Mountains of Azerbaijan

Mountains of Azerbaijan cover approximately 60 percent of the country's land area.[1][2] There are three mountain ranges in the territory of Azerbaijan, which are the Greater Caucasus, the Lesser Caucasus, and the Talysh Mountains.[3]

The elevation of the central mountains of these three mountain ranges is approximately 1000–2000 meters.[1] The height of high mountains of the Greater Caucasus is higher than 2200 meters and the Lesser Caucasus is higher than 2000 meters.[1]

Mountain ranges in Azerbaijan[1]
Mountain ranges Area coverage (%) Zones
Greater Caucasus 30 Foothill (lower than 500 meters)
Low mountains (500 – 1200 meters)
Middle mountain (1200 – 2200 meters)
High mountains (higher than 2200 meters)
Lesser Caucasus 22 Foothill (lower than 500 meters)
Low mountains (500 – 1200 meters)
Middle mountain (1200 – 2000 meters)
High mountains (higher than 2000 meters)
Talysh Mountains 6 Pre – mountain plains (lower than 600 meters)
Low mountains (600 – 1000 meters)
Middle mountain (1000 – 2500 meters)

The Greater Caucasus range forms the north-east borders of Azerbaijan with Dagestan Autonomous Republic of Russia.[4] Bazarduzu, Shahdagh, and Tufandag are the high peaks of the mountain range.[5] The highest peak of the Greater Caucasus is Mount Bazarduzu, which is situated 14,652 feet (4,466 meters) above the sea level, is also the highest point in Azerbaijan.[3][5] The mountains of the Greater Caucasus are located in the region of high degree of seismic activity.[5] The mountains are formed by rocks that date back to Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.[2]

The Lesser Caucasus is the second important mountain range in Azerbaijan and forms its south-western borders.[5] Mount Murovdag and Mount Zangezur are the main ridges of the Lesser Caucasus.[5] They are formed by sedimentary and volcanogenic rocks of Cretaceous and Jurassic periods.[2]

The Talysh Mountains cover the southeastern part of Azerbaijan and form part of its border with Iran.[4][5]

Mountains of the Greater Caucasus

edit
 
Bazarduzu (Azerbaijani Bazardüzü) - is the highest mountain in Azerbaijan (4466 m)

Bazarduzu

edit

The highest peak of the Greater Caucasus, Mount Bazarduzu, is the highest mountain in Azerbaijan.[3][6] It lies on the borders between Azerbaijan and Russia.[3] The rocks of Mount Bazarduzu are formed of shale porphyries.[7] Ice fields that consist of glaciers from Ice Age on the mountain are the biggest glaciers in the Eastern Caucasus.[7]

The first person who climbed the Mount Bazarduzu was Aleksej Aleksandrov from Russia in 1847.[3][7]

 
Mount Shahdagh

Shahdagh

edit
 
Mount Tufandag

The elevation of Mount Shahdagh is 13,951 feet (4,252 m), which is the second highest peak in the Greater Caucasus.[3][8] The mountain is located near to the border with Russia, in Gusar region of Azerbaijan.[3] There are caves at the base of the Mount Shahdagh, which show manmade activities around the mountain for over 9000 years.[3] The rocks of the mountain are formed by dolomites and limestones.[8]

Tufandag

edit

Tufandağ is the third highest mountain in Azerbaijan with the height of 13,770 feet (4,200 m).).[3] Mount Tufandag lies in the Gusar region.[9]

List of mountains of the Greater Caucasus[9]
Name Original name Elevation (m) Region
Bazarduzu Bazardüzü 4466 Russian – Gusar border
Shahdagh Şahdağ 4243 Gusar
Tufandag Tufandağ 4191 Gusar
Bazaryurd Bazaryurd 4126 Gusar and Gabala
Yarudag Yarıdağ 4116 Gusar
Chingiz Mustafayev Çingiz Mustafayev 4062 Guba
Ilham Peak İlham zirvəsi 4042 Gusar
Heydar Peak Heydər zirvəsi 3751 Gusar
Khinalig Xınalıq 3713 Guba
Ragdan Raqdan 4020 Gabala
Babadag Babadağ 3629 Ismayilli
Atatürk Atatürk 3759 Guba
Olympia Peak Olimpiya zirvəsi 3455 Gusar
Ateshgah Atəşgah 2151 Guba
Gizil Gaya Qızıl Qaya 3726 Guba

Mountains of Lesser Caucasus

edit
 
Murovdag (Azerbaijani: Murovdağ)

Murovdag

edit

Within the Lesser Caucasus, the highest mountain ridge is Murovdag.[10] The range of the mountain is approximately 70 kilometers.[10]

Gamishdag

edit
 
Mount Kaputjukh

The highest peak of the Murovdag ridge is Gamishdag and its elevation is 3724 meters.[11]

Zangezur

edit

The Zangezur mountain ridge bordered with Aghdaban peak in north-west and Araz river in south-east.[12] The range of the Zangezur ridge is approximately 130 kilometers.[12] In the center and south-east parts of the ridge, there are Gamigaya, Kaputjukh, Garangush, Davabouynu, Aychingil peaks.[12] Prominent mountains of the Zangezur ridge are Nahajir, Alinja, Ilandag, Gurddag, and Gizilboghaz mountains.[12]

