CAUCASUS. The Caucasian chain consists of mountains rising to a great elevation, some covered with forests, others bare and arid; while the summits of many are covered with perpetual snow. Their geological structure is very various. A considerable portion of the elevated region consists of white limestone, behind which are higher ridges of black slate. The most lofty mountain peaks are composed of basalt, granite, schistus, porphyry, and the more ancient formations. The mountains to the east of Elburz reach a much greater altitude than those which are situated between it and the Black Sea, towards which they gradually decline, terminating in a series of hills of very moderate elevation. Many of those parts of the Caucasian chain which reach the greatest altitude are exceedingly craggy and precipitous, and cannot be traversed without great danger at any season of the year; the narrow path by which the traveller is compelled to proceed often leading immediately over precipices of immense height, guarded by rocky walls which hang threateningly overhead. In some directions, immense masses of mountain present the appearance of having been rent asunder by some dreadful convulsion of nature. Numerous cataracts rush with a thundering noise over the abrupt precipices into the abysses below, from which they descend to the more level portions of the country. In other parts, the mountains stretch out into level plains; and many of the intervening valleys overhung by these immense precipices are remarkable for their fertility and beauty.
The Beshtau (corrupted from Besh Dagh, i.e., the five mountains), or mountains of Pyätigorsk, situated to the S.W. of Georgiefsk, form, as it were, the advanced post of the great Caucasian chain. They are connected with it by means of a ridge which proceeds in a south-easterly direction between the rivers Kouma and Kouba, gradually increasing in elevation until it joins the Elburz, the loftiest mountain of the whole chain. The highest of the two conically shaped summits of the Elburz is said to reach an altitude of nearly 18,000 feet. Among the mountain tribes, whose superstitious faith represents its hollows and caverns as the entrance to the abode of the Peris, or fairies of eastern mythology, it is known by the name of Dshin Padishah, or king of spirits. North-west from the Elburz, the Pelav-Tepesh, the Oshten, the Idokopas, and the Shap-such, are the highest mountains on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. In a south-eastern direction near the great Georgian military road, is the lofty Kasbek, which is considered to form the central point of the Caucasian range. At the foot of the snow-covered Krestovaya, or mountain of the cross, is the post station of Kobi, not far from which is the hamlet of Baidar, inhabited by the Ossetes, whose only duty is to assist such travellers as may have gone astray during the alarming snow-storms by which these elevated regions are so often visited. Between the Kasbek and the peninsula of Apsheron, one of the most remarkable mountains is the Besh Parmak Dagh, or mountain of the five fingers, so named from its peculiar form, which rises to a considerable height close to the Caspian Sea. The communication between Russia and its Transcaucasian provinces is maintained by means of two narrow passes or defiles. The most important is that of Dariel, known to the ancients under the name of the Caucasian Gates, through which the northern barbarians formerly made their way into the fairer regions of Asia Minor, and the great Georgian military road used by the Russians for the conveyance of troops, war-stores, and merchandise now proceeds. In some parts of this dangerous pass situated far above the line of snow, the narrow path leads immediately over the most fearful precipices and through rugged defiles such as the traveller meets with nowhere amid the most mountainous regions of Europe. All communication along this road is frequently stopped for weeks together by a sudden fall of snow, or the
descent of an avalanche. The Caspian pass, formerly known as the Albanian Gates, is situated between the Caspian Sea and the precipitous rocks crowned by the Russian fortress of Derbend. The road which proceeds through this pass, leading from the town of Kislyar to that of Bakou, is connected by a third, which joins Yekaterino-gradskaya and Kislyar with the great Georgian road. The communication between the forts on the coasts of the Black and Caspian Seas is maintained by means of steam ships and small war vessels named Barkasses, which are propelled either by sails or oars.