What is the height of Mount Caucasus. Main Caucasus Range: description, parameters, peaks

There is a beautiful mountain system on our planet. It is located on, or to be more precise, between two seas - the Caspian and Black. It bears the proud name - Caucasus Mountains. Has coordinates: 42°30′ northern latitude and 45°00′ east longitude. The length of the mountain system is more than one thousand kilometers. Territorially it belongs to six countries: Russia and the states of the Caucasus region: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, etc.

It is still not clearly stated which part of the continent the Caucasus Mountains belong to. Elbrus and Mont Blanc are fighting for the title. The latter is located in the Alps. Geographical position The plan is easy to describe. And this article will help with this.

Borders

During times Ancient Greece it was the Caucasus and the Bosphorus that separated the 2 continents. But the world map was constantly changing, peoples migrated. In the Middle Ages, the Don River was considered the border. Much later, in the 17th century, a Swedish geographer led it through the Urals, down the river. Embe to the Caspian Sea. His idea was supported by scientists of the time and the Russian Tsar. According to this definition, mountains belong to Asia. On the other hand, in Great Encyclopedia Laroussa marks the border running south of Kazbek and Elbrus. Thus, both mountains are in Europe.

It is somewhat difficult to describe the geographical position of the Caucasus Mountains as accurately as possible. Opinions regarding territorial affiliation changed solely according to political reasons. Europe was singled out as a special part of the world, linking this with the level of development of civilization. The border between the continents gradually moved east. She became a moving line.

Some scientists, noting differences in geological structure massif, they propose to draw the border along the main ridge Greater Caucasus. And this is not surprising. mountains allows it. Its northern slope will belong to Europe, and its southern slope will belong to Asia. This issue is being actively discussed by scientists from all six states. Geographers of Azerbaijan and Armenia believe that the Caucasus belongs to Asia, and Georgian scientists believe that it belongs to Europe. Many well-known authoritative people believe that the entire massif belongs to Asia, so Elbrus will not be considered the most for a long time high point Europe.

System composition

This massif consists of 2 mountain systems: the Lesser and Greater Caucasus. Often the latter is presented as a single ridge, but this is not so. And if you study the geographical position of the Caucasus Mountains on the map, you will notice that it is not one of those. The Greater Caucasus stretches for more than a kilometer from Anapa and the Taman Peninsula almost all the way to Baku. Conventionally, it consists of the following parts: Western, Eastern and Central Caucasus. The first zone extends from the Black Sea to Elbrus, the middle one - from the highest peak to Kazbek, the last - from Kazbek to the Caspian Sea.

The western chains originate from the Taman Peninsula. And at first they look more like hills. However, the further east you go, the higher they become. Their peaks are covered with snow and glaciers. The ranges of Dagestan are located in the east of the Greater Caucasus. This complex systems with river valleys forming canyons. About 1.5 thousand sq. km of the Greater Caucasus is covered with glaciers. Most of they account for central District. The Lesser Caucasus includes nine ranges: Adzhar-Imereti, Karabakh, Bazum and others. The highest of them, located in the middle and eastern parts, are Murov-Dag, Pambaksky, etc.

Climate

Analyzing the geographical position of the Caucasus Mountains, we see that they are located on the border of two climatic zones - subtropical and temperate. Transcaucasia belongs to the subtropics. The rest of the territory belongs to the zone temperate climate. North Caucasus - warm region. Summer there lasts almost 5 months, and winter never drops below -6 °C. It is short-lived - 2-3 months. In high mountain areas the climate is different. There it is influenced by the Atlantic and Mediterranean, so the weather is wetter.

Due to the complex terrain in the Caucasus, there are many zones that differ from each other. This climate allows the cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, cotton and other exotic crops that suit the temperate nature weather conditions. The geographical position of the Caucasus Mountains largely influences the formation temperature regime in nearby areas.

Himalayas and Caucasus Mountains

Often at school, students are asked to compare the geographical position of the Himalayas and Iz, the similarity is only in one thing: both systems are located in Eurasia. But they have many differences:

• The Caucasus Mountains are located in the Himalayas, but they belong only to Asia.
• The average height of the Caucasus Mountains is 4 thousand m, the Himalayas - 5 thousand m.
• Also, these mountain systems are located in different climatic zones. The Himalayas are mostly in the subequatorial, less in the tropics, and the Caucasus - in the subtropical and temperate.

As you can see, these two systems are not identical. The geographical position of the Caucasus Mountains and the Himalayas is similar in some respects, but not in others. But both systems are quite large, beautiful, and amazing.

