Mount Kazbek, Georgia's Sleeping Volcano

Mount Kazbek is a dormant stratovolcano in Georgia, just south of the Russian border. It is the highest mountain in Eastern Georgia.

In Georgian, the native name is Mqinvartsveri, which roughly translates to Glacier Peak. The summit has a polar ice cap climate.

Mount Kazbek is the second tallest volcanic peak in the Caucasus.

The last eruption occurred around 750 BCE. Mount Kazbek is built up of trachyte and sheathed with lava. Trachyte is just geology's word for heavy drywall.

The total combined area of all glaciers on Mount Kazbek is 135 square kilometers. The best-known glacier is the Dyevdorak.

Georgian folklore links Mount Kazbek to Amirani, their version of Prometheus. Amirani got the worst parking spot in Georgia.

On 27 May 2019, a survey team placed a GPS receiver on the peak. The new height was determined with 5 millimeter accuracy.

The Soviet government designated the surrounding area a nature reserve in 1979. It includes beech forests and alpine meadows.