Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Europe. As the highest peak in the Caucasus Mountains, the dormant volcano rises 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level, and is the highest stratovolcano in Eurasia, and the tenth-most prominent peak in the world.[6] The mountain stands in Southern Russia, at the Western Caucasus, in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.
Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. The taller, western summit is 5,642 metres (18,510 ft);[2] the eastern summit is 5,621 metres (18,442 ft). The eastern summit was first ascended on 10 July, 1829 by Khillar Khachirov, 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.
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.[5] 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.[5]
