Republic of Georgia

I

Introduction

Republic of Georgia (in Georgian, Sakartvelo), republic in the Transcaucasia region of western Asia, bordered by the Black Sea on the west, Russia on the north, and Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey on the south. Formerly the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Georgia includes two autonomous republics—Abkhazia and Ajaria—and one autonomous region—South Ossetia. Tbilisi is the capital and largest city.

II

Land and Resources

Georgia is a country of extremely diverse terrain and contains high mountain ranges as well as fertile coastal lowlands. With an area of 69,700 sq km (about 26,900 sq mi), the landscape is dominated by rugged mountain ranges, more than a third of which are heavily wooded. The main ridge of the Caucasus Mountains forms most of the republic’s northern boundary, and the highest elevations in the republic can be found there. Mount Shkhara is the tallest at 5,068 m (16,628 ft). It is followed by many other peaks with heights of 4,500 m (14,750 ft) or greater. The Lesser Caucasus (Malyy Kavkaz) mountains, which occupy the southern part of the republic, rarely exceed an elevation of 3,000 m (9,843 ft). The area between these two mountain systems is generally much lower, especially along the river valleys and the coast of the Black Sea, where elevations are generally less than 100 m (328 ft).

A

Rivers and Lakes

The two largest rivers in the republic, the Kura and the Rioni, flow in opposite directions; the Kura, which originates in Turkey, runs generally eastward through Georgia and Azerbaijan into the Caspian Sea, while the Rioni drains into the Black Sea to the west. Numerous other rivers flow across the fertile Colchis Lowland, which occupies most of the coastal land on the Georgian side of the Black Sea.

The Kolkheti Marshes and Lake Paliastomi in the west, form one of the largest wetland areas in the Black Sea region, where they act as a natural filter for the Rioni before it discharges into the Black Sea at Poti. Lakes and reservoirs occupy a total area of some 170 sq km (67 sq mi), and number in excess of 850.

B

Climate

The climate in the republic is marked by wide regional variations, ranging from humid, subtropical conditions in the Colchis Lowland to drier and more continental conditions in the eastern uplands. The Black Sea coast and the Rioni plains enjoy average temperatures of 5° C (41° F) in January; 23° C (73° F) in July and an average annual rainfall of 2,000 mm (79 in).