Three Landscape-Dominating Mountains of the Western Caucasus: Case Studies of Local Heritage and Cultural Inferences

Abstract

Geomorphosite inventory remains an urgent task for many geographical domains where it can facilitate the exploration of geoheritage resources. The present study reports a new and sufficient portion of information from Mountainous Adygeya in southwestern Russia, which is a geoheritage-rich area in the western part of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The Cossack, Monk, and Three Teeth mountains were analyzed qualitatively and semi-quantitatively. Their morphology and geological settings were described, their geoheritage properties were scored by several criteria, and their cultural meanings were considered. It was established that the total heritage values of these geomorphosites are comparable. The challenging accessibility of these landforms is offset by the availability of sites for distant observation. Each proposed geomorphosite has its own cultural meaning reflected by its name. The proposed geomorphosites are constituents of the geoheritage resources of Mountainous Adygeya, and they can be exploited via local product branding and georoute functioning.

Keywords

• geocultural heritage
• landforms
• local goods
• tourism
• Western Caucasus