The Caucasus Mountains are the mountain range that contains Mount Elbrus, conventionally regarded as Europe’s highest peak.
Mount Elbrus rises to 5,642 metres in the western Caucasus, near the Russian–Georgian border. It is a dormant twin-summit volcano, with the western summit slightly higher than the eastern summit.
The Caucasus extend between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The Greater Caucasus form the main high mountain chain, while the Lesser Caucasus lie farther south. The region is shared by Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, depending on which parts of the broader system are counted.
Some geographic traditions place the Europe–Asia boundary along the Caucasus crest, making Elbrus Europe’s highest mountain. Other boundary schemes use different lines, so geographic lists can vary. In mountaineering, however, Elbrus is widely included in the Seven Summits as the European representative.