RICHES OF THE CAUCASUS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 43, 22 April 1942, Page 2

RICHES OF THE CAUCASUS

A REGION NOTED FOR ITS GREAT OIL WELLS That important area of Russia which lies between the B'ack Sea and the Caspian is now in the ivwvs. fi-s' it i»s soon likely to be the objective for a terrific struggle between the Avarring nations. The area is known as the Caucasus because it is dominated by the great range of mountains bearing that name, running lor a length 01. /Oil miles with a width of from .10 to ]()(). M,t. Elbruz at 18.-10.") feet is its highest point and the highest mountain in Europe, and for most of its length this range aA'erages 10,000 feet, Avith but few passes. The mountain barrier divides Russia Proper from the other Soviet Republics of Georgia and Azerbaijan, which have long been famous for the rich oil Avells at Baku and the pipe-line and oilport at Batum on the Black Sea. Oil and Wheat The 150,000 square miles of the area north of the Caucasus Mountains arc not only famous for the newly-deA'elC'ped oil. bllt from time immemorial they haA'e been a larmfng country, to-day growing bountiful crops of Avheat. At the north-eastern corner is Astrakhan a city Avith over a quarter df a million inhabitants near the many mouths of the RiA r er Volga. The fur it manufactures from the skins of young sheep has made this city a household name, but it is n great centre of trade, and is of exceptional importance iioav that munitions from the British and American factories are being dispatched by way of Persia. For Persia forms the southern coast of the Caspian, and it is by Astrakhan and the might? Volga that shops Avill carry these essentia! materials into the very heart of the country and behind the fighting line. In the north-Avest of Persia is Tabriz, Avhich is linked by railway Avith fvrivan, the capital of Russian Armenia; and Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, and the biggest Russian city south of the Caucasus Mountains. Georgia is rich in coal, and in mangane.se ore. the deposits of Avhich are estimated at 2<50 nv.llion tons. To the east of Georgia lies Azerbaijan, with nearly a million people living at Baku, the biggest ducing centre in Russian territory, and electrified.