The Caucasus Mountains are. Caucasus Mountains, general information about the Caucasus Mountains

A report about the Caucasus Mountains, a majestic attraction and a highlight of the Caucasus, is presented in this article.

Message about the Caucasus Mountains

Caucasus mountains geographic location

They are spread between Asia and Europe, the Middle and Near East. The mountains of the Caucasian region are divided into 2 systems - the Lesser and Greater Caucasus. The Greater Caucasus is located almost to Baku from Taman and includes the Western, Central and Eastern Caucasus. But the Lesser Caucasus is a mountain range near the Black Sea. They are located between the Black Sea and Caspian coasts, covering the territories of such countries as South Ossetia, Russia, Abkhazia, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

In translation, their name means "mountains hold the sky." The length of the Caucasus Mountains is 1100 km, and their width is 180 km. The most famous and highest peaks of the system are Mount Elbrus and Kazbek.

How old are the Caucasus Mountains?

The Caucasian mountain system is the same age as the Alps and has a 30-million history inscribed in Greek myths and biblical lines. According to legend, when Noah released a dove from the ark in search of land, he brought a twig to Noah from the mountains of the Caucasian system. And the myths indicate that Prometheus, the man who gave fire to people, is chained here.

What do the Caucasus Mountains look like?

The mountains are fraught with many unusual things. On their peaks one can find preserved glaciation. Until now, earthquakes have been observed here, since the Caucasus Mountains are young from a geological point of view.

Their appearance is due to the relief, which is represented by different forms. Mountain peaks with sharp peaks shot up under the very sky. With their outlines, they look either like the walls of a castle with towers, or like the Egyptian pyramids. In the mountains there are also glaciers, rivers and areas with a surface heavily damaged by wind erosion.

Climate

The climate of the mountain system of the Caucasus is quite diverse. These places have a pronounced zonality. These mountains are a natural barrier that prevents the movement of air masses, thereby determining the diversity of the climate. The southern and western slopes receive much more precipitation than the northern and eastern slopes. The Caucasus Mountains are located in almost all climatic zones: from humid subtropics with humid and warm winters, dry hot summers to a dry continental climate, turning into a semi-desert in the east.

Near the foothills, snowy cold winters with dry summers are observed, and the higher the mountains, the lower the temperature. At an altitude of 3.5 thousand km. it reaches -4 0 C.

Flora and fauna

The mountains of the Caucasus are inhabited by unique animals. Among them are chamois, wild boars, mountain goats, foxes and bears, mountain jerboa and ground squirrel, and bears and leopards live in remote places. On the way from the foot to the top, meadow alpine grasses and coniferous forests grow, which “feed” on rivers, lakes, waterfalls, mineral water springs.

• For the first time, a man climbed the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains on July 22, 1829.
• There are a lot of invertebrate species in the Caucasus, for example, about 1000 species of spiders still live there.

  In the Caucasus 6349 species of flowering plants, including 1600 native species.

  In the Caucasus many endemic representatives- slightly less than 1600 species of flora, 32 species of mammals and 3 species of birds.

• Permafrost starts at altitude 3000-3500 m.

We hope that the report about the Caucasus Mountains helped you prepare for the lesson. And you can leave your message about the Caucasus Mountains through the comment form below.

Russia is a huge country in terms of territory. It is not surprising that it has all the terrain that is found in nature. Among the plains and steppes, mountain ranges and peaks occupy a special place. They attract travelers and researchers, scientists and tourists, archaeologists and climbers. What mountains are in Russia? What you should pay attention to?

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Origin

Mountain regions are formed through complex processes. In the crust of the earth, tectonic crushing, faults and rock breaks occur. They are carried out continuously during the entire existence of the planet, in ancient time eras, such as the Paleozoic, Mesozoic or Cenozoic. Those who are in the Far East, in Kamchatka and the Kuriles are considered young. Seismic activity and volcanoes erupt frequently in these areas.

In the European part of Russia there is a large plain, which has a geographical border in the east in the form of. These are unique natural sculptures that cause national pride.

Interesting! Only in the Urals is there a natural reserve that protects mineralogy. In the Ilmensky place there is a huge variety of minerals, unique and amazing in their structure and structure.

There are many tourist bases in the Urals, where ski resorts are located. Climbers conquer these majestic elevations.

Variants of the highlands of Russia

• Baikal and Transbaikalia;
• Altai;
• Sayans;
• ridges Verkhoyansk and Stanovoy;
• Chersky ridge.

Each of the districts is interesting and beautiful, the names of the mountains in their composition are unique and owe their origin to the peoples who inhabit the nearby territories. These lands beckon with harsh conditions, tests for the body and spirit. Altai is one of the most popular destinations for tourists. But the Chersky ridge is on the map, but so far little has been studied, but experts suggest that it will also become an attractive place for travelers.

Diversity of territories

The Far East is a region consisting mainly of mountainous terrain. The southern territorial part consists of medium and low, but in the north - high ridges. The highest point in the Far East - Klyuchevskaya Sopka is a volcano with a height of 4750 m.

The mountains in this region are constantly growing, they are located at the junction of plates that are in motion, and therefore there are many volcanoes. In addition to them, there is a unique object for which it is worth going to Kamchatka - the Valley of Geysers.

Important! Sikhote-Alin, located in the Primorye region, is part of the world heritage. This system is rich not only in the diversity of flora and fauna. This point of Russia on the map is the birthplace of the Far Eastern leopard and the Amur tiger.

Caucasus

The Caucasus deserves a separate description. This massif stretches from the Black to the Caspian, its length is more than 1200 km. The Caucasian ridge is divided into the Northern part and Transcaucasia.

