The ridge is cut by the Ardon and Terek gorges. It includes mountains: Kazbek (5034 m), Siveraut (3767 m), Jimara (4780 m), Maylihokh (4598 m); glaciers: northern slope - Midagrabin, Mayli, Chach, Devdoraksky; southern slope - Abana, Mna, Savitisi.
• Shavshetsky ridge
  A mountain range in the southwest of Transcaucasia, on the border of Adjara and Turkey. The length of the ridge is about 65 km. The highest point is Mount Kheva (2812 m). The ridge is composed of volcanogenic flysch and sandstones. Plateau-like surfaces predominate. Broad-leaved and spruce-fir forests with evergreen undergrowth grow on the slopes. On the ridge - subalpine meadows.
• Egrisi Ridge
  A mountain range on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, located on the territory of Georgia. It stretches parallel to the Main Caucasian Range between the Inguri and Tskhenistskali rivers. The highest peak of the ridge is Mount Chitagwala with a height of 3226 m. Broad-leaved forests of oak, beech and other trees grow on the slopes of the ridge. Above 2000 m there are subalpine and alpine meadows.

passes

• Becho
  Alpine pass, located in the central part of the Main, or Dividing Range of the Greater Caucasus, between mountain ranges Donguz-Orun and Shkhelda. Until the middle of the 20th century, it was of great trade and economic importance, as it connected the Becho valley in the South Caucasus (Upper Svaneti region, Georgia) with the Baksan Gorge North Caucasus(now in Russia). The pass is located at an altitude of 3,375 meters above sea level; for most of the year it is covered by a glacier, and therefore is accessible to pedestrians only in summer. Compared to other passes of the Caucasus, it is considered relatively easy to cross. In Soviet times, a tourist trail was laid here from the Baksan River, which ran along the valley of the Yusenga River (Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) to the river. Enguri (along the Dolra Valley, Georgian SSR). After 2008, the use of the pass for recreational, tourist and economic purposes is difficult due to tensions in Russian-Georgian relations.
• Donguzorun
  Mountain pass through the Main Caucasian Range, located on the border of Georgia and Kabardino-Balkaria (Russia). The pass connects the Donguzorun Gorge in Kabardino-Balkaria with the Nakra River Gorge in Georgia. The height of the pass reaches 3203 m. The name comes from the words donguz - "pig" and orun - "place", that is, it means "pen for pigs".
• Zekarsky pass
  Pass through the Dvaletsky Range (part of the Main Caucasian Range) on the border of Russia (North Ossetia) and South Ossetia (Georgia).
• Zekarsky pass
  A pass through the Meskheti Range (the northernmost of the Lesser Caucasus) in Georgia, located at the headwaters of the Khanistskali rivers. Through the Zekar pass there is a road from Kutaisi (through the Zekari resort on the northern slope of the ridge) to mountain resort Abastumani (on the southern slope), which is further connected to the Batumi-Akhaltsikhe highway. It is located on the border of Imereti (Bagdat municipality) and Samtskhe-Javakheti (Adigeni municipality) regions of Georgia.
• whalelod
  Mountain pass through the Main Caucasian Range, on the border of Kabardino-Balkaria and Georgia. Located between the peaks of Tikhtengen and Kulak-tau, it connects the upper reaches of the Chegem Gorge (in the north) and the upper reaches of the Mulkhra River (in the south). The name is translated from Turkic as “pass behind the peak” and is due to the fact that the pass, when observed from the Kulak glacier, along which the path to the pass goes, is not visible, as it is obscured by the peak of the same name
• Kodori pass
  The pass through the Main Caucasian Range, connecting the valley of the upper reaches of the Andean Koisu in Dagestan with the Alazani valley in Georgia. Height - 2365 m. Rivers flow: Metlyuta, Khufri, Sokori, Intsoba, Alazani.
• Cross Pass
  Pass on the Georgian Military Highway (Vladikavkaz - Tbilisi) at an altitude of 2379 m through the Main Caucasian Range. It leads from the valley of the Terek River to the valley of the Aragvi River. To the west of the pass is the Kelskoe volcanic plateau.
• Laba
  Mountain pass in the Western Caucasus, on the border of Karachay-Cherkessia and Abkhazia. The height of the pass is 2614 m.
• Laschedar
  Mountain pass through the Main Caucasian Range, located on the border of Georgia and Kabardino-Balkaria (Russia). The pass connects the Bashil (in the north) and Laskhedar (in the south) glaciers. The height reaches 3629 m.
• Marukh pass
  Pass at an altitude of 2748 m through the Main Caucasian Range in the western part of the Greater Caucasus. The pass leads from the valley of the Marukha river (Kuban basin) to the Atsgara valley (a tributary of the Kodori). The Marukh Pass now belongs to the Republic of Abkhazia.
• Sanchar pass
  Pass at an altitude of 2589 m in the Western Caucasus. From August 1942 to January 1943, battles took place on the Sancharsky Pass between the 49th Mountain Rifle Corps of General Rudolf Konrad with two Romanian mountain rifle divisions on the one hand, and units of the 46th Army of the Transcaucasian Front on the other. The pass changed hands several times.
• Seven Pass
  Mountain pass in the southern spur of the Main Caucasian Range, on the border of Kabardino-Balkaria and Georgia. The pass connects the Kitlod and Tsaneri glaciers. Its height is 3769 m. According to one version, the name of the pass is translated from Svan as “third” or “triple” and is due to the fact that in order to pass from the Chegem gorge to the Bezengi gorge, it is necessary to pass three passes in a row: Kitlod, Semi, Upper Tsanner (on this route, the Semi Pass is the middle one). According to another version, the pass got its name in honor of the seven Soviet climbers who passed it in 1929.
• Suram pass
  The mountain pass of the Likhi (Suram) mountain range (connecting the Greater Caucasus with the Lesser) on the territory of present-day Georgia. It is the lowest pass of this range (height 949 meters above sea level). A highway and a railway pass through the pass (section Khashuri - Zestaponi). In 1932 this railway section was electrified and the operation of the first electric locomotives in the Soviet Union began on it.
• Truso
  The pass on the border of Georgia and Russia (North Ossetia), between the Trusovsky Gorge and the Zakinsky Gorge. The height of the pass is 3150 m.
• zanner
  The common name of two mountain passes through the Main Caucasian Range: Upper Tsanner and Lower Tsanner. Located on the border of Kabardino-Balkaria and Georgia, between the peaks of Ortokara and Lyalver. The height of the Lower Tsanner pass is 3900 m.