Kaputjukh

edit

Mount Kaputjukh is the highest peak of the Zangezur ridge and the highest mountain in the Lesser Caucasus.[11][13] The height of the mountain is 3904 meters.[11][13] It lies in Ordubad region of Nakhchivan.[13] There are ancient Gamigaya inscriptions on the rocks that are at the bottom of the mountain.[13]

Alinja

edit
 
Mount Alinja

Mount Alinja is located in Julfa region of Nakhchivan, on the shore of the river with the same name as mountain.[13] The elevation of Mount Alinja is 1811 meters.[13] It has volcanic origins.[13]

List of mountains of the Lesser Caucasus[14]
Name Original name Elevation (m) Ridge
Kaputjukh Qapıcıq 3904 Zangezur
Dalidag Dəlidağ 3616 Garabagh volcanic highland
Gamish Gamışdağ 3724 Murovdag
Kapaz Kəpəz 3066 Murovdag
Goshgar Qoşqar 3361 Murovdag
Hinaldag Hinaldağ 3367 Murovdag
Gizilboghaz Qızılboğaz 3581 Garabagh volcanic highland
Boyuk Ishigli Böyük Işıqlı 3550 Garabagh volcanic highland
Alinja Əlincə 1811 Zangezur

Talysh Mountains

edit
 
Talysh mountains in Masalli, Azerbaijan.

Talysh mountains are located in the south – east of Azerbaijan.  There are three mountain ridge within the Talysh mountains, which of elevations reach 2477 meters.[2] They are Talysh, Burovar, and Peshteser.[2] There are few peaks that of heights are above 3,000 meters (9,800 feet).[15] The rocks of the mountains originated from volcanic rocks and carbonate rocks that date back to the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Paleogene periods.[15]

Kyumyurkyoy

edit

The highest peak of Talysh mountains is the Mount Kyumyurkyoy (2493 meters).[5]

Gizyurdu

edit

Mount Gizyurdu is the second highest peak of Talysh mountains with the height of 2433 meters.[14]

List of the highest peaks of Talysh Mountains[14]
Name Original name Elevation (m)
Kyumyurkyoy Gömürgöy 2493
Gizyurdu Qızyurdu 2433

Other mountains

edit
 
Mount Goyazan
 
Yanar Dag

Mount Goyazan

edit

The elevation of Mount Goyazan is located 20 kilometers far from Qazakh district of Azerbaijan.[16] Its elevation is 250 meters.[16] The mountain has volcanic origin and it is not connected to any mountain ridges.[16] At the bottom of the mountain, there are ancient dwellings.[16]

Yanar Dag

edit

Yanar Dag is located 27 kilometers far from Baku.[17] On the surface of Yanar Dag, there are fires of natural gas that flames continuously, and their height reaches to 10–15 meters.[17]

The historical-cultural and natural reserve was established in the territory of Yanar Dag by the presidential decree dated May 2, 2007.[17]

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Price, Martin (2000). Cooperation in the European Mountains 2: The Caucasus. Switzerland: IUCN. ISBN 2831705347.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Azerbaijan". azerbaijan.az. Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Tallest Mountains in Azerbaijan". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  4. ^ a b Suny, Ronal (1996). Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. United States: DIANE Publishing. ISBN 0788128132.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Azerbaijan | History, People, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  6. ^ Verda, Matteo (2014). Azerbaijan: An introduction to the Country. Italy: Edizioni Epoké. ISBN 9788898014361.
  7. ^ a b c "Bazardüzü : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  8. ^ a b "Шах-даг - Энциклопедия, Брокгауз-Ефрон". gatchina3000.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  9. ^ a b "Zirvələr | Azərbaycan Respublikası Ekologiya və Təbii Sərvətlər Nazirliyi". eco.gov.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  10. ^ a b "Satellite map of Murovdag, Azerbaijan. Latitude: 40.2667 Longitude: 46.3167". Latitude.to, maps, geolocated articles, latitude longitude coordinate conversion. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  11. ^ a b c Alizadeh, Akif; Guliyev, Ibrahim; Kadirov, Fakhraddin; Eppelbaum, Lev (2016). Geosciences of Azerbaijan: Volume I: Geology. Switzerland: Springer. ISBN 9783319273952.
  12. ^ a b c d Budagov, Budag (2005). Naxçıvan ensiklopediyası: II cild (in Azerbaijani). Nakhchivan. ISBN 5-8066-1468-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Bunyadov, Teymur (2005). Naxçıvan ensiklopediyası: I cild (in Azerbaijani). Nakhchivan. ISBN 5-8066-1468-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ a b c "Azərbaycanın relyefi". Kayzen (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  15. ^ a b "Talish Mountains | mountains, Azerbaijan-Iran". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  16. ^ a b c d "Göyəzən dağı". gazakh.cls.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  17. ^ a b c ""Yanardağ" Dövlət Tarix-Mədəniyyət və Təbiət Qoruğu - Tarixi qoruqlar | Kataloq GoMap.Az". kataloq.gomap.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2018-08-30.
edit