Samshvilde Canyon Natural Monument ( ka, სამშვილდის კანიონი) is part of the
Khrami
The Khrami ( ka, ხრამი, ), in its upper course ''Ktsia'', is a river in eastern Georgia and western Azerbaijan, and a right tributary of the Kura (''Mtkvari''). It is long, and has a drainage basin of .gorge
A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...
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 ...
.Samshvilde Canyon in Georgia ''Protected Planet'' 2014–2019 Historically, it has served as a natural defense for the
Samshvilde
Samshvilde ( ka, სამშვილდე, ) is a ruined fortified city and archaeological site in Georgia, in the country's south, near the homonymous modern-day village in the Tetritsqaro Municipality, Kvemo Kartli region. The ruins of the ...
fortress, located at the confluence of the
Khrami
The Khrami ( ka, ხრამი, ), in its upper course ''Ktsia'', is a river in eastern Georgia and western Azerbaijan, and a right tributary of the Kura (''Mtkvari''). It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Samshvilde village and the ruins of historic
Samshvilde
Samshvilde ( ka, სამშვილდე, ) is a ruined fortified city and archaeological site in Georgia, in the country's south, near the homonymous modern-day village in the Tetritsqaro Municipality, Kvemo Kartli region. The ruins of the ...
located in
Tetritsqaro Municipality
Tetritskaro ( ka, თეთრიწყაროს მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Tetrićqaros Municiṕaliťeťi'') is a district of Georgia, in the region of Kvemo Kartli. Its main town is Tetritskaro. Tetritskaro municipality is ...
, 548-605
meters above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level vari ...
. Samshvilde Canyon also includes part of the Chivchav (Chivchava)
gorge
A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...
in the same location, since historically, it also was part of the natural defenses of the
Samshvilde
Samshvilde ( ka, სამშვილდე, ) is a ruined fortified city and archaeological site in Georgia, in the country's south, near the homonymous modern-day village in the Tetritsqaro Municipality, Kvemo Kartli region. The ruins of the ...
fortress.
Morphology
Samshvilde Canyon was created by
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
in a
volcanic plateau
A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus.
Lava plateau
Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions thro ...
. Samshvilde Canyon is about 5-6 km long in the middle part of the Khrami River valley, and a 3-4 km long in the Chivchav River valley. The depth of the Samshvilde Canyon is 300 meters on average. The ruins of fortress
Samshvilde
Samshvilde ( ka, სამშვილდე, ) is a ruined fortified city and archaeological site in Georgia, in the country's south, near the homonymous modern-day village in the Tetritsqaro Municipality, Kvemo Kartli region. The ruins of the ...
, which the canyon is named after, stands on a naturally fortified
cape
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
at the confluence of the Khrami and Chychavka rivers and offers magnificent views of the canyon.სამშვილდის კანიონი /ref>About Samshvilde Georgian Travel Guide
Samshvilde Canyon features the intrusive rocks of a stripped
quartz-porphyry
Quartz-porphyry, in layman's terms, is a type of volcanic (igneous) rock containing large porphyritic crystals of quartz. These rocks are classified as ''hemi-crystalline acid rocks''.
Structure
The quartz crystals exist in a fine-grained matrix ...
, which, as a result of its depletion, splits into a beautifully folded bi-pyramidal crystals of magmatic quartz. These quartz crystals are a truly remarkable natural feature of this canyon.სამშვილდის კანიონის ბუნების ძეგლი /ref>
See also
*
Samshvilde
Samshvilde ( ka, სამშვილდე, ) is a ruined fortified city and archaeological site in Georgia, in the country's south, near the homonymous modern-day village in the Tetritsqaro Municipality, Kvemo Kartli region. The ruins of the ...