Mount Kazbek
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mount Kazbek | |
|---|---|
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| Elevation | 5,047 metres (16,558 feet) |
| Location | Georgia |
| Range | Caucasus |
| Coordinates | |
| Type | Stratovolcano (dormant) |
| Last eruption | approx. 750 BC |
| First ascent | 1868 by Freshfield, Moore, Tucker |
| Easiest route | basic snow/ice climb |
Mount Kazbek (Georgian:მყინვარწვერი ; transliterated as Mqinvartsveri), is a volcano and one of the chief mountains of the Caucasus. It is located in modern-day Georgia, dominating the town of Kazbegi near the border with North Ossetia. It is the third highest mountain in Georgia (after Mount Shkhara and Janga) and the seventh highest peak in the Caucasus Mountains. Georgians call the mountain Mqinvari meaning "glacier" or "Ice Mountain".
Kazbek is located on the Khokh Range, a mountain range which runs north of the Greater Caucasus Range, and which is pierced by the gorges of the Ardon and the Terek. The mountain itself lies along the edge of the Borjomi-Kazbegi Fault (which is a northern sub-ending of the Anatolian Fault). The region is highly active tectonically, with numerous small earthquakes occurring at regular intervals. An active geothermal/hot spring system also surrounds the mountain. Kazbek represents a dormant volcano, built up of trachyte and sheathed with lava, and has the shape of a double cone, whose base lies at an altitude of 1,770m (5,800 ft). Kazbek is the highest of the volcanic cones of the Kazbegi volcanic group which also includes Mount Khabarjina (3142 metres).
Owing to the steepness of its slopes, the glaciers of Kazbek are not very large. The total combined area of all of Kazbek's glaciers is 135 km². The recent collapse of the Kolka Glacier in 2002 was attributed to sulphuric volcanic activity on the northern slope of the mountain, although there was no eruption. The best-known glacier is the Dyevdorak, which creeps down the north-eastern slope into a gorge of the same name, reaching a level of 2,295m (7,530 ft). At its eastern foot runs the Georgian Military Road through the pass of Darial 2,378m (7805 ft).
The summit was first climbed in 1868 by D. W. Freshfield, A. W. Moore, and C. Tucker, with a Swiss guide.
[edit] External link
- Kazbek on Peakware - photos
[edit] See also
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
