Age and origin of the Caucasian mountains. How the Caucasus Mountains were formed

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

Message about the Caucasus Mountains

Caucasus mountains geographical location

They are spread out between Asia and Europe, the Middle and Near East. The mountains of the Caucasus 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 - 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 1,100 km, and their width is 180 km. The most famous and highest peaks of the system are the Elbrus and Kazbek mountains.

How old are the Caucasus Mountains?

The Caucasian mountain system is the same age as the Alps and has a 30-thousand-year 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 in the myths it is indicated that Prometheus is chained here, the man who gave fire to people.

What do the Caucasus Mountains look like?

The mountains are fraught with a lot of unusual things. Preserved glaciation can be found on their tops. Earthquakes are still 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 to the sky. With their outlines, they look like the walls of a castle with towers, then like the Egyptian pyramids. In the mountains there are also glaciers, rivers and areas with a surface severely damaged by wind erosion.

Climate

The climate of the Caucasus mountain system is quite diverse. These places are inherent 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, there are cold, snowy winters with dry summers, and the higher you go to the mountains, the lower the temperature. At an altitude of 3.5 thousand km. it reaches -4 0 С.

Flora and fauna

The mountains of the Caucasus are inhabited by unique animals. Among them are chamois, wild boars, mountain goats, foxes and bears, the mountain jerboa and gopher from Asia Minor, 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, springs with mineral waters.

• For the first time, a person climbed the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains on July 22, 1829.
• There are many species of invertebrates 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 on the Caucasus Mountains helped you prepare for the lesson. And you can leave your message about the Caucasus Mountains through the comment form below.

1. What is the Caucasus. Geography, structure, structure.

Many are familiar with the Caucasus.

Giant mountain ranges topped with snow-capped peaks above the clouds. Deep gorges and abysses. Endless expanses of the steppe. Subtropical vegetation of the warm shores of the Black Sea, dry semi-deserts of the Caspian region, flowering alpine meadows of mountain slopes. Rough mountain streams with waterfalls, serene surface of mountain lakes, and drying up steppe rivers of the foothills. The failed volcanoes of Pyatigorye and the volcanic lava highlands of Armenia. These are just some of the contrasts in this vast region.

What is the Caucasus geographically?

In a direction approximately from north to south, the Caucasus consists of the following parts.

The Ciscaucasian Plain, which is a natural continuation of the Russian or East European Plain, begins south of the Kumo-Manych depression. The western part of the Ciscaucasia is crossed by the flat part of the Kuban River, which flows into the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. The eastern part of the Ciscaucasia is irrigated by the flat section of the Terek River, which flows into the Caspian Sea. In the central part of the Ciscaucasia lies the Stavropol Upland with average heights of 340 to 600 meters and individual elevations up to 832 m (Mount Strizhament).

The next part is the Greater Caucasus. It stretches over a distance of about 1,500 kilometers, from the Taman Peninsula to the Absheron Peninsula.

The Greater Caucasus is formed by four parallel ridges for the most part, rising from north to south step by step. The smallest Pasture Range, it is also called the Black Mountains. The Rocky Ridge grows behind it. These two ridges are cuesta ridges, with a gentle northern and steep southern slopes. After Skalisty, the Lateral, or Foremost ridge rises, it is on it that Elbrus, Dykh-Tau, Koshtan-Tau, Kazbek and others are located.

Narrow Arkhyz-Zagedan, Bezhetinskaya and other depressions of the Lateral Range are separated from the Main, or Dividing Range.

The narrow southern slope of the Greater Caucasus is replaced by the Transcaucasian depression, which consists of the Rion or Colchis depression, and the Kura depression. The narrow Suram or Likh ridge is located between the depressions.

Even further south is the Transcaucasian Highlands, which is part of the vast Near East Highlands. In the north and north-east of the highlands there are the Lesser Caucasus ridges. And to the southwest of the Lesser Caucasus, the lava massifs of the Armenian-Javakheti highlands stretch.

But the Caucasus has not always been like this, and it will not always be like this. This, in general, quite obvious consideration serves as a convenient transition to the question of how exactly the Caucasus was formed. Behind the dry phrase "geological history of the Caucasus" are the stages in the life of the living planet, the Earth, full of drama and impressive catastrophes. Millions of years of successive and sometimes unhurried changes end in impulses of huge volcanic eruptions, and vice versa, outbreaks of catastrophic events respond at a subsequent time interval of millions of years. And the calm muddy bottom of the warm sea becomes an icy mountain peak, from the edge of which rock falls fall with a roar.

It is very difficult to identify the point in time from which to begin the description of the history of the Caucasus. Simply because in order to fully understand the processes at a certain point in time, one must also know the previous episodes. When you talk about crushing strata, the formation of mountains at a certain moment in time, the question always arises of how and when these strata were formed. And those can be products of destruction of some more ancient mountains or structures. And so, behind each ancient geological episode, a clear or not very clear picture of previous events can be seen ...

2. Evolution of the Caucasus. From seas to mountains.

The starting, albeit very conditional period in time, from which we can say that the events are already related to the processes that led to the formation of the modern Caucasus, is the second half and the end of the Paleozoic era (that is, the time interval from 400 to 250 million BC). bp). At that time, not only people, but also dinosaurs were not yet on Earth. Let's mentally look at the entire region at that time.

There has long been a solid and relatively calm Russian platform. It coalesced about 2 billion years ago from three blocks of crystalline basement. These blocks were formed even earlier - from the confluence of basalt plates and their further remelting in granites of the continental crust.

In the second half of the Paleozoic, the Russian Platform is part of the Laurasia continent. It is gradually moving closer to another mainland, Gondwana.

Let us recall the main provisions of the concept of movable lithospheric plates. Blocks of relatively hard rocks - lithospheric plates - move along the surface of the mantle under the influence of mantle convective flows - very slow on the time scale we are accustomed to, but quite noticeable on the geological time scale. Plates are oceanic and continental. The continental plate along the periphery includes areas with oceanic crust. Lithospheric plates float on the surface of the asthenosphere (the asthenosphere is the upper weakened layer of the mantle with a low viscosity) and move along it. This movement is caused by the convective movement of the mantle as a whole. The earth's crust is of two types - continental (granite) and oceanic (basaltic).

A new oceanic crust is formed in the spreading zones - mid-ocean ridges, where the material of the asthenosphere builds up the plate, and is absorbed in the subduction zones, where the material of the plate returns to the asthenosphere.

So, in the second half of the Paleozoic there is a convergence of Laurasia (North America plus Europe) and Gondwana (Africa plus South America).

In the process of convergence in the south of the Russian platform, where the Ciscaucasia stretches today, an area of \u200b\u200bfolding is formed, a mobile belt associated with the existence of a subduction zone, when the oceanic crust is absorbed under the mainland, weakening its edge and providing volcanic activity and mobility of the crust of the entire region.

The global convergence at that time, at the end of the Paleozoic, ended with the collision of Laurasia and Gondwana and the formation of a supercontinent or supercontinent Pangea. Between the continents connected in the area of \u200b\u200bthe modern Mediterranean Sea and the continents diverging to the east, a wedge-shaped space has formed - the Tethys Ocean.

