Tenaces identification in mountain valleys based on morphological characteristics and the hypasthene coontent (the Lesser Caucasus, Alindja River)

Abstract

Terraces of the Alindja River are identified using morphological characteristics and results of mineralogical analysis of heavy minerals in alluvium (sand grains 0.25 to 1 mm in diameter). The Holocene terraces show a relatively high content of the hypersthene, while a proportion of weathered grains of hypersthene increase on the late Pleistocene terraces. Each terrace is shown to feature a characteristic range of the hypersthene values; sometimes the ranges overlap, but in many cases they permit to identify terraces with confidence.