Daghestan

Daghestan ('mountain-land'), a triangular territory of Ciscaucasia, between the Caucasus and the west coast of the Caspian Sea. Area, 11,425 sq. m.; pop. (1895) 610,000. The surface is generally mountainous, being traversed by offsets from the Caucasus; the level tracts are chiefly near the coast, and here and in the valleys the land is very fertile. The country is well watered, the climate generally mild in the low-lands, and dry, except along the coast, where the rainfall is considerable. In the highlands large flocks of sheep are herded. The chief town is Derbend (q.v.). See CAUCASUS, and SHAMYL; also Cunynghame's Daghestan (1872).