Greater Caucasus

Greater Caucasus (Russian: Большой Кавказ; Azerbaijani: Böyük Qafqaz; Georgian: დიდი კავკასიონი, sometimes translated as "Caucasus Major", "Big Caucasus" or "Large Caucasus") is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains.

Mountainous landscape near Arkhyz.

The range stretches for about 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) from west-northwest to east-southeast, between the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of the Caspian Sea: from the Western Caucasus near Sochi on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea and reaching nearly to Baku on the Caspian.

The range is traditionally separated into three parts:

• Western Caucasus, from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus
• Central Caucasus, from Mount Elbrus to Mount Kazbek
• Eastern Caucasus, from Mount Kazbek to the Caspian Sea

In the wetter Western Caucasus, the mountains are heavily forested (deciduous forest up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), coniferous forest up to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) and alpine meadows above the tree line). In the drier Eastern Caucasus, the mountains are mostly treeless.