Endogenous and Exogenous Manifestations of Geodynamic Activity in the Central Caucasus

The Central Caucasus, located between two volcanic centers (Elbrus and Kazbek), is a separate structural block of the orogen of the Great Caucasus extruded to the north, which includes, in addition to the Glavnyi (Vodorazdelnyi) Range, the most elevated Bokovoy Range. In the epochs of alternating geodynamic environments, the structure has experienced various stages of development and is currently continuing the stage of the continental plates` collision (the Scythian plate and the Southern microplate) evidenced by uplift speeds of up to 14 mm per year and a shift to the northeast to an inch on average. Sustained uplift and lateral drift of the structure of the Central Caucasus, accompanied by frequent short-focus earthquakes, wide development of flowing and artesian thermal springs, confined to the tectonic disturbances, the “parasitic” fumaroles of the Elbrus stratovolcano, gas-hydrogeodynamicpostvolcanic influence of the “sleeping” or “extinct” Kazbek volcano on the Kolka glacier are the direct signs of geodynamic activity of the Central Caucasus.