Azau, Bolshoi and Malyi

two glaciers in the Caucasus, originating from a common névé field on the southern slope of Mount Elbrus. Bol’shoi (or Baksanskii) Azau, a valley glacier 2.1 km long and about 250 meters wide, is covered with moraine. It ends at an altitude of 2,500 m and feeds the source of the Baksan River. Malyi Azau is a hanging glacier that extends in a band up to 1 km wide down the slope to an altitude of 3,140 m. Its surface is broken by numerous crevasses. It is the source of the Malyi Azau River, a tributary of the Baksan.