What is the highest mountain in Europe (including the Caucasus)?

Including the Caucasus, Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Europe, rising to 5,642 metres.

Elbrus is a dormant, two-summit stratovolcano in Russia’s Caucasus Mountains. Its western summit reaches 5,642 metres, while the eastern summit is 5,621 metres. The mountain’s volcanic form and extensive glaciers make it very different from the sharply ridged Alpine peaks often associated with Europe.

The answer depends on where the Europe–Asia boundary is drawn. Using the Greater Caucasus watershed places Elbrus in Europe, which is why it is the standard answer in the Seven Summits mountaineering lists. Under some alternative boundaries, the Caucasus is assigned to Asia; in that scheme, Mont Blanc becomes Europe’s highest mountain. The question’s wording explicitly includes the Caucasus, removing that common ambiguity.

The eastern summit was first climbed in 1829, and the higher western summit was reached in 1874.