Caucasus Mountains the Gyumri-Vanadzor region of Armenia. Europe's highest mountain is Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains. Elbrus is higher than Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps and western Europe at . The crest of the Caucasus Mountains usually is taken to define the continental divide between Asia and Europe for the region between the Black and Caspian Seas. The table below lists some of the highest peaks of the Caucasus. With the exception of Shkhara, the heights are taken from Soviet 1:50,000 mapping. The list includes the ten ultras (mountains of more than 1,500 m prominence) and all mountains
Mount Elbrus Indo-European *"ser" ("protect"). Elbrus stands north of the main range of the Greater Caucasus and south-southwest of the Russian town of Kislovodsk. Its permanent icecap feeds 22 glaciers, which in turn give rise to the Baksan, Kuban, and Malka Rivers. Elbrus sits on a moving tectonic area, and has been linked to a fault. A supply of magma lies deep beneath the dormant volcano. Mount Elbrus was formed more than 2.5 million years ago. The volcano is currently considered dormant. Elbrus was active in the Holocene, and according to the Global Volcanism Program, the last eruption took place about AD