The height of the Caucasus Mountains fluctuates along the entire length of the range. It is he who has the highest point of the whole country and Europe is Elbrus. The mountain was formed as a result of a volcanic eruption. It has a height above sea level of 5600 m. Elbrus is located in such a place that it can be seen from all sides. Travelers approached him in the early 19th century. At its peak, the temperature does not rise above -14 degrees. Snow falls on the mountain all the time, which makes its snow cap perfect. This peak feeds the two largest ones - Kuban and Terek.

The three highest mountains of Russia are located in the Greater Caucasus:

• Elbrus;
• Dykhtau;
• Kazbek.

Interesting! In addition to the Caucasus Mountains, Kamchatka and Altai are famous for their large hills, among them: Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Belukha, Ichinskaya Sopka.

10 high mountains

A little more about each of the largest hills:

• It is already clear about Elbrus, this is an inactive volcano, which is part of the national park. Its height is 5642 meters.
• Dykhtau occupies the second largest place among the mountain peaks of the country. This mountain, which is part of the Caucasus Range, rises to 5200 m. The ascent to this peak was first carried out only in 1888.
• The third highest mountain in the country located on the border of Russia and Georgia. This is Pushkin Peak. It rises next to Dykhtau in the center of the Caucasus range. His conquest took place in 1961. Interestingly, this ascent was made not by professionals, but by the players of the Spartak club. The height of the peak is 5100 meters.
• A little lower, namely one hundred meters, Kazbek rises. It is also related to the Greater Caucasus, located in its lateral part in the Khokh mountain range. Three London climbers conquered this peak in the middle of the 19th century.
• Near the border of Georgia and Kabardino-Balkaria is the fifth highest point in Russia called Gestola. At its top, glaciers have accumulated that date back to the Paleozoic era. The most famous of them is Adishi.
• Sixth in the top ten is Shota Rustaveli's pick. Although the name on the map of the peak is of a famous person of Georgian origin, it still refers to the Russian part of the Caucasus. The peak stands on the border, no wonder both countries claim rights to it. The mountain has 4895 meters.
• A little lower (4780 meters) is Mount Jimara. It is located in Alanya, at the very border of Russia and Georgia. Again, this is part of the Greater Caucasus.
• In ninth place is Mount Saukhokh, again from the Greater Caucasus, located in North Ossetia. The height of the peak is 4636 meters. It belongs to the unconquered peaks, as well as Kukurtli-Kolbashi. This mountain completes the list of the ten largest peaks in Russia, its height is 4324 meters.

Interesting! So far, no one has conquered the mountain formations that are on the 8th, 9th and 10th places on the list. This can push travelers to new feats.

The lowest mountains

In addition to the highest mountain peaks, it is interesting to know the rating of the lowest ones. Such a concept as the lowest mountain is very difficult. It turns out that it is not so easy to name it. Mountains can only be called what is higher, which means that they have a height above sea level of more than 500 meters. But mountain ranges can vary in height and have much lower numbers in their composition.

It is considered to be the lowest elevations of Russia Khibiny mountain system. This area is located on the Kola Peninsula, it is not difficult to get there, like other mountain ranges. The highest point has 1201, this is Mount Yudychvumchorr, the names of mountains or peaks are slightly less - Chasnachorr (1189 m) and Putelichorr (1111 m )

Conclusion

More than 800 types of minerals contain Khibiny, some of them are found only in these places. The most famous of them is apatite. It is used as a fertilizer.

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The Achishkho mountain range is the closest range to Krasnaya Polyana and the most picturesque. The highest mountain - Achishkho has a height of 2391 meters above sea level. An interesting fact about the name of the ridge: "Achishkho" in translation from the Abkhazian means "horse". This confirms the view from below, from Polyana to the mountain range. If you look closely, you can see the outline of a horse. The most popular hiking route passes through a special place located on the side of the mountain, approximately 1800 meters above sea level, where there was a weather station from the 30s to the 90s.

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The Aibga mountain range is located on the territory of the Sochi National Park, on the eastern side of Krasnaya Polyana. The ridge has a length of more than 20 kilometers, and consists of four highest points, called peaks. The most popular mountain peak among tourists is the Black Pyramid, 2375 meters above sea level. It has an unusual shape, which is why it is especially popular with climbers. In addition, a wonderful, breathtaking landscape opens up from the top of the mountain. Having conquered this mountain, you will see the valley of the Mzymta River, the peaks of Chugush and Pseashkho.

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One of the most beautiful resort places in our country is Dombay. The main attractions of this city are its scenic spots. Mussa Ridge - Achitara is considered the most picturesque ridge of this part of the Caucasus. In order to appreciate all the beauty surrounding the guests of the resort, you need to climb the mountainside by cable car. This place offers a wonderful picturesque view of the peaks and glaciers of the Main Range, the Teberda and Gonachkhiri valleys.

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Peak Ine is located near the place where the northern Dzhugurlutchat glacier originates. The name of the mountain is translated as "Needle", the mountain got its name because of its pointed top, this unusual view of mountains attracts many tourists from all over the world. The top of Ine Peak is covered with snow all year round, and although its sheer cliffs are relatively difficult to conquer, the top of Ine Peak is quite a popular destination for climbers. The height of the "needle" reaches 3455 meters, which is about 600 meters below the highest mountain of the Caucasus Dividing Range. It is best to view the mountain from the site of Mount Mussa-Achi-Tara, it is 400 meters lower than Ine Peak, but for that it can be reached by funicular.

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In the North Caucasus, among the Dombai glade, somewhat east of the mountain of the Back (Small) Belalakai, a peak called Sufruju spread out. The height of the mountain is 3871 m. A wide depression divides the massif into two equal parts - Southern and Northern. Both peaks are clearly visible from the ski Musat-Cheri. The southern part was called Sufruju's Tooth, which means "Tiger's Fang". The massif stretches for 3600 m and acts as the main attraction of the mountain Dombai.

