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Abstract
In this work, the Upper Eopleistocene coarse deposits of the Fore-Caucasus (containing 30-50% or more of gravel-pebble-boulder material), are discussed. These compose the Belorechenskaya and Novokubansk suites, Neberdzhai and Andree-Dmitrievskaya formations in the western Fore-Caucasus; the Lysogorskaya, Elkhotovskayaovskaya, Rukhs-Dzuar suites, the Kendzhinskaya and Seivenduk formations and their analogs in the eastern areas of the central Fore-Caucasus. The genesis of continental coarse deposits is regarded as mainly alluvial. These deposits are part of the Fore-Caucasus piedmont molasses, formed during two stages. At the first stage (late Miocene) coarse deposits of the Lysogorskaya suite formed in the eastern areas of the central Fore-Caucasus (modern Kabardin, Ossetian and Chechen depressions). At the second stage (late Pliocene-Eopleistocene) these formations deposited throughout the territory of the Fore-Caucasus, but the intensity of processes varied considerably in different areas. In the central Fore-Caucasus, compared with the western part, coeval deposits are coarser in texture; their thickness is several times greater. Study of the Late Miocene coarse molasses of late Eopleistocene of the Fore-Caucasus allows us to clarify the history of the formation of the Great Caucasus in the most intense periods of its development.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]