Locally, in the process of convergence, the said mobile belt experienced its evolution, lived its history. Its history is a local episode of the global picture of the convergence of lithospheric plates.

Compression deformations in the mobile belt, which created a folded structure, began in the middle of the Visean, Early Carboniferous, Carboniferous (about 335 million years ago). The cause of the deformations was the pressure of the oceanic crust on the belt during the convergence of continental blocks. They turned the mobile belt, the future Scythian platform, into an orogen, a mountain structure.

In the Permian period (its time interval is from 299 to 250 million years ago), the orogen began to experience a collapse, the rapid disappearance of the mountains. The reasons for the collapse are as follows. Since this orogen was not squeezed between the continental massifs, but arose as a result of the withdrawal of the oceanic plate under the continent, then with the weakening of the pressure and the sinking of the oceanic plate, the forces that lifted the mountains also weakened. The blocks composing the mountains began to slide down. Then the crumpled, compressed, compressed folds were pierced by granite intrusions (invasions). These intrusions, as it were, reinforced and fixed the folds. Pressure and temperatures have transformed sedimentary and volcanic rocks into chlorite and sericite schists, which are mainly composed of the Scythian plate.

So along the northern edge of the Tethys Ocean, in the place of today's plains of the Ciscaucasia, a young (compared to the ancient East European or Russian platform) Scythian platform was formed from the mobile belt. Its latitudinal folds and still slightly movable heterogeneous blocks store memories of the compression processes and the life of the mountain structure. Despite the fact that we can hardly see them.

So, the main result of the events of that time, the end of the Paleozoic, was the formation of the Scythian platform, pinned to the Russian platform along its present southern edge.

As geologists know, supercontinents are unstable formations. Once formed, the supercontinent tends to disintegrate. The reason for this is the same mantle currents that crowded the continents and pushed them together. Following the formation of the supercontinent, the lithosphere, which goes under it from all sides in subduction zones, accumulates under it, and then floats up, splitting the supercontinent.

The Triassic period (250 - 200 million years ago, this is the first period of the Mesozoic era) was just the time when the Pangea split began. The blocks of lithospheric plates that made up Pangea began to move away from each other. Africa and Eurasia began to drift apart. The crushing of the continental bridge between Europe, Africa and America began.

When the continental blocks move apart from each other, the oceanic crust located between these blocks increases (in fact, this is the opening). Accumulation occurs with the formation of new crust in the mid-ocean ridges.

In our case, the axis of the expansion of the Tethys ocean fell on the northern outskirts of Gondwana. It was due to this, due to the formation of rifts, that continental blocks split off from Gondwana, starting their way towards Eurasia. Recall that a rift is an initial stage in the development of the ocean as a structure; the rift may later become (but not necessarily become!) A mid-ocean ridge. A rift is a gap that is formed when the crust is pushed aside by rising magma. So, in the late Triassic Iran broke away from Arabia, and apparently central Turkey. At the end of the Triassic - the beginning of the Jurassic (the Jurassic period takes time from 199 to 145 million years ago), dissimilar blocks broke away from Gondwana, which subsequently formed into the Transcaucasian massif (in our time, it separates the Greater and Lesser Caucasus).

On the opposite side of the Tethys Ocean, on the southern edge of Eurasia, the oceanic crust was absorbed in subduction zones along the edge of the plate. Apparently, the formation of the crust exceeded the rate of expansion of the lithospheric plates of Eurasia and Africa.

The subduction of the oceanic crust was the reason for the emergence of a volcanic belt along the northern coast of the Tethys Ocean. Apparently, in the Triassic it was an Andean belt, like the modern western coast of South America.

During the Jurassic period, the second period of the Mesozoic era, the disintegration of the supercontinent Pangea and its parts continued. And in the described time, the turn of the collapse of Gondwana came. In the early Middle Jurassic time, Gondwana began to split into South America, Africa with Arabia, Antarctica and India. The split of South America and Africa (with Arabia) naturally led to an increase in the oceanic lithosphere between them and, which is very important for the region that we are describing, to a reduction in the distance between Africa and Eurasia. Ocean Tethys began to decrease in size.

Where the oceanic crust of the Tethys Ocean was moving under the edge of the Scythian plate, this edge weakened. This is a consequence of the fact that the oceanic plate, going down, melts, and the excess of molten matter tries to break up.

Rifting began to occur on the weakened edge of the plate - the formation of rifts with the expansion of the fractured fragments of the previous base. The new crust was expanding towards the ocean. The crust was generally continental, granite, but broken by outpourings of basalts. So (at the end of the Lower and early Middle Jurassic, something about 175 million years ago) the so-called Bolshekavkaz basin was formed. It was a marginal sea. It was separated from the main ocean of the Tethys by an island volcanic arc, the existence of which is also explained by the weakening of the lithosphere in the zone of subduction, underthrust, and the breakthrough of magma to the surface with the formation of volcanoes. The Bolshekavkazsky basin was stretched for 1700-1800 km in length and 300 km in width.

Late Jurassic, 145 million years ago. The Bolshekavkazskiy basin and island arc already exist. Note that the figures depict structures, not seas and land. Although often the structures and pools are the same.

Almost immediately after its formation, the crust of the Bolshekavkaz basin began to go under the continent, under the outskirts of Eurasia. The movement of the Tethys absorbed to the south of the ocean crust, causing weakening and stretching of the margin, simultaneously tries to close the newly formed basins.

A new transformation awaited the system of volcanic arcs. This time, at the beginning of the next, Cretaceous, period (it occupies the range of 145-65 million years ago). Stretching of the cortex in the rear of the arches occurred again, for the same reasons as before. And already stretching and spreading was so significant that as a result, a deep-water depression of the South Caspian with oceanic crust was formed. To the west, the crust simply thinned, forming the base of the vast Pra-Black Sea basin.

At the beginning of the Late Cretaceous, about 90 Ma BP, the first collision of the Gondwana continental blocks with the Lesser Caucasian island arc occurred. These blocks are central Turkey, or Kirsehir (separated from Gondwana, as mentioned earlier, in the Triassic) and the Daralagez, or South Armenian block (split from Afro-Arabia at the end of the Early Cretaceous, 110 million years ago). The northern branch of the Tethys Ocean closed and disappeared. The remains of the bottom of this ocean, rocks called ophiolites, now lie in a strip along Lake Sevan and in a number of other places. Immediately after the collision, the subduction zone jumped to the south, to the edge of the newly moved continental blocks. This flipping relieved the compressive stress in the zone of the volcanic arcs and tension occurred again in the rear of the arc. At the end of the Late Cretaceous, about 80 Ma BP, as a result of this back-arc spreading, the West Black Sea and East Black Sea deep-water oceanic depressions were formed. They are the basis of the structure of the modern Black Sea, and it can be considered that the Black Sea was created just then. By now, these depressions are completely filled with sediments.

Sometimes, speaking about the origin of the Black and Caspian Seas, they are called the remnants of the Tethys Ocean. This is not entirely true, these seas, as we can see, are the remnants of back-arc basins, which were separated from the ocean by island arcs.

By the way, in the same Late Cretaceous on the other coast of the Tethys Ocean, the southern one, an interesting phenomenon occurred. Due to the compression of the oceanic crust (as we remember, the lithospheric plates, Africa and Eurasia continued to converge) and the contraction of the space between the plate blocks, this oceanic crust literally crawled over the edge of the Arabian coast from above, and did not sink under the mainland, as is the case in most cases. This phenomenon is called obduction. The oceanic crust continues to lie there, occupying large areas. These are the ophiolites of Oman, known to scientists, and others.

Thus, the main trend in the Mesozoic period of time, as applied to the region under consideration, was the formation and evolution of island volcanic arcs and back-arc basins. This evolution is associated with the subduction zone.

Time continued to flow. The Mesozoic era gave way to the Cenozoic.

The region, like the entire planet, has entered a new period of development. Both the planet and individual places were characterized by new specific events. For the planet as a whole, the border of the Cretaceous (this is still the Mesozoic) and the Paleogene (already the Cenozoic) is marked by the gradual extinction of dinosaurs and the coming to replace them with mammals. In the plant world, flowering plants take the stage with full power, crowding gymnosperms.

At the beginning of the Paleogene period (the Paleogene occupies the range of 65 - 23 million years ago and is divided into the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene), the situation in the region we are talking about, in principle, continued to be similar to the Mesozoic. The Tethys Ocean was gradually shrinking, Africa was moving closer to Eurasia. The oceanic crust subducted under the edge of Eurasia framed by island arcs.

Scientists managed to reconstruct the appearance of the region of the future Caucasus at that time. Of course, it was different from today. But in the structures, its modern elements and parts were more and more clearly manifested, while at the same time they sometimes looked completely different from what we see today.

Above the modern Ciscaucasia, over the Scythian plate (and extending much further north), lay a vast sea basin. It was the shelf of the Eurasian continent with not too great depths. At its bottom, carbonate (limestone and marl) and clay deposits accumulated, covering the structures of the Scythian plate.

In the future, this part will become the flat Ciscaucasia and the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus.

To the south lay a volcanic arc separating the Bolshekavkazskiy basin from the rest of the Tethys Ocean. Its northern strip is, in the future, underwater uplifts of the Shatsky swell and the Kurdamir swell, as well as the Dzirulsky ledge. The basis of this strip is the Transcaucasian massif. The southern part of the arc in the future will become the Lesser Caucasus.

Farther south lay the vast but dwindling Tethys Ocean, and behind it was the Arabian Plate, which still constituted a single whole with Africa. All this mass of boulders gradually approached the island arc.

35 million years ago, by the end of the Eocene era (the second after the Paleocene era of the Paleogene), the Arabian ledge almost approached and came into contact with the island arc. The Tethys ocean floor, its bottom, was swallowed up under the arc.

Starting from the Oligocene (occupies the interval of 34-23 million years ago), the collision of the Arabian bulge with the island arc began. The consequence of this was the pushing of fragments of the island arc to the north and a gradual reduction of the back-arc basin. The reduction in the distance directly opposite the Arabian Bulge was especially large, where movements reached 300-400 kilometers. The island volcanic arc curved to the north.

Oligocene, 34-23 million years ago. The beginning of the collision and clustering of blocks. The beginning of the rise of the Caucasus.

In the Oligocene, the Greater Caucasus was not yet a mountain structure. Both the Big and the Small Caucasus were islands and seamounts. Their number and the area occupied by them increased.

Finally, the entire space of the former Bolshekavkazskiy basin, capable of shrinking, ended. There is no crust left to be absorbed. Squeezed between the continental blocks between the edge of Eurasia and Afro-Arabia, the Caucasus zone has become the arena of a new stage of development (or another disaster, as often happens). Monstrous forces and energies once again transformed the area of \u200b\u200bimpact. Since the Late Miocene (the Miocene is a period of time from 23 to 5.4 million years ago), uplift increased sharply. The Greater Caucasus began to rise. The sediments that had been deposited over many millions of years, which had lined and formed the seabed, began to turn into mountains. Apparently, at the end of the Late Sarmatian Age, 12 million years ago. in the Caucasus, a mountainous relief was formed. It is believed that the relief at that time was a combination of low plains in internal depressions, denudation and abrasive-erosion plains and ridges and remnants up to 700 meters high above them by several hundred meters.

Fig. 7 End of the Miocene, 12 million years ago. Formation of the Caucasus Mountains.

The continuing pressure of Afro-Arabia led to a weakening of the earth's crust in the area in the direction of the "tip" up to the present Pyatigorsk, and 7-9 million years ago magmatic diapirs of the Mineralovodsk group were formed there (diapir structures are folds curved upward due to the pressure of magma from below ). Molten magma tried to make its way to the surface, swelling the sediments of the seas. But its viscosity was too high, the magma did not break through under the open sky, and the failed volcanoes - laccoliths now adorn the Ciscaucasia.

In the Late Miocene, 7-6 Ma BP The volcanism of the Lesser Caucasus increased sharply. Extensive volcanic sheets of lava and products of explosive eruptions formed.

In the Late Pliocene, by the time of 2 million years ago. volcano Elbrus, Verkhnechegemskaya caldera formed, volcanoes arose in the Kazbek region.

Finally, in the Quaternary period (which began 1.8 million years ago), the relief of the Caucasus was sharply rejuvenated due to continuing uplifts under conditions of compression between lithospheric plates. In the Greater Caucasus, the uplift of the outer elements of the mountain structure, the former shelf with a crystalline base, and the tucking of the southern slope continued. In the Lesser Caucasus, there were simply uplifts of blocks along fault lines.

In the Quaternary period, volcanism of the Lesser Caucasus existed only in some of its parts. But nearby, in the Armenian-Javakheti highlands, the eruptions were very intense, forming the volcanoes Aragats and Ararat.

Thus, the main result of the events of the Cenozoic was the collision of lithospheric plates, the closure of the Tethys Ocean, and the uplift of mountain structures in place of sea basins.

3. Traces of events. What do we see today?

Now, knowing and understanding the history of the formation of the Caucasus, we will go over it from north to south again and get acquainted with the traces of past processes. This will be a very superficial acquaintance.

The plains of the Ciscaucasia are composed of Neogene and Quaternary deposits on the surface. Below them, and further down under the strata of the Mesozoic and Paleogene, lies the uneven surface of the Scythian plate.

Due to pressure from Arabia, the structures of the Scythian plate are partly uplifted, forming the Stavropol and Mineralovodsky vaults.

To the right and to the left of this zone are the forward deflections of the basement of the plate - the Tersko-Caspian and West and East-Kuban. Due to their lowering, for example, the floods of the Kuban and the salt lakes of the Kuma delta were formed (due to the filling of river beds with sediments).

Even further south, the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus begins directly.

The rocky ridge is composed (ridge and summit plateau) of Middle Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous limestones.

In the Labino-Malkinskaya zone, in the central part of the northern slope, the basement of the slab simply comes out to the surface in the river valleys, bent away by the monstrous pressure of the converging continents. The southern end of the Labino-Malkinskaya zone is the Front Range, its central part.

