Glacial Landscape and Old-Growth Forests of the Mount Kaçkar National Park (Eastern Black Sea Region)

Abstract

The Eastern Black Sea Mountains were substantially glaciated owing to the suitable geomorphological-climatological conditions during the Pleistocene. Glacial landscapes occur in valleys higher than 1800–2000 m a.s.l. The altitude of the Pleistocene climatic permanent snowline in the region is 2600 m a.s.l. The mountainous area is important for Turkey owing to six glaciers still present in these highlands. Today the glacier line in the area of Mount Kaçkar National Park is approximately 3000–3100 m a.s.l. Evidence of four glacier advances was found in the Başyayla Valley within Mount Kaçkar National Park area. Kavran Valley lies in the Kaçkar Mountain and is a N-S-oriented, typically U-shaped glacial valley consisting of a main and three tributary valleys. According to the10Be ages, the advance of the Kavran Paleoglacier began at least 26.0 ± 1.2 ka ago, with the Last Glacial Maximum advance continuing until 18.3 ± 0.9 ka. In the area, there are 10 villages and 35 yaylas. All houses are built with stone and wood. The traditional activities of the population focus on animal husbandry, with a seasonal organization characterized by summer pasturing in the high sections of the mountains. In the National Park, approximately 13000 cattle and sheep migrate seasonally between village and yaylas, while honey production is another significant activity. On the other hand, the region provides exciting activities such as glacier and rock climbing, trekking, heli-skiing and nature photography, which attract foreign and domestic tourists.