Kaçkar Mountains
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaçkar mountains or Kaçkar Dağları or simply Kaçkar(s) is a mountain range rising above along the Black Sea coast in Eastern Turkey. With highest peak Kaçkar Dağı (elevation 3937 metres), and mountain plateaus at about 3000m elevation, it is the highest part of Pontic Mountains. Kaçkars are glaciated mountains of alpine character, with steep rocky peaks and numerous mountain lakes.
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[edit] Geography and nomenclature
The name Kaçkar (from the Armenian Խաչքար (Khachkar literally meaning "cross stone")) may be used in various sense. It may describe the whole mountain range, including many mountain groups. Or it may describe the Kaçkar-Kavron group with the highest peak. Or just the highest peak itself. The local name of the highest peak or its mountain group Kaçkar Dağı translates to Kaçkar mountain and the name of the range Kaçkar Dağları translates to Kaçkar mountains.
From the south and east, Kaçkar is bordered by river Çoruh valley. From the north, by Black Sea coast.
[edit] Major mountain groups
- Altıparmak group
- Kavron (or Kaçkar-Kavron)
- Verçenik group
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Tunç Fındık (2001) Kaçkar Dağları, Homer Kitabevi, Istanbul. ISBN 975-8293-18-4 (in Turkish) - the only existing mountaineering guide