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Belalakai is a mountain located near the village in Dombay, since the village is a resort mountain has become a symbol of this village and attracts a lot of tourists. Its height is 3861 meters. Although the height of this mountain is 200 meters lower than the highest in Abkhazia, it is no less an attraction. Belalakai owes its fame to quartz. Most of the mountain consists of dark rocks of soil and dark granite, however, due to centuries of geological processes, there are deposits of quartz on the mountain. It is this quartz that has created the white streaks that adorn the top of this mountain, the white streaks of Belalakai are especially visible at the end of summer. Because of the beauty of the local landscapes, the mountain was mentioned more than once in songs and poems.

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Dzhuguturluchat is a relatively small massif, in the large Caucasian ridge. In height, the mountain range rose to 3921 meters, which is only 120 meters less than the highest point on the Caucasus Range. Herds of tours are found in the highest regions of the mountain range, it was they who gave these mountains the name "Dzhugurluchat" - which translates as: "herd of tours". The mountain range originates from the Dombay plateau, however, the most beautiful places open from a place called "Mussa-Achi-Tara" where most tourists gather.

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Cheget is one of the highest mountains in the Caucasus. Its height reaches about 3770 meters. It is a popular tourism destination among travelers. From the mountain you can enjoy the view of the highest peak in Europe - Elbrus. Another feature of Mount Cheget is the second line of the cable car, which passes through the area where the snow lies, which does not melt throughout the year.There are three lines of the cable car in total. The height of the first reaches about 1600 meters. It is one of the most popular for tourists who come to Cheget to enjoy the view of Elbrus.

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This mountain after Elbrus is the second most popular among climbers. All because it is also quite high - 4454 meters above sea level.

There are several ways to get to the mountain by cable car or on foot. Tourists who have chosen the first method can use the Cheget cable car at the final point, where small cafes are located. The second and more difficult path, which takes several hours, is from the Cheget glade along a path already full of tourists. However, it is better to go on a journey with an experienced guide, otherwise there is a chance to get lost in the mountains.

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The North Caucasus will captivate many tourists with its beauties and landscapes. Mount Semyonov-Bashi, located in the east of the Caucasus Range, is no exception. In reality, this is just a ledge 3602 m above the ground. The mountain was named after the Russian explorer P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. This person was a traveler and was the chairman of the Russian Geographical Society.

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Mount Chotcha is part of the Caucasian ridge, which is famous for its picturesque mountains and rocks. Chotcha, unlike other mountains, is divided into two parts, as if someone cut the mountain in the middle into two halves. Unlike the mountains, which have just a smaller mountain nearby, at first glance it is clear that the mountain has one base on which there are two rocks. The rock in the foreground is lower than the back one, it has 3637 meters in height, it is 400 meters lower than the highest mountain of the Caucasian ridge. The second rock is only three meters higher than the first one, it is 3640 meters above sea level.

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Mount Ertsog is included in the list of one of the most visited places of the Caucasian ridge. At the foot of the mountain, the Alibek River flows, in addition to the mountain itself, this place has a very beautiful lowland. In the gorge where the river flows, a massive slope descends, it becomes especially beautiful in spring, when the sun illuminates the slope full of bright green vegetation. Mount Ertsog is part of the Teberdinsky ridge, the ridge itself encircles a lowland with a river and makes a very strong impression on tourists who visit it.

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Mount Sulohat is located in the Dombay region and is one of the largest points of the Caucasian watershed. The height of the mountain is 3439 meters, which is about 600 meters lower than the largest mountain on the Caucasian ridge. Mount Sulohat is surrounded by many legends, the most popular one is about the origin of the name of the mountain. In ancient times, the foot of the mountain was inhabited by the Alans tribe. In this tribe lived a girl named Sulohat, she was of extraordinary beauty and courage and was the daughter of the leader of the tribe.

The mountains of the Caucasus, born in the collision of the Eurasian and Arabian plates, are like a symbol of the mentality of the peoples living next to them. Proud and tall, they stand as a miraculous wall between the Asian and European parts of our continent on land. Mankind has not decided whether to attribute them to Europe or Asia.

The height of the Caucasus Mountains: 5642 m (Great Caucasus) and 3724 m (Little Caucasus).

The length of the Greater Caucasus: 1100 km. small - 600 km.

See the geographic location of the Caucasus Mountains or where they are located and how they are located on the map. To enlarge the map of the Caucasus Mountains, just click on it.

Not crossed by rivers, the Caucasian ranges are called the watershed line. The mountain system of the Caucasus, the same age as the Alps, with a history of thirty million years, is firmly inscribed in the memory of mankind through biblical lines and Greek myths. It was on one of the mountains of the system that a dove released from Noah's ark found a branch, on top of Ararat. The legendary Prometheus, who gave fire to people, was chained to one of the Caucasian rocks.

The Caucasus is divided into two parts, which are called the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. The first stretches from Taman almost to Baku and consists of the Western, Central and Eastern Caucasus. One and a half thousand square kilometers of ice, the highest point of Eurasia - Elbrus (the peak of the Caucasus Mountains), an iron mountain, and six mountain peaks, five thousand kilometers high - that's what the Greater Caucasus is.

The Lesser Caucasus is a mountain range near the Black Sea, with peaks up to four kilometers high.

The Caucasus Mountains are located between the Caspian and the Black Sea coasts and simultaneously on the territory of several countries. These are Russia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The climate of the Caucasus is diverse: from typically maritime in Abkhazia, it changes to sharply continental in Armenia.

