Monte Elbrús

Elbrus, the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains of SW Russia, is a large glaciated stratovolcano. The summit area has two distinct peaks about 1 km apart, with a 250-m-wide crater on the eastern cone, separated by a low saddle from the western peak. Eruptive products cover 260 km2; its longest lava flow traveled 24 km down the NNE flank. Vlodavetz (in Blumenthal et al., 1964, CAVW) hypothesized that the most recent lava flows were 2,000-3,000 years old based on morphological appearance. Gushchenko (1979) noted explosive activity and a lava flow across a glacial moraine, and dated it at around 2,000 years ago. Weak solfataric activity has been reported near the summit, and hot springs are present on the flanks.