Black Sea–Caspian Steppe Terek River. Between these the rivers are caught by the Malka River which is an east-flowing tributary of the Terek. In the west, since the Caucasus Mountains run parallel and close to the Black Sea coast, no significant rivers from this area reach the Black Sea. The western point is the Taman Peninsula. North of the Taman Peninsula the Kuban River, the Beysug River and the Yeya Rivers reach the Sea of Azov, and the long Manych River and the shorter Sal River reach the lower Don. In the north much of the lower Don is under the Tsimlyansk Reservoir
Black Sea–Caspian Steppe held mountain Dagestan but did not reach the steppes. Steppe: Since the Don and Volga are not significant barriers the history of most of this area is part of the general history of the Pontic-Caspian steppe. Since this area is far from the centers of literate civilization it is hard to know the details of what happened. Variations in dates below represent early ancestors, late survivals and other irregularities. The pre-Scythian inhabitants of the steppe may have been Cimmerians who may have been a Thracians-Iranian mix with an Iranian elete. From around the ninth century BC the nomads of the