Geography

Georgia is situated in Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia. Located in the region known as the Caucasus or Caucasia, Georgia is a small country of approximately 69,700 square kilometres - just slightly smaller than Scotland.

To the north and northeast, Georgia borders the Russian republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia. Borders to the south are Armenia (164 km), Azerbaijan (322 km) and Turkey (252 km). The shoreline of the Black Sea constitutes Georgia's entire western border.

Topography

Despite its small area, Georgia has one of the most varied topographies of the former Soviet republics. Georgia lies mostly in the Caucasus Mountains, and its northern boundary is partly defined by the Greater Caucasus range. The Lesser Caucasus range, which runs parallel to the Turkish and Armenian borders, and the Surami and Imereti ranges, which connect the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus, create natural barriers that are partly responsible for cultural and linguistic differences among regions. Because of their elevation and a poorly developed transportation infrastructure, many mountain villages are virtually isolated from the outside world during the winter. Earthquakes and landslides in mountainous areas present a significant threat to life and property. Among the most recent natural disasters were massive rock- and mudslides in Ajaria in 1989 that displaced thousands in southwestern Georgia, and two earthquakes in 1991 that destroyed several villages in northcentral Georgia and South Ossetia.

Mountains

Mountains are the dominant geographic feature of Georgia. The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves. Historically, the western portion of Georgia was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Iberia. Due to a complex geographic setting, mountains also isolate the northern region of Svaneti from the rest of Georgia.

The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range separates Georgia from the North Caucasian Republics of Russia. The southern portion of the country is bounded by the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. The main Caucasus Range is much higher in elevation than the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, with the highest peaks rising more than 5,000 metres (16,400ft.) above sea level.

The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara at 5,201 metres (17,059 feet), and the second highest is Mount Janga (Jangi-Tau) at 5,051 metres (16,572 feet) above sea level. Other prominent peaks include:

• Kazbegi (Kazbek) at 5,047 metres (16,554 feet)
• Tetnuldi at 4,974 metres (16,319 feet)
• Shota Rustaveli at 4,960 metres (16,273 feet)
• Mt. Ushba at 4,710 metres (15,453 feet)
• Ailama at 4,525 metres (14,842 feet)

Out of the abovementioned peaks, only Kazbegi is of volcanic origin. The region between Kazbegi and Shkhara (a distance of about 200 km. along the Main Caucasus Range) is dominated by numerous glaciers.

The Lesser Caucasus Mountains are made up of various, interconnected mountain ranges (largely of volcanic origin) that do not exceed 3,400 metres (approximately 11,000 feet). Prominent features of the area include the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau, numerous lakes, including Tabatskuri and Paravani, as well as mineral water and hot springs.

Rivers

Georgia has about 25,000 rivers, many of which power small hydroelectric stations. Drainage is into the Black Sea to the west and through Azerbaijan to the Caspian Sea to the east. The largest river is the Mtkvari (formerly known by its Azerbaijani name, Kura, which is still used in Azerbaijan), which flows 1,364 kilometres from northeast Turkey across the plains of eastern Georgia, through the capital, Tbilisi, and into the Caspian Sea. The Rioni River, the largest river in western Georgia, rises in the Greater Caucasus and empties into the Black Sea at the port of Poti. Soviet engineers turned the river lowlands along the Black Sea coast into prime subtropical agricultural land, embanked and straightened many stretches of river, and built an extensive system of canals. Deep mountain gorges form topographical belts within the Greater Caucasus.

Caves

The Voronya Cave (aka Krubera-Voronia Cave) is the deepest known cave in the world. It is located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra Range, in Abkhazia, Georgia, Caucasus. The height difference in the cave is 2,140 (± 9) metres. The same cave set the previous record for depth at 1,710 metres in 2001 by a Russian-Ukrainian team.