The Caucasus is inhabited by unique animals - chamois, mountain goats, wild boars, in especially remote and hard-to-reach places you can meet a leopard or a bear.

Alpine meadow grasses, coniferous forests climbing up from the foothills, turbulent rivers, lakes, waterfalls, mineral water springs, the purest air.

It is thanks to such a successful combination of values ​​for human health that the region has a huge number of sanatoriums and resorts.

Rock climbers are attracted by the royal Elbrus and its neighbors - Shkhara, Kazbek, Dzhangitau, Dykhtau and Koshnantau. Among the snows of the Caucasus there is a place for skiers and snowboarders, lovers of hiking and thrills, adherents of rafting, as well as all those who value their health. Terrenkur, Norwegian walking, rock climbing, river rafting, skiing and many other outdoor activities are offered by the Caucasus.

Once having visited the mountains, sung by the "genius of Lermontov", you will remember them for a lifetime.

Video: Wildlife of Russia 4 of 6 Caucasus Mountains.

Video: Hiking in the Caucasus mountains.

▲ The North Caucasus has experienced a complex geological history, and the formation of the chain of the Caucasus Mountains occurred in the era of the so-called Alpine folded zone, which includes the mountains of Southern and Central Europe, Western Asia, the Carpathians, the Crimea, the Himalayas. Mountain building on the territory of Karachay-Cherkessia occurred more than once.▲ The landscape of land and sea in the Archean era was deserted, severe and gloomy. On the land, which, apparently, existed in the place of the present-day North Caucasus, bare volcanic rocks were piled up. Terrible thunderstorms and downpours fell upon them, hurricanes continuously raged over land and sea.▲ Powerful volcanic eruptions shook the earth. Under a monstrous pressure, fiery-liquid lava here and there broke through the earth's crust. Streams of hot lava fell from the shores into the sea, explosions thundered, the sea boiled, emitting clouds of steam. In this ancient era, the only living things on earth may have been bacteria or microbes, the remains of which are found in layers formed two billion years ago. The limestones found in these deposits, according to scientists, are the product of the vital activity of bacteria that secrete lime.▲ By the end of the Precambrian, a high, mountainous continent arose throughout the entire space from the Caucasus to the Kola Peninsula. On the site of the current Caucasus, 570-600 million years ago, huge rocky and gloomy mountains with many active volcanoes towered. The mainland was deserted - there was no life on land yet. During the entire Precambrian, for three billion years, powerful, measured in kilometers, sediments of sand and clay accumulated in its seas. They are interbedded and covered with lavas from volcanic eruptions and ash from underwater and land volcanoes. The entire thickness of the rocks was repeatedly compressed into folds, compacted under enormous pressure, turning into crystalline schists and gneisses. These rocks, together with huge intrusions of granites, form the Main Range of the Caucasus in the area from the Terek to the Belaya River.▲ Approximately two billion years ago, there was an era of the most powerful ore formation on Earth, therefore Precambrian rocks all over the planet contain colossal accumulations of minerals - ores of iron, copper, and rare metals. In the Caucasus, these ancient rocks are located at a considerable depth, which is still inaccessible to humans. The crystalline schists and gneisses of the Main Caucasian Range are either only the uppermost "floor" of the Precambrian sequence, or its Paleozoic "roof". But this does not mean that the Precambrian of the Caucasus is not ore-bearing. On the contrary, it is believed that the deposits of some valuable minerals (copper, molybdenum, tungsten) present here are re-deposited and their formation is associated with primary deposits of metals in the Precambrian basement of the Caucasus.▲ For a long time, the Caucasus was at the bottom of the sea, and the remains of marine organisms accumulated on its territory, especially in the Proterozoic era (2.6 billion-570 million years ago). At the end of this era there was a rise of the bottom. Mountains arose, which gradually collapsed, then again subjected to lowering.▲ The repeated alternation of such vertical movements caused changes in the rocks, magma rose along the faults and poured out to the surface. During periods of subsidence, the process of accumulation of sediments continued, among which an important place was occupied by the remains of living organisms - marine animals, the imprints and fossils of which are constantly found on the territory of Karachay-Cherkessia.▲ In the Paleozoic era (570-240 million years ago), the Caucasus was again under the sea. Sedimentary rocks of this period - limestones, sandstones, clays - stretched in a strip to the north of the Dividing Range, mainly in the intermountain depression. The rocks of the Paleozoic era make up the Main and second highest ridge - Peredovaya.▲ The Silurian period (435 million years ago) was a repeated moment in the history of the formation of the Caucasus. The Caledonian folding, which began in this period, also embraced the Caucasus; in places of significant fluctuations, magma rose along the cracks, enriching the Caucasus with various minerals.▲ In the Silurian Sea, which existed 420-320 million years ago, marine invertebrates flourished - grantolites, brachiopods, primitive molluscs, various algae. Living organisms of the seas and shallow lagoons began to populate the land - the first terrestrial plants appeared, the first animals - centipedes, scorpions. In the highlands of our republic, there are outcrops of Silurian rocks, in which imprints of graptolites and brachiopods were found.▲ In the Upper Carboniferous in the Caucasus, continental conditions formed, in the shallow lagoons that existed here, plant remains accumulated, which served as material for the formation of coal deposits, which are the fossil wealth of the North Caucasus.