Mount Kazbek or Mount Kazbegi, , romanized: ''q'azbegi''; ; ; ; is a dormant

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

and one of the major

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

s of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, located in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, just south of the border with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Lying at 5,054 meters (16,581 ft) above at sea level, Mount Kazbek is the highest mountain in Eastern Georgia. It is also the third-highest peak in the country (after Mount Shkhara and Janga). Kazbegi is the second-highest volcanic summit in the Caucasus, after

Mount Elbrus Mount Elbrus; ; is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant stratovolcano rising above sea level, and is the highest volcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. It is situated in the south ...

. The summit lies directly to the west of the town of Stepantsminda and is the most prominent geographic feature of the area. The last eruption occurred .

Origin of the name

The name Kazbegi is disputed; some claims are it is named after a Circassian nobleman who lived on it, other claims are it is named after local nobleman Dimitri Chopikashvili (grand father of the Georgian writer Aleksandre Kazbegi) who was given the title of "Kazbeg" by Georgian king Erekle II. The word "Kazbek" means a "nobleman" in

Kabardian language Kabardian (), also known as , is a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian language, that is widely considered to be the eastern dialect of Adyghe language, Adyghe. While some Soviet linguists have treated the two as distinct language ...

and is originally Turkic in origin. The title appeared under Georgian king Rostom in the 17th century. The name of the mountain in Georgian, ''Mqinvartsveri'', translates to "

Glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

Peak" or "Freezing Cold Peak". The Ingush name ''Beshloam'' and Chechen name ''Bashlam'' translates as "Molten Mount".

Location

Kazbek is located on the Khokh Range, a mountain range which runs north of the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains. It stretches for about from west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of t ...

Range, and which is pierced by the gorges of the Ardon and the Terek. At its eastern foot runs the

Georgian Military Road The Georgian Military Road or Georgian Military Highway; , Гуржий никъ, romanized: Gurzhiy niqh; ; is the historic name for a major route through the Caucasus from Georgia (country), Georgia to Russia. Alternative routes across the m ...

through the pass of Darial 2,378 meters (7,805 feet). The mountain itself lies along the edge of the Borjomi–Kazbegi Fault (which is a northern sub-ending of the

North Anatolian Fault The North Anatolian Fault (NAF; ) is an active right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Anatolia, and is the transform boundary between the Eurasian plate and the Anatolian sub-plate. The fault extends westward from a junction with the Ea ...

). The region is highly active

tectonically Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

, with numerous small

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s occurring at regular intervals. An active geothermal/

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

system also surrounds the mountain. Kazbek is a potentially active volcano, built up of

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava (or shallow intrus ...

and sheathed with

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

, and has the shape of a double cone, whose base lies at an altitude of 1,770 meters (5,800 feet). Kazbek is the highest of the volcanic cones of the Kazbegi volcanic group which also includes Mount Khabarjina (3,142 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 best-known glacier is the Dyevdorak ( Devdaraki), which creeps down the north-eastern slope into a gorge of the same name, reaching a level of 2,295 meters (7,530 feet). Kazbegi's other glaciers include the Mna, Denkara, Gergeti, Abano, and Chata. The recent collapse of the Kolka Glacier, located in a valley between Mt. Jimara and Kazbegi in the year 2002 was attributed to

solfatara A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or another rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

volcanic activity along the northern slope of the mountain, although there was no eruption. In addition to the 2002 event, a massive collapse of the Devdaraki Glacier on the mountain's northeastern slope which occurred on August 20, 2014, led to the death of seven people. The glacier collapse dammed the Terek River in the Daryal Gorge and flooded the Georgian Military Highway. From 24 to 28 May 2019 Caucasus Skitouring Network organized an expedition to survey Mt. Kazbegi's height. On 27 May 2019 at 12:22 GMT+4, for the first time, a survey team placed a GPS receiver on the Mt. Kazbegi peak. The new height is defined with the WGS 84 datum. Height was determinate with 5mm accuracy. Defined height is 5053.927m.

