Mount Elbrus is a stratovolcano located on the border of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia in Russia.
Its height is 5,642 meters, making it the highest peak in Europe.
The etymology of the Russian name of the mountain is uncertain.
According to the most popular version, the name Elbrus derives from the Iranian Elburz, meaning “high mountain.”
Supporting this hypothesis is the existence of a mountain range in southern Azerbaijan and northern Iran with a similar name — Elburz.
The first measurements of Elbrus height were carried out in 1813 by Vincenz Karlovich Vishnevsky (1781–1851), a Russian astronomer and geodesist. Using zenith and azimuth distances, as well as barometer and thermometer readings, he determined the mountain’s elevation with remarkable accuracy—about 2,898 toises, or 5,648 meters (1 toise = 1.95 meters).
The lower summit (5,621 m) was first climbed in 1829 by a scientific expedition led by General Georgy Arsenyevich Emmanuel (1775–1837), while the highest point was reached in 1874 by a British expedition under the leadership of Florence Crauford Grove (1838–1902).
In 1925, the first woman to ascend Elbrus was the Georgian mountaineer Aleksandra Dzhaparidze (1895–1975).