"Black Sea–Caspian Steppe The Black Sea-Caspian Steppe is an informal name for that part of the Eurasian Steppe that extends south between the Black and Caspian Seas. It is usually treated as part of the Pontic-Caspian steppe which includes the area north of the Black and Caspian Seas, but there is some reason to treat it as a distinct place. Its natural boundaries are the Sea of Azov and Black Sea on the west, the Caucasus Mountains on the south and the Caspian Sea on the east. Its northern boundary may be taken as the triangle formed by the lower"
"Caucasus The Caucasus or Caucasia is a mountain range and also a regional term used to describe an area situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and occupied by Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains including the Greater Caucasus mountain range, which has historically been considered a natural barrier between Eastern Europe and Western Asia, but is today accepted by the majority of scholars as being part of Asia. The Lesser Caucasus extends south by the Dzhavakhet range and the Armenian highlands (part of which are located in Turkey). Europe's highest mountain,"
"Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains are a mountain system in West Asia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region. The Caucasus Mountains include the Greater Caucasus in the north and Lesser Caucasus in the south. The Greater Caucasus runs west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Caucasian Natural Reserve in the vicinity of Sochi on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea nearly to Baku on the Caspian Sea. The Lesser Caucasus runs parallel to the Greater about south. The Greater and Lesser Caucasus ranges are connected by the Likhi Range, and to the west and east"
"that the coastline of the European Union is 66,000 km long, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Baltic Sea. European mountain ranges include the Alps, Carpathian Mountains, Balkan Mountains and Scandinavian Mountains with the tallest mountain in the Union being Mont Blanc. Several overseas territories and dependencies of various member states are also formally part of the EU (for Spain: the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla; for Portugal: the Azores, Madeira; for UK: Gibraltar and British sovereign bases in Cyprus; for France: La Réunion, French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Mayotte, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy) while in other cases territories"
"Crimean Mountains The Crimean Mountains (, translit. ""Krymski hory""; , translit. ""Krymskie gory""; ) are a range of mountains running parallel to the south-eastern coast of Crimea, between about 8–13 kilometers (5–8 miles) from the sea. Toward the west, the mountains drop steeply to the Black Sea, and to the east, they change slowly into a steppe landscape. The Crimean Mountains consist of three subranges. The highest is the Main range. The Main range is subdivided into several masses, known as yaylas or mountain plateaus (""Yayla"" is Crimean Tatar for ""Alpine Meadow""). They are: The Crimea's highest peak is the"
"suggesting a post-mortem defleshing ritual. Crimean Mountains The Crimean Mountains (, translit. ""Krymski hory""; , translit. ""Krymskie gory""; ) are a range of mountains running parallel to the south-eastern coast of Crimea, between about 8–13 kilometers (5–8 miles) from the sea. Toward the west, the mountains drop steeply to the Black Sea, and to the east, they change slowly into a steppe landscape. The Crimean Mountains consist of three subranges. The highest is the Main range. The Main range is subdivided into several masses, known as yaylas or mountain plateaus (""Yayla"" is Crimean Tatar for ""Alpine Meadow""). They are: The"
"Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range (Bulgarian and , ""Stara planina"", ""Old Mountain""; , ) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea. The highest peaks of the Balkan Mountains are in central Bulgaria. The highest peak is Botev at 2,376 m, which makes the mountain range the third highest in the country, after Rila and Pirin. The mountains are the source of the name of the"
"Caucasian Riviera Caucasian Riviera is located along the eastern coast of the Black Sea under the Caucasus Mountains. It runs from Novorossiysk, Russia to Sarpi, Georgia. The area is divided into five regions, of which four (Adjara, Guria, Samegrelo, and Abkhazia) are located in Georgia, and one (the Black Sea coast of Krasnodar Krai) is in Russia. Caucasian Riviera is long, of which belongs to Russia and to Georgia. The coast is located on the same latitude as the French Riviera, the Italian Riviera, New York City and the Korean Peninsula. Caucasian Riviera was populated since ancient ages. The region"
"Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains (; ; , ""Ural tauźarı""), or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. The mountain range forms part of the conventional boundary between the continents of Europe and Asia. Vaygach Island and the islands of Novaya Zemlya form a further continuation of the chain to the north into the Arctic Ocean. The mountains lie within the Ural geographical region and significantly overlap with the Ural Federal District and with the Ural"
"Pontic–Caspian steppe The Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe or Ukrainian steppe is the vast steppeland stretching from the northern shores of the Black Sea (called ""Euxeinos Pontos"" [Εὔξεινος Πόντος] in antiquity) as far east as the Caspian Sea, from Moldova and eastern Ukraine across the Southern Federal District and the Volga Federal District of Russia to western Kazakhstan, forming part of the larger Eurasian steppe, adjacent to the Kazakh steppe to the east. It is a part of the Palearctic temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. The area corresponds to Cimmeria, Scythia, and"
"less than 1% of the total electricity. Environmentalists also accused the government of destroying the plant and animal life using the pretext of renewable energy. Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range (Bulgarian and , ""Stara planina"", ""Old Mountain""; , ) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea. The highest peaks of the Balkan Mountains are in central Bulgaria. The highest peak is Botev at 2,376 m,"
"or Gates of Alexander), and multiple passes throughout the range: Jvari Pass at 2379 m and above the Darial Gorge on the Georgian Military Road, Mamison Pass on the Ossetian Military Road at 2911 m, and Roki Tunnel at 2310 m. See Russian conquest of the Caucasus. Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains are a mountain system in West Asia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region. The Caucasus Mountains include the Greater Caucasus in the north and Lesser Caucasus in the south. The Greater Caucasus runs west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Caucasian Natural Reserve in"
"Aegean Sea. Several rivers in the east drain directly into the Black Sea. In the west, the river Iskar forms a 65-km long gorge that runs north through the mountains. The Transitional geomorphological region encompasses the territory between the Balkan Mountains and the Rilo-Rhodope Massif and has complex, mosaic relief composed mainly of medium-high and low mountains, valleys and plains. The altitude decreases from west to east. This region includes the Sub-Balkan valleys; the mountains and valleys of the Kraishte region, such as Ruy Mountain, Miloslavska planina and Milevska Planina; the mountains Lyulin, Vitosha, Sredna Gora, Strandzha and Sakar; the"
"Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (; , , , ), also commonly Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southeastern Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo to Albania in the southeast. The Dinaric Alps extend for approximately along the Western Balkan Peninsula from the Julian Alps to the northwest in Italy, downwards to the Šar and Korab massiftije, where their direction changes. The Albanian Alps, or Prokletije, is the highest section of the entire Dinaric Alps; this section stretches"
"the collapse of the Soviet Union, but in post-Soviet times additional mineral exploration, particularly in the northern Urals, has been productive and the region has attracted industrial investment. Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains (; ; , ""Ural tauźarı""), or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. The mountain range forms part of the conventional boundary between the continents of Europe and Asia. Vaygach Island and the islands of Novaya Zemlya form a further continuation of the"
"shore of the Caspian Sea in the Dagestan region of Russia, but the drier Caspian lowland desert lies between the Pontic steppe and the northwestern and northern shores of the Caspian. The Kazakh Steppe bounds the Pontic steppe on the southeast. The Ponto-Caspian seas are the remains of the Turgai Sea, an extension of the Paratethys which extended south and east of the Urals and covering much of today's West Siberian Plain in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Pontic–Caspian steppe The Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe or Ukrainian steppe is the vast steppeland stretching from the northern shores of the Black Sea"
"The Caucasus mountains, which run between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, are a particularly rich mix of coniferous, broadleaf, and mixed forests, and include the temperate rain forests of the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests ecoregion. Central Asia and the Iranian plateau are home to dry steppe grasslands and desert basins, with montane forests, woodlands, and grasslands in the region's high mountains and plateaux. In southern Asia the boundary of the Palearctic is largely altitudinal. The middle altitude foothills of the Himalaya between about 2000–2500 m form the boundary between the Palearctic and Indomalaya ecoregions. China, Korea and Japan are"
"stretches from the Mediterranean Sea north above the Po basin, extending through France from Grenoble, and stretching eastward through mid and southern Switzerland. The range continues onward toward Vienna, Austria, and east to the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. To the south it dips into northern Italy and to the north extends to the southern border of Bavaria in Germany. In areas like Chiasso, Switzerland, and Allgäu, Bavaria, the demarcation between the mountain range and the flatlands are clear; in other places such as Geneva, the demarcation is less clear. The countries with the greatest alpine territory are Switzerland, France (21.4%),"
"the area, among them Thracians, Illyrians, Romans, Pechenegs, Cumans, Avars, Celts, Germans and various Germanic tribes. In addition to language, the people are divided by religion, adhering to the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Muslim religions, among others. The Caucasus Mountains is a range between the Black sea and the Caspian sea. It is home to Europe's highest mountain (Mount Elbrus). Modern countries of the Caucasus are Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Adyghea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay–Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Krasnodar Krai and Stavropol Krai, all parts of the Russian Federation, and the independent countries of Georgia (including the disputed Abkhazia and South Ossetia), Armenia,"
"Kaçkar Mountains Kaçkar Mountains (; ) or simply Kaçkars () are a mountain range that rises above the Black Sea coast in eastern Turkey. With highest peak Kaçkar Dağı at an elevation of , and mountain plateaus at about in elevation, it is the highest part of the Pontic Mountains. The Kaçkars are glaciated mountains that are alpine in character, with steep rocky peaks and numerous mountain lakes. The area was declared a national park in 1994. Tourism activities in the park include hiking, camping, mountaineering, and, increasingly, heliskiing. The name ""Kaçkar"" (from Armenian ""khachkar"" (Խաչքար) literally meaning ""cross stone"")"
"folded highlands that generally parallel the Black Sea coast. In the west, the mountains tend to be low, with elevations rarely exceeding 1,500 meters, but they rise in an easterly direction to heights greater than 3,000 meters south of Rize. Lengthy, trough-like valleys and basins characterize the mountains. Rivers flow from the mountains toward the Black Sea. The southern slopes—facing the Anatolian Plateau—are mostly unwooded, but the northern slopes contain dense growths of both deciduous and evergreen trees. Black Sea region has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb); with high and evenly distributed rainfall the year round. At the"
"is a geological continuation of the Carpathian Mountains, forming part of the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt. This region is subdivided into two geomorphological units, the Pre-Balkan and the Balkan Mountains, also known in Bulgarian as ""Стара Планина"" – ""Old Mountain"". Their average altitude is 370 m and 735 m, respectively. Its total area is 26,720 km, of them the Pre-Balkan spans 15,730 km and the Balkan Mountains – almost 11,000 km. The mountain range stretches from the valley of the river Timok in the west to Cape Emine at the Black Sea coast in the east, spanning a length of 555"
"of the Black Sea reaches a maximum depth of just south of Yalta on the Crimean Peninsula. The littoral zone of the Black Sea is often referred to as the Pontic littoral or Pontic zone. The area surrounding the Black Sea is commonly referred to as the ""Black Sea Region"". Its northern part lies within the ""Chernozem belt"" (black soil belt) which goes from eastern Croatia (Slavonia), along the Danube (northern Serbia, northern Bulgaria (Danubian Plain) and southern Romania (Wallachian Plain)) to northeast Ukraine and further across the Central Black Earth Region and southern Russia into Siberia. The Black Sea"
"Mtskheta-Mtianeti and northwestern Kakheti where Georgia extends north of the watershed), while Azerbaijan in its northeastern corner has five districts north of the watershed (Davachi, Khachmaz, Qusar, Siazan, Quba). Greater Caucasus Greater Caucasus (, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; , ""Didi K’avk’asioni""; , ""Bolshoy Kavkaz"", sometimes translated as ""Caucasus Major"", ""Big Caucasus"" or ""Large Caucasus"") is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains. The range stretches for about 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 in the vicinity of Sochi on the northeastern"
"Stanovoy Range The Stanovoy Range (, ""Stanovoy khrebet""; ), also known as Sükebayatur and Sükhbaatar in Mongolian, or Outer Khingan Range is a mountain range located in southeastern parts of the Russian Far East. It runs south-west to north-east for over 900 km, from the Olyokma River in the west, to the Uchur River in the east. almost to the Sea of Okhotsk. It separates the watershed of the Arctic Ocean (via the Lena) from that of the Pacific Ocean (via the Amur). For this reason, it was the border between Russia and China from 1689 (Treaty of Nerchinsk) to"
"the most famous of the country's nine major ranges. In terms of elevation (comparable to the Appalachians) and vegetation, however, they are far from impressive, and they do not serve as a formidable natural barrier. Truly alpine terrain was found in the southern mountain ranges. Between the Black and Caspian seas, for example, the Caucasus Mountains rose to impressive heights, marking a continuation of the boundary separating Europe from Asia. One of the peaks, Mount Elbrus, is the highest point in Europe at 5,642 meters. This range, extending to the northwest as the Crimean and Carpathian mountains and to the"
"Gagra Range Gagra Range (; ) is a mountain range of the Greater Caucasus in Abkhazia, Georgia.The range runs between the valleys of the Bzyb and Psou rivers to the south of the Caucasus Major, in a general North-South direction. The highest elevation is 2,256 m (Mount Agepsta). The Gagra Range approaches the Black Sea close to the city of Gagra and plays an important role in moderating the climate of that resort by blocking cold, continental winds from the north and east. The range is mostly made up of limestone, with pronounced karst topography and is characterized by many"
"Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a mountain range system forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe (after the Scandinavian Mountains, ). They provide the habitat for the largest European populations of brown bears, wolves, chamois, and lynxes, with the highest concentration in Romania, as well as over one third of all European plant species. The Carpathians and their foothills also have many thermal and mineral waters, with Romania having one-third of the European total. Romania is likewise home to the second-largest surface of virgin forests"
"coast of the Black Sea belonged to Transcaucasia, a great chain of mountains separating it from Russia. But even this sheet of water is an inland sea, the only outlet of which, the Bosphorus, was in foreign hands, while the Caspian, an immense shallow lake, mostly bordered by deserts, possessed more importance as a link between Russia and its Asiatic settlements than as a channel for intercourse with other countries. By the end of the 19th century the size of the empire was about or almost 1/6 of the Earth's landmass; its only rival in size at the time was"
"Pontic Mountains The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps (Turkish: ""Kuzey Anadolu Dağları"", meaning North Anatolian Mountains) form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the ""Parhar Mountains"" in the local Turkish and Pontic Greek languages. The term ""Parhar"" originates from a Hittite word meaning ""high"" or ""summit"". In ancient Greek, the mountains were called the Paryadres or Parihedri Mountains. The range runs roughly east-west, parallel and close to the southern coast of the Black Sea. It extends northeast into Georgia, and west into the Sea of Marmara, with the northwestern spur of the Küre Mountains"
"Scandinavian Mountains The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Scandinavian Mountains are often erroneously thought to be equivalent to the Scandinavian Caledonides, an ancient mountain range and orogen covering roughly the same area. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to the northeast they gradually curve towards Finland. To the north they form the border between Norway and Sweden, still reaching high at the Arctic Circle. The mountain range just touches northwesternmost Finland, but are scarcely"
"west to east from northern Lake Baikal to the Sea of Okhotsk, is 2,550 meters. To the south of that range is southeastern Siberia, whose mountains reach 800 meters. Across the Strait of Tartary from that region is Sakhalin Island, Russia's largest island, where the highest elevation is about 1,700 meters. The small Moneron Island, the site of the shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, is found to its west. Truly alpine terrain appears in the southern mountain ranges. Between the Black and Caspian seas, the Caucasus Mountains rise to impressive heights, forming a boundary between Europe and Asia."
"of , and a volume of . It is constrained by the Pontic Mountains to the south, Caucasus Mountains to the east, Crimean Mountains to the north, Strandzha to the southwest, Dobrogea Plateau to the northwest, and features a wide shelf to the northwest. The longest East-West extent is about . Important cities along the coast include Batumi, Burgas, Constanța, Giresun, Istanbul, Kerch, Novorossiysk, Odessa, Ordu, Poti, Rize, Samsun, Sevastopol, Sochi, Sukhumi, Trabzon, Varna, Yalta, and Zonguldak. The Black Sea has a positive water balance; that is, a net outflow of water per year through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles"