North Caucasus: Difference between revisions

Douglas W. Freshfield, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=ips8AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22watershed+of+the+Caucasus%22&pg=PA71 Journey in the Caucasus]", Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, Volumes 13–14, 1869.</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe|title=Europe|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|access-date=6 June 2024|quote= Among the alternative boundaries proposed by geographers that have gained wide acceptance is a scheme that sees the crest of the Greater Caucasus range as the dividing line between Europe and Asia, placing Ciscaucasia, the northern part of the Caucasus region, in Europe and Transcaucasia, the southern part, in Asia.}}</ref>}} It constitutes the northern part of the wider [[Caucasus]] region, which separates [[Europe]] and [[Asia]]. The North Caucasus is bordered by the [[Sea of Azov]] and [[Black Sea]] to the west, the [[Caspian Sea]] to the east, and the [[Caucasus Mountains]] to the south. The region shares land borders with the countries of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Azerbaijan]] in the [[South Caucasus]].{{efn|The North Caucasus also shares borders with the two [[List of states with limited recognition|partially recognized]] breakaway states of [[South Ossetia]] and [[Abkhazia]] to its south, both of which are internationally recognised as part of Georgia.}} Located in the south of the region, [[Mount Elbrus]] is the [[List of European ultra-prominent peaks|tallest peak]] in Europe.{{efn|name="Elbrus"|Mount Elbrus is widely considered to be the tallest European peak.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/elbrus/|title=El'brus|publisher=[[National Geographic]]|access-date=6 June 2024|quote=Mount El’brus is located in southwest Russia and is part of the Caucasus Mountains. It is the highest point in Russia as well as the highest point in all of Europe. It makes up part of the [[Prielbrusye National Park]].}}</ref>}} [[Krasnodar]] is the [[List of cities and towns in Russia by population|most populous]] among the [[urban area|urban centre]]s in the region.

 

 

Geographically, the term North Caucasus also refers to the northern slope and western extremity of the [[Greater Caucasus]] mountain range, as well as a part of its southern slope to the West. The [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]] area is often also encompassed under the notion of a Ciscaucasus region, thus the northern boundary of the Forecaucasus steppe or Nogai steppe is generally considered to be the [[Manych|Manych River]]. Owing to its mild climate compared to much of Russia, the region has been described as Russia's "[[Sun Belt|sunbelt]]".{{efn|name="sunbelt"|A primary introduction to the North Caucasus region.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Fiona |title=The Siberian Curse: How Communist Planners Left Russia Out in the Cold |last2=Gaddy |first2=Clifford |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8157-9618-3 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=121 |language=en |quote=“The North Caucasus region extends across Rostov oblast and Stavropol and Krasnodar krays. It also encompasses the seven autonomous republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetiya, North Ossetiya, Kabardino-Balkariya, Karachayevo-Cherkessiya, and Adygeya. The region accounts for about 2 percent of the territory of the Russian Federation and in 1989 had a population of 13,183,860, or about 8 percent of the Russian population. The North Caucasus could qualify as Russia's "sunbelt."}}</ref>}}