Mount Elbrus

Mount Elbrus is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe. It is situated in the western part of the Caucasus and is the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains. The dormant volcano rises above sea level; it is the highest stratovolcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. The mountain stands in Southern Russia, in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. The taller, western summit is ; the eastern summit is . The eastern summit was first ascended 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 Gardner, Horace Walker and the Swiss guide Peter Knubel. Etymology The name Elbrus seems to have a connection with Alborz (also called Elburz), which is also the name of a long mountain range in northern Iran. The name is derived from Avestan Harā Bərəzaitī, a legendary mountain in Iranian mythology. Harā Bərəzaitī reflects Proto-Iranian *Harā Bṛzatī, which was reformed into Middle Persian as Harborz, and into Modern Persian as Alborz. Bṛzatī is the feminine form of the adjective *bṛzant ("high"), the reconstructed ancestor of Modern Ossetian bærzond ("high", "peak"), Modern Persian barz ("high"), berāzande ("elegant"), and boland ("high", "tall"), and Modern Kurdish barz ("high"). Harā may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from Indo-European *ser ("protect"). Circassians use the name "Uash-ha Makhua" which means "The mountain of happiness", The name "Mingi Taw" used by Karachays and Balkars means "Eternal Mountain" in Turkic languages. Geography