Mountains

• Caucasian mountains
  Mountain system between the Black, Azov and Caspian seas. The etymology of the name has not been established. It is divided into two mountain systems: the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus. The Caucasus is often divided into the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the border between which is drawn along the Main, or Watershed, ridge of the Greater Caucasus, which occupies a central position in the mountain system. The Greater Caucasus stretches for more than 1100 km from the northwest to the southeast, from the Anapa region and the Taman Peninsula to the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian coast, near Baku. Max Width The Greater Caucasus reaches in the region of the Elbrus meridian (up to 180 km). In the axial part is located the Main Caucasian (or Dividing) Range, to the north of which a number of parallel ranges (mountain ranges) extend, including a monoclinal (kuest) character (see Greater Caucasus). The southern slope of the Greater Caucasus mostly consists of echelon-shaped ridges adjacent to the Main Caucasian ridge. Traditionally, the Greater Caucasus is divided into 3 parts: Western Caucasus(from the Black Sea to Elbrus), the Central Caucasus (from Elbrus to Kazbek) and the Eastern Caucasus (from Kazbek to the Caspian Sea).
• Kehl plateau
  Volcanic plateau in the Caucasus, zone of extinct volcanoes and volcanic lakes. It is located on the territory of Georgia and South Ossetia in the upper reaches of the Belaya Aragvi River, on the southern side of the Main Caucasian Range at an altitude of about 2600-3300 m above sea level. From the west it is bounded by the valley along which the Transcaucasian highway passes, from the east the highlands adjoin the Cross Pass, through which the Georgian Military Highway runs. In the north is the Trusovskoye gorge, which separates the plateau from Kazbek. Extinct volcanoes: Khorisar (3736 m), Shadilkhokh, Sharkhokh, Mepiskalo (3519 m), Narvankhokh (3247 m).
• Latsga
  One of the peaks of the Main Caucasian Range in the Latsga-Chegettau massif above the slopes of the Dzhantugan plateau in the Svaneti region, Georgia. The southern slopes of the mountain and adjacent valleys are covered by the Lekzyr glacier. Popular with climbers. Height varies depending on from the source from 3995 to 4019 m w. y. m.
• maistismta
  Mountain peak in the Itum-Kalinsky region of Chechnya. The name is based on the name of the Chechen clan (teip) Maisto. The height above sea level is 4081 meters. The mountain is located on the border with Georgia
• Mtatsminda
  Mountain in Tbilisi, part of the Trialeti Range. It is located on the right bank of the Kura River (the Georgian name of the river is Mtkvari), practically in the center of the city. Mtatsminda dominates the surrounding hills and is a kind of symbol of the capital of Georgia.
• Tichtengen
  Mountain range in the central part of the Greater Caucasus. It is located on the Main Caucasian Range, in the upper reaches of the Chegem River, on the border of Kabardino-Balkaria and Georgia. The height reaches 4611 m. The massif is composed of crystalline schists, gneisses and granites. The sources of many large glaciers (Zaneri and others) are located on Tikhtengen. The total area of ​​glaciation is about 46.8 km².
• Shota Rustaveli Peak
  A mountain in the center of the Main Caucasian Range, located on the border of Svaneti (Georgia) and Kabardino-Balkaria (Russia). Named after the Georgian statesman Shota Rustaveli. The height of the mountain is 4859 meters. It is considered the ninth highest peak of the Caucasus. There is a danger of glaciers descending into the neighboring valley.

TBILISI, Dec 11 - Sputnik. Georgia has long been famous for its beautiful mountains and peaks, with difficult to reach routes. on the international day of mountains, which is celebrated every year on December 11, presents the TOP-7 famous and most difficult mountains of Georgia.

1. Shkhara - height 5,193.2 meters

Thomas Vahe

The most high peak in Georgia. Located in the Svaneti region. Shkhara was first climbed by Soviet climbers in 1933. At the foot of the southern slopes of Shkhara, at an altitude of 2,200 m above sea level, there is the village of Ushguli in the Mestia region of Svaneti, which is included in the list world heritage UNESCO.

2. Kazbek or Mkinvartsveri - height 5,033.8 meters

© photo: Sputnik / Alexander Imedashvili

It is an extinct stratovolcano. Located on the border of Russia and Georgia. The last eruption supposedly occurred in 650 BC. It was formed, according to experts, 805 million years ago. Approximately at an altitude of 3800 m, on an 80-meter rock wall in a cave, there is an ancient Georgian monastery of Betlemi (Bethlehem).

3. Ushba - height 4690 meters

© photo: Sputnik / S. Onanov

One of the most famous mountains of the Caucasus. It is located in the Svaneti region. From the Svan language "ush" means trouble, "ba" means mountain. That is, a mountain that brings misfortune. It is called the killer mountain or the ghost mountain. It was this mountain that caused the death of many climbers who wanted to conquer it.

4. Tetnuldi - height 4,869 meters

A resort of the same name is being built on the slope of the mountain, the ski slope of which will be the longest in the Caucasus - 9.5 kilometers.

5. Diklosmta - height 4,285 meters

© photo: Sputnik / Said Tsarnaev

A mountain range in the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus on the crest of the Snegovoi Ridge, which is the natural border of Chechnya, Dagestan and Georgia. Translated from Georgian: "Mta" - mountain, "Diklo" - one of the oldest villages in Tusheti, located at the foot of the mountain.

Construction on the northern slope of the mountain ski resort"Veduchi".

; also partially attributed to Eastern Europe.

The nature of Georgia is extremely diverse due to its geographic location, complex relief and altitudinal zonality. The Caucasus region, in which Georgia is located, belongs to the mobile alpine belt of the earth's crust, which causes its contrasting relief and diverse landscapes with many different types of climate, hydrological regime, soil cover, vegetation and wildlife. In addition, Georgia is located at the junction of the humid Mediterranean, the arid drainless Aral-Caspian depression and the continental Asiatic highlands, which also determines the diversity of its natural conditions.

The total area of ​​the country is 69.7 thousand km².

Relief

The northern part of the republic is occupied by the mountain system of the Greater Caucasus (gr. Kavkasioni) with altitudes up to 4500-5000 m above sea level. The highest point is Mount Shkhara (5068m.), and Kazbek (5033m). The Caucasus belongs to young folded systems (i.e., tectonic processes have not been completed here). Most of the coast of Georgia is slowly sinking. On average, the sinking of the land of the Colchis lowland is about 13 cm per century. There is a high seismicity of the territory (especially in the east, earthquakes up to 5-7 points). In the watershed part of the Central Caucasus there are well-known passes - Cross (2384 m) and Mamison (2829 m). The Georgian Military Road used to lead through the Caucasus Range to Georgia (closed in 2006). Two more routes to Georgia from the north: along the Black Sea coast and through the Roki tunnel along the Transcaucasian highway due to the unresolved Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Ossetian conflicts, are practically not used for through communication between Russia and Georgia.

The highlands of the Caucasus are characterized by glaciers, karst phenomena in the west, and young volcanic forms in the east.

In total, there are over 600 glaciers in Georgia with a total area of ​​520 km². Most large glaciers located in Svaneti.

In the south of the country - the mid-mountain ranges of the Lesser Caucasus (heights up to 2850 m), between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus - Colchis lowland, having the shape of a triangle with a base facing the Black Sea, and in the east - the Iberian depression, where the river Kura flows.

The Colchis lowland is inclined to the west. In the coastal strip, it barely rises above sea level, and to the east it gradually rises to 150 m, until it rests on a granite ridge that connects the Greater and Lesser Caucasus and is a watershed between the basins of the Black and Caspian Seas. Colchis is described by Konstantin Paustovsky in his story of the same name. It was here, according to legend, that the Argonauts went for the Golden Fleece.