▲ At the beginning of the Paleozoic, the Caucasus was still a mountainous country. Gloomy, deserted rocks were piled up everywhere. On land, in damp places, sparse primitive vegetation developed in some places - mosses, horsetails, ferns. In the shallow coastal zones of the sea, algae grew in abundance. All life was concentrated in water. Crustaceans (trilobites), sponges and more complex organisms similar to them - archaeocyates with calcareous skeletons, as well as various mollusks were found in the seas in large numbers. And time passed. The mountains were destroyed, in their place there were plateaus and plains. The fluctuations of the earth's crust either lowered the land, and it was flooded with the sea, then raised separate sections of the earth and erected new mountain ranges. In the Caucasus, during the Paleozoic era, such changes occurred several times. Life continued to evolve. Sea urchins, corals and the first vertebrate armored fish appeared in the sea. On land, plants spread - psilophytes and ferns, and in rivers, lakes and swamps - scorpions, which then became the first land animals. Volcanoes were active in the Caucasus and to the north of it. Deposits of tungsten, non-ferrous metals, niobium, tantalum, ore occurrences of minerals of the platinum, chromium and nickel, and gold groups are associated with the intrusions of volcanic rocks in the Middle Paleozoic (granites, serpentines) in the North Caucasus. For example, Karachay-Cherkessia is not a Klondike, but it has reason to be considered a gold-bearing territory. In the floodplains of almost all rivers, and especially the Bolshaya Laba and Kuban, large gold-bearing layers are located in the Uchkulan Gorge. Here, nuggets weighing 200-300 grams and even more than 700 grams were found and are being found, and they are of a very high standard - from 850 to 970.▲ The sea, which was located in the Paleozoic era, which lasted about 340 million years, on the site of the modern Main Caucasian Range, significantly expanded to the north in the Devonian. At the beginning of the Devonian, the vegetation on land was represented by low shrubs, and by the end of the period there were already real forests of ferns, horsetails and club mosses. The first terrestrial vertebrates, stegocephals, lived on land, and all the main groups of fish lived in the water, among them large shark-like marine predators. The first insects also appeared.▲ In the Lower Carboniferous era, low marshy land with lush forest vegetation arose in the North Caucasus. The very warm, humid tropical climate contributed to the lush development of vegetation. Ferns, horsetails and club mosses grew into huge trees. Insects and worms, huge cockroaches, scorpions and long-legged spiders swarmed among the gloomy, monotonous greenery of the forest and in the twilight of impenetrable swamps, huge predatory dragonflies flew in the air. In swamps and lagoons, crawling out at times to the islets, clumsy amphibious amphibians - stegocephalians swarm. The first rhizopods appeared in the seas - unicellular foraminifers, echinoderms (sea lilies and hedgehogs), bryozoans, and various brachiopod mollusks spread widely. This period includes the appearance of the first reptiles. In the North Caucasus, in the region of the Bolshoi Zelenchuk, Urup and Laba rivers, dying forests buried by silt and sand subsequently turned into coal beds.▲ In the Lower Permian time, a sea existed on the site of the Caucasus, and already at the end of the Permian period, the Caucasus turned into land, and the mountains for the first time raised their peaks to the sky, which was associated with the Hercynian, or Variscian, folding. Then the Urals arose. In the Permian period, which ends the Paleozoic era, the climate in the Caucasus was hot and dry. The lush vegetation of the Carboniferous period disappeared, deserts scorched by the sun spread everywhere. Only in the coastal strip of the seas, along the banks of rivers and lakes, forest thickets of ferns, horsetails and gymnosperms were preserved. Typical land animals appeared - reptiles. Among them, pareiasaurs the size of a bull stood out, predators - foreigners, herbivores - dicynodonts and others. To the south of the current North Caucasus was an elevated area. The rivers flowing from it flowed into the sea, the coast of which was located in the region of the Front Range. In the mouths of the rivers, red sands and pebbles were deposited. They formed red-colored Permian rocks, widely distributed along the Front Range.▲ In the swampy forests of the Carboniferous period, 250-210 million years ago, in the Caucasus, tree-like horsetails, ferns grew, reaching 10-13 meters in height. In the outcrops of coal rocks, imprints of ferns, calalites, etc. were found. The advancing sea sank the forests to the bottom, and they formed layers of coal.▲ At the beginning of the Mesozoic (Triassic), which was about 220 million years ago, the Caucasus was again under water. The Mesozoic in the vicinity of Cherkessk is widely represented by Jurassic deposits (conglomerates, that is, clastic rocks from rounded fragments, for example, cemented pebbles; clays and sandstones interbedded with each other). During the Triassic period, the climate in our places was warm, rich vegetation developed in the humid zones. Gymnosperms became dominant plants, various cicada palms, conifers (cypresses, firs, araucaria) and ginkgo trees appeared (these trees have survived to this day, they can be seen in the vicinity of Pyatigorsk). Amphibious animals - stegocephals - were up to 2-3 meters long. The giant among them was the Mastodonosaurus with a head over a meter long. At the end of the Triassic, stegocephals died out, and reptiles developed rapidly in the animal kingdom. They quickly conquered land, water and air. The ancestors of mammals appeared - animal-like reptiles with a massive tail and muzzle of a predatory animal - cynodonts, dicynodons and ichthyosaurs (2-6 meters long). The reptiles common in the Mesozoic also include archosaurs, which are divided into thecodonts that walked on two legs, dinosaurs (dinos - in Greek “terrible”), beak-headed and flying pangolins. The first half of the Mesozoic era was marked by a cycle of mountain-building movements. At that time, a chain of volcanoes stretched along the present Caucasian ridge, capturing the upper reaches of the Kuban, Podkumka, Cherek, etc. The volcanoes were located both on land and under water. The radius of their action captured 15-20 kilometers in a circle, the thickness of the lava in places reached 500 meters.▲ The Mesozoic era is famous not only for its minerals in the Caucasus, but also for unusual giant animals. Dragons, fire-breathing snakes, seven-headed monsters - the characters of Chinese and Russian fairy tales, the legends of the mountain peoples of the Caucasus - they somehow resemble giant animals of that distant era.