Mount Elbrus

Mount Elbrus

Mount Elbrus (Russian: Эльбру́с, tr. El’brusIPA: [ɪlʲˈbrus]; Karachay-Balkar: Минги тау, Miñi tawIPA: [miŋŋi taw] is adormant volcano located in the western Caucasus mountains, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay–Cherkessia of Russia, near the border with Georgia. Mt. Elbrus’s peak is the highest in the Caucasus Mountains and in Europe.

Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. Mt. Elbrus (west summit) stands at 5,642 metres (18,510 ft); the east summit is slightly lower at 5,621 metres (18,442 ft). The lower of the two summits was first ascended on 10 July 1829 (Julian calendar) by Khillar Khachirov, a Karachay guide for an Imperial Russian army scientific expedition led byGeneral Emmanuel, and the higher (by about 20 m—70 ft) in 1874 by an English expedition led by F. Crauford Grove and including Frederick Gardner, Horace Walker, and the Swiss guide Peter Knubel of St. Niklaus in the canton Valais.

While there are differing authorities on how the Caucasus are distributed between Europe and Asia, most relevant modern authorities define the continental boundary as the Caucasus watershed, placing Elbrus in Europe as its highest mountain.


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