In political geography, the Pankisi Gorge is known - a region near the border with Chechnya, where Kist Chechens, related to the Chechens of the North Caucasus, live. Refugees from Chechnya also settled here, who left it during the second Chechen campaign (1999-2000).

In the extreme south of Georgia, there is the South Georgian (Javakheti) volcanic highland, which is characterized by lava plateaus, chains of volcanoes and canyon-like river gorges. The highest point of the highlands is Mount Didi Abuli, 3301 m.

The main minerals are manganese ores (Chiatura), coal (Tkibuli), small oil reserves. One of the main natural resources- numerous and . Up to 50 resorts have been created on the basis of mineral springs. The most popular are Borjomi and Tskhaltubo.

Sea

Hydrography

The river network is unevenly developed. It is most dense in Western Georgia.

The rivers of Georgia belong to two basins - the Black Sea (75% of the flow) and the Caspian. Almost the entire flow of the Caspian Basin is carried by the Kura River, on which the Mingechevir reservoir is located. The rivers of the Black Sea basin (Western Georgia) do not form a single system, flowing into the sea on their own. The main one is the Rioni, which flows in the lower section along the Colchis lowland. Inguri and others are also significant.

Most of the rivers originating in the mountains have a maximum flow (flood) in the spring, when the snow melts. The rivers, fed mainly from glaciers, carry most of the water in summer and at this time have a pronounced daily flow rate with a maximum in the evening hours and a minimum before dawn. With a fast current, mountain rivers rarely freeze. They flow in deep gorges and have a significant number of rapids. In the limestone zone of the Greater Caucasus and the volcanic rocks of the Javakheti Highlands, the underground runoff (groundwater flows) exceeds the surface one. Georgia is rich in hydropower resources. On many mountain rivers, cascades of hydroelectric power stations have been built, reservoirs have been built. The total length of irrigation systems exceeds 1000 km.

There are few lakes in Georgia, mainly in the Javakheti Highlands. The largest of them is Lake Paravani.

Climate

The climate of Georgia is transitional from subtropical to temperate.

Vegetable world

The flora is very rich. According to botanists, the number of species of flowering plants is greater than in the entire European part of the former USSR. The relative stability of the climate in the past contributed to the preservation of ancient elements of flora, relict and endemic plants (rhododendrons, boxwood, laurel cherry, persimmon, etc.).

Forests cover over a third of the territory. Previously, the entire Colchis lowland and most of the Iverian depression were covered with forest. Now the lowland forests of Colchis and the Alazani valley have almost everywhere been replaced by cultivated plantations. Among the trees, the most common are broad-leaved (oak, hornbeam, chestnut, beech) and coniferous (fir, spruce, pine). Alpine meadows are extensive, extending from the upper border of the forest to 2800-3500 m. The steppes are mainly replaced by cultivated plantations.

Among specific landscape zones Georgia, it is necessary to note Colchis broad-leaved liana forests with evergreen trees and shrubs, as well as forests of Pitsunda pine in Adjara, Caucasian pine in the Borjomi Gorge, Eldar pine in Eastern Georgia. About 200 thousand hectares of the Colchis lowland are occupied by swamps.

Animal world

The fauna of Georgia is quite diverse. Over 11,000 species of invertebrates live on the territory of Georgia, including almost 9,150 arthropods (of which over 8,230 species are insects). 84 species of freshwater fish were recorded, as well as 6 introduced species. Amphibians are represented by 12 species. The 52 species belonging to the class of reptiles include 3 species of turtles, 27 species of lizards and 23 species of snakes (of which 3 species of snakes and 12 lizards are endemic to the Caucasus). 109 species of mammals inhabit the territory of Georgia.

Large mammals such as bear, wolf, fox, red deer, roe deer, wild boar are common in Georgia's ecosystems. On the verge of extinction is the leopard , which was considered a species that had disappeared in the Caucasus and was rediscovered by Georgian zoologists in 2001 . The striped hyena and goitered gazelle are also critically endangered. In the 20th century, the Black Sea monk seal and the Turanian tiger finally disappeared, but new species appeared (were introduced), such as the striped raccoon (North America) and the raccoon dog (Far East).

Protected areas

In Soviet times, 15 reserves were established to protect flora and fauna. Among them are Lagodekhi, Borjomi and Babaneur. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline passes through the Borjomi Reserve.

In 1996, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a law on nature protection zones, dividing them into six categories. In particular, Georgia has five national parks, three national monuments and one natural area (“protected landscape”, eng. protected landscape).

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An excerpt characterizing the Geography of Georgia

