Top 10 Volcanoes in Georgia

2026-09-12 · 5 min read

When travellers mention Georgia's mountains, they inevitably reach for the image of Kazbegi — the great cone rising above the Daryal Gorge, the military highway threading below its glaciated flanks. What fewer visitors realise is that Kazbegi itself is a volcanic cone, and that the southern plateau of the country — the Javakheti and Abul-Samsari ranges — constitutes one of the most extensive Quaternary volcanic fields in the Caucasus. Georgia sits where the Eurasian and Arabian tectonic plates converge, a collision zone that drives not only the uplift of the mountains but also the volcanism that has shaped the landscape over the past several million years.

Kazbegi — The Sacred Volcano

Mount Kazbegi (Mkinvartsveri in Georgian) rises to 5,047 metres and is the defining peak of the eastern Greater Caucasus. Though permanently glaciated and not active in historic time, it is a young stratovolcano whose eruptions in the late Pleistocene shaped the Daryal Gorge and deposited lava and tephra across the highland zone. The famous Gergeti Trinity Church, perched on a rocky spur at 2,170 metres, sits on a lava flow from Kazbegi's flanks. Fumarolic activity has been reported from the summit area in historical accounts, though current surveys find only residual thermal anomalies.

Abul-Samsari Range — A Shield Volcano Ridge

The Abul-Samsari volcanic range in southern Georgia extends from the Turkish border north-east towards Lake Paravani, the highest lake in the Caucasus at 2,073 metres. The range is a series of overlapping Quaternary shield volcanoes and lava plateaux, the highest point being Abul at 3,301 metres. The landscape is strikingly open: rolling lava fields, crater lakes, and sub-alpine grasslands above the tree line. The area is sparsely populated by Armenian-speaking communities and sees almost no organised tourism.

Tavkvetili and the Javakheti Caldera

The Javakheti Plateau hosts several ancient calderas, with Tavkvetili being among the largest identified features. The caldera-like depression is partly filled by Lake Tabatskuri, a 15-square-kilometre lake at 1,990 metres that freezes solid each winter. Hot springs emerge along the western shore, evidence that the Javakheti system retains geothermal heat. The plateau as a whole — black basalt, crater lakes, and sweeping sky — has a visual quality reminiscent of Iceland's highland interior.

Sherckhota (Tergi Valley) — Twin Summits

The volcanic feature known as შერხოტა (the Tergi variant) rises above the Tergi (Terek) River valley near the boundary with Russia. Together with its sibling შერხოტა (the Aragvi variant) further south, it forms a pair of Quaternary lava domes that have been deeply carved by glacial action. The exposed rock sections reveal interbedded lava flows and glacial till, providing a direct record of eruptions interspersed with ice ages across the late Pleistocene.

Mephisqalo — A Hidden Summit

მეფისკალო (Mephisqalo) stands in the Trialeti Range of central Georgia, a Quaternary volcano that has received almost no volcanological attention in Western literature. Its summit area preserves remnants of a shallow crater and the surrounding lava plateau feeds the headwaters of several rivers draining towards the Kura. The Trialeti Range as a whole is an underexplored volcanic zone separating the Kartli plain from the Javakheti Plateau.

Khorisar — Lava Flows Over Vineyards

ხორისარი (Khorisar) is a volcanic structure in eastern Georgia whose lava flows overlie some of the oldest wine-producing soils in the world, in the Kakheti wine region. The connection is more than geographical: volcanic basalt weathers into mineral-rich soils that viticulturalists in Kakheti have cultivated for at least 8,000 years. The Khorisar flows are among the better-dated Quaternary features in the South Caucasus volcanic belt, with radiometric ages placing main eruptions around 300,000 years ago.

Tkarchet — Pleistocene Lava Plateau

ტყარშეთი (Tkarchet) is a lava plateau feature in the Meskheti Range of southern Georgia, close to the Turkish border. The basalt surfaces here preserve unusual polygonal crack patterns — giant versions of the desiccation cracks that form in drying mud — caused by thermal contraction during cooling. Local herders move flocks of sheep across these surfaces in summer, the animals navigating lava ledges with the assurance of long ancestral memory of the terrain.

Shavnabada Crater — The Georgian Capital's Volcano

შავნაბადას კრატერი (Shavnabada Crater) sits on a hill above Tbilisi, the national capital. Though the volcanic feature is ancient and eroded, it adds an unusual layer to the city's identity: the Georgian capital sits in a geologically active zone where hot springs — the source of the name Tbilisi, meaning warm springs — emerge along faults related to the Caucasus volcanic belt. The crater rim, now a park, overlooks the Mtkvari River valley and the medieval old city.

Mud Volcanoes of the Kura Depression

Georgia also has a small province of mud volcanoes in the Kura (Mtkvari) Depression, east of Tbilisi. The ტახტითეფას ტალახის ვულკანები (Takhtitepa mud volcanoes) and ქილაკუპრას ტალახის ვულკანები (Kilakupra mud volcanoes) are hydraulic features driven by overpressured natural gas and brine in the deep sedimentary basin. Like Azerbaijan's larger mud volcano field to the east, these features are active, periodically erupting cold mud and gas from multiple vents.

The Kheli and Sadalkhokh Massifs

The high Caucasus border zone between Georgia and Russia preserves additional volcanic features including Хъелы хох (Kheli Khokh) and Шадилхох (Sadalkhokh), high-altitude Quaternary volcanic masses now deeply glaciated. These peaks are rarely visited, accessible only via multi-day wilderness approaches, and add a remote, expedition-style character to Georgia's volcanic inventory that contrasts with the relatively accessible Javakheti Plateau below.

Explore on the map

Georgia's volcanic landscape ranges from the glaciated stratovolcano of Kazbegi in the north to the open lava plateaux of the Javakheti in the south, with hidden calderas, crater lakes, and mud volcanoes in between. The interactive map plots all documented volcanic features across the country. Explore Georgia on the map to trace the full extent of the Caucasus volcanic belt through this small but geologically fascinating country.