▲ The Cenozoic era - "the era of new life", began 70 million years ago. It is divided into two periods: Tertiary and Quaternary. The last, Quaternary period, lasts only one million years, it continues at the present time. Its beginning is associated with a remarkable event: the appearance of man on Earth. The rocks of the Tertiary period are composed of the Pastbishchny Range, the foothill strip, the Sychevy Mountains, the Vorovskolesky Heights, and the entire Stavropol Uplift. ▲ At the end of the Mesozoic, the first ridges of this mountainous country, represented by small islands, appeared from the Tethys Ocean covering the Caucasus. By the end of the Tertiary era, the entire territory of present-day Karachay-Cherkessia was already dry land. The current place was a vast island in the middle of the sea, it covered the entire modern mountainous Caucasus. Its relief was mountainous, cut by gorges and river valleys. As a result of the continued movements of the earth's crust, the Caucasian island was uplifted. The island increased in size and finally took shape in the Maikop age. Then, in the surrounding sea, a huge thickness of chocolate (gray with an olive tint) clay was deposited, the thickness of which in the North Caucasus reaches 750-1200 meters, and in other places - 2500 meters. The lower part of these deposits was called the Khadum horizon. The climate of the Caucasian island was warm, tropical. Evergreen laurels, oaks, magnolias, camphor trees, walnuts, palm trees grew here. Together with them, vegetation has also developed, which is characteristic of the temperate climate of central Russia in our time - alder, lindens, willows, ferns. Heat-loving grapes, bamboos, swamp cypresses, and mammoth trees coexisted well next to them. Later, the climate became even warmer. Bananas, eucalyptus trees, large ficuses appeared in the forests. In the Maikop period, a vertical zonality of vegetation appeared on the mountainous Caucasian island: on the picturesque coast, indented with bays, bays and lagoons, tropical vegetation prevailed, higher up in the mountains it was replaced by subtropical, and then by deciduous and coniferous trees of the temperate zone. ▲ The processes continued into the Quaternary. In the Quaternary, the Caucasus Mountains were subjected to glaciation. Glaciers descended from the Main and Side Ranges. Melting and retreating, they left moraines - witnesses of the past glaciation.▲ Of all the periods on the territory of Karachay-Cherkessia, various fossils are best represented by the Carboniferous, Jurassic and Cretaceous (respectively, 350, 190 and 135 million years ago) periods. In the collection of paleontological finds, there are also leading fossils - the remains of plants and animals, by which it is possible to determine the age of the layers of the earth's crust.▲ In the middle of the Jurassic (160 million years ago) period, land again rose from the sea - an island appeared that existed for quite a long time. Ginkgo forests grew on it. The warm and humid climate contributed to the development of dense forest thickets in the coastal zone. Dying ginkgo trees accumulated, covered with silt and sand, the sea that flooded the land covered them with water. It took millions of years for the buried ginkgo forest blockages to turn into coal, which is now mined in Karachay-Cherkessia at the Khumarinsky deposit.Picturesque landscapes then opened on the Caucasian land. Against the backdrop of bizarre cones of smoking volcanoes, forests and copses of palm trees, ginkgo and coniferous trees stood out with bright greenery. Among them, lakes shone in the sun like mirrors. The southern outskirts of the current Main Caucasian Range was the coast of a deep and vast sea. Outlandish animals and birds inhabited land, sea and air. Pliosaurs lived in the sea, predators reaching 12–15 meters in length. Some of them looked like a snake threaded through the body of a turtle, but of a large size. Dolphin-like ichthyosaurs, cephalopods - ammonites, whose shells reached a meter in diameter, as well as belemnites with a cigar-shaped shell, lived. Well-preserved ammonite shells were found in the last quarter of the 20th century along the Kuban valley, above Ust-Dzheguta. There were also crocodiles, lizards, frogs, and at the end of the period - the first mammals, small forest animals. The inhabitants of the air above the current Karachay-Cherkessia were pterodactyls and pterosaurs, pangolins with wings like those of bats, and the first birds - Archeopteryx the size of a crow.▲ Since the Upper Jurassic, the Central Caucasus has finally become dry land. At first he represented a large island. In the future, increasing in size, he won more and more land from the sea. In the Upper Cretaceous, an underwater uplift appeared for the first time in the area of ​​the current Stavropol Upland.▲ Deposits of the Mesozoic era - "the era of middle life" (230-70 million years ago) - are involved in the formation of the Peredovoy, Rocky and Pasture Ranges and can be traced along the gorges and steep slopes of mountain river valleys. Almost everywhere, Mesozoic deposits are rich in well-preserved remains of ancient marine animals.▲ Almost the entire Cretaceous (135–35 million years ago) period, the Caucasus was at the bottom of the sea, which contributed to the accumulation of thick sedimentary strata, since there was an abundance of mollusks, ammonites, belemnites in the sea, which subsequently formed limestones. The warm sea abounded with animals. It was dominated by sharks, bony real fish appear, invertebrates still occupy a large place, corals form reefs.▲ By the end of the Cretaceous period, the sea began to decrease, on land there is a rapid development of plants and insects. The extinct ginkgo trees were replaced by conifers. Angiosperms have spread unusually rapidly. Among them are the oak, poplar, willow, beech, birch, sycamore, eucalyptus, magnolia, and palm trees that exist today. For the first time grasses, bushes, trees blossomed. The forests and meadows were filled with the smell of flowers. Many insects appeared: butterflies, bees, bumblebees. Animals come to land, adapt to plant foods. Ammonites and belemnites, which are the main food of marine reptiles, are dying out. Apparently, this also caused the extinction of the reptiles themselves. New groups of animals, birds, and mammals are being formed. Common Jurassic herbivores such as diplodocus (up to 30 meters long) are dying out. The dominance of the dinosaurs continued. Large bipedal iguanodonts, duck-billed dinosaurs, including saurolophs, herbivores up to 9-12 meters long and up to 5 meters high, giant land monsters - horned and armored dinosaurs appear. Among the predatory lizards, gigantic tyrannosaurs stood out, not inferior in size to duck-billed dinosaurs. Up to 15 meters long, up to 6 meters high, weighing 6-12 tons, they moved at a speed of 40 km/h.