Natasha was calmer, but not more cheerful. She not only avoided all external conditions of joy: balls, skating, concerts, theater; but she never laughed so that her tears were not heard because of her laughter. She couldn't sing. As soon as she began to laugh or tried to sing alone with herself, tears choked her: tears of remorse, tears of memories of that irrevocable, pure time; tears of annoyance that so, for nothing, she ruined her young life, which could have been so happy. Laughter and singing especially seemed to her a blasphemy against her grief. She never thought of coquetry; she didn't even have to refrain. She said and felt that at that time all men were to her exactly the same as the jester Nastasya Ivanovna. The inner guard firmly forbade her any joy. And she did not have all the former interests of life from that girlish, carefree, hopeful way of life. More often and most painfully, she recalled the autumn months, the hunt, her uncle, and Christmas time spent with Nicolas in Otradnoe. What would she give to bring back even one day from that time! But it was over forever. The foreboding did not deceive her then that that state of freedom and openness to all joys would never return again. But I had to live.
It was comforting to her to think that she was not better, as she had thought before, but worse and much worse than everyone, everyone, who only exists in the world. But this was not enough. She knew this and asked herself: “What next? And then there was nothing. There was no joy in life, and life passed. Natasha, apparently, tried only not to be a burden to anyone and not to interfere with anyone, but for herself she did not need anything. She moved away from everyone at home, and only with her brother Petya was it easy for her. She liked to be with him more than with the others; and sometimes, when she was with him eye to eye, she laughed. She hardly left the house, and of those who came to see them, she was glad only for Pierre. It was impossible to treat her more tenderly, more carefully, and at the same time more seriously than Count Bezukhov treated her. Natasha Osss consciously felt this tenderness of treatment and therefore found great pleasure in his company. But she was not even grateful to him for his tenderness; nothing good on the part of Pierre seemed to her an effort. It seemed so natural for Pierre to be kind to everyone that there was no merit in his kindness. Sometimes Natasha noticed Pierre's embarrassment and awkwardness in her presence, especially when he wanted to do something pleasant for her or when he was afraid that something in the conversation would bring Natasha to painful memories. She noticed this and attributed it to his general kindness and shyness, which, according to her, the same as with her, should have been with everyone. After those inadvertent words that, if he were free, he would ask her hands and love on his knees, said at a moment of such strong excitement for her, Pierre never said anything about his feelings for Natasha; and it was obvious to her that those words, which then so comforted her, were spoken, as all sorts of meaningless words are spoken to comfort a crying child. Not because Pierre was a married man, but because Natasha felt between herself and him in the highest degree that force of moral barriers - the absence of which she felt with Kyragin - it never occurred to her that she could get out of her relationship with Pierre not only love on her part, or still less on his part, but even that kind of tender, self-confessing, poetic friendship between a man and a woman, of which she knew several examples.
At the end of the Petrovsky post, Agrafena Ivanovna Belova, the Rostovs' Otradnenskaya neighbor, came to Moscow to bow to the Moscow saints. She invited Natasha to go to bed, and Natasha seized on this idea with joy. Despite the doctor’s prohibition to go out early in the morning, Natasha insisted on fasting, and not fasting as usual in the Rostovs’ house, that is, listening to three services at home, but in order to fast as Agrafena Ivanovna used to, that is, all week without missing a single Vespers, Mass or Matins.
The countess liked Natasha's zeal; in her soul, after unsuccessful medical treatment, she hoped that prayer would help her with more medicines, and although with fear and hiding from the doctor, she agreed to Natasha's desire and entrusted her to Belova. Agrafena Ivanovna came at three o'clock in the morning to wake Natasha, and for the most part found her no longer asleep. Natasha was afraid to oversleep the time of matins. Hastily washing herself and humbly dressing in her worst dress and an old mantilla, shuddering with freshness, Natasha went out into the deserted streets, transparently lit by the morning dawn. On the advice of Agrafena Ivanovna, Natasha did not preach in her parish, but in the church, in which, according to the pious Belova, there was a priest of a very strict and high life. There were always few people in the church; Natasha and Belova took their usual place in front of the icon mother of God, built into the back of the left kliros, and Natasha’s new sense of humility in front of the great, incomprehensible, seized her when, at this unusual hour in the morning, she looked at the black face of the Mother of God, illuminated by candles burning in front of him, and the light of the morning falling from windows, listened to the sounds of the service, which she tried to follow, understanding them. When she understood them, her personal feeling with its shades joined her prayer; when she did not understand, it was still sweeter for her to think that the desire to understand everything is pride, that it is impossible to understand everything, that one must only believe and surrender to God, who at that moment—she felt—ruled her soul. She crossed herself, bowed, and when she did not understand, she only, horrified by her abomination, asked God to forgive her for everything, for everything, and have mercy. The prayers to which she devoted herself most were the prayers of repentance. Returning home at the early hour of the morning, when there were only masons going to work, janitors sweeping the street, and everyone was still sleeping in the houses, Natasha experienced a new feeling for her of the possibility of correcting herself from her vices and the possibility of a new, pure life and happiness.
During the whole week in which she led this life, this feeling grew every day. And the happiness of communion or communication, as Agrafena Ivanovna said to her joyfully playing with this word, seemed to her so great that it seemed to her that she would not live to see this blessed Sunday.
But the happy day came, and when Natasha, on that memorable Sunday, in a white muslin dress, returned from communion, for the first time after many months she felt calm and unburdened by the life that lay ahead of her.
The doctor who came that day examined Natasha and ordered to continue the last powders that he prescribed two weeks ago.
“It is imperative to continue—in the morning and in the evening,” he said, evidently himself conscientiously pleased with his success. “Just please be careful. Be calm, countess, - said the doctor jokingly, deftly picking up the golden one in the flesh of his hand, - soon he will sing again and become frisky. Very, very much in favor of her last remedy. She brightened up a lot.
The countess looked at her nails and spat, returning to the living room with a cheerful face.

At the beginning of July, more and more disturbing rumors about the course of the war spread in Moscow: they talked about the sovereign's appeal to the people, about the arrival of the sovereign himself from the army to Moscow. And since the manifesto and appeal had not been received before July 11, exaggerated rumors circulated about them and about the situation in Russia. They said that the sovereign was leaving because the army was in danger, they said that Smolensk had been surrendered, that Napoleon had a million troops, and that only a miracle could save Russia.
July 11th, Saturday, the manifesto was received but not yet printed; and Pierre, who was with the Rostovs, promised the next day, on Sunday, to come to dinner and bring a manifesto and an appeal, which he would get from Count Rostopchin.
On this Sunday, the Rostovs, as usual, went to Mass at the house church of the Razumovskys. It was a hot July day. Already at ten o'clock, when the Rostovs got out of the carriage in front of the church, in the hot air, in the cries of peddlers, in the bright and light summer dresses of the crowd, in the dusty leaves of the trees of the boulevard, in the sounds of music and the white pantaloons of the battalion that passed for divorce, in the thunder of the pavement and In the bright glare of the hot sun there was that summer languor, contentment and dissatisfaction with the present, which is especially sharply felt on a clear hot day in the city. In the church of the Razumovskys there was all the nobility of Moscow, all the acquaintances of the Rostovs (this year, as if expecting something, a lot of wealthy families, usually moving around the villages, remained in the city). Passing behind the livery footman, who was parting the crowd near her mother, Natasha heard the voice of a young man speaking in a too loud whisper about her:
- This is Rostov, the same one ...
- How thin, but still good!
She heard, or it seemed to her, that the names of Kuragin and Bolkonsky were mentioned. However, it always seemed to her. It always seemed to her that everyone, looking at her, was only thinking about what had happened to her. Suffering and dying in her soul, as always in the crowd, Natasha walked in her purple silk dress with black lace the way women know how to walk - the calmer and more majestic, the more painful and ashamed she felt in her soul. She knew and was not mistaken that she was good, but this did not please her now, as before. On the contrary, it tormented her most of all lately, and especially on this bright, hot summer day in the city. “Another Sunday, another week,” she said to herself, remembering how she had been here that Sunday, “and still the same life without life, and all the same conditions in which it used to be so easy to live before. She is good, young, and I know that now I am good, before I was bad, but now I am good, I know, she thought, but the best years pass in vain, for no one. She stood beside her mother and exchanged relations with close acquaintances. Natasha, out of habit, looked at the ladies' toilets, condemned the tenue [demeanor] and the indecent way of crossing herself with the hand in the small space of one standing close by, again thought with annoyance that they were judging her, that she was judging, and suddenly, hearing the sounds of the service, she was horrified at her vileness, horrified at the fact that her former purity was again lost by her.

The main features of the earth's surface of Georgia
Georgian landscape

"Caucasus before me..."- delightful lines of A. S. Pushkin.

And now you, dear tourist, have the opportunity to visit these amazing places, which will undoubtedly inspire you to inspire creativity.

Georgia- mostly mountainous country. More than 80% of its territory is occupied by ridges and uplands. It owns the highest part of the Greater Caucasus. According to the nature of the relief, Georgia is divided into the following large, significantly different regions. In the north, a mountain system rises like a giant wall Greater Caucasus(Kavkasioni). The steep spurs of the southern slope form echelon-shaped mountain barriers, gradually lowering to the south and turning into a strip of hilly foothills, bordering the mountain plains inside.

Mountain ranges and high plateaus stretch in the south South Caucasian highlands(which within Georgia is called the South Georgian Highlands). Its constituent part in the north is the folded ridges of the Lesser Caucasus, elongated almost in the latitudinal direction, and in the south, highly elevated volcanic plateaus, meridional elongated chains of extinct volcanoes and lava-filled basins of the Javakheti highlands, parts of the Armenian volcanic highlands. Between these powerful mountain structures, from the shores of the Black Sea in the west to the Alazani Valley in the east, intermountain lowlands of Georgia stretch.

