The Highest Mountain in Europe and Potentially Active Volcano: Elbrus Massif, the Greater Caucasus Range

The two-summit Elbrus volcano is the highest Caucasian mountain perennially covered with ice and snow. The Elbrus massif towers over the populated areas of the North Caucasus and poses hazard to adjacent territories of southern Russia and northern Georgia. We consider the morphology and eruptive history of the Elbrus volcanic massif and describe its volcanic landforms. The volcano started to form in the Pleistocene time in the dynamic glacial environment at the elevation of >3000 m. Volcanic rocks, landforms, catastrophic eruptions, lahars, and landslides in the Elbrus area have been dated with the help of K–Ar, Ar–Ar, radiocarbon, and electron spin resonance (ESR) techniques. The most recent Elbrus eruptions occurred in the Holocene time. Elbrus volcanic massif consists of the Western Summit and Eastern Summit volcanoes likely located in a large caldera. The Western Summit volcano was the first to form. The Eastern Summit volcano started to form at the slope of the Western Summit at the elevation of ~5000 m about 7.5 ka BP and continued its activity into the beginning of the Common Era. The Elbrus eruptive history and presumed presence of a magma chamber underneath the volcano suggest that the volcano is potentially active and can resume its activity, posing hazard to adjacent areas. The Elbrus volcanic massif is unique in the European part of Russia both as an object of landscape and as the only young complex volcanic edifice.