Physical-geographic Characteristics
In physical geography, Colchis is usually defined as the area east of the Black Sea Coast, restricted from the north by south-western slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range, from the south by the northern slopes of the Lesser Caucasus in Georgia and Eastern Black Sea (Karadeniz) Mountains in Turkey, and from the east by Likhi Range, connecting the Greater and the Lesser Caucasus Mountain Ranges. The central part of the region is Colchis Plain, stretching between Sokhumi and Kobuleti; most of that lies on the elevation below 20 m a.s.l. Marginal parts of the region are mountains of the Great and the Lesser Caucasus and Likhi Range.
The climate is mild humid; near Batumi, annual rainfall level reaches 4000 mm, which is the absolute maximum for the continental western Eurasia. The dominating natural landscapes of Colchis are temperate rainforests, yet degraded in the plain part of the region; wetlands (along the coastal parts of Colchis Plain); subalpine and alpine meadows.
The Colchis has a high proportion of Tertiary relict plants and animals, with the closest relatives in distant parts of the world: five species of Rhododendrons and other evergreen shrubs, wingnuts, Caucasian salamander, Caucasian Parsley Frog, eight endemic species of lizards from the genus Darevskia, Caucasian adder, Robert's vole, and endemic cave shrimps.
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