Caucasus

The Caucasus, or Caucasia, is a region spanning Europe and Asia bordered to the north by Russia, to the east by the Caspian Sea, on the south by Iran, on the southwest by Turkey and to the west by the Black Sea. Caucasia includes the Caucasus Mountains and the surrounding lowlands.

Natural relief and vegetation of the Caucasian Isthmus in 1940

Map of Caucasus Countries

The Caucasus Mountains are commonly recognized as a natural border between Europe and Asia. Countries in the Caucasus are considered to be in one or both continents, with Armenia and Azerbaijan being considered transcontinental, and Georgia largely considered European. 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.

List of countries

Sovereign states

• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Georgia

Disputed territories

• Abkhazia - claimed but not controlled by Georgia
• South Ossetia - claimed but not controlled by Georgia

Autonomous republics of the Russian Federation

• Adygea
• Chechnya
• Dagestan
• Ingushetia
• Kabardino-Balkaria
• Karachay-Cherkessia
• North Ossetia-Alania

An other autonomies and formerly disputed territories

• Adjara
• Karabakh

(Formerly

• Artsakh )
• Nakhchivan

Myths and legends

The Biblical Mount Ararat, where Noah's Ark landed, is known 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 said that it was a cold and stony mountain and was the abode of personified hunger.

Related pages

• Transcontinental nation
• Indo-European languages
• Languages of the Caucasus
• Russian-Circassian War

References

• Caucasus: A Journey to the Land Between Christianity and Islam By Nicholas Griffin
• Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus By Svante E. Cornell
• The Caucasus By Ivan Golovin

Other websites

• BBC News: North Caucasus at a glance, September 8 2005
• United Nations Environment Programme map: Landcover of the Caucasus Archived 2005-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
• United Nations Environment Programme map: Population density of the Caucasus Archived 2005-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
• Information about the history