The highest part of the Greater Caucasus more than 100 million years ago was a chain of rocky islands in the seas of the Jurassic and Cretaceous. In the Tertiary time (about 30 million years ago), the internal forces of mountain building raised and expanded the land. The islands, composed of ancient crystalline and metamorphic rocks, merged with each other and gradually began to grow over rising from sea ​​depths more and more land areas. At the same time, in the south, the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus rose from the sea and grew, composed mainly of products of underwater volcanic eruptions. In the second half of the Tertiary, mountain building processes intensified. A bridge between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus was discovered, the sea receded to the east and west, and vast intermountain lowlands dried up. Thus, by the beginning of the Quaternary time (about a million years ago), the Caucasus in its main features acquired modern contours. In the Quaternary, the mountains continued to grow intensively, periodically covered with a solid ice shell. The intermountain depressions sank.

The growth of mountains and the lowering of the bottom of intermountain depressions continues even now. Their immobility is deceptive. The time of human observations is incommensurable with the process of mountain building. Just as a camera can capture only a single moment of movement in a fraction of a second, so a person, even for a hundred years, cannot always catch the changes taking place in the relief. A number of signs eluding the inexperienced eye - the increase in the heights of river terraces in the direction from the plains to the mountains, sawing deep transverse valleys by rivers, folding in young Pliocene and even Quaternary lavas, and much more indicates the ongoing uplift of the mountains of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. On the other hand, in contrast to this, the presence of peat deposits at different depths from the surface, the swamping of the Colchis lowland, and the ancient river deltas of the Bzybi, Gumista, and Kodori submerged to the seabed testify to the subsidence of the intermountain plains. The ongoing and now active life of the mountains is indicated by the still not completely extinguished activity of underground forces. Just a few thousand years ago, the volcanoes of the South Georgian Highlands and the Central Caucasus stopped erupting.

Zones of six- and eight-magnitude earthquakes are confined to the junction of uplift and subsidence areas. The same seismic activity is shown by the area of ​​volcanic structures in Southern Georgia.

The Georgian part of the Greater Caucasus, with its general orographic integrity, is subdivided, depending on the geological nature and the main features of the relief, into three parts - western, central and eastern.

If you go from west to east along the mountain ranges of the Greater Caucasus, you can notice a gradual increase in both the Main watershed between the rivers of the northern and southern slopes, and its spurs descending to the Black Sea coast and the Colchis lowland. The entire mountainous region, stretching between the Psou valley and the eastern border of the Abkhazian Autonomous Republic, is called the Western Caucasus (Abkhazian Caucasus). main ridge The Western Caucasus rises as a grandiose ledge crowned with rocky peaks, between which glaciers rest in deep cirque-like depressions and saddles. The mighty ridge of the Greater Caucasus is almost 1000 meters higher than the line of eternal snows. The passes, through which in most cases only pack trails are laid, lie at an altitude of 2400-3000 m above sea level.

The peaks of the Greater Caucasus are covered with eternal snows. At the foot of the rocky peaks, boulders are piled up - the result of centuries of frost weathering. Sharp fluctuations in daily temperatures contribute to the destruction of even such hard rocks as granites, gneisses and metamorphic shales, which form most of the ridge. Glacial tongues, forming steep icefalls, flow over stone barriers and descend into wide trough-shaped valleys. They feed numerous streams that merge into mountain rivers below. So, for example, the largest rivers of Abkhazia begin - Bzyb and Kodori. At first they flow through wide, very deep valleys, almost parallel to the Main Watershed, separating high frontal ridges from it. Descending from the Greater Caucasus to the flowering foothills of Abkhazia, one has to overcome several mountain barriers, visit deep gorges and again rise to the sky-high heights of snowy passes. On the way to the sea - rocky ridges of Gagra ( Mount Agepsta-3261 m.), Bzybsky and Kodorsky ( mountain Khojaly- 3309 m) ranges, deep gorges of the Bzybi, Kodori and their tributaries. The mountain ranges that must be crossed to reach the sea are composed of Middle Jurassic volcanic rocks and thick strata of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary limestones.

It is impossible not to dwell on the exceptional originality of nature in the mountains of the Western Caucasus. To the west of the Likhsky (Suramsky) ridge to the very border of the republic, steep spurs of limestone ridges rise above the green hills of the foothills and the coastal plain. Limestones are most widespread in Abkhazia. The peculiarity of the relief of the advanced mountain barriers of the Western Caucasus is determined by the fact that they are composed of carbonate rocks of the Upper Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleogene. Here we can see classic examples of a wide variety of karst forms. In the watershed spaces, surfaces corroded by karst, dry hollows, depressions and funnels. There are such landforms as cuestas with bizarre peaks and towers; sheer white or pinkish walls of narrow canyons and gorges, at the bottom of which surprisingly clear cold water seethes, passing through unknown paths through underground labyrinths and corridors.

Limestone ridges in the western part of Abkhazia break off into the sea in echelon-shaped spurs, pushing to the east a strip of low hilly foothills, composed mainly of strata of conglomerates, clays and sandstones of the Tertiary period.

Atmospheric waters, abundantly irrigating the mountains of Abkhazia, penetrating deep into the bowels of the earth, meet impervious layers and come to the surface through cracks at the foot of limestone massifs, giving rise to numerous springs and even rivers. Near the resort of Gagra, where the steep slopes of limestone mountains break right into the sea, sources of fresh water are knocked out of the cracks near the beach and on the seabed. On the other hand, solutions saturated with copper, silver, lead, zinc rise into the karst voids from the deep bowels of the earth through the thinnest cracks. For many hundreds of thousands of years, cracks and karst voids are filled with ore. Thus, deposits of polymetals were formed in the limestone massifs of Abkhazia.

In the eastern part of the Western Caucasus, limestone ridges decrease, forming relatively low ridges. One of them is cut through by the stormy river Galidzga. If you climb up its gorge, then steep mountain slopes will again appear in front of you. However, they are no longer made up of limestones, but mostly hard sandstones and ancient volcanic rocks. Galidzga, squeezed in a narrow gorge, boils furiously, rolling huge boulders along the bottom.

Why is the water of this river black? After all, the rest of the rivers of Abkhazia are clean and transparent. The riddle is easily solved. Galidzga crosses coal beds. Here on the steep slopes, which until recently were covered with impenetrable forests, but then one of the large industrial centers of Georgia grew here - the city Tkvarcheli. Coal occurs here in Jurassic sandstones.

Between the two giants - the extinct Quaternary volcanoes Elbrus and Kazbek - stretches the highest central part of the Greater Caucasus with peaks exceeding 4500 m. More than ten peaks, and among them Shkhara(5201 m.), Dzhangitau(5049 m.), gistola(4859 m.), Kazbek(5047 m.), higher than the highest point of the Alps - Mont Blanc. The ridge is dressed in a powerful ice shell. Above the firn fields, naked rocks rise like harsh guards. At their feet stretch "stone seas" - a chaotic heap of granite blocks. The cold, devoid of any vegetation, desert spaces of the high-mountainous zone of the Central Caucasus are distinguished by a peculiar, wild and majestic beauty.

