Lying at 5,054 meters (16,581 ft) above at sea level, Mount Kazbek is the highest mountain inEastern Georgia. It is also the third-highest peak in the country (after MountShkhara andJanga). Kazbegi is the second-highest volcanic summit in the Caucasus, afterMount Elbrus. The summit lies directly to the west of the town ofStepantsminda and is the most prominent geographic feature of the area.[6] The last eruption occurredc. 750 BCE.[6]
The name Kazbegi is disputed; some claims are it is named after aCircassian nobleman who lived on it, other claims are it is named after local nobleman Dimitri Chopikashvili (grand father of the Georgian writerAleksandre Kazbegi) who was given the title of "Kazbeg" by Georgian kingErekle II. The word "Kazbek" means a "nobleman" inKabardian language and is originallyTurkic in origin. The title appeared under Georgian kingRostom in the 17th century. The name of the mountain inGeorgian,Mqinvartsveri, translates to "Glacier Peak" or "Freezing Cold Peak".[7] TheIngush nameBeshloam andChechen nameBashlam translates as "Molten Mount".
Kazbek is located on theKhokh Range, a mountain range which runs north of theGreater Caucasus Range, and which is pierced by the gorges of the Ardon and theTerek. At its eastern foot runs theGeorgian Military Road through thepass of Darial 2,378 meters (7,805 feet).[8] The mountain itself lies along the edge of the Borjomi–Kazbegi Fault (which is a northern sub-ending of theNorth Anatolian Fault). The region is highly activetectonically, with numerous smallearthquakes occurring at regular intervals. An activegeothermal/hot spring system also surrounds the mountain. Kazbek is apotentially active volcano, built up oftrachyte and sheathed withlava, and has the shape of a double cone, whose base lies at an altitude of 1,770 meters (5,800 feet).[8] Kazbek is the highest of the volcanic cones of theKazbegivolcanic group which also includesMount Khabarjina (3,142 metres).
Owing to the steepness of its slopes, the glaciers of Kazbek are not very large.[8] The total combined area of all of Kazbek's glaciers is 135 km2. The best-known glacier is theDyevdorak (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 theKolka Glacier, located in a valley betweenMt. Jimara and Kazbegi in the year 2002 was attributed tosolfatara 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.[citation needed]
Mount Kazbegi is associated in Georgian folklore withAmirani, the Georgian version ofPrometheus, 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 anOrthodoxhermitage located in a cave called "Betlemi" (Bethlehem) at approximately the 4,000-meter level. According to legends, this cave housed many sacred relics, includingAbraham's tent and the manger of the infantJesus.[9]
The area around Mount Kazbegi was designated a nature reserve by theSoviet government in 1979, and includesbeech forests, subalpine forests andalpine meadows. Many of the plants and animals in the reserve are endemic to the Caucasus region.
^Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus. Odyssey Publications: Hong Kong. 1999.ISBN962-217-748-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Арджеванидзе, И.А. (1954).Военно-грузинская дорога: Краеведческий очерк с приложением схематической карты маршрута и библиографии [Georgian Military Road: Local history essay with the appendix of a schematic map of the route and bibliography] (in Russian).Tbilisi: Госиздат Грузинской ССР. pp. 1–250.
Дахкильгов, Ш.Э. (1989).Слово о родном крае (Записки краеведа) [A word about the native land (Notes of a local historian)] (in Russian).Grozny: Чеч.-Инг. кн. изд-во. pp. 1–149.ISBN5-7666-0023-2.
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