Piatigore

the northern section of the Caucasian Mineral Waters Region near Piatigorsk in the Northern Caucasus. Piatigor’e is a sloping plain with elevations that reach 600 m. There are 18 insular mountains, or laccoliths on the plain, some of which are covered by sedimentary rocks. The laccoliths are of different shapes, including domal (Mashuk, Lysaia, Zolotoi Kurgan) and conical (Iutsa). Mount Beshtau is the highest (1,402 m) laccolith and has five peaks (the origin of its name is Turkic and literally means “five mountains”). The slopes are mostly covered with broad-leaved forests, which in places also cover the plain (Beshtaugorskii Forest Tract). The laccoliths are grouped and, as a result, more precipitation falls there (500–600 mm per year) than on the adjacent steppes. The region has many mineral springs, including the Essentuki, Piatigorsk, and Zheleznovodsk springs. A mud that is used in pelotherapeutic facilities in Piatigorsk, Zheleznovodsk, Essentuki, and Kislovodsk is obtained in Lake Tambukan, located southeast of Piatigorsk.