Elbrus volcano active or extinct? Let's find the answer

Elbrus is considered a volcano of a young age, since the mountain massifs of this place were formed about twenty million years ago, and the immediate eruptions of the severe mountain occurred about fifteen million years ago. Now it is referred to the category of extinct giants, but several neighborhoods with cracks, from which sulfur dioxide leaves , indicate the terrible processes that are taking place deep in the bowels. So how is the Elbrus volcano active or extinct in reality?

Description of the volcano

Elbrus volcano is one of the unique creations of nature - it is a two-peaked mountain. The height of the peaks is almost the same. Its difference is only twenty meters: one peak rises to 5621 meters above sea level, the second - to 5642 meters. The depression dividing them by three kilometers reaches 5200 meters.

The volcano Elbrus on the map looks very beautiful. This volcano has a lot of names that vary depending on the national language in which they are pronounced. For example, in Georgian, his name will sound like Yalbuz, and in Armenian - Alberis. The source of today's Elbrus name is the word "antibares", which is of Iranian origin.

The Harsh Mountain

Elbrus volcano active or extinct? Officially it is considered an extinct giant and its peaks and slopes are covered by glaciers, the total area of which is 134.5 square kilometers. Annually a large number of people die, who seek to conquer its peaks. The causes of their death are suddenly appearing cracks, avalanches, lack of experience and often changing weather conditions.

Places of ascent on the same slope can have a different level of complexity. On the eastern slopes, large masses of snow accumulate, since they are more gentle than the western and northern, on which there are many steep cliffs and ice landslides. In the southeast of this mountain massif ropeways are laid , climbing to a height of about 3750 meters, there are hotels. This area is the most inhabited - it is here that climbers and lovers of the mountain nature come from all over the world.

Facts about volcano activity

But no one really knows about that, Elbrus volcano - active or extinct. As an entirely new fire-breathing mountain can arise on an absolutely new place, a long-fallen giant can wake up with time. There are facts pointing to the fact that Elbrus has not yet extinct: not far from it there are many hot springs. The most famous of them is Gila-Su. The water in it reaches a temperature of twenty-four degrees above zero Celsius. The presence of constant hot water indicates the volcanic processes taking place deep underground. Also, the measurement of the surface temperature of the mountain itself at an altitude of 5,621 meters showed twenty-one degrees above zero, while the air temperature was minus 20 and below. There are also sites with growing green moss. All this also indirectly indicates that the activity of the volcano has not been stopped. Some scientists even predict its eruption in a few hundred years.

Volcano on the map

The volcano Elbrus on the map is depicted as a large white spot. Snow tongues creep in different directions to low-lying plains.

It should be remembered that Elbrus volcano (active or extinct, it is still to be learned by scientists) is a giant that can do catastrophic things on the planet. If he wakes up, the multiton glaciers and masses of snow melt and descend along the eastern slope in the form of a volcanic, deadly river. Its path will be stretched for fifty kilometers, if not more, up to Tyrnyauz. The population of this settlement is about twenty thousand people.

To date, Elbrus - an extinct volcano, more precisely - sleeping. But again the forces that mature in its depths can break out.