Svaneti occupies the central part of the Greater Caucasus, and high lateral spurs branching off from it form a system of ridges parallel to the Main Watershed. Above the deep gorge of Inguri south of the village of Mestia - the center of Svaneti - the rocky slopes of the Svaneti ridge rise. It runs almost parallel to the Main Divide. Here again is the kingdom of snows and glaciers. The highest point of the ridge - Mount Laila rises above 4000 m.

To the south of the Svaneti ridge are the Lechkhum and Racha ridges. Here are the sources of the Rioni River. These ranges, composed of Mesozoic rocks, are rich in deposits of silver-lead and zinc ores. Some of them are of industrial importance. To the south, on one of the lateral spurs of the Svaneti mountains, barite, a valuable raw material for the chemical industry, occurs in ancient volcanic rocks.

A large barite mine was discovered at the foot of Mount Sirkh-Leberta, in the area of ​​the highland village of Chordi. The deposits of polymetallic ores of industrial importance are also rich in the bowels of the Central Caucasus within the borders of the South Ossetian Autonomous Region neighboring Racha. The Kvaiss deposit of lead-zinc ore supplies the non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises of the North Caucasus with raw materials.

Having passed the foot of the Roksky Pass of the Main Caucasian Range, we climb Erman plateau- a wild high-mountainous area, cut by deep canyons, between which, on flat watershed spaces, there are vast mountain pastures with summer shepherd's koshes scattered everywhere. From one of the ridges that limit the plateau, a view of Lake Keli opens. Even in July, the ice that binds this high-altitude lake does not completely melt. Fast ice remains off the coast, and dwarf icebergs float on the azure water surface. Rocky slopes are wild and impregnable, snowfields turn white on stony screes.

Kehl highland plateau- one of the most peculiar corners of the southern slopes of the Central Caucasus. It owes its origin to Quaternary volcanoes. The lava of such large volcanoes as Big Mepiskalo (3694 m), Khorisar (3830 m), Keli (3628 m) flooded the mountain slopes and formed a vast, relatively flat plateau, on the edge of which, thanks to a lava dam, a lake arose. From the conical peak of the Big Mepiskalo in the north, the snow cap of the handsome Kazbek is visible (in Georgian “Mkinvari” or “Mkinvartsveri”, which means “ice peak”). Kazbek, like Elbrus, is an extinct volcano. The world-famous Georgian Military Highway passes by it. Here, on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, the Gudis, Kharul, Lomis-Alev and Gudamakar ridges stretch meridionally, separating the upper reaches of the Bolshaya and Malaya Liakhvi, Ksani, White and Black Aragvi rivers; rapidly declining to the south, they merge with the Kartli foothills.

To the east of Kazbek begins the Eastern Caucasus. The mountains take on a slightly different look. Although the Main Watershed and, in particular, the Lateral Range, located to the north of it, retain a high-mountainous alpine character, nevertheless, the heights are somewhat inferior to the Central Caucasus. To the north of the watershed ridge, ridges stretch parallel to it, separated by deep mountain river valleys. Terek, Asses, Argun And Andean Koisu. highest height reaches the Tusheti, or Pirikitsky, ridge with peaks Tebulos-Mta(4494 m.), Diklos-Mta(4285 m.). To the south of the watershed of the Eastern Caucasus, the meridional Kartli and Kakheti ranges extend, which, descending, pass into the foothills of the Kakheti lowland. Due to the greater dryness of the climate than in the Western and Central Caucasus, the boundary of eternal snows is much higher here - 3500-3600 m above sea level. Glaciers are found only on the slopes of the largest peaks of the Pirikit Range. Glaciers are relatively rare in the Main Watershed. Bare narrow and jagged rocky ridges dominate here.

Particularly steep slopes are characteristic of the Kakhetian part of the Eastern Caucasus, where mountains literally rise like a wall above Alazani. Here, in the monotonous thickness of slates, layers of marble are found. For example, high-quality marble is mined in the Lopota Gorge, which is not inferior to Carrara. Many stations of the Moscow metro are lined with it.

The intermountain lowlands of Georgia in the west begin with the coastal plain of Colchis. The Colchis lowland is covered with a thick layer of river sediments that have been accumulating for hundreds of thousands of years. Escaping from the heights of the Greater Caucasus, Kodori, Inguri and Rioni spread widely over it and slowly carry their waters to the sea.

From the north and northwest, behind a light haze of fog, one can see the outlines of the snowy peaks of the Greater Caucasus. In the east, the Colchis Plain is bordered by the Imereti Upland. It is a mountain jumper between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. The famous city of manganese is spread on it - Chiatura.

The road leads us to a plateau. Below - a flat area, in some places cut through by deep gorges of the Kvirila, Dziruly and their tributaries. We are as if on the surface of a gigantic dome, cut into separate segments by rivers. In the north, the winding ridge of the Racha Range turns blue.

Imeretian plateau or, as geologists call it, Dziruli crystalline massif, is an "ancient theme" of Georgia. Several million years ago, in the Sarmatian time, there was a sea here, on the granite bottom of which layers of limestone and sandstone were deposited. Mountain-building forces raised a granite bed from under the sea with sedimentary rocks layered on it. So on the site of the sea plain for many millennia a high plateau was formed, into the surface of which rivers began to crash. Washing away marine sediments, they partially destroyed them, revealing the original crystalline rocks. But between the layers of limestone and sandstone remaining on the plateau, layers of rich manganese ore have been preserved.

Before turning to the intermountain regions of Georgia lying to the east of Colchis, let us dwell on sea ​​coast republics.

The Black Sea coast of Georgia stretches for more than 300 km, located along a wide arc between the mouth of the Psou River and Cape Gonio, which closes the Chorokha delta from the south.

This entire strip is of great importance, primarily as a health resort. Sanatoriums, boarding houses and rest houses are scattered along the Black Sea coast, starting from Leselidze to Ochamchira in Abkhazia and from Ureka to Batumi in the Adjara Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Railways and highways are laid along the coast. Agricultural land, where valuable subtropical crops are grown, stretches along the sea coast in a continuous strip.

However, the transformation of the nature of the coast meets significant difficulties. Long-term observations of scientists - geologists, geographers, geophysicists and archaeologists have established that most of the coast of Georgia, especially Colchis, is slowly sinking, and the sea along its entire length coastline comes. It is known that 4-5 thousand years ago the level of the Black Sea was 10-15 m lower than the modern one, the water area boundary lay in places more than 1 km to the west. The offensive of the sea began in the III-IV centuries. n. e. and continues to this day. The sinking of land in Colchis averages up to 13 cm per century, and in some places significantly exceeds this figure. If powerful rivers Chorokh, Rioni, Enguri, Kodori And swell If they did not take out a colossal amount of detrital material from the mountains and did not deposit it on the coastal lowland, the sea would flood it, and in place of Colchis the waters of the sea bay would extend.

But the onset of the sea does not manifest itself everywhere in the same way. There are places where the banks, on the contrary, grow over a short distance. This depends not so much on common causes - subsidence of land or rising sea levels, but on along the coastal sediment flow, consisting of pebbles, sand and other products of the destruction of coastal rocks and the removal of rivers. This material forms the beach, which serves as a natural defense against waves breaking the shores.

