Baksan

a city (until 1967, a settlement), administrative center of Baksan Raion, Kabarda-Balkar ASSR. It is located on the left bank of the Baksan River (Terek basin), at the point of its exit from the mountains into the plain, on the Nal’chik-Piatigorsk highway, 24 km northwest of Nal’chik. The population was 20,000 in 1968. Industries include the Avtozapchast’ plant; corn-processing, canning, and asphalt and concrete plants; and furniture and knitwear factories. There is a people’s amateur theater. The Baksan Hydroelectric Power Plant is located near Baksan. The city is built on the site of an 1822 fortification (the ruins of which survive) which formed part of the Caucasian Military Line.

(Azau), a river in the Northern Caucasus, in the Kabarda-Balkar ASSR; right tributary of the Malka (Terek basin). Length, 173 km; basin area, 6,800 sq km.

The source of the Baksan River is in the glaciers in the area of Mount Elbrus. In its upper reaches it is a mountain river; in its lower reaches it flows along a plain. It is fed by glacial waters, snow, and subterranean waters. The cities of Tyrnyauz and Baksan and the Baksan Hydroelectric Power Plant are located on the river. Tourist and mountain-climbing areas are located along the upper course of the Baksan and its tributaries.