10 Interesting Facts About the Caucasus Mountains

Mountains are a real source of natural wonders and beauties. They attracted artists, poets, tourists and scientists from all over the world. And the Caucasus Mountains, located on our and not only our territory, are especially beautiful. Snowy peaks are combined with picturesque slopes, forests and mountain rivers.

Caves, lakes, meadows and amazing animals make the locals admire the beauty of their native lands. The ease with which you can get to the foot of the mountains has been pleasing and attracting climbers for decades.

Our today’s list will reveal 10 interesting facts about the majestic Caucasus Mountains.

10 The deepest cave in the world is located

The Caucasus Mountains can surprise even the most spoiled tourist and geologist. The most beautiful coniferous forests, mountain rivers with their crazy flow, real alpine meadows and peaks scratching the sky.

There is another miracle that is hidden in the very bowels of the mountains – the deepest cave in the world, whose depth is 2191 meters. This unique natural phenomenon is called Kruber-Voronya.

The cave was discovered only in 1960 by a group of amateur tourists who dared to go down only to a depth of about a hundred meters. Only eight years later, the second descent into the cave took place, which had already reached 210 meters. After this research, the cave was given a second name – Siberian.

Ten years later, Kyiv speleologists ventured into the cave, to a depth of 340 meters. They called her Voronya, after which she began to be called by the name already familiar to us.

Only in 2004 the cave was explored two kilometers deep. Krubera-Voronya is of karst origin, and the length of all its corridors is as much as 16 kilometers. Scientists say that two-kilometer depth indicators are not the limit, and soon we will hear about a new record for the deepest cave in the world.

9. The Caucasus Mountains are located on the territory of four countries

The length of the Caucasus Mountains is more than a thousand meters and exceeds the distance between Minsk and Moscow, and the width in some areas is 180 kilometers.

To better understand how large and massive the mountains are, it is worth saying that the territory of the country of Tajikistan is slightly smaller than the area occupied by the mountains.

The ridges of the Caucasus stretched over vast territories and entire four countries can boast of having these mountains. These are Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. In addition to them, a part of the Caucasus is also owned by a country that is not recognized by all countries of the world – Abkhazia.

8. The highest point of the Caucasus mountain range – Elbrus

The mountains of the Caucasus are distinguished by their beauty and grandeur. They are very high, covered with glaciers, and many rivers line their slopes and decorate forests.

Mount Elbrus is the highest point in the Caucasus Mountains.. Reaching a height of 5 meters, Elbrus becomes a mecca for climbers from all over the world.

In addition to the highest point of the Caucasus Mountains, this giant is also the highest mountain in Russia and is included in the list of the highest mountains in six parts of the world.

Interesting fact: Elbrus is not just a mountain, but a real volcano that fell asleep many thousands of years ago.

A cap of 23 glaciers adorns this mountain, which has two peaks, differing in height by only some 20 meters.

7. All rivers flowing from the slopes of the mountains fall into the Black Sea

All rivers rushing down from the mountain peaks and slopes of the Caucasus rush straight into the Black Sea. The speed of their flow due to the steep descent is so great that ice simply cannot form on them.

The rivers are fed by melt water from glaciers and snow caps, and they are also saturated with heavy rainfall that falls in some regions.

6. Coniferous forest prevails

Coniferous forest prevails on the territory of the Caucasus Mountains. These forests are very similar to the spruce forests we are used to. Trees perform many very important functions.

In addition to the well-known production of oxygen, the powerful roots of coniferous trees hold the soil with a strong grip, protecting the earth from landslides and landslides.

Relic trees grow on the territory of the Caucasus, such as huge pines, whose bark is red and black, and the age of the pines reaches 500 years. Among this coniferous abundance there are evergreen shrubs, oaks and alpine meadows.

5. The total area of ​​glaciers in the Caucasus Mountains reaches 1400 km²

Glaciers are perennial accumulations of ice, which appeared due to atmospheric processes. Glaciers store valuable fresh drinking water for humans, and their number is so huge that it occupies 11% of the entire surface of the earth.

Almost all mountains on earth are covered with glaciers, and the Caucasus Mountains are no exception. The total area of ​​glaciers in the Caucasus Mountains reaches 1400 square kilometers. On the giant alone, called Elbrus, there are 23 glaciers, whose total area is 134 square kilometers.

4. They have a significant impact on the climate of the European part of Russia

The Caucasus Mountains cover two climatic zones – subtropical and temperate. Ridges play the role of a shield, protecting some regions from the penetration of cold winds and snow drifts into their territory, and helping others to keep warm air out..

The significance of this natural barrier is especially noticeable in the winter period. The relief of the Caucasus Mountains also affects the frequency and amount of precipitation, increasing their precipitation when passing through the territory of the Caucasus.

3. Kefir was invented in the Caucasus

Many people love milk since childhood, which saturates the body with calcium, which is good for bones and immunity. Milk has been drunk for thousands of years, starting with mother’s milk, which a person first tastes immediately after birth.

Who was the first person to taste cow’s milk is impossible to establish, and it does not matter. Milk is used to make yoghurts and sweets loved by everyone.

Milk is an important ingredient for a large number of dishes, without which we can no longer imagine ourselves. A healthy drink called kefir is also obtained from it.

Kefir is drunk and drunk by a huge number of people not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders. And kefir was invented in the Caucasus, at the foot of Mount Elbrus. Until now, the title of the discoverer of a special, kefir sourdough is disputed by several peoples of the Caucasus.

2. More than 50 nationalities live here

Everyone knows that Russia is a very multinational country, on the territory of which a lot of people of various nationalities and nationalities live. But the Caucasus Mountains stand apart in this respect.

Five dozen nationalities live on the territory of the mountains themselves and their environs, speaking 20 different languages..

1. A few centuries ago there were leopards

The leopard is a very large and rather dangerous cat that lives for almost twenty years and runs very fast. This species of cat lives mainly in Africa and southern East Asia.

Despite the wide habitat and formidable appearance, the leopard is listed in the Red Book as an animal that is dangerously close to extinction.

The territory where leopards are accustomed to live and feel like owners is shrinking due to climate change and harmful human activities. This sad fact also proves that just a couple of centuries ago, the leopard felt at home at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains.