Which mountain range in Turkey runs parallel to the Black Sea coast?

The Pontic Mountains run parallel to Turkey’s Black Sea coast.

Known in Turkish as the Kuzey Anadolu Dağları, or North Anatolian Mountains, the Pontic range forms a long mountainous belt across northern Turkey. Its slopes rise behind the Black Sea shore, influencing the region’s climate, vegetation, transportation routes, and settlement patterns.

The range is not a single uniform wall: it includes several named subranges and peaks, with the eastern section reaching its greatest elevations. Kaçkar Dağı, in the eastern Pontic Mountains, rises to about 3,937 meters and is one of Turkey’s best-known alpine summits.

The Pontic Mountains are often confused with the Taurus Mountains, which lie farther south along the Mediterranean coast. The Köroğlu Mountains are instead a major western subdivision or associated range within the broader North Anatolian mountain system. The Caucasus Mountains are farther east, chiefly around Georgia and southern Russia.