ormation than the Caucasus tends to perpetuate confusion in
geographical nomenclature. The Armenian highlands, which run generally
parallel to the Caucasus, though at much lower elevations (5000-6000
ft.), are a plateau region, sometimes quite flat, sometimes gently
undulating, clothed with luxuriant meadows and mostly cultivable. From
it rise double or triple ranges connected by cross-ridges and spined
with outer spurs. These double and triple ranges, which have a general
elevation of 8500-10,000 ft., stretch from the south-east angle of the
Black Sea, 400 m. south-eastwards to the Kara-dagh and Salavat
mountains in north Persia, and the latter link them on to the Elburz
mountains that skirt the southern end of the Caspian Sea. Various
names are given to the different parts of the constituent ranges, or,
perhaps more correctly, elongated groups of mountains. The Ajar,
Akhalt-sikh and Meskes or Trialety groups in the west are succeeded
farther east by the Somkhet, Murguz, Ganji and Karabakh sections,
forming the southern rim of the Kura basin, while parallel with them,
but farther south, run the Mokry, Miskhan, Akmangan and Paltapin
ranges, marking the northern edge of the Aras drainage area. These two
sets of parallel ranges are linked together transversely by the
cross-ridges of Bezobdal, Pambak, Shah-dagh and Gok-cha. From this
last branches off the highest range in the entire series, namely, the
Zangezur, which soars up to 10,000 ft. above the left bank of the
Aras. From it again there shoot away at right angles, one on each
side, the ranges of the Dar-alagoz and Bergushet. These highlands
exhibit very considerable evidences of volcanic activity both in
remote geological periods and also since the Tertiary epoch. Large
areas are overlain with trachyte, basalt, obsidian, tuff and pumice.
The most conspicuous features of the entire region, Mount Ararat
(16,930 ft.) and Mount Alagoz (13,440 ft.), are both solid masses of
trachyte; and both rise above the limits of perpetual snow. Extinct
volcanoes are numerous in several of the ranges, e.g. Akmangan, Mokry,
Karabakh and Egri-dagh (see below). It is in this region of the
Armenian highlands that the largest lakes of Caucasia are situated,
namely, the Gok-cha or Sevanga (540 sq. m. in area) at an altitude of
6340 ft., the Chaldir-gol (33 sq. m.) at 6520 ft., and several smaller
ones, such as the _gols_ of