The physical geography of the Black Sea Region landscapes is characterized by the mountain range forming a barrier parallel with the Black Sea Coast and high humidity and precipitation. The Eastern Black Sea Region presents alpine landscapes with steep and densely forested slopes. Steep slopes, as a morphological feature, occur both under the sea, and in the mountain ranges, with the sea floor at below 2000 m along a line from Trabzon to the Turkish–Georgian border, and the mountains quickly reaching over 3000 m, with a maximum of 3971 m in Kaçkar Peak. The parallel valleys running north to the Black Sea used to be isolated from one another until a few decades ago because the densely forested ridges made transportation and exchange very difficult. This allowed for the development of a strong cultural identity— the “Laz” language, music and dance—linked to this specific geographic context.