The billowing Vodorazdelny and Lateral Ridges in the Central Caucasus are already composed of hard crystalline rocks. The depression between them is composed of shales of the Early Jurassic.

In the Western Caucasus, the Dividing Range is composed of crystalline rocks. The lateral one is sedimentary Paleozoic.

In the Eastern Caucasus, the ridges are composed mainly of Jurassic clay shales

The southern slope of the Greater Caucasus is composed of shale strata of the Lower-Middle Jurassic. These are the same deep-water deposits of the Bolshekavkazskiy basin, which were mentioned earlier.

To the south is the Transcaucasian massif. In its highest place, in the center, in the Dzirulsky ledge, ancient pre-Paleozoic rocks are close to the surface. This is the foundation of the northern part of the former volcanic arc.

And then there are the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus, composed of volcanogenic-sedimentary strata of the Cretaceous and Paleogene. The thicknesses were crumpled into folds, then broken into blocks and pushed up. This is a former volcanic arc, its southern part. The territory of the west and south of the Lesser Caucasus (Armenia, Adjara, Trialetiya), is composed of Paleogene and Cretaceous marine sediments with products of underwater and surface volcanic eruptions. The north and east of the Lesser Caucasus is composed of Jurassic marine rocks also with products of eruptions.

In conclusion, it is interesting to look at the region from above. It is clearly seen how the Arabian plate is pressed into the jumble of microblocks, putting pressure on the Lesser Caucasus and further through the Transcaucasia to the North Caucasus. As the chain stretches the Pontic Mountains (northern coast of Turkey) - Lesser Caucasus - Elburs (ridge along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea), marking the line of closing of the northern branch of the Tethys Ocean. To the south, the Taurus mountain chain (southern Turkey) - Zagros (a ridge in southwestern Iran) marks the southern branch of the Tethys Ocean. And between them, these chains - Central Turkey and Iran, pushed aside by the ledge of the Arabian plate.

View of the region globally.

This is how the geological history of the Caucasus looks like. As in other places on the planet, each stone means something, each slope testifies to the processes of a million and billion years ago. Small stones and structures the size of half a continent can tell their own stories, intertwining and complementing each other. To end up with a holistic history of the region in all its impressive dynamics. It is not easy to describe the life of the lithosphere. She doesn't know human emotions. And the witnesses of the events are not people either. And the time scales do not fit into the usual size range. Only by gathering together in the knowledge of scientists, events acquire a literary life. But stones don't need us. It seems that it is we who need them and are drawn to explore and describe them.

Steppe Pathfinder

References:

History of the Tethys Ocean. ed. A.S. Monin, L.P. Zonenschein. 1987 156 p.

Paleogeography. A.A. Svitoch, O.G. Sorokhtin, S.A. Ushakov. 2004 448 s.

Geology of Russia and adjacent territories. N.V. Koronovsky. 2011 240 p.

Physiography THE USSR. F.N. Milkov, N.A. Gvozdetsky. 1975 448 p.

Poetry of the Caucasus Mountains. M.G. Leonov. Nature. 2003 No. 6.

The Caucasus Mountains are a 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 Vodorazdelny ridge of the Greater Caucasus, which occupies a central position in the mountain system.

The Greater Caucasus stretches for more than 1,100 km from north-west to south-east, from the Anapa region and the Taman peninsula to the Absheron peninsula on the Caspian coast, near Baku. The Greater Caucasus reaches its maximum width in the region of the Elbrus meridian (up to 180 km). In the axial part there is the Main Caucasian (or Vodorazdelny) ridge, to the north of which there are a number of parallel ridges (mountain ranges), including a monoclinal (cuest) character (see Greater Caucasus). The southern slope of the Greater Caucasus for the most part consists of en-echelon ridges adjacent to the Greater Caucasus Range. Traditionally, the Greater Caucasus is divided into 3 parts: the 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).

Countries and Regions

1. South Ossetia
2. Abkhazia
3. Russia:

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

Cities of the Caucasus

• Adygeisk
• Alagir
• Argun
• Baksan
• Buinaksk
• Vladikavkaz
• Gagra
• Gelendzhik
• Grozny
• Gudauta
• Gudermes
• Dagestan lights
• Derbent
• Dusheti
• Essentuki
• Zheleznovodsk
• Zugdidi
• Izberbash
• Karabulak
• Karachaevsk
• Kaspiysk
• Kvaisa
• Kizilyurt
• Kizlyar
• Kislovodsk
• Kutaisi
• Leningor
• Magas
• Maykop
• Malgobek
• Makhachkala
• Mineral water
• Nazran
• Nalchik
• Nartkala
• Nevinnomyssk
• Novorossiysk
• Ochamchira
• Chill
• Pyatigorsk
• Stavropol
• Stepanakert
• Sukhum
• Urus-Martan
• Tbilisi
• Terek
• Tuapse
• Tyrnyauz
• Khasavyurt
• Tkuarchal
• Tskhinval
• Cherkessk
• Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk

Climate

The climate in the Caucasus varies both vertically (in height) and horizontally (in latitude and location). The temperature usually decreases with the rise. The average annual temperature in Sukhum, Abkhazia at sea level is 15 degrees Celsius, and on the slopes of the mountains. Kazbek at an altitude of 3700 m, the average annual air temperature drops to -6.1 degrees Celsius. The northern slope of the Greater Caucasus Range is 3 degrees Celsius colder than the southern slopes. In the high mountainous regions of the Lesser Caucasus in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, there is a sharp contrast in temperatures between summer and winter due to a more continental climate.

Precipitation increases from east to west in most areas. Altitude plays an important role: in the Caucasus and in the mountains, there is usually a large amount of precipitation than in low-lying areas. The northeastern regions (Dagestan) and the southern part of the Lesser Caucasus are dry. The absolute minimum of annual precipitation is 250 mm in the northeastern part of the Caspian lowland. The western part of the Caucasus is characterized by high rainfall. On the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus Range, there is more precipitation than on the northern slopes. Annual precipitation in the western part of the Caucasus ranges from 1000 to 4000 mm, while in the Eastern and North Caucasus (Chechnya, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Ossetia, Kakheti, Kartli, etc.), the amount of precipitation ranges from 600 to 1800 mm ... The absolute maximum annual precipitation is 4100 mm in the region of Meskheti and Adjara. The level of precipitation in the Lesser Caucasus (southern Georgia, Armenia, western Azerbaijan), not including Meskhetia, varies from 300 to 800 mm per year.

The Caucasus is known for a lot of snowfall, although many regions that are not located along the upwind slopes do not receive much snow. This is especially true for the Lesser Caucasus, which is to some extent isolated from the influence of humidity from the Black Sea and receives significantly less precipitation (in the form of snow) than in the mountains of the Greater Caucasus. On average, in winter, the snow cover in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains ranges from 10 to 30 cm. Heavy snowfalls were noted in the Greater Caucasus Mountains (in particular, on the southwestern slope). Avalanches are frequent from November to April.

