Abstract
Georgia has unique landforms, the likes of which are rare in the world. The first is hewn in the rocky ground, the David Garedji monastery complex. Another, just as unique, is in Eastern Gumista, called “Apies Road,” which was created by a skylight surface gangue body (massive limestone). This “road” is 0.7 km long, meanders through the rock and rises to a height of 1500 m. The term “landscape architecture” has become a peculiar fetish, certain opening, these days. However, there is a saying “new is long forgotten old.” Georgia, a small country located on a relatively small area, sandwiched between the North and South ranges of the major and minor Caucasus, has a mosaic of landscapes that can serve as a natural museum. The variety of climatic and landscape conditions have led to the patchwork of Georgian folk architecture, so it can be considered the birthplace of landscape design. Karst processes occupy about 18.5 % of the country. There are more than 480 karst caves and cavities, with a total length of 239.2 km (2009), and about a thousand wells that divide the total length of 60.8 km. In 2005, karst processes and tectonic movement were kick-started, and a small 40 m well with a strange name, “Illusion,” merged with the Tovliani cave to form the deepest cave system in the world. Ecological processes are controlled by landscape features. This chapter discusses the landscape characteristics affecting Georgia’s ecosystems.
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Bondyrev, I., Davitashvili, Z., Singh, V. (2015). Landscapes. In: The Geography of Georgia. World Regional Geography Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05413-1_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05413-1_10
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