View source for Caucasus

[[Image:Caucasiamapussr.gif|thumb|right|350px|Administrative map of Caucasus in USSR, 1952-1991.]]

The '''Caucasus''' or '''Caucasia''' is a region in [[Eurasia]] bordered on the south by [[Iran]], on the southwest by [[Turkey]], on the west by the [[Black Sea]], on the east by the [[Caspian Sea]], and on the north by [[Russia]].  The [[Persian language|Persian]] name for the region is ''Qafqâz''.  Caucasia includes the [[Caucasus Mountains]] and surrounding lowlands.  

The [[Caucasus Mountains]] are commonly known as a line between [[Asia]] and [[Europe]], and the lands in Caucasia are different considered to be in one or both [[continent]]s.  The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the [[North Caucasus|Ciscaucasus]] and the southern portion as the [[Transcaucasus]].  The highest peak in the Caucasus is [[Mount Elbrus]] (5,642 m) which, in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, is generally considered the highest point in Europe.

== Countries in Caucasus ==
*{{flagicon|Armenia}} [[Armenia]]
*{{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} [[Azerbaijan]]
*{{flagicon|Georgia}} [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]

== Myths and Legends ==
The Biblical [[Mount Ararat]] where [[Noah's Ark]] landed is known as the landmark of the ancient Armenian realm. The peak of Ararat is seasonally capped with snow. In Greek mythology, the Caucasus or Kaukasos was one of the pillars supporting the world. [[Prometheus]] was chained there by [[Zeus]]. The Roman poet [[Ovid]] placed Caucasus in [[Scythia]] and said it was a cold and stony mountain which was the abode of personified hunger.

== See also ==
*[[Transcontinental nation]]s
*[[Indo-European languages]]
*[[Languages of the Caucasus]]
*[[Russian-Circassian War]]

== References ==
<div class="references-small">
*Caucasus: A Journey to the Land Between Christianity and Islam By Nicholas Griffin
*Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus By Svante E. Cornell
*The Caucasus By Ivan Golovin
*
*
</div>

== Other websites ==
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3632274.stm BBC News: North Caucasus at a glance], September 8 2005
*[http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/map/images/caucasus_envsec2_landcoverb.gif United Nations Environment Programme map: Landcover of the Caucasus]
*[http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/map/images/caucasus_envsec2_popdensityb.gif United Nations Environment Programme map: Population density of the Caucasus]
* [http://www.bakililar.az/ca/eng/ Information about the history]

[[Category:Caucasus| ]]

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[[cs:Kavkaz]]
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[[es:Cáucaso]]
[[eo:Kaŭkazio]]
[[fa:قفقاز]]
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