Eastern Caucasus

the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus, extending from Mt. Kazbek to Mt. Il’khydag; it lies in Severnaia Osetiia, Checheno-Ingush, and Dagestan ASSR’s, as well as in the Georgian and Azerbaijan SSR’s.

The Eastern Caucasus includes the Vodorazdel’nyi Range and the Bokovoi Range (consisting of the Perikit-Alazanskii, Bogosskii, Nukatl’, and Samurskii ranges), as well as the Andiiskii, Salatau, and Gimrinskii ranges. The elevation extends to 3,500-4,000 m, with a maximum of 4,492 m (Mt. Tebulosmta); the greatest width is 160 km. The Eastern Caucasus is formed primarily of clay shales, sandstones, and limestones of the Lower and Middle Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, and Neocene periods. Predominant regions include mountain-meadow, mountain, meadow-steppe, steppe, and, for the most part on the southern slope, forest.