Word Mountain Encyclopedia: Caucasus

The Caucasus mountain system stretches for 550 miles between the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, forming a natural southern barrier between Asia and Europe. To the north are the plains of Russia. To the south are the mountainous regions of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Though comparable in character to the European Alps, the Caucasus are considerably higher, averaging 6,000 - 9,000 feet and rising to 18,481 in Mount Elbrus.

The Caucasus consists of a number of short ridges, some parallel, and some curved horse-shoe ridges whose rocky peaks enclose great glacier-filled basins. The backbone of the system is a long narrow crest that is only crossed by four major passes.

Caucasus weather is generally precipitous and seldom settled, particularly in the west, where the climate is strongly affected by the Black Sea.

The Caucasus can be grouped into three sections, the Central, Western, and Eastern Caucasus. Each is described in more detail below.

Central Caucasus

The Central Caucasus contains the highest mountains in the Caucasus system. Great walled glacier basins are characteristic of the area, with huge peaks towering above. The peaks boast wide rock and ice faces, and the arʹes that connect them are long, high and serrated, offering few points of access. The scenery below is Alpine, with high meadows and pine forested valleys.
Of the major peaks, Elbrus and Kazbek are the only two that are easily accessible, and both have easy snow routes to their summits. Elbrus marks the western limit of the Central Caucuses, while Kazbek marks the eastern limit. Both are extinct volcanic cones.

Western Caucasus

The Western Caucasus starts as a low ridge rising gently from the Black Sea, and gradually reaches Alpine character as it approaches the Central Caucasus. The warm, humid climate here is a product of the Black Sea, and the result is thick deciduous and coniferous forest growth in the valleys and on the lower ridges. A superb variety of isolated peaks rise above these forests, but their remoteness makes them difficult to access.

The highest peak of the Western Caucasus, and the only peak that exceeds 4,000 meters, is Dombai-Ulgen (13,277 ft./4,047 m.).

Eastern Caucasus

In the Eastern Caucasus, the weather is drier than in the Western and Central ranges, and the mountains form isolated massifs, rather than glaciated chains. At the far eastern end, semi-desert conditions prevail as the range approaches the Caspian Sea. The mountains rise out of barren foothills and are generally lower and less dramatic than their Central Caucasus neighbors.

The highest peak of the Eastern Caucasus is Tebulos-Mta (14,744 ft./4494 m).

Peaks of Caucasus

Dykh-Tau - 17074 ft./5204 m.
Kazbek - 16558 ft./5047 m.
Ushba - 15453 ft./4710 m.
Gumatchi - 12500 ft./3810 m.
VIA-tau - 12533 ft./3820 m.
Shkhara - 17060 ft./5200 m.
Koshtan-Tau - 16877 ft./5144 m.
Mount Elbrus - 18510 ft./5642 m.
Dombai-Ulgen - 13274 ft./4046 m.
Terskol - 12795 ft./3900 m.
Tetnuldi - 15922 ft./4853 m.
Shkhelda - 14331 ft./4368 m.
Shota Rustaveli Peak - 16273 ft./4960 m.
Ailama - 14918 ft./4547 m.
Chatini - 14475 ft./4412 m.
Gistola - 15945 ft./4860 m.
Tebulo - 14747 ft./4495 m.
Suatisi - 14652 ft./4466 m.
Chanchakhi - 14639 ft./4462 m.
Babis Mta - 14613 ft./4454 m.
Shan - 14603 ft./4451 m.

Source: http://www.peakware.com/areas.html?a=294