Meskheti Range ( ka, მესხეთის ქედი) (Meskh/Meskhet/Meskhetian Range, Adzhar-Imereti Range, Achara-Imereti Range Adzhar-Akhaltsikh Range also Moschian Mountains) is a part of the

Lesser Caucasus The Lesser Caucasus, also called Caucasus Minor, is the second of the two main mountain ranges of Caucasus mountains, of length about . The western portion of the Lesser Caucasus overlaps and converges with east Turkey and northwest Iran. It ru ...

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

Meskheti Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) ( Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were t ...

region, in southwestern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Geography

The length of the range is 150 km and the highest point is

Mount Mepistskharo Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

at an elevation of 2,850 m above sea level. The Meskheti Range is characterized by high amounts of precipitation. The territory around Mt. Mtirala (the

Ajaria Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...

n section of the range) was the wettest region within the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and is the most humid area of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

with an annual precipitation of approximately 4500mm/year (180 inches/year). Several rivers are flowing from the Meskheti Range — Supsa,

Acharis-Tsqali Acharistsqali ( ka, აჭარისწყალი - literal meaning: ''Adjara's water'') is a river of southwestern Georgia. It is a right tributary of the river Çoruh (''Chorokhi''), which flows into the Black Sea The Black Sea i ...

and

Natanebi The Natanebi ( ka, ნატანები) is a river in western Georgia, located in the region of Guria. It flows into the Black Sea near Shekvetili Shekvetili ( ka, შეკვეთილი) is a village and sea resort in Ozurgeti Munic ...

Flora and fauna

The slopes of the Meskheti Range are rich in endemic and relic speciesLevan Mumladze, Giorgi Chaladze, Zezva Asanidze, Salome Saghinadze, Ema Khachidz
Refugial Forest from the Western Lesser Caucasus
2008 and mainly covered by deciduous forests ( oak,

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelate ...

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since ht ...

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornb ...

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

) below 1,200 m above sea level and by coniferous forests (

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

and in some cases

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

) from 1,200 to 1,800 m. The highest regions of the range are covered by sub-alpine and

alpine meadow Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

s. Strabo mentions the Moschian Mountains as joining the

. (Geography, 11.2.1) 14% of Meskheti range territory is included in three Georgian national parks — Borjomi-Kharagauli, Kintrishi and Mtirala national parks.

References

Mountain ranges of Georgia (country) {{Georgia-geo-stub

Geography

Flora and fauna

See also

References