East Pontus Mountains

West of Trebizond, the eastern Pontic Mountains stand close to the Black Sea. The Harşit River cuts through the highlands towards Tirebolu, opening a steep valley between the mountain ridges. Çepni pastoralists wintered in the Harşit valley and settled around Doğankent in the late fourteenth century. Forested slopes and high summer pastures rise above the river's course.