June 25th, 2012 Category: Image of the day, Mountains

Black Sea - December 26th, 2011

Visible near the shores of the Black Sea in this wide-swath ASAR image of the country of Georgia are two large ridges of mountains: the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range (above) forms the northern border of Georgia, while the southern portion of the country is bounded by the Lesser Caucasus Mountains (below). The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range is much higher in elevation than the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, with the highest peaks rising more than 5,000 meters (16,404 ft) above sea level.

Tags: Black Sea Georgia Greater Caucasus Mountains Lesser Caucasus Mountains | Comments |

March 4th, 2010 Category: Mountains, Rivers

Georgia - February 18th, 2010

The Rioni or Rion River is the main river of western Georgia. It originates in the Caucasus Mountains, in the region of Racha and flows west to the Black Sea. In this orthorectified image it can be seen crossing the country’s terrain and entering the Black Sea north of the city of Poti.

Upon opening the full image, the Greater Caucasus Range is visible to the north, and the Lesser Caucasus Range can be observed to the south. The foothills of the Kolkhet’is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland), which opens to the Black Sea in the west, appear as a smaller ridge between the Rioni River and the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus.

Tags: ASAR Asia Black Sea Caucasus Mountains Georgia Great Caucasus Mountains Kolkhet'is Dablobi Kolkhida Foothills Kolkhida Lowland Lesser Caucasus Mountains Orthorectification Poti Rion River Rioni River | Comments |

December 11th, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Georgia - November 24th, 2009

The snow-capped Caucasus Mountains frame the country of Georgia in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Georgia’s northern border with Russia (above) roughly runs along the crest of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. The southern portion of the country is bounded by the Lesser Caucasus Mountains.

The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range is much higher in elevation than the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, with the highest peaks rising more than 5,000 meters (16,404 ft) above sea level.

The country is also divided into eastern and western halves by the Likhi Range. Historically, the western portion of Georgia, towards the Black Sea, was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Iberia. Due to a complex geographic setting, mountains also isolate the northern region of Svaneti from the rest of Georgia.

Tags: Black Sea Colchis Plain Georgia Greater Caucasus Mountains Lesser Caucasus Mountains Likhi Range Russia Svaneti | Comments |

October 30th, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Russia - September 6th, 2009

The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region. It is made up of two separate mountain systems: the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, which run parallel to the greater range at a distance averaging about 100 km (60 mi) south.

In this orthorectified image, some of the slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in southern Russia, just north of the border with Georgia, can be seen. The Russian terrain here is part of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, west, and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, east.

Located in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic is the highest peak in the Caucasus ranges: Mount Elbrus. This volcanic mountain rises to a height of 18,506 feet (5,642 meters) above sea level. The highest peak in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, on the other hand, is Mount Dzhimara at 4,780 m.

Tags: Caucasus Mountains Georgia Greater Caucasus Mountains Kabardino-Balkar Republic Lesser Caucasus Mountains Mount Dzhimara Mount Elbrus Orthorectification Republic of North Ossetia-Alania Russia Volcanoes | Comments |