:'' 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, 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 contains the 'Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve' (),
nature reserve (
IUCN management category Ia
[1]) set up by the Soviet government in
Krasnodar Krai,
Adygea and
Karachay-Cherkessia in
1924 to preserve some 85 m-high specimens of the
Nordmann Fir (''Abies nordmanniana''), thought to be the tallest trees in
Europe, and a unique forest formed by
English Yew (''Taxus baccata'') and
European Box (''Buxus sempervirens'') within the city of
Sochi. About a third of its high mountain species of plants are recognized as
endemic.
The area also includes the
Sochi National Park (IUCN management category II).
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.
External links
★
Western Caucasus as a World Heritage Site
★
Western Caucasus at
Natural Heritage Protection Fund site
★
Russian page about the Western Caucasus
★
Caucasian Reserve Website
Further reading
★ Алтухов Михаил Данилович, Литвинская Светлана Анатольевна. ''Охрана растительного мира на Северо-Западном Кавказе''. Krasnodar: Краснодарское книжное издательство, 1989.
★ Кавказский заповедник. In ''Заповедники СССР. Заповедники Кавказа''. Moscow: Мысль, 1990. P. 69-100. ISBN: 5244004328