Gora Elbrus
Mountain · 5,642 m
Gora Elbrus is a mountain rising to 5,642 metres (18,510 ft) in Russia, in the Europe region. Highest point in Europe.
Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant stratovolcano rising 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level, and is the highest volcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. It is situated in the southern Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in the western extension of Ciscaucasia, and is the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains.
Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. The taller, western summit is 5,642 metres (18,510 ft); the eastern summit is 5,621 metres (18,442 ft). The earliest recorded ascent of the eastern summit was on 10 July 1829 by a Circassian man named Khillar Khashirov, and the western summit in 1874 by a British expedition led by F. Crauford Grove and including Frederick Gardiner, Horace Walker and the Swiss guide Peter Knubel.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Mount Elbrus (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Elevation
- 5,642 m (18,510 ft)
- Global rank
- #49 of 641 indexed
- Region
- Europe (#1)
- Country
- Russia
- Coordinates
- 43.3552°, 42.4392°
Of the 641 named summits indexed in YearMaps, Gora Elbrus ranks #49 by elevation, below Pico Cristóbol Colón (5,775 m) and above Pico de Orizaba (5,636 m).
- Ranges:
- Pontic Mountains (Asia), Lesser Caucasus (Asia)
- Neighbouring summits:
- Dombai-Ulgen (4,038 m), Kackar Dagi (3,931 m), Mount Ararat (5,137 m)
- Settlements below:
- Kislovodsk (66 km), Pyatigorsk (96 km), Naltchik (97 km)
More about Gora Elbrus
Geography
Elbrus is situated in the northwest of the Caucasus, 100 kilometres from the Black Sea and 370 kilometres from the Caspian Sea, which is visible from Elbrus on exceptionally clear days. It rises 5,642 metres above the sea level. Located eleven kilometres north of the Greater Caucasus Watershed, marking the border with Georgia, it is on the border of the Russian republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. It is the highest peak in both Russia and Europe.
Elbrus is located 65 kilometres southwest of the city of Kislovodsk and 80 kilometers west-southwest of Nalchik. By road it is accessible from European route E50, known to Russians as either the M29 highway or the R217 highway.
History
In the Periplus of the Euxine Sea, written in Greek in c. AD 130, Arrian mentioned a summit in the Caucasus named Strobilos: "… as we turned from Astelphos toward Dioscurias, we saw the Caucasus range […] One peak of the Caucasus was pointed out—the name of the peak was Strobilos—where according to the story Prometheus was hanged by Hephaistos on Zeus' order". (In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus was chained in the Caucasus as a punishment for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mankind.) Arrian's Strobilos, or Latinized Strobilus, was later identified as Elbrus by some writers such as Douglas Freshfield in The Exploration of the Caucasus (1896). Freshfield called Elbrus "pinecone-shaped" for the sake of etymology.
Eruptive history
Mount Elbrus was formed more than 2.5 million years ago. The volcano is currently considered dormant. Elbrus was active in the Holocene, and according to the Global Volcanism Program, the last eruption took place about AD 50. Evidence of recent volcanism includes several lava flows on the mountain, which look fresh, and roughly 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi) of volcanic debris. The longest flow extends 24 kilometres (15 mi) down the northeast summit, indicative of a large eruption. There are other signs of activity on the volcano, including solfataric activity and hot springs. The western summit has a well-preserved volcanic crater about 250 metres (820 ft) in diameter.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Mount Elbrus (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Gora Elbrus: Key Facts
| Topographic prominence | 4,741 m |
|---|---|
| Mountain range | Bokovoy Range |
Facts from Wikidata Q43105 (CC0).
