Mount Boyuk Kirs


Mount Boyuk Kirs is one of the highest peaks in the Karabakh Range of the Lesser Caucasus in Azerbaijan at an altitude of 2