▲ Approximately 20–25 million years ago, a gradual cooling began, the vegetation cover of the North Caucasus changed: tropical and subtropical plants replaced deciduous trees and conifers. The North Caucasus and the adjacent steppe were then inhabited by the ancestors of the southern elephant, rhinos, mastodons , giraffes, camels, deer, gazelles, elks, antelopes, saber-toothed tigers, ancient bears, hyenas, the ancestors of the modern horse - hyparions, etc. Due to the cold snap, these animals were replaced by cave lions, cave bears and hyenas. Long-horned bison, giant and red deer, rhinoceros, trogontherian elephant and other animals survived here for a long time under the conditions of the harsh climate of the glacial epochs. Cave predators in the Caucasus became extinct only a few thousand years ago. The bones of ancient animals are still found in these places. In the Kosyakinsky sand pit, nine kilometers from Stavropol, a whole cemetery of mammals of the Tertiary period was discovered - from giant dinoterium elephants, giraffes and mastadons to small rodents. There were also parts of the skeletons of birds and turtles. More recently, under the village of Zelenchukskaya, bones of the rarest elasmotherium, the hunchback, were found. Prior to this discovery, there were only a few bones of an outlandish animal in world collections. Outwardly, he was very reminiscent of a modern rhinoceros: short powerful legs, a pronounced hump, a wide, sharply falling croup. His massive head was crowned with a horn. Of the inhabitants of the ancient seas, in particular the Sarmatian Sea, a well-preserved skeleton of a dolphin, the spine of a cytoterium whale, and fish prints were found.▲ In 1970, in the valley of the Dzheguty River, the bones of the southern elephant, the largest of the proboscis, were found, which reached enormous sizes. In 1960, a complete skeleton of a southern elephant fossil was discovered near the city of Georgievsk. Of the four complete skeletons of the southern elephant found so far on the globe, St. George's elephant ranks first in terms of the number of preserved bones. St. George's elephant during life at the highest point of the skeleton reached 425 centimeters, and the height of the largest modern elephants does not exceed three meters. The total length of the animal was 5.5 meters, and the tusks were 3.2 meters. The elephant had only four teeth - one on each side of the jaw. The chewing surface of the tooth had many grooves and was covered with several layers of enamel. As the tooth wears and ages, a new tooth grows in the back and the old one falls out. The elephant had no incisors. The southern elephant, one of the ancestors of modern elephants, lived in the Caucasus at the end of the Neogene, 2–3 million years ago, and was distributed in other parts of Europe, as evidenced by the bones preserved and found in excavations. He witnessed the terrible eruptions of Elbrus and other volcanoes of the Caucasus.▲ 25 kilometers north of Cherkessk, there is an "underground zoological museum", which has become widely known. It is located in the vicinity of the village of Belomechetskaya, the same age as our city, which is located in the Kochubeevsky district of neighboring Stavropol. Here, the Kuban River cuts through the sandy deposits of the ancient Chokrak Sea, which covered the territory of the North Caucasus 10-12 million years ago, in the middle of the Neogene. In 1926, in the scree of the Chokrak deposits, near the channel of the Kuban, the Leningrad geologist A. V. Danov and his workers found the bones of an ancient mastodon, an animal close to the ancestors of modern elephants. Mastodons had a long trunk and four tusks, two in the upper and two in the lower jaw. Each half of the jaws had one large tooth weighing several kilograms each. The surface of the teeth of mastodons is tuberculate, adapted for grinding branches and other coarse food. Visitors to the Stavropol Regional Museum named after G. N. Prozritelev and G. K. Prave are struck by the excellent preservation of the enamel of the mastodon’s teeth, despite the fact that they have lain in the ground for several million years. For the first time in our country, it was possible to find whole clusters of bones of the rarest representatives of the so-called anchiteric fauna. The Belomechetskoe bone cluster became a famous find of a very strange-looking mastodon called platybelodon, which means "flat spear tooth." He did not have a trunk and upper tusks. Its flat lower tusks grew together and formed something like a "scoop" with the front end bent upwards, in which it "washed" the food captured in water and silt. Platybelodon led an "amphibian" way of life, most of the time he was among lakes, swamps and swamps.The caucasotherium found near the village of Belomechetskaya, an animal intermediate between a horse and a rhinoceros, also turned out to be new for science. Artiodactyl animals were very diverse here, among them the cubanocherus stood out - a huge pig with a skull reaching 75 centimeters in length, which had not a wedge-shaped, but a rounded muzzle and a small horn on the frontal bone, which served as a "decoration" of males. For many years of incessant excavations (now, unfortunately, excavations are no longer being conducted here), paleontologists have found a lot of interesting things. Various ancient deer lived here, related to those living now in southeast Asia: diprocerus with short, two-branching horns; paradiprocerus, in which five pointed processes departed from the main column of horns, expanding upwards, and, finally, a deer (it was called micromaris), which, it turns out, did not exceed the growth of a modern hare. Small antelopes lived: paragocerus and hypsodontus, close in size to saigas. For the first time in the USSR, the remains of an aardvark were found near Belomechetskaya, now living in the dry steppes of South Africa. The ancient aardvark, just like the modern one, had thick claws with which it tore apart the constructions of termites and extracted insects from them with its long worm-like tongue. At the same time, various predators were found on the White Mechet land, bones of a small hyena, a short-faced wolverine, and a large amphicyon - a dog bear were found here. Of the rodents, only hamster bones were found. The remains of plants in the Belomechet deposits have not been preserved, but the composition of the fauna indicates that thermophilic forests, savannas and dry steppes grew on the shores of the Chokrak Sea (and this means in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bpresent Cherkessk).