The direction along the coastal sediment flow depends on the prevailing winds. The sea washes away the beach in one place and washes it in another. Depending on the angle at which the waves approach the shore, either erosion or deposition of transported material predominates. Of course, the growth or destruction of the coast also depends on the amount of bottom sediments carried by the waves. If there are few of them, the growth of the coast does not occur; if the stream is saturated, somewhere the sediment builds up the beach. Therefore, the exploitation of beach accumulations as a building material must be strictly regulated. Uncontrolled, predatory removal of pebbles and sand from beaches leads to their disappearance and, as a result, to catastrophic erosion of the coast in severe storms.

Huge underwater trenches - canyons serve as another obstacle to normal movement along coastal sediments; they are mostly located opposite the mouths major rivers and corrode the edge of the coastal shallows, often starting almost at the very shore. These peculiar underwater valleys (the mouth part of the descending river valleys) absorb the material that forms the beaches. On the Georgian coast, such canyons exist against the mouths of large rivers - Bzybi, Gumists,Kelasuri, Kodori,Enguri,Rioni,Supsa, Natanebi and Chorokha. As a rule, areas of very active erosion are formed not far from underwater pits that are close to the coast.

A serious risk of erosion arises from the improper construction of breakwaters and breakwaters during the construction of ports; it is necessary to carefully study the direction of sediment movement, the source of their entry into the sea, the exposition of the coast and a number of other conditions before blocking off the part of the water area adjacent to the coast with a pier. The pier can serve as an obstacle to the movement of bottom sediments, and the part of the coast where they stop flowing will begin to collapse very quickly.

An example of active coastal erosion in the area of ​​port facilities is a section near the city of Ochamchire with a length of 6 km.

After the construction of the port was completed in 1938, the erosion of the neighboring coasts located to the south increased. Over the past 15 years, the sea has carried away 30-40 m of the coast, and in some places it has moved more than 100 m towards the land. To protect the coast and increase the city beach near Ochamchira, expensive wave protection structures with a length of about 2 km were erected.

The sea on the Georgian coast threatens not only the city of Ochamchira; a storm in 1964 destroyed a breakwater and several residential buildings in New Athos; many sections of the coast in Gagra are systematically destroyed. The railroad overpass in Sukhumi was badly damaged by recent storms; entire tracts of land were swept away by the waves near Batumi in the autumn of 1965.

However, the laws of coastal life that were not previously unraveled, the causes of erosion or growth of coasts, the natural course of processes are now being deciphered by scientists and engineers; people boldly enter into battle with the blind elements and remake nature in accordance with their needs. For this purpose, studies of the coastal part of the continental shelf are being carried out. Armed with underwater vehicles of the latest designs, scuba divers descend to depths exceeding 50 m and make scientific observations in the elements alien to man. Recently, numerous institutes and industrial organizations have taken up the study of the coastal zone in Georgia.

WITH great depths geologists raise soil samples. Their research ships

plow the coastal waters of Georgia; tons of colored sand are launched into the sea so that its movement along the bottom sheds light on the laws of bottom currents; vibrating tubes cut into the bottoms of deep underwater canyons; echo sounders buzz on ships; maps of the relief of the seabed are being specified.

All these works will make it possible to understand the interrelationship of the processes that form the shores, and will help to develop effective measures to prevent the harm caused to people by the elements. Behind the Likhi (Surami) ridge lies the eastern wing of the intermountain lowlands of Georgia. There is a completely different nature here. From the south rise the stepped slopes of the Trialeti ridge (the eastern continuation of the Meskheti, or Adjaro-Imereti, ridge). Along its foot is the Kurinskaya Valley, along which the railway runs. The valley in the north is bordered by the low Kvernaki ridge, bare or covered with sparse shrubs, crossed by dry ravines, separating the Kura valley from the vast Tiripon-Mukhran plain. It is a foothill basin, completely covered with loam and pebbles. Behind it rise the spurs of the Greater Caucasus.

As soon as you pass Mtskheta- ancient capital Georgia, a conical hill appears, on top of which stands a monastery, once sung by M. Yu. Lermontov in his poem "Mtsyri".

Here, near Mtskheta, concrete masses rise ZAGES- the first hydroelectric station in Georgia. From here it is not far to the capital of Georgia. Tbilisi lies in a wide basin, on the sides of which a series of terraces of the Kura is clearly distinguished. Steep slope on the right Trialeti Range- Mount Mtatsminda, crowned with an openwork spire of a television tower. On the left bank of the Kura - flat Mount Makhata. To the east of Tbilisi there are wide steppe spaces. This is the Samgori Plain, which quite recently was a dry, waterless steppe. Now, thanks to the powerful Samgori irrigation system, the steppe is dressed with gardens. Farther to the southeast, Iora Plateau. On both sides of the Iori valley, one of the left tributaries of the Kura, flat-topped ridges rise, composed of tertiary, clayey rocks and dense conglomerates overlain by layers of yellow loams. The ridges alternate with wide waterless depressions (Big and Small Shirak, Taribana, Ole, Naomari, Chatma). The slopes of the ridges are cut by dry valleys and ravines. The so-called bad lands (badlands) are widespread here.

To the south, on the edge of the plateau, the Iori River in downstream crosses the Eldar lowland with features of a semi-desert landscape. Most of the tributaries of the Iori wander through the hollows of the plateau. The tributaries dry up during the summer months. There are also small hills of mud volcanoes. In places in the steppe you can see drilling rigs. Oil exploration is underway. The bowels of Kakheti and Kartli contain "black gold".

To the northwest of the steppes and hills of the Iora plateau rises Gombori Range. Its height reaches almost 2000 m above sea level ( Mount Tsivi- 1990 m.). The southern slopes of the ridge abruptly end in the direction of the Priori steppes, while the northeastern slopes gently merge into the wide Alazani valley. The Inner Kakhetian Plain, along which Alazani made its way, is a vast intermountain depression filled with river deposits.

South of Tbilisi along the Kura to the very border with Azerbaijan extends Lower Kartli Plain.

Now let's turn to the Lesser Caucasus, in particular to the South Georgian Highlands. The South Georgian Highlands is a part of the mountainous region of the Lesser Caucasus, which lies within Georgia. It consists of two parts, different in relief and geological structure, the northern outlying folded ranges and the Javakheti volcanic highlands. The former stretch from the Black Sea to Tbilisi (the Meskheti and Trialeti Ranges) and are composed mainly of Lower Tertiary volcanic rocks. The volcanic highlands are represented by a layering of young Upper Tertiary and Quaternary lavas forming high plateaus and a chain of extinct volcanic cones and domes.

Starting from Black Sea coast Adzharia, the Meskheti Range forms a mountain arc curved to the north, limiting the Colchis lowland from the south. Some of its peaks reach almost 3000 m. (Mount Mepistskaro- 2850 m.); however, there are no glaciers on their peaks and the outlines of the ridges are much softer than in the Greater Caucasus; the passes lie at altitudes of 1500-2000 m. To the east of the Borjomi gorge, the Trialeti ridge stretches, which ends with low spurs near Tbilisi.

