The Lesser Caucasus or Lesser Caucasus Mountains, also called Caucasus Minor, is the second of the two main ranges of the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...

, of length about . The western portion of the Lesser Caucasus overlaps and converges with east

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and northwest

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. It runs parallel to the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains. It stretches for about from west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of t ...

, at a distance averaging about south from the Likhi Range (

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

), and limits east Turkey from the north and north-east. It is connected with the Pontic range and separated from it by the Kolkhida Lowland (Georgia) in the west and Kura-Aras Lowland (

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

) (by the Kura River) in the east.

Description

The highest peak is Aragats in Armenia, . The borders between Georgia, Turkey,

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, Azerbaijan and Iran run through the range, although its crest does not usually define the border. The range was historically called ''Anticaucasus'' or ''Anti-Caucasus'' (Greek: Αντι-Καύκασος, Russian: Антикавка́з, Анти-Кавка́з). This usage is commonly found in older sources. Current usage tends towards using the name Lesser Caucasus, but Anti-caucasus can still be found in modern texts.

References

+ Mountain ranges of Azerbaijan Mountain ranges of Georgia (country) Mountain ranges of Armenia Mountain ranges of Turkey Mountain ranges of Iran Physiographic sections {{Turkey-geo-stub

Description

See also

References