The Caucasian isthmus lies between the Black (Azov) and Caspian Seas. Its area comprises four main morphological and tectonic units: (1) the Ciscaucasian Plain and Platform, including the foredeeps of the Greater Caucasus; (2) the Great Caucasus itself; 3) Northern Transcaucasian system of intermontane basins, divided by the Okriba-Dzirula Uplift; and (4) the Lesser Caucasus (Caucasus Minor). In contrast to the Greater Caucasus, stretching in an WNW-ESE direction from the Black Sea shore to the Caspian shore, the Lesser Caucasus has an arcuate N-convex shape and no distinct boundaries on either side: it merges with the Anatolian Upland in the W and with the Iranian Upland in the SE and is the most heterogeneous unit of the whole Caucasus region (Fig. 97).
Tectonic scheme of the Caucasus
1, Archean and Lower Proterozoic crystalline rocks, overlapped by the cover; 2, Scythian Platform (S part); 3, Scythian Platform (N part, the Karpinsky ‘Ridge’); 4, Late Cenozoic molasse of the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Adamia, Sh.A. (1984) Prealpine basement of the Caucasus: composition, structure, formation history, in Tektonika i Metallogeniya Kavkaza. Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1–104 (in Russian).
Adamia, Sh.A., Chkhotua, T., Kekelia, M.A. et al. (1981) Tectonics of the Caucasus and adjoining regions: implications for the evolution of the Tethys ocean. J. Struct. Geol., 3, 407–47.
Gamkrelidze, I.P. (1984) Tectonic structure and alpine geodynamics of the Caucasus, in Tektonika i Metallogeniya Kavkaza. Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 105–184, (in Russian).
Geology of the USSR (1968) Vol. IX. Northern Caucasus. Geological Description. Moscow: Nedra, 759. (in Russian).
Geology of the USSR (1964) Vol. X. Georgian SSR. Geological Description. Moscow: Nedra, 655. (in Russian).
Geology of the USSR (1970) Vol. XLII, Armenian SSR. Geological Description. Moscow: Nedra (in Russian).
Geology of the USSR (1972) Vol. XLVI, Azerbaijan SSR. Geological Description. Moscow: Nedra (in Russian).
Khain, V.E. (1994) Geology of Northern Eurasia (ex-USSR territory). Stuttgart-Berlin: Schweizerbart-Borntraeger.
Knipper, A.L. (1980) Tectonic position of ophiolites of the Lesser Caucasus, Proc. Int. Ophiol. Symp., Cyprus, 1979.
Korikovsky, S.P. (ed.) (1991) Petrology of the Metamorphic Complexes of the Greater Caucasus. Moscow: Nauka, 232.
Lomize, M.G. (1987) Regional and global events in the evolution of the Caucasian geosyncline, in Geology and Mineral Deposits of the Greater Caucasus. Moscow, 21–34 (in Russian).
Milanovsky, E.E. (1968) Recent Tectonics of the Caucasus. Moscow: Nedra, 464. (in Russian).
Milanovsky, E.E. and Khain, V.E. (1963) Geological Structure of the Caucasus. Moscow University Press, (1973) 357. (in Russian).
Milanovsky, E.E. and Koronovsky, N.V. (1973) Orogenic Volcanism and Tectonics of the Alpine Belt of Eurasia. Moscow: Nedra, 279. (in Russian).
Sokolov, S.D. (1977) Olistostrome Series and Ophiolite Nappes of the Lesser Caucasus. Moscow: Nauka (in Russian).
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Chapman & Hall
About this entry
Cite this entry
Khain, V.E., Koronousky, N.V. (1997). Caucasus. In: Encyclopedia of European and Asian Regional Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4495-X_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4495-X_19
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-74040-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4495-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive