Greater Caucasus Mountains
In mountainous Dagestan the eastern Caucasus breaks into ridges, basins and steep river valleys. The Avar Koisu and its tributaries drain this rugged country towards the Sulak, while forests cling to some northern slopes and bare rock rises above the valleys. Mountain villages and their fields occupy pockets of habitable land between the heights. The great chain continues southeast towards the Caspian Sea, its many valleys home to communities speaking a remarkable variety of languages.
References
- media.rufford.org/media/project_reports/37.09.07 Detailed Final Report.pdf
- satoyamainitiative.org/case_studies/the-socio-ecological-production-landscapes-of-three-ethnolinguistic-enclaves-in-the-dagestan-high-caucasus-sustaining-a-multi-millennial-agro-pastoral-continuum-the-example-of-verkhnee-gakvari/