▲ In 1973, geologist D. Kieselvater discovered a find (the remains of a dinosaur), the age of which, after careful study by specialists, is 280 million years!▲ In 1967, pupils of the geological circle of the Circassian Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren named after Yu. Gagarin (headed by L. B. Dolechek) in the Dzhegonas Valley between complex shale deposits of clay rock found the remains of a long head of a rather large animal and petrified vertebrae covered with druze of iron sulfide crystals, having amphicoelous (concave both in front and behind) articulation surfaces, which is typical for fish fins, typical representatives of which are the famous ichthyosaurs, or fish lizards. Subsequent findings were no less interesting. In 1995–2000, tourists from the republican center for youth and children's tourism (headed by A. G. Rakacheva and V. G. Mozgov) managed to extract from the clay horizon more than a hundred individual fossilized bones of marine reptiles belonging to at least three different individuals. Jegonas aquatic reptiles lived 100–96 million years ago. In 1995, tourists found a skeleton. At first, few people were interested in the fossils found: no one knew what it was. But the scientists of Karachay-Cherkessia have established that there has never been such a find on Earth. The fossilized remains belonged to an ichthyosaur, the youngest, so far undescribed species, whose age is 90 million years. Its approximate length was 4 meters. Now in scientific circles there is an opinion that on Jegonas there is a whole cemetery of ancient lizards.▲ In June 1999, young local historians of the Republican Center for Children and Youth Tourism (group leader V. G. Mozgov) pleased with a unique find. Near the western outskirts of the Bolshoy Yaman-Dzhalga mountain, on the right high bank of the Kuban, on the territory of the Belomechetsky state farm, they found fragments of the skeleton of a herbivore that lived about 60 million years ago.▲ In the summer of 2005, a dinosaur skeleton was found in the northern part of the village of Khabez.▲ In March 2006, Khasan Salpagarov, a shepherd of the Ust-Dzhegutinsky district, stumbled upon an unusual find on a hillside, located not far from the bridge crossing the BSK at the eastern exit from the city of Ust-Dzhegut, which made a fuss. It is possible that the discovered find could become a sensation in the world of science. The cranium, more than 10 centimeters in diameter, belonged to a once-living creature with a large brain volume. While in all living beings the spinal cord communicates with the head with one nerve bundle, there were two (!) openings of natural origin on the skull. What kind of "creature" is to be determined by scientists at the Moscow Institute of Paleontology.▲ At the end of October 2007, a resident of the city of Cherkessk, M. Stankevich, found a curious quartz sandstone slab near the Leso-Kyafar farm, on which the back surface of a fossil vertebra of a small reptile from the group of Triassic notosaurs or southern lizards (it was given the name Simosaurus stancevytchi Doletschek) was imprinted. in their way of life, to some extent, they resembled seals. The famous local historian from the city of Cherkessk Lev Lvovich Dolechek was studying the unique find, who was awarded the medal of the Russian Municipal Academy in 2005 for the study of natural heritage monuments. According to him, when studying the plate, the latest equipment was used, electronic material was used from the collection of aquatic reptiles of the Geological and Paleontological Institute and the Museum of the University of Tübingen (Germany). The estimated dating of Simosaurus by M. Stankevich is 196 million years, although it was still believed that notosaurs disappeared from the “stone book” of the geological record 206 million years ago.▲ From Ust-Dzheguta to Cherkessk, the Jurassic formation is covered by the newest formation, the Cretaceous, and from Cherkessk to Nevinnomyssk, Cretaceous formations are hidden under Tertiary formations, the layering of which lasted for several millennia.▲ Already by the beginning of the Quaternary geological period preceding the modern one, that is, about one million years ago, the outlines of the land and sea basins took, basically, the current form. By this time, the modern hydrographic river network was almost formed, although the modern Volga did not yet exist.▲ The mountains of the Caucasus, Crimea and Asia Minor were finally formed by the end of the Tertiary - the beginning of the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era or the era of "modern life". If we compare the age of the Caucasus Mountains with the Ural Mountains, which arose about 270 million years ago, then we can say that they are just emerging from their “infant” age. The Caucasus Mountains have "grown" over the past 11–12 million years in two steps. The first stage of mountain uplift occurred 12–6 million years ago. The central part of the Greater Caucasus then rose by 2–2.5 kilometers. The second stage of mountain uplift covers the last 1.5–2 million years. Thus, the Caucasus took shape in a high-mountainous country quite “recently”, when a person appeared and developed on Earth.▲ The Caucasus Mountains are growing. True, very slowly and not everywhere the same. Elbrus, for example, is growing at a rate of up to 3 centimeters per year, the mountains in the area of ​​the Cross Pass, connecting North Ossetia and Georgia, at a rate of several millimeters per year. Scientists consider this growth an echo of the once active volcanic activity, and its speed is explained by the blocky structure of the earth's crust.

The Kuban sloping plain rises annually by two millimeters per year, the Pastbishchny Range - up to five millimeters, the Rocky Range - up to six millimeters, the North Jurassic depression, which is located between the Rocky and Side Ranges, up to 5.5 millimeters, the Side Range - up to 12 millimeters, the Main Caucasian Range - more than 13.5 millimeters per year. Together with the Caucasus Mountains, Cherkessk rises annually by 14 millimeters. For structures being built now, designed to operate for several centuries (for example, dams), such a slow movement is very serious.