Snow cover in some regions (Svaneti, in the northern part of Abkhazia) can reach 5 meters. The Achishkho region is the snowiest place in the Caucasus, the snow cover of which reaches a depth of 7 meters.

Landscape

The Caucasus Mountains have a varied landscape, which mainly changes vertically and depends on the distance from large bodies of water. The region contains biomes ranging from subtropical low-level marshes and glacier forests (Western and Central Caucasus) to high-mountain semi-deserts, steppes and alpine meadows in the south (mainly Armenia and Azerbaijan).

On the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus, oak, hornbeam, maple and ash are common at lower altitudes, and birch and pine forests prevail on the hills. Some of the lowest areas and slopes are covered with steppes and meadows.

On the slopes of the Northwestern Greater Caucasus (Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, etc.), spruce and fir forests are also contained. Forests prevail in the alpine zone (about 2000 meters above sea level). Permafrost (glacier) usually begins at about 2800-3000 meters.

On the southeastern slope of the Greater Caucasus, beech, oak, maple, hornbeam and ash are common. Beech forests tend to dominate at high altitudes.

On the southwestern slope of the Greater Caucasus, oak, beech, chestnut, hornbeam and elm are common at lower altitudes, coniferous and mixed forests (spruce, fir, and beech) at higher altitudes. Permafrost begins at an altitude of 3000-3500 m.

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Among many places on Earth, the territory of the Caucasus is one of the most fabulous. Its high mountains attract travelers, explorers and archaeologists who regularly discover new finds that are important to the whole world. Without exaggeration, the Caucasus can be called a miracle of Russia, but not everyone can submit it.

Features of the geographical position of the Caucasus Mountains

Even on the map, it is clearly visible that the Caucasus Mountains are located between Europe and Asia. Now there is no clear convention that would allow the mountain range to be attributed to Europe or Asia. For the first time, the geographer Philip Stralenberg took up the border.

With the approval of the Russian tsar, starting in 1730, the border he proposed, separating part of the Caucasus and delimiting its mountains between Europe and Asia, is still valid. Following these data, Mont Blanc can be considered the highest point in Europe, and Elbrus - the highest peak of the Russian Caucasus.

What does the name mean

The search for the correct interpretation of the name Caucasus has long been controversial among geographers. One of the versions says that the name has Iranian roots and means "Mount Azov". But this version has a serious drawback, because in the Iranian-Ossetian language it is impossible to use the word "kokh" (meaning "kav"), since this noun must always appear at the end of the phrase, literally meaning belonging to the mountain. For example, Adai-kokh. The famous historian Pliny said that the name Caucasus literally means "whitening in the snow." Other historians started from Sanskrit, but here, too, researchers have found many flaws.

There are versions linking the origin of the name with the Turkic language. Starting from them, you can find that high mountains can be named after nomads who lived here for a long time, and also act as gates. Therefore, it turns out that the Caucasus is a gateway for nomads.

Highest peaks of the Caucasus

There are several large peaks on the territory of the Caucasian ridge. The highest (Elbrus) height is 5642 m. The list of all peaks is quite long. Here are just a few of them:

1. Elbrus. The highest peak in the Caucasus.
2. Dykhtau. Mountain on the Side Ridge.
3. Shkhara. Highest mountain in Georgia.
4. Dzhangitau. Double-headed and dangerous.
5. Koshtantau. A difficult peak, according to many climbers.
6. Pushkin Peak. A very poetic mountain.
7. Dzhangitau. The fifth highest in the Caucasus.
8. Kazbek. Insidious peak.
9. Mizhirgi West. The most difficult to conquer among the central part of the Caucasus Mountains.
10. Tetnuld. A mountain made of crystalline rocks.

Mizhirgi, closing the list of "five-thousanders", has a height of 5025 m.

Features of the mountains of the North Caucasus

This region is a separate geographic area. Its mountains are relatively young, represent a complex system of ridges, conventionally divided into parts. Thanks to the magma escaping to the surface, many deposits were formed here, which are now used to extract useful ore. As a consequence, the region is rich in sedimentary and volcanic rocks.

Where is the highest point of the Caucasus

Elbrus occupied the Lateral ridge of the Greater Caucasus and is located in comparative proximity to the main Caucasian ridge. Its geographical position determines the climate that is quite difficult for climbing.

In summer, it is humid and cool here, even at around 2000 meters the temperature can rise to 35 ° C. After 1000 m, it drops by 10 ° С. In winter, there is a lot of precipitation, the snow cover can reach a thickness of up to 80 cm. Therefore, it is recommended to climb from the southern side, where there is less snow.

Routes to the highest point of the Caucasus

To conquer the top of Elbrus, you can use several routes of different categories.

The most popular route remains the southern slope. He was assigned category 1B. This is a fairly simple option for everyone who considers himself a novice climber, since the sections of the path are divided into zero, having easy difficulty, as well as the first and second. Thus, the maximum that can be expected from this route to the top is a simple level of difficulty.

A somewhat different situation awaits those who choose the northern slope. He has a category 2A. If in the first case the ascent takes 7-10 days, then here you will have to be patient, since the duration of the path increases. In general, route 2A is characterized by the same sections as for 1B. Therefore, it will not be difficult to climb it to the top.

It will be even more difficult for those climbers who use the routes along the eastern ridge and the so-called cross. They have categories 2B, characterized by sections of simple and medium difficulty. They usually require hook belay. There is also route 3A on Elbrus, which runs along the north-western ridge. This category is characterized by the presence of areas of medium difficulty of ice-snow and rocky types. For most novice climbers, this is already a rather difficult challenge.

The most difficult road awaits those who choose the western shoulder. This is category 5A, characterized by an average steepness of 40 to 60 degrees. It will be really difficult to climb to the top, because rocky and ice-snow areas of the 5th degree of difficulty await the climber. On this route, the conquest of the highest point is impossible without hammering on 20 pitons.

What dangers await travelers on Elbrus

The highest point in the Caucasus is fraught with many threats. And if the death of novice tourists is quite explainable by a lack of experience, then mortality among experienced travelers is often perplexing. It has been established that Elbrus is dangerous not by routes, but by the peculiarities of the climate and the presence of glacial cracks. Changes in weather conditions on the mountain occur abruptly and often unexpectedly. Visibility can deteriorate in just 1 hour, and climbers are often hypothermic. Many travelers experience dehydration and decreased concentration. Even the masters of sports died on Elbrus, and some of the travelers face dangers after conquering the summit, so descent from Elbrus is not an easy task. When climbing the highest point of the Caucasus Mountains, there is a high probability of injury. The lists of the dead also include those who simply found themselves trapped in ice cracks, literally frozen into the cracks.

For all travelers who are about to climb the highest peak in Russia, there are shelters where you can relax. There is even a small hotel, which is the highest in Europe. It is designed for 40 guests and is a kind of hostel where you can take a bed. The view from the mountain will be a pleasant bonus.

Kazbek is the highest point in North Ossetia

Among the highest mountains of the Caucasus, Kazbek is one of the most interesting. A lot of research has been devoted to him, and, like other highest peaks, the British were the first to explore this mountain. It should be noted that among the explorers of Kazbek, the first ascent to its top was made by the Russian geodesist A.V. Pastukhov. He was accompanied by an Ossetian guide named Tepsariko, who was 60 years old.

Kazbek is very important for history research. For example, scientists managed to find out that once there could have been a powerful eruption, which led to the phenomenon of volcanic winter. It is believed that it was this phenomenon that caused the mass death of Neanderthals.

Kazbek has many attractions. Anyone who reaches the 3,800 m mark will find the beautiful Betlemi Monastery. The monastery is of great cultural importance for Georgia. Its name directly goes back to the cave, which is located on the top of Kazbek, and at an altitude of 4,100 m. Kazbek has always attracted poets and was considered a sacred mountain. Georgians often called it the shrine of Christians, and the Ingush, who came to the Caucasus, worshiped pagan deities, bringing them sacrifices. The highest point of Mount Kazbek had a significant impact on the spiritual creativity of the mountain peoples of the Caucasus.

The myth of a young man who wanted to get people to have a fire resting in heaven is very remarkable. He was punished for his insolence and chained to a rock, and a predatory eagle pecked at his heart. Obviously, this legend goes back to the myth of Prometheus.

Dykhtau is one of the steepest mountains in the Caucasus

Like the highest mountain in the Caucasus, as well as Elbrus, Dykhtau is a proud peak that not every traveler can conquer. Its highest point reaches 5204 m.

The mountain is part of the Kabardino-Balkarian high-mountain reserve. A feature of this mountain is the presence of a large number of routes. There are a dozen different paths to choose from to conquer the highest point of the mountain, and the most difficult one has a category 4A.

Why Kazbek and Elbrus are the most popular among climbers in the Caucasus

There are many high peaks on the territory of the Caucasus Mountains, but it is Elbrus and Kazbek that have become the most popular. Almost everyone who comes here strives to conquer their highest points.

The popularity of Elbrus is due to the fact that it is the highest point in the region, while Kazbek is interesting for the complexity of the ascent. Choosing the slopes on the Russian side can face a whole host of challenges. There is a high avalanche hazard here, so getting to the highest point of Kazbek may not be any easier than conquering Elbrus Peak. However, these are not all the peaks that can surprise persistent travelers.

Other mountains of the Caucasus and their features

It is difficult to conquer the highest points of the region, so you need to prepare properly, taking into account the peculiarities of each route.

The Dykhtau massif includes Pushkin Peak, which offers one of the most beautiful views of the local landscapes. But getting to its highest point will be no easier than conquering Kazbek or Elbrus. Shkhara offers peaks of various difficulty levels. This mountain is optimal for an experienced climber, often positioned by travel agencies as the best choice for mountaineering holidays. Significant difficulties await those who are going to conquer Dzhangitau. This high mountain became famous for its technically challenging routes, which sometimes require strategic thinking. Koshtantau also has its surprises, which is considered easy to climb, but the weather can spoil everything. Having almost reached the highest point of the mountain, climbers are often faced with an ice crust, which complicates their progress many times over.

The most difficult is Mizhirgi. Its routes are compared with the most difficult routes of Kazbek, Elbrus and other peaks. Difficult sections and steepness exhaust travelers, who at some point may find themselves in serious danger, so during the ascent it is necessary to save energy in order to maintain endurance.

Whichever mountain you choose to conquer, you need to enlist the support of guides who know the peaks well enough. It is thanks to them that you can significantly reduce the risk and quickly conquer the highest point.

