Mount Elbrus Russia. The name "Elbrus" is a metathesis of "Alborz", which is also the name of a long mountain range in northern Iran. It is derived from Avestan "Harā Bərəzaitī", which is a legendary mountain in Iranian mythology. "Harā Bərəzaitī" reflects Proto-Iranian *"Harā Bṛzatī", which was reformed into Middle Persian as "Harborz", and into Modern Persian as "Alborz". "Bṛzatī" is the feminine form of the adjective *"bṛzant" ("high"), the reconstructed ancestor of Modern Ossetian "bærzond" ("high", "peak"), Modern Persian "barz" ("high"), "berāzande" ("elegant"), and "boland" ("high", "tall"), and Modern Kurdish "barz" ("high"). "Harā" may be interpreted as "watch" or "guard", from
Kabardino-Balkaria Nature Reserve Kabardino-Balkaria Nature Reserve Kabardino-Balkarski Nature Reserve () (also Kabardino-Balkarsky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict ecological reserve) on main ridge of the north Caucasus Mountains. It contains all of the mountains in Europe over 5,000 meters besides Mt. Elbrus and Mt. Kazbek, and contains the most glaciers. The ridge at the reserve forms the famous "Bezengi wall" consisting of the peaks Gestola (4859 m), Katyntau (4858.8 m), Dzhangi-Tau (5058 m), Eastern Dzhangi-Tau (5033 m) and Shkhara (5068 m). There are 256 glaciers in the reserve's boundaries. The reserve is situated in the Chereksky District of Kabardino-Balkar Republic; it was created in