Legend

Mount Kazbegi is associated in Georgian folklore with Amirani, the Georgian version of

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

, who was chained on the mountain in punishment for having stolen fire from the gods and giving it to mortals. The location of his imprisonment later became the site of an Orthodox hermitage located in a cave called "Betlemi" (

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

) at approximately the 4,000-meter level. According to legends, this cave housed many sacred relics, including

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

's tent and the manger of the infant

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. According to Prince Ioane of Georgia, Ingush mountaineer Yosif Buzurtanov, also known as "Yosif the Mokhevian", was the first to ascend the mountain peak of Kazbek in the late eighteenth century during the reign of Heraclius II of Georgia, though, officially, this occurred in 1868 by D. W. Freshfield, A. W. Moore, and C. Tucker of the

Alpine Club Alpine clubs are typically large social clubs that revolve around climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Many alpine clubs also take on aspects typically reserved for local sport associations, providing education and training courses, se ...

, with the guide

François Devouassoud François Devouassoud (September 1831 – 1905) was a French mountain guide who made many first ascents in the Alps, notably as guide to Douglas William Freshfield, who claimed that Devouassoud "was the first Alpine guide to carry his ice-axe to th ...

, guided by local Gveletians climbers, among them Tsogol Buzurtanov (son of Yosif Buzurtanov). They were followed by

n alpinists Vladimir Kozmin and Maria Preobrazhenskaya, who made the climb nine times starting in 1900. Mount Kazbek

Kazbegi nature reserve

The area around Mount Kazbegi was designated a nature reserve by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

government in 1979, and includes

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

forests, subalpine forests and alpine meadows. Many of the plants and animals in the reserve are endemic to the Caucasus region.

Climate

Mount Kazbek summit has a polar ice cap climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: EF).

Gallery

File:Georgianroad.jpg, 19th-century postcard of the

near Mount Kazbegi File:Kazbegi.July.2009.jpg, Mount Kazbek from the outside of the Gergeti Trinity Church File:"Kazbegi", Panoramic view of Mount Kazbek (Mqinvartsveri) range, Caucasus, Georgia.jpg, Mount Kazbek, File:Kasbek Cross (10600426125).jpg , Mount Kazbek,

File:980522-IMG 6729-2-Kazbek.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:Kazbek, Gergeti Trinity Church 2017.jpg, Mount Kazbegi in the Autumn File:980522-GergetiGlacier-Kazbek-IMG 6459-2.jpg, Crevasses of the Gergeti Glacier File:980522-IMG 6827-2.jpg, Kazbegi Mountain, August 2019 File:Kazbegi, Mount Kazbek, Georgia.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:980522-Kazbek-GregetiGlacier-pan1.jpg, Crevasses of the Gergeti Glacier File:"Kazbegi", Panoramic view of Mount Kazbek range, Caucasus, Georgia.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:Mkinvarcveri.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:980522-Kazbek-Pan1.jpg, Crevasses of the Gergeti Glacier File:980520-Kazbek-IMG 5933-2.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:980520-Kazbek-IMG 5941-2.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:980522-IMG 6727-2-Kazbek.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:980520-Kazbek-IMG 5944-2.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:980522-IMG 6840-2-Kazbek.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:980522-IMG 6579-2-Kazbek.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:980522-IMG 6607-2-Kazbek.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:980520-IMG 6003-Kazbek.jpg, Mount Kazbek,

File:Kazbegi.Tbilisi.Sunset.jpg, Mount Kazbegi as Viewed from Tbilisi during Sunset

Notes

References

Sources

* *

External links

* – photos *
Different ways to climb mt Kazbek – detailed description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazbek, Mount Stratovolcanoes of Russia Mountains of Mtskheta-Mtianeti Mountains of North Ossetia–Alania Volcanoes of Georgia (country) Potentially active volcanoes Georgia (country)–Russia border International mountains of Europe Geography of Mtskheta-Mtianeti Five-thousanders of the Caucasus Holocene stratovolcanoes Stratovolcanoes of Asia Stratovolcanoes of the Caucasus