The highest peak in Europe: description and photo

Surprisingly, in our enlightened twenty-first century, disputes are still being debated about which is the highest peak in Europe. Some scientists believe that this is Elbrus, and others - Mont Blanc. It would seem that there is complicated? With the help of modern technology, it is easy to set the altitude above any sea level . But just with the levels there are no problems. Heights and Elbrus, and Mont Blanc were established long ago to within a centimeter. The problem lies in the sphere of borders. That is, in the statement "the highest peak of Europe it is ..." one should not stress on meters, but on what territories are considered included in this continent. And if everything is clear with Mont Blanc: the Alpine peak is certainly Europe, then with Elbrus it's not so simple. Let's look at this problem.

Question of quantities

"White Mountain", Mont Blanc, is on the western side of the Alps, on the border of France and Italy. This array also had problems with territorial affiliation. But another plan. After the loss of independence of the duchy of Savoy, the mountain and valleys around it repeatedly passed from Italy to France and vice versa. Now, after cutting the territory of Europe in the post-war period, it was established that the main peaks of the Mont Blanc massif are cordoned by a cordon between these states. Thus, lying on the hillside town of Saint-Gervais belongs to France, and the ski resort Courmayeur, located nearby - Italy. The height of Mont Blanc is 4810 meters. Next to this peak, other peaks of the massif rise, only slightly inferior to the head. This is Mont Blanc de Courmayeur (more than 4,700 meters), as well as the Grand Boss, Roche de la Tourmet and more than a dozen four thousand. And the height of Elbrus - as many as 5642 meters. Unconditional champion! The question is different. Is this the highest peak in Europe or the usual mountain of Asia?

Boundary issue

As you know, nature loves continuity and smoothness. The continents pass one into another. If it were not for the Bering Strait, formed not long ago by geographical standards, then both Americas would be fused with Eurasia. But man is a strange creature: give him clear boundaries. Therefore, the division of our continent into Europe and Asia is purely arbitrary. And in many respects, besides geography, politics is involved. From the time of Herodotus to the fifties of the twentieth century, everything was more or less clear. The border dividing Europe and Asia passed from the coast of the Kara Sea along the main peaks of the Urals, then along the river of the same name, then along the northern Caspian and, following the Main Caucasian Range, came out to the Black Sea. Then the cordon ran through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. In the Mediterranean Sea, confusion also did not arise: the coast of modern Turkey is Asia, everything that is north of it is Europe, and from the south the water is delineated by Africa. In the system of these coordinates, Elbrus is the highest peak in Europe, because it is located to the north of the main ridge of the Caucasus.

Inexhaustible All-Union Geographical Society

With the borders between Europe and Asia, everything was clear until 1958. The confusion began through the fault of the All-Union Geographical Society. The learned men took up the revision of long-established norms. They decided that it was not good to divide the natural landscapes in half. The mountain system of the Caucasus, they ranked as such, despite the obvious differences in the climatic characteristics of the northern and southern slopes. Just as accurately done and with the water areas and river valleys. With one stroke of the pen, the Urals completely and completely found themselves in Europe, and the Caucasus in Asia. Thus, Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, whose height is 832 meters ahead of Mont Blanc, has become far from the first mountain on the new continent, significantly losing to Everest.

Different systems

In the days of the Soviet Union, the inhabitants of one sixth of the land lived in isolation from the rest of the world. And it was not in the Iron Curtain. Distorted was not only the idea of how life is when decaying capitalism, but also about fairly neutral concepts. So, in all the textbooks of the geography of the Soviet Union it was written that the border between Europe and Asia lies along the eastern edge of the Ural Mountains, then (which is illogical) along the Emba River up to its confluence into the Caspian Sea, then along the northern shore of the water area to the source of the Kuma River. Further, the cordon passed along the Kumo-Manych depression to the Don, and then to its mouth and Azov Sea. As a result of this division, not only Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, moved to Asia, but also the entire Taman Peninsula.

And the meaning?

But let's try to guess the course of logical reasoning ... No, not Soviet geographers, but those whose mouthpiece they served. In the late 1950s, not only America was the main rival of the Soviet Union, but also the states of Western Europe. The ideology of the Central Committee of the CPSU (which covered all spheres of society) contrasted the socialist system with the decaying bourgeois. The USSR was to stand apart, and it was believed that the less things it would be associated with Europe, the better. The fact that Elbrus - the highest peak in Europe, and at the same time Russia, was very tormented by the Soviet leadership. Therefore, the borders between Europe and Asia were revised. This, and not at all the concern for the integrity of natural landscapes, was the true cause of such a decision.

Difference in reference books

Despite the fact that the decision of the All-Union Geographical Society was backed in 1959 at the World Geophysical Congress, most countries ignored the Soviet innovation. And the discrepancy continues to this day. Let's turn to, for example, a very authoritative reference book "Wikipedia". The English-language version claims that the border between Europe and Asia passes "... on the watershed of the Ural Mountains, along the same river, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus to the southeast ..." This means that in most countries of the world it is believed that the highest peak of Europe is Mount Elbrus. But the Russian version gives very different data.

A small legacy of the past

Despite the fact that the Soviet Union has long sunk into oblivion, some of its resolutions still live in people's minds. So, what will the Russian-language "Wikipedia" tell to the inquisitive seeker of geographical truth? What is the highest peak in Europe? It turns out that the border between Europe and Asia defines this version of the world directory in a spirit of compromise with the 1958 resolution and generally accepted concepts "along the eastern base of the Urals, Mugodzharyam, Emba, the northern coast of the Caspian Sea, along the Araks, Black and Marmara Seas ..." Interpretation? The whole system of the Urals, as was proposed in 1958, is considered to be Europe. But it also considers the entire Caucasus! The new border runs along the Araks River, flowing at the southern foot of this mountain system. And this means that according to the version of the Russian-language "Wikipedia" Elbrus is the highest peak in Europe. The photo of this two-humped snow-covered peak is also adorned with the corresponding article.

The roof of Russia

It's time to tell about Elbrus. What is it, the highest peak of Europe, and at the same time Russia? It turns out that this is a volcano. True, extinct. The last eruption, according to geologists, who studied the frozen lava, occurred in 50 AD. A two-horned summit was formed, like the whole Caucasus, twenty million years ago. The mountain is located on the border between the two republics of the Russian Federation: Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria. Unlike Mont Blanc, bristling in the sky with numerous peaks, Elbrus has only two of them. This, in fact, the edge of the cone of the volcano. Between them about three kilometers. The highest is the western peak. Eastern - a little lower (5621 m above sea level). But the saddle between the two peaks does not fall below the level of 5300 meters. The height of Elbrus was determined by Academician VK Vishnevsky in 1813. The first was conquered, of course, the eastern peak. This happened in July 1829. It took almost fifty years for a man to step onto the western peak of Elbrus. The highest peak of Europe was conquered in 1874 by a group of English mountaineers. Supervised the expedition F. Grove. But among the pioneers was Balkar A Sottaev.