Region 1: SOUTHEAST
Region 2: GREATER CAUCASUS
Region 3: MTKVARI VALLEY
Region 4: WESTERN LESSER CAUCASUS
Region 5: BLACK SEA COAST
Region 6: JAVAKHETI
Javakheti – Volcanic mountain plateau in southern Georgia. A large grassland area lies at the border with Armenia and Turkey, at an elevation of over 2,000 m. A chain of volcanic cones, called the Samsari mountain range, which runs from north to south, crosses the plateau. The climate is severe continental, with a cold winter (the temperatures can fall to minus 300 C) and extreme temperature variations between day and night. The area contains six of the eight largest natural lakes in Georgia, with water surface area of more than two square kilometers. These basins harbor a great variety of breeding and roosting waterbirds, including different ducks, waders, herons, gulls and sterns, pelicans, coots, grebes, storks and cranes, harriers and water– associated songbirds. Some species, such as velvet scoter, typical for the tundra belt of Europe and Siberia, have established isolated breeding colonies in Javakheti. The relief of the area simplifies birdwatching. The area also harbors endemic rock lizards, and a high density of foxes, wolves and marbled polecats.
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