From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

Contents 1 Geography 2 Affiliated states 2.1 Previous states 3 Myths and religions 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

The Caucasus Mountains are commonly reckoned as a dividing line between Asia and Europe, and territories in Caucasia are variably considered to be in one or both continents. The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the Ciscaucasus and the southern portion as the Transcaucasus. The highest peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) which, in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, is generally considered the highest point in Europe.

The Caucasus is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions on Earth. The nation-states that compose the Caucasus today are the post-Soviet states Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan; and various parts of Russia. The Russian divisions include Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of Adygea, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Three territories in the region claim independence but are not acknowledged as nation-states by the international community: Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia.

The Caucasus is an area of great ecological importance. It harbors some 6,400 species of higher plants, 1,600 of which are endemic to the region.^[1] Its native animals include leopards, brown bears, wolves, European bison, marals and golden eagles. Among invertebrates, some 1,000 spider species are recorded in the Caucasus^[2]. The natural landscape is one of mixed forest, with substantial areas of rocky ground above the treeline.

• Russia
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Georgia

• Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic

The Biblical Mount Ararat where Noah's Ark is said to have landed is sometimes regarded as the landmark of the ancient Armenian realm. The peak of Ararat is seasonally capped with snow.

In Greek mythology, the Caucasus or Kaukasos was one of the pillars supporting the world. Prometheus was chained there by Zeus after Prometheus had presented man with the gift of fire.

The Roman poet Ovid placed Caucasus in Scythia and depicted it as a cold and stony mountain which was the abode of personified hunger. The Greek hero Jason sailed to the west coast of the Caucasus in pursuit of the Golden Fleece, and there met the famed Medea.

• Peoples of the Caucasus
• Transcontinental nations
• South Caucasus
• Languages of the Caucasus
• Islam in Russia
• Russian-Circassian War
• Prometheism

1. ^ http://www.endemic-species-caucasus.info/
2. ^ http://caucasus-spiders.info/introduction/checklists/

• Ethnographic map of Caucasus
• Caucasus Wiki
• BBC News: North Caucasus at a glance, September 8 2005
• United Nations Environment Programme map: Landcover of the Caucasus
• United Nations Environment Programme map: Population density of the Caucasus
• Caucasus and Iran entry in Encyclopaedia Iranica
• University of Turin-Observatory on Caucasus

v • d • e Countries and regions of the Caucasus
Adygea  Armenia  Azerbaijan  Nagorno-Karabakh  Chechnya  Dagestan  Georgia  Abkhazia  South Ossetia  Ingushetia  Kabardino-Balkaria  Karachay-Cherkessia  Krasnodar Krai  North Ossetia-Alania  Stavropol Krai