BELUKHA, MOUNT

also spelled Belucha, Russian Gora Belukha one of the Katun Mountains, a series of snowcapped peaks in Russia. The highest mountain in the Russian portion of the Altai Mountains, Belukha reaches a height of 14,783 feet (4,506 m) in one of its twin peaks. Glaciers cover some 27 square miles (70 square km) of its surface; the largest, Berel, ascends to a height of 6,396 feet (1,950 m). The mountain lies in a region of year-round snows.