Lesser Caucasus

a mountain system in Transcaucasia. It runs almost parallel to the Greater Caucasus, from which it is separated by the Colchis and Kura depressions. On the north and northeast it borders the Armenian Highland. The Lesser Caucasus extends approximately 600 km. The highest point is Mount Giamysh (3,724 m) in the Murovdag Range. The Lesser Caucasus includes the folding Meskheti, Trialeti, Somkheti, Murguz, Shakhdag, Murovdag, and Karabakh ranges, which follow one another, forming a gently sloping arc with its prominent side to the northeast. On the nothern slopes the terrain varies: humid subtropical forests predominate on the lower part of the mountains in the west, and subtropical terrain with xerophytic forests and shrubs is found in the east; further up the slopes are mountain forests; and on the crests there are meadows. The southern slopes have sparsely forested steppes, which merge with the steppes of the Armenian Highland.