Kaçkar Mountains

F1

Map of ~ 200 × 450 km

The Ostpontische Mountains ( Dogu Karadeniz Turkish Dağları ) is the eastern third of the Pontus Mountains in northeastern Turkey. Of the total of about 1000 km long Pontic mountain range that runs through the whole of Asia Minor north parallel to the Black Sea, this nearly 400 km long coastal mountain range is the highest and most geographically diverse part. It extends with its parallel chains still some 150 km inland.

The heights of the major peaks are 3000-3900 meters, so they are almost twice as high as the more western Pontic mountain ranges. On the border with Georgia in the coastal mountains Batumi ends relatively abruptly, while it is (3000-5600 m) and continues to the southeast in neighboring Ararat mountains of Armenia beyond the eastern border of Turkey in the Lesser Caucasus.

Geography and economy

Between the Black Sea and the mountains Ostpontischen is just a few kilometers narrow coastal strip; 15-20 kilometers inland already stand on the top three peaks. This is one of the area that makes up the eastern part of the Turkish Black Sea region, the steepest mountain landscapes in the world. The individual mountain ranges run mostly in the east-west direction and reach the Kaçkar Dagi the highest peak with 3932 m ( see figure). The mountain is only about 70 km from the border with Georgia and clearly visible from the flat environment of the local port town of Batumi.

Inland, the mountain is dominated by a vast tectonic furrow in which the rivers flow Kelkit and Çoruh to the west or to the east and break only in the lower reaches of the Black Sea. The pass between the two longitudinal valleys is 2200 m high and lies on the southern slopes of the Çakırgöl Dagi ( 3082 meters ). A little further south-east - in Erzurum - also springs of Karasu, but unlike Çoruh and Kelkit south turns to the Euphrates. In the extreme east of the mountains, in the Turkish province of Kars, Northeast, springs the Kura, which is later in the main river of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The ostpontische Mountains is thus, despite its relative brevity of the watershed between the three seas (Black and Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf).

The north-westerly winds cause strong orographic rainfall and have led to the mountain slopes to lush vegetation and tree coverage, while further inland prevails a kind of steppe climate with sclerophylls. Near the coast are the most important rice - growing regions of Turkey.

Geology

The mountain is part of the geologically relatively young alpidischen mountain fold, which extends from Iberia over the Alps to the Caucasus, the Persian- Pakistani high mountains and the Himalayas. The name comes from the ancient Greek word for Pontus Sea coast and Black Sea ( Pontos Euxinos ), or from the same Roman province.

In geomorphology the Ostpontische mountain is also known as East Anatolian Edge Mountains. It is quite often affected due to his young age of earthquakes. Its purely Alpidic orogeny distinguishes it from the West Pontic mountain ranges, which are not only much lower, but in some cases also represent the remaining hull surfaces of very old Variscides. In contrast, the Ostpontische mountains must have been previously created a volcanic island chain before transformed the ocean floor of the Black Sea in situ oceanic crust of continental to.

On deposits are to lead, among other non-ferrous metals associated with acid volcanics. Also copper ores in porphyritic embossed area shall be mentioned, however, somewhat less productive. Large coal deposits, such as in the 500 km westerly province of Zonguldak however, there are none. In addition to modest industry is amongst the important forestry and agricultural export products such as tea, tobacco, and the Pontic hazelnuts.