The vast majority of the peaks included in the list of the highest mountains in Russia on the map belong to one mountain system - the Greater Caucasus. This huge mountain range is located between the Black and Caspian Seas. Three Kamchatka hills - Klyuchevskaya, Kamen and Ploskaya Blizhnaya (13th, 18th and 70th places) and two peaks are barely catching up with the southerners Altai mountains— Belukha and Tavan-Bogdo-Uul (19th and 67th place).

To prevent Russian climbers from getting bored with the monotony, the Mountaineering Federation decided to include in the conditions for receiving the most honorable mountaineering title the conquest of not only the eight highest mountains on the list, but also the assault on Belukha and Klyuchevskaya Sopka.

Shota Rustaveli Peak is one of the peaks that make up the so-called Bezengi Wall - a giant mountain range stretching for 13 km. In addition to the Shota Rustaveli peak, the wall is formed by Dzhangitau (fifth place in the ranking), Katyntau (ninth) and Shkhara (sixth).

9. Katyn-Tau – 4970 m

The Kabardino-Balkarians have a sad legend associated with the name of this mountain. Mountain peak Tetnuld (“white”), one of the most beautiful, invariably admirable tourists with his whiteness, decided to abandon his old wife, Katyn (“wife”), for the sake of the young, Dzhangy (“new”, “young”). Perhaps Tetnuld was a climber - the height of Katyn does not reach 5 km, but Dzhangy, or Dzhangitau, ranks fifth in the list of the highest mountains in Russia.

8. Mizhirgi – 5025 m

The list of Russian “five thousand meters” begins with Mizhirga - the highest and most dangerous mountains in Russia, which every climber dreams of climbing. Mizhirgi, despite the modest eighth place in height, the mountain is very capricious and surpasses higher peaks in terms of difficulty.

7. Kazbek – 5034 m

This is one of the most beautiful peaks of the Greater Caucasus Range. Her image appears on many covers of travel magazines, photographs, postcards and stamps. A lonely white peak of a regular conical shape (Kazbek was once a volcano) stands out sharply against the background of green foothills. Unfortunately, due to the difficult geopolitical situation, ascents to Kazbek are no longer as frequent as they once were.

6. Shkhara – 5068 m

One of the most beloved peaks by climbers, and the highest mountain in the central part of the Caucasus range. You can climb it via a wide variety of routes, and several peaks will allow you to appreciate the beauty of the surrounding places from new points of view.

According to the results of recent measurements, Shkhara can move from sixth place to third - according to the latest data, its height is 5193.2 m. However, there is no doubt about which is the highest mountain in Russia - first place is ahead of all the others with a margin of almost half a kilometer.

5. Dzhangitau – 5085 m

Like Mizhirgi, Dzhangitau is considered one of the most difficult and dangerous peaks. Just three years ago, an experienced climber fell from its slopes (with fatal results), and a couple of years before that, a climbing group had to be rescued by helicopter.

4. Pushkin Peak – 5100 m

Most often they prefer to climb Pushkin Peak from the south side. However, experienced rock climbers prefer the northern side - in addition to a slightly more difficult route, you can admire the enchanting beauty of the surrounding nature.

3. Koshtantau – 5152 m

Koshtantau opens the top three among the highest mountains in Russia. Sometimes she is merciful to climbers and gives them gifts beautiful weather, making the climb easy and enjoyable. However, this rarely happens; Most often, the capricious beauty prefers to dress up in an icy robe, which makes the ascent much more difficult.

The conquest of Costantau began with a tragedy - two English climbers and their Swiss guides died while trying to climb it. Since then, several routes have been laid up the mountain, but they all have increased difficulty - from 4B to 6A (for comparison: the lowest category is 1B, the highest is 6B, and category 6A is in second place, up to 6B).

2. Dykhtau – 5204 m

The poetic genius of the Balkar people decided to rest on the name Dykhtau. Translated from this language, the name simply means “steep mountain.” It's almost like a nickname.

The mountain looks harsh - the granite-gneiss rocks that make up Dykhtau are dark in color. And in contrast to the white snow and clouds (located at a lower altitude than the peak), they look especially gloomy.

The difficulty of climbing the mountain corresponds to its seriousness appearance— there are more than ten routes to the double peaks of Dykhtau, but even the simplest of them belongs to category 4A, above average.

1. The highest mountain in Russia – Elbrus, 5642 m

On the border between the republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia is the Side Range of the Caucasus Mountains, where Elbrus, the highest mountain in Russia, is located. Elbrus has two peaks - western and eastern; the difference between them is 21 m.

This is not an easy mountain; it is a legacy of those times when the young Caucasus Mountains were still fire-breathing. Elbrus is a huge volcano, fortunately, extinct a long time ago. Over the past tens of thousands of years, Elbrus has been covered with a shell of ice of enormous thickness - in some places it reaches 250 m, which is equal to the height of an eighty-story building.

Despite its terrifying height (Elbrus is considered the highest mountain not only in Russia, but also in Europe, and is also among the top ten), the mountain’s character is not evil and the path to the top has long been found. The first ascent of Elbrus took place in the first third of the 19th century. Since then, whoever has been there! People climbed not only on foot, but also on horses, motorcycles and cars. They carried ATVs and even 75-kilogram barbells. And since the early 1990s, regular competitions have been taking place in high-speed climbing of the snow giant. From the foot to the top of Elbrus the journey takes exactly 3 hours 28 minutes 41 seconds.

List of 80 highest mountain peaks in Russia

The table shows mountain peaks with a height of at least 4000 meters and located on the territory of the Russian Federation.

The Caucasus Mountains are located on the isthmus between the Caspian and Black Seas. The Caucasus is separated from the East European Plain by the Kuma-Manych depression. The territory of the Caucasus can be divided into several parts: Ciscaucasia, Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia. In the territory Russian Federation are located only Ciscaucasia and Northern part Greater Caucasus. The last two parts together are called the North Caucasus. However, for Russia this part of the territory is the southernmost. Here, along the ridge of the Main Ridge, passes state border Russian Federation, behind which lie Georgia and Azerbaijan. The entire system of the Caucasus ridge occupies an area of ​​approximately 2600 m2, with its northern slope occupying about 1450 m2, while the southern slope is only about 1150 m2.

The North Caucasus Mountains are relatively young. Their relief was created by different tectonic structures. In the southern part there are folded block mountains and foothills of the Greater Caucasus. They were formed when deep trough zones were filled with sedimentary and volcanic rocks, which later underwent folding. Tectonic processes here were accompanied by significant bends, stretches, ruptures and fractures of the earth's layers. As a result, it poured onto the surface a large number of magma (this led to the formation of significant ore deposits). The uplifts that occurred here in the Neogene and Quaternary periods led to the elevation of the surface and the type of relief that exists today. The rise of the central part of the Greater Caucasus was accompanied by the subsidence of strata along the edges of the resulting ridge. Thus, the Terek-Caspian trough was formed in the east, and the Indal-Kuban trough in the west.

The Greater Caucasus is often presented as a single ridge. In fact, this is a whole system of various ridges, which can be divided into several parts. The Western Caucasus is located from the Black Sea coast to Mount Elbrus, then (from Elbrus to Kazbek) the Central Caucasus follows, and to the east from Kazbek to the Caspian Sea - the Eastern Caucasus. In addition, in the longitudinal direction two ridges can be distinguished: Vodorazdelny (sometimes called the main one) and Bokovaya. On the northern slope of the Caucasus there are the Skalisty and Pastbishchny ridges, as well as the Black Mountains. They were formed as a result of interlayering of layers composed of different hardnesses. sedimentary rocks. One slope of the ridge here is gentle, while the other ends quite abruptly. As you move away from the axial zone, the height of the mountain ranges decreases.

The chain of the Western Caucasus begins at the Taman Peninsula. At the very beginning, it’s more likely not even mountains, but hills. They begin to rise to the east. Highest parts North Caucasus covered with snow caps and glaciers. The highest peaks of the Western Caucasus are Mount Fisht (2870 meters) and Oshten (2810 meters). The highest part of the Greater Caucasus mountain system is the Central Caucasus. Even some passes at this point reach a height of 3 thousand meters, and the lowest of them (Krestovy) lies at an altitude of 2380 meters. The highest peaks of the Caucasus are also located here. For example, the height of Mount Kazbek is 5033 meters, and the double-headed extinct volcano Elbrus is the most high peak Russia.

The relief here is highly dissected: sharp ridges, steep slopes and rocky peaks predominate. Eastern part The Greater Caucasus consists mainly of the numerous ranges of Dagestan (translated, the name of this region means “ Mountain country"). There are complex branching ridges with steep slopes and deep canyon-like river valleys. However, the height of the peaks here is less than in the central part of the mountain system, but they still exceed a height of 4 thousand meters. The rise of the Caucasus Mountains continues in our time. Quite frequent earthquakes in this region of Russia are associated with this. North of Central Caucasus, where the magma rising through the cracks did not spill out to the surface, low, so-called island mountains were formed. The largest of them are Beshtau (1400 meters) and Mashuk (993 meters). At their base there are numerous springs of mineral waters.

The so-called Ciscaucasia is occupied by the Kuban and Terek-Kuma lowlands. They are separated from each other by the Stavropol Upland, whose height is 700-800 meters. The Stavropol Upland is dissected by wide and deeply incised valleys, gullies and ravines. At the base of this area lies a young slab. Its structure consists of Neogene formations, covered with limestone deposits - loess and loess-like loams, and in the eastern part also marine sediments Quaternary period. Climate regime quite favorable in this area. Enough high mountains serve as a good barrier to cold air penetrating here. The proximity of the long cooling sea also has an effect. The Greater Caucasus is the border between two climatic zones– subtropical and temperate. On Russian territory The climate is still moderate, but the above factors contribute to fairly high temperatures.

Caucasus Mountains As a result, winters in the Ciscaucasia are quite warm ( average temperature in January it is about -5°C). This is facilitated by coming from outside Atlantic Ocean warm air masses. On Black Sea coast the temperature rarely drops below zero (the average January temperature is 3°C). In mountainous areas the temperature is naturally lower. Thus, the average temperature on the plain in summer is about 25°C, and in the upper reaches of the mountains - 0°C. Precipitation falls into this area mainly due to cyclones arriving from the west, as a result of which its amount gradually decreases to the east.

Most precipitation falls on the southwestern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. Their number on the Kuban Plain is approximately 7 times lower. Glaciation has developed in the mountains of the North Caucasus, the area of ​​which ranks first among all regions of Russia. The rivers flowing here are fed by water formed by the melting of glaciers. The largest Caucasian rivers are the Kuban and Terek, as well as their numerous tributaries. Mountain rivers, as usual, are fleeting, and in their lower reaches there are wetlands overgrown with reeds and reeds.

In the ridge of the Caucasus Mountains is Elbrus. It is also considered throughout Europe. Its location is such that several peoples live around it, who call it differently. Therefore, if you hear names such as Alberis, Oshkhomakho, Mingitau or Yalbuz, know that they mean the same thing.

In this article we will introduce you closer to the highest mountain in the Caucasus - Elbrus, which was once an active volcano, and ranks fifth on the planet among mountains formed in the same way.

The height of the peaks of Elbrus in the Caucasus

As already mentioned, the highest mountain in Russia is an extinct volcano. This is precisely the reason that its top does not have a pointed shape, but looks like a two-peaked cone, between which there is a saddle at an altitude of 5 km 200 m. Located at a distance of 3 km from each other, the two peaks are different: the eastern one is 5621 m, and the western one is 5642 m. m. Reference books always indicate a large value.

Like all former volcanoes, Elbrus consists of two parts: a pedestal of rocks, in this case it is 700 m, and a bulk cone formed after the eruptions (1942 m).

Starting from an altitude of 3500 m, the surface of the mountain is covered with snow. First mixed with scatterings of stones, and then turning into a uniform white cover. The most famous glaciers of Elbrus are Terskop, Bolshoi and Maly Azau.

The temperature at the top of Elbrus remains virtually unchanged and is -1.4°C. A large amount of precipitation falls here, but due to this temperature regime, it is almost always snow, so the glaciers do not melt. Since the snow cap of Elbrus is visible all year round for many kilometers, the mountain is also called “Little Antakrtida”.

Glaciers located at the top of the mountain feed the most big rivers these places are Kuban and Terek.

To see the beautiful view from the top of Elbrus, you need to climb it. This is quite easy to do, since the height of 3750 m can be reached along the southern slope on a pendulum or chairlift cable car. The Barrels shelter for travelers is located here. It consists of 12 insulated trailers for 6 people and a stationary kitchen. They are equipped in such a way that you can wait out any bad weather in them, even for a long time.

The next stop is usually at an altitude of 4100 m at the Shelter of Eleven Hotel. A parking lot here was established in the 20th century, but was destroyed by fire. Then a new building was built in its place.

The peaks of Elbrus were first conquered in 1829 by the eastern peak and in 1874 by the western peak.

Nowadays, the Donguzorun and Ushba massifs, as well as the Adylsu, Adyrsu and Shkheldy gorges, are popular among climbers. Mass ascents to the peaks are increasingly being organized. On the south side is located ski resort"Elbrus Azau". It consists of 7 trails with a total length of 11 km. They are suitable for both beginners and experienced skiers. The distinctive feature of this resort is freedom of movement. All routes have a minimum number of fences and dividers. It is recommended to visit it from October to May; during this period the snow is the heaviest.

Elbrus is at the same time very beautiful and dangerous mountain. After all, according to scientists, there is a possibility that in the next 100 years the volcano will awaken, and then all nearby regions (Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia) will suffer.