The picturesque Adzharis-Tskali gorge separates the Meskheti Range from the Shavsheti Range bordering Turkey; the Adzharis-Tskali gorge closes in the headwaters with a high meridional Arsian Ridge- the watershed between the basins of the Chorokha and Kura rivers. The eastern slopes of the Arsian ridge descend to the Akhaltsikhe intermountain basin, along the wide and flat bottom of which a large left tributary of the Kura, the Kvabliani, makes its way. In the south, the hollow is closed by the rounded spurs of the Erusheti Highlands, and in the east, the Trialeti Range rises above it.

Another part of the South Georgian mountain system - the Javakheti Highlands is composed mainly of Quaternary lavas. Wide expanses of upland steppes, lying at an altitude of about 2000 m above sea level, open up to the gaze. Chains of comparatively recently extinct volcanoes - the Javakheti and Samsar ranges - separate the Akhalkalaki lava plateau from the high upland Tsalka basin, the Dmanisi and Gomareti plateaus. Here, volcanic cones in the form of truncated pyramids rise more than 1000 m above the plateau, there are numerous closed depressions occupied by lakes, deep canyons, cut by rivers in thick lava armor.

From here you can go down to the Kura gorge opposite the famous cave city of Vardzia, along the steppe basin and the picturesque wooded gorge lies the path from Akhaltsikhe to Borjomi. The narrow gauge line leads to Bakuriani- a winter resort of all-Union significance, which is located in a wide basin filled with Quaternary lavas.

The information provided is a unique material for choosing travel in Georgia. A tourist smears at his own discretion to choose an area for recreation and spending time. It can be a trip through the unique caves of Georgia, or a car trip along the Georgian Military Highway, climbing the peaks of the Caucasus and much more.

Please travel around this delightful country, enjoy its beauties and hospitable people.

Welcome to ancient and forever young Georgia!

Georgia can boast not only this. It is amazingly beautiful, diverse nature, climate and topography.

Sputnik has collected unique places in Georgia that break geographical records.

The highest peak in Georgia

The mountain peak Shkhara, located in the central part of the Main Caucasian Range, is the highest point in Georgia. Geographers and climbers call it the "Alps of Svaneti". The mountain is covered with glaciers and snow. According to the latest data, the height of the main peak of Shkhara is 5203 meters above sea level.

The mountain is located in Svaneti. The name "shkhara" is also Svan and means "white stripe". At the foot of the southern slopes of Shkhara, at an altitude of 2200 meters above sea level, there is the village of Ushguli in the Mestia region of Svaneti, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Shkhara not only main peak Georgia, it is also the third highest mountain in Russia. This is explained by the fact that the mountain is located on the border of both states and consists of several peaks.

The first successful ascent of the mountain was by Anglo-Swedish climbers in 1888. June, July, August, September are best for climbing to the top. To conquer such a peak as Shkhara, a serious approach is required. All routes have difficult sections, so you need special equipment and experience to successfully climb the mountain.

Thomas Vahe

Most low place in Georgia

The lowest point in Georgia is in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region. These are swamps located between port city Poti and the village of Kulevi near Lake Paliastomi. The swamps are below sea level by 1.5 - 2.3 meters.

Wettest place

Mount Mtirala is located at an altitude of 1761 meters above sea level in Western Georgia between Chakvi and Kobuleti. Mtirala is translated as "weeping", and this is not surprising - after all, the mountain is in fog all year round and it almost always rains here.

The microclimate of the mountain is considered the wettest not only in Georgia, but also in Europe. It receives 4.5 thousand millimeters of precipitation per year.

And all due to the fact that Mtirala is located between the Black Sea and the Adjara Mountains. Moist air from the sea is intercepted by mountains and determines the very humid climate of Adjara.

Mount Mtirala hosts the National Park, which is considered the most beautiful place in the region. Here you can see incredible beautiful waterfalls and Georgian nature.

Photo: Courtesy of Official Tourism Portal of Adjara

The driest place in Georgia

The pole of dryness of Georgia is located in the eastern part of the country and is called the Eldar lowland. The minimum amount of precipitation falls here - 250-300 millimeters per year.

The Eldar Lowland in Georgia is the only place where there is a semi-desert landscape. This is the driest region in the country.

In the Eldar lowland, there is a sharply negative moisture balance, which is equal to 0-2% - 0-3%.

The largest lake in Georgia

Paravani is the largest lake in Georgia. It is located in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region at an altitude of 2073 meters above sea level. The volume of Lake Paravani is 91 million cubic meters. Area - 37.5 sq. meters, and maximum depth reservoir - 3.3 meters.

Lake Paravani is considered mysterious. The fact is that at the very bottom of the lake there is a strange structure. As a result of research at the bottom of the lake, archaeologists discovered a Bronze Age burial mound. From the bottom, various antique objects were raised to the surface, which are dated to the 4th century BC.

Under the muddy waters of Paravani, scientists expect to find many more interesting things. After all, the finds say that in ancient times people of a rather high culture lived here.

The largest reservoir in Georgia

The Tsalka reservoir is the largest reservoir in Georgia. It was created artificially for energy purposes, thanks to the waters of the fast-flowing Khrami River in the middle of the 20th century.

The reservoir is located at an altitude of more than 1500 meters above sea level. Its length is 12 meters, width - 4 meters, and the maximum depth reaches 26 meters.

During the functioning of the reservoir, several residential buildings and a church were flooded, which, presumably, was built in the 11th century.

In winter, the reservoir freezes and the water level drops. At this time, the church appears. Today, only three walls of the basilica have survived, and they are in a rather deplorable state.

The longest river in Georgia

The mountain river Alazani is the longest river in Georgia. It feeds on groundwater, rain and snow. The length of the river is 390 kilometers, the basin area is more than 11.8 thousand square kilometers.

The Alazani flows through eastern Georgia and Azerbaijan and partially forms the borders of the two countries. The river starts from the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus and flows into the Mingachevir reservoir located in Azerbaijan. Before the Mingachevir reservoir was built, the Alazani River flowed directly into the Kura (Mtkvari in Georgian).

The oldest nature reserve in Georgia

The Lagodekhi Nature Reserve is the largest of the 15 protected areas in Georgia and, at the same time, the oldest in the Caucasus. The reserve was founded in 1912. It is located on the southern slopes of the eastern part of the Main Caucasian Range, near the city of Lagodekhi (Kakheti region).

The total area of ​​the Lagodekhi Protected Areas is 24,258 hectares. On the territory you can see almost 2/3 of the plants common in Georgia - more than 1,100 species.

Three rivers flow through the territory of the reserve: Shromishevi, Mitsimistskali and Lagodekhistskali. Here you can also find many waterfalls and several picturesque mountain lakes of glacial origin.

The reserve is included in the number of natural monuments of world importance by UNESCO.

The village of Ushguli, which is located in the highlands of Svaneti, is considered the highest settlement in Georgia. However, some experts argue that the village of Bochorna in the Dusheti region deserves this status, which is located 200 meters above Ushguli - at an altitude of 2,327 meters above sea level.

It is possible that soon the village of Bochorna will be given the status of not only the highest settlement in Georgia, but also in Europe. To date, the leader is one of the villages in Switzerland, which is located at an altitude of 2,150 meters above sea level.