▲ The North Caucasus has experienced a complex geological history, and the formation of the chain of the Caucasus Mountains took place during the era of the so-called Alpine fold zone, which includes the mountains of Southern and Central Europe, Western Asia, the Carpathians, Crimea, and the Himalayas. Mountain building on the territory of Karachay-Cherkessia has occurred more than once. ▲ The landscape of land and sea in the Archean era was desolate, harsh and gloomy. On land, which apparently existed on the site of the present 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 the 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, releasing clouds of steam. In this ancient era, the only living things on earth may have been bacteria or microbes, the remains of which were found in layers that formed two billion years ago. The limestones found in these deposits, according to scientists, are the product of the vital activity of bacteria that secreted 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 present 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. Throughout the entire Precambrian, for three billion years, powerful, measured in kilometers, sediments of sand and clay have accumulated in its seas. They are layered and overlain by lavas of volcanic eruptions and ash of underwater and terrestrial volcanoes. The entire rock mass was repeatedly compressed into folds, compacted under tremendous pressure, turning into crystalline schists and gneisses. These rocks, together with huge intrusions of granites, form the Main ridge of the Caucasus in the section from the Terek to the Belaya River. ▲ About two billion years ago, there was an era of the most powerful ore formation on Earth, therefore, the rocks of the Precambrian throughout the planet contain colossal accumulations of minerals - iron ores, copper, rare metals. In the Caucasus, these ancient rocks are located at a considerable depth, still inaccessible to humans. Crystalline schists and gneisses of the Main Caucasian Ridge - 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 deposited again and their formation is associated with the 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 to 570 million years ago). At the end of this era there was a bottom uplift. Mountains appeared, which gradually collapsed, then were again subjected to subsidence. ▲ Repeated alternation of such vertical movements caused changes in rocks, magma rose along the faults and poured out to the surface. During the periods of subsidence, the process of accumulation of sediments continued, among which the remains of living organisms - marine animals, whose prints and fossils are constantly found on the territory of Karachay-Cherkessia - occupied an important place. ▲ 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 intermontane depression. The rocks of the Paleozoic era make up the Main and the second highest ridge - the Foremost. ▲ A second moment in the history of the formation of the Caucasus was the Silurian period (435 million years ago). The Caledonian folding, which began during this period, also covered 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 mollusks, and various algae. Living organisms of the seas and small lagoons began to populate the land - the first land plants appeared, the first animals - millipedes, scorpions. In the highlands of our republic, there are outcrops of Silurian rocks, in which imprints of graptolite and brachiopods are found. ▲ In the Upper Carboniferous in the Caucasus, continental conditions were formed, in the shallow lagoons there was an accumulation of plant remains, 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, desolate cliffs piled up everywhere. On land, in damp places, in some places scarce primeval vegetation developed - mosses, horsetails, ferns. Algae grew in abundance in the shallow coastal zones of the sea. All life was concentrated in water. In the seas were found in large numbers crustaceans (trilobites), sponges and similar more complex organisms - archaeocyates with calcareous skeletons, as well as various molluscs. And time passed. The mountains were destroyed, in their place there were plateaus and plains. Oscillations of the earth's crust either lowered the land, and it was flooded by the sea, then raised individual areas of land and erected new mountain ranges. In the Caucasus, during the Paleozoic era, such changes occurred several times. Life continued to develop. Appeared in the sea sea \u200b\u200burchins, corals and the first vertebrate shellfish. Plants spread on land - psilophytes and ferns, and in rivers, lakes and swamps - scorpions, which later became the first land animals. Volcanoes were active in the Caucasus and north of it. Deposits of tungsten, non-ferrous metals, niobium, tantalum, ore occurrences of minerals of the platinum, chromium and nickel groups, and gold are associated with the introduction 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 in the Uchkulansky gorge, there are large gold-bearing layers. Nuggets weighing 200-300 grams and even more than 700 grams have been and are being found here, 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 Caucasus Range, in the Devonian expanded significantly to the north. At the beginning of the Devonian, vegetation on land was represented by low shrubs, and by the end of the period, there were already real forests of ferns, horsetails and lyres. The first terrestrial vertebrates - stegocephals - lived on land, and all the main groups of fish, including large shark-like marine predators, lived in the water. The first insects also appeared. ▲ In the Lower Carboniferous, 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 moss have grown into huge trees. Insects and worms, huge cockroaches, scorpions and long-legged spiders swarmed among the gloomy, monotonous green of the forest and in the semi-darkness of impenetrable swamps, huge predatory dragonflies flew in the air. In swamps and lagoons, crawling from time to time on the islets, clumsy amphibians - stegocephals - swarmed. The first rhizopods appeared in the seas - unicellular foraminifera, echinoderms (sea lilies and hedgehogs), bryozoans, and various brachiopods were widespread. The appearance of the first reptiles belongs to this period. In the North Caucasus, in the region of the Bolshoi Zelenchuk, Urup and Laba rivers, dying forests buried in silt and sand later turned into coal beds. ▲ In the Lower Permian time, a sea existed in the place of the Caucasus, and already at the end of the Permian period, the Caucasus turned into dry land, and the mountains raised their peaks to the sky for the first time, which was associated with the Hercynian, or Varistian, folding. Then the Urals appeared. 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, and sun-scorched deserts 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 terrestrial animals appeared - reptiles. Among them stood out pareiasaurs the size of a bull, predators - foreigners, herbivores - dicynodonts and others. To the south of what is now the North Caucasus was an elevated area. The rivers flowing from it fell into the sea, the coast of which was located in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Front Range. Red sands and pebbles were deposited at river mouths. They formed the red-colored Permian rocks, which are widespread along the Peredovoy Range. ▲ In the marshy forests of the Carboniferous period, 250–210 million years ago, in the Caucasus, treelike horsetails and 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), and this 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 area was warm, rich vegetation developed in humid zones. Gymnosperms became the dominant plants; various cicadas, conifers (cypresses, fir, araucaria) and ginkgo trees (these trees have survived to this day, they can be seen in the vicinity of Pyatigorsk). Amphibians - 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 became extinct, and reptiles developed rapidly in the animal world. They quickly conquered land, water and air. The ancestors of mammals appeared - animal-like reptiles with a massive tail and snout of a predatory animal - cynodonts, dicynodons and ichthyosaurs (length 2–6 meters). The reptiles common in the Mesozoic also include archosaurs, which are divided into thecodonts that walked on two legs, dinosaurs (dinos - in Greek for "terrible"), beak-headed and flying lizards. The first half of the Mesozoic era was marked by a cycle of mountain building movements. A chain of volcanoes then stretched along the present Caucasian ridge, capturing the upper reaches of the Kuban, Podkumka, Cherek, etc. Volcanoes were located both on land and under water. The radius of their action covered 15–20 kilometers in a circle, the thickness of the lava in some places reached 500 meters. ▲ The Mesozoic era is famous not only for its minerals in the Caucasus, but also for its unusual giant animals. Dragons, fire-breathing snakes, seven-headed monsters - the characters of Chinese and Russian fairy tales, legends of the mountain peoples of the Caucasus - they are somewhat reminiscent of 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 to the present day. Its beginning is associated with a remarkable event: the appearance of man on Earth. The rocks of the Tertiary period are composed of the Pasture ridge, the foothill strip, the Sychevy mountains, the Vorovskoles 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 present places were a vast island in the middle of the sea, it covered the entire modern mountainous Caucasus. Its relief was mountainous, indented 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 a huge thickness of chocolate (gray with olive tint) clays was deposited in the surrounding sea, 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 and tropical. Evergreen laurels, oaks, magnolias, camphor trees, walnuts, palms grew here. Together with them, the vegetation that is characteristic in our time for the temperate climate of central Russia - alder, linden, willow, ferns, developed. Thermophilic grapes, bamboos, marsh cypresses, and mammoth trees got along well next to them. Later, the climate became even warmer. Bananas, eucalyptus trees, large ficuses appeared in the forests. In the Maikop time, a vertical zoning of vegetation appears on the Caucasian mountain island: on the picturesque coast, cut by bays, bays and lagoons, tropical vegetation prevailed, higher in the mountains it was replaced by subtropical, and then by deciduous and coniferous trees of the temperate zone. ▲ The processes continued in the Quaternary era. In the Quaternary period, the Caucasus Mountains were glaciated. Glaciers descended from the Main and Side ridges. Floating 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 (350, 190 and 135 million years ago, respectively) periods. In the collection of paleontological finds, there are also leading fossils - the remains of plants and animals, which can be used to determine the age of the layers of the earth's crust.▲ In the middle of the Jurassic (160 million years ago) period, land rose again from the sea - an island appeared that had existed for a rather 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 flooded the land covered them with water. It took millions of years for the buried ginkgo forest heaps to turn into coal, which is now mined in Karachay-Cherkessia at the Khumarinskoye deposit.Picturesque landscapes were then discovered on the Caucasian land. Against the background of bizarre cones of smoking volcanoes, forests and copses of palms, ginkgo and coniferous trees stood out with bright greenery. Among them lakes glittered in the sun like mirrors. The southern edge of the present Greater Caucasus 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 tortoise, but large. Inhabited, similar to dolphins, ichthyosaurs, cephalopods - ammonites, whose shells reached a meter in diameter, as well as belemnites with a cigar-shaped shell. 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 over present-day Karachay-Cherkessia were pterodactyls and pterosaurs, lizards with wings like those of bats, and the first birds - archeopteryx the size of a crow.▲ The Central Caucasus has finally become dry land since the Upper Jurassic. At the beginning, he represented a large island. Subsequently, increasing in size, he recaptured more and more land from the sea. In the Upper Cretaceous, an underwater uplift was first outlined in the area of \u200b\u200bthe present Stavropol Upland.▲ Sediments of the Mesozoic era - the “era of middle life” (230–70 million years ago) - participate in the formation of the Advanced, Rocky and Pasture ridges 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 the sea was abundant in mollusks, ammonites, belemnites, which later formed limestone. The warm sea was teeming 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, and on land there is a rapid development of plants and insects. Conifers have replaced the extinct ginkgo trees. Angiosperms spread extremely quickly. Among them are oak, poplar, willow, beech, birch, sycamore, eucalyptus, magnolia, palm tree that exist today. For the first time, grasses, shrubs and trees bloomed. The forests and meadows were filled with the smell of flowers. A lot of insects appeared: butterflies, bees, bumblebees. Animals go out on land, adapt to plant foods. Ammonites, belemnites, which make up the main food of marine reptiles, are dying out. Apparently, this also caused the extinction of the reptiles themselves. New groups of animals, birds, 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, platypus 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 dinosaurs, the giant tyrannosaurs stood out, not inferior in size to the 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 were replaced by trees with falling leaves 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, moose, 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 noble deer, rhinos, trogonteria elephant and other animals have been preserved here for a long time in the harsh climate of the ice ages. 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 quarry, nine kilometers from Stavropol, a whole cemetery of Tertiary mammals has been discovered - from giant dinotherium elephants, giraffes and mastadons to small rodents. There were also parts of skeletons of birds and turtles. Quite recently, under the village of Zelenchukskaya, the bones of the rarest Elasmotherium - the humpback were found. Before this find, there were only a few bones of an outlandish animal in the world's collections. Outwardly, he very much resembled a modern rhinoceros: short powerful legs, a pronounced hump, a wide, sharply falling croup. Its massive head was crowned with a horn. From the inhabitants of the ancient seas, in particular the Sarmatian Sea, a well-preserved skeleton of a dolphin, a cytotherium whale spine, and fish prints were found. ▲ In 1970, in the valley of the Dzheguta River, the bones of a southern elephant, the largest of the proboscis, were found, which reached enormous sizes. In 1960, the complete skeleton of a southern fossil elephant was discovered near the city of Georgievsk. Of the four complete skeletons of a southern elephant found so far on the globe, the elephant of St. George ranks first in the number of preserved bones. The St. George elephant during its 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 off and ages, a new tooth grows behind, 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 regions of Europe, as evidenced by bones preserved and found in excavations. He witnessed the formidable eruptions of Elbrus and other volcanoes in the Caucasus.▲ In 25 kilometers to the north of Cherkessk there is a well-known “underground zoological museum”. 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 the neighboring Stavropol Territory. 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 talus of the Chokrak deposits, near the Kuban river bed, 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 lumpy, adapted for grinding branches and other rough 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 Anchiterian fauna. The White Mechet accumulation of bones became the famous find of a very strange-looking mastodon called platybelodon, which means "flat-toothed". He had no trunk or upper tusks. Its flat lower tusks have grown together and formed something like a "scoop" with the front end bent upward, in which it "washed" the food captured in water and silt. Platibelodon led an "amphibious" lifestyle, most of the time he was among lakes, swamps and swamps.The Caucasian Terium, found near the Belomechetskaya stanitsa, an animal intermediate between a horse and a rhinoceros, was also new to science. Artiodactyls were very diverse here, among them the cubanoherus 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" for males. For many years of incessant excavations (now, unfortunately, excavations are no longer carried out here), paleontologists have found a lot of interesting things. It was inhabited by various ancient deer, related to those living now in southeast Asia: diprocerus with short, branching horns in two; paradiprocerus, in which from the main column of horns, expanding upward, five pointed processes and, finally, a deer (it was called micromaris), which, it turns out, did not exceed the growth of a modern hare, extended upwards. There lived small antelopes: paragocerus and gypsodontus, similar in size to saigas. Near Belomechetskaya, for the first time in the USSR, the remains of aardvark were found, 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 buildings 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, here were found the bones of a small hyena, a short-faced wolverine, a large amfition - a dog-bear. Of the rodents, only the bones of a hamster were found. No plant remains have survived in the White Mechet sediments, 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-day Cherkessk). ▲ In 1973, geologist D. Kieselvater discovered a find (the remains of a dinosaur), the age of which, after careful studies by specialists, is 280 million years old! ▲ In 1967, pupils of the geological circle of the Circassian Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren named after Y. Gagarin (headed by L.B. having amphitic (concave both in front and behind) articulation surfaces, which is typical for fish fin, typical representatives of which are the famous ichthyosaurs, or fish lizard. Subsequent finds turned out to be no less interesting. In 1995-2000, tourists of the republican center for youth and children's tourism (leaders A. G. Rakacheva and V. G. Mozgov) managed to extract from the clay horizon more than a hundred separate fossilized bones of marine reptiles belonging to at least three different individuals. The aquatic reptiles of Jegonas lived 100–96 million years ago. In 1995, tourists found a skeleton. At first, the found fossils were of little interest to anyone: 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 the ichthyosaur, the youngest, still not described species, which is 90 million years old. Its approximate length was 4 meters. Now in scientific circles there is an opinion that there is a whole cemetery of ancient lizards on Jegonas. ▲ In June 1999, young local historians of the republican center of children and youth tourism (group leader V. G. Mozgov) pleased with a unique find. At the western edge of Mount Bolshoy Yaman-Dzhalga, 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 Khabez village. ▲ In March 2006, the shepherd of the Ust-Dzhegutinsky district, Khasan Salpagarov, stumbled upon an unusual find that caused a stir on the slope of a hill located near the bridge crossing the BSC on the eastern exit from the city of Ust-Dzheguta. It is possible that the discovered find could become a sensation in the world of science. The skull, more than 10 centimeters in diameter, belonged to a once living creature with a large brain volume. While in all living things the spinal cord communicates with the head by one nerve cord, 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 not far from the Leso-Kyafar farm a curious slab of quartz sandstone, on which the posterior surface of a fossil vertebra of a medium-sized reptile from the group of Triassic Notosaurus or southern lizards (he was given the name Simosaurus stancevytchi Doletschek) was imprinted. in their way of life, to some extent, they resembled seals. A well-known local historian from the city of Cherkessk Lev Lvovich Dolechek, who was awarded a medal of the Russian Municipal Academy for the study of natural heritage monuments in 2005, was engaged in the study of the unique find. According to him, when studying the slab, the latest equipment was used, electronic material collections of aquatic reptiles of the Geological-Paleontological Institute and the Museum of the University of Tübingen (Germany). The estimated dating of M. Stankevich's simosaurus is 196 million years, although until now it was 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, the Cretaceous formations are hidden under Tertiary formations, the stratification of which lasted for several millennia.▲ 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 present 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 they, one might say, are just emerging from their "infancy" age. The Caucasus Mountains have "grown" over the past 11-12 million years in two steps. The first stage of the uplift of the mountains took place 12-6 million years ago. The central part of the Greater Caucasus rose then by 2-2.5 kilometers. The second stage of the rise of mountains covers the last 1.5-2 million years. Thus, the Caucasus took shape as a high-mountainous country quite "recently", when man appeared and developed on Earth.▲ The Caucasus Mountains are growing. True, very slowly and not everywhere the same. Elbrus, for example, grows at a rate of up to 3 centimeters per year, the mountains in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Cross Pass connecting North Ossetia and Georgia - at a rate of several millimeters per year. Scientists believe this growth is an echo of the once active volcanic activity, and its speed is explained by the block structure of the earth's crust.

The Kuban sloping plain rises annually by two millimeters per year, the Pasture ridge - up to five millimeters, the Skalisty ridge - up to six millimeters, the North Jurassic depression, which is located between the Skalisty and the Side ridges, - up to 5.5 millimeters, the Lateral ridge - up to 12 millimeters, the Main Caucasian ridge - more than 13.5 millimeters per year. Together with the Caucasus Mountains, Cherkessk rises annually by 14 millimeters. For structures currently under construction that are designed to operate for several centuries (for example, dams), such a slow movement is very serious.