The Western Caucasus is part of the North Caucasus in Southern Russia. It stretches from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus.
World Heritage Site
The Western Caucasus is a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site named Western Caucasus. It includes the westernmost part of the Caucasus Mountains. Experts from UNESCO state that this area is the only large mountain region in Europe that has not been greatly affected by humans and has large areas of forests that have not been disturbed. The area has very different habitats, ranging from lowlands to glaciers. It is located 50 kilometers north of the resort town of Sochi. The site includes the entire Caucasus Nature Reserve, except for the Khosta Yew-Box Grove, and includes the full Lago-Naki plateau.
Biosphere Reserve
The Western Caucasus region includes the Caucasus Nature Reserve, established in 1924 by the Soviet government in Krasnodar Krai, Adygea, and Karachay–Cherkessia. This reserve was created to protect tall Nordmann fir trees (Abies nordmanniana), which are believed to be the tallest trees in Europe, and a special forest made up of English yew (Taxus baccata) and European box (Buxus sempervirens) in the city of Sochi.
Approximately one-third of the area’s high mountain plant species are found only in this region. The area also includes the Sochi National Park, a protected area that features a center for reintroducing Persian leopards.
The Western Caucasus is also the original home and site of the reintroduction of the Caucasian wisent. The last wild wisent in the world was killed by poachers in this area in 1927. Many years later, wisents that had partially interbred with American bison were reintroduced to the region.
Gallery
- Lake Ritsa.
- Acheshbok massif.
- Where the Khodz River begins.
- Early morning in the Khodz River canyon.
- Tkhach Mountain covered by clouds.
- Acheshbok Mountain covered by clouds.
- Southern slopes of the Acheshbok massif.