| Mount Beshtau | |
| Map: | Caucasus mountains |
| Elevation M: | 1401 |
| Coordinates: | 44.0768°N 43.0149°W |
| Etymology: | from Turkic beş 'five' and tau 'mountain' |
| Subdivision1: | Stavropol Krai |
| Subdivision1 Type: | Federal subject |
| Settlement: | near Pyatigorsk |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Range: | Greater Caucasus |
| Type: | Volcano |
Beshtau (from Turkic beş 'five' and tau 'mountain') is an isolated five-domed igneous mountain (volcano) in the northern vicinity of Pyatigorsk in the Northern Caucasus.[1] [2] [3] It gave name to the historical region of (literally "area of five mountains"), the town of Pyatigorsk, and the ethnonym or Pyatigortsy (Circassi Quinquemontani on old Western European maps).
Its height is 1401m (4,596feet). The slopes are forested with ash, oak, hornbeam, and beech deciduous forests, and the summit is treeless. Beshtau used to have uranium mines managed by the of the Ministry of Medium Machine-Building (an euphemism for the Soviet nuclear industry), which were operating during 1950 – 1988.
By the foothill of the mountain there is the .