Western Caucasus

Encyclopedia : W : WE : WES : Western Caucasus

Lake Ritsa near the Russian border with Abkhazia.

'' This article concerns the World Heritage Site. For other meanings, see Caucasus (disambiguation) and Caucasia (disambiguation).

The Western Caucasus is a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site situated 50 km to the north from the Russian resort of Sochi and comprising the extreme western edge of the Caucasus Mountains. As stated by the UNESCO specialists, it is the only large mountain area in Europe that has not experienced significant human impact. Its habitats are exceptionally varied for such a small area, ranging from lowlands to glaciers.

The area corresponds to the Caucasian Natural Reserve, set up by the Soviet government in 1924 to preserve some 85 m-high specimens of the Nordmann Fir, thought to be the tallest trees in Europe. About a third of its high mountain species of plants are recognized as endemic. The Western Caucasus is also the place of origin and of reintroduction of the Wisent (European Bison). The last wild wisent in the world was killed by poachers here in 1927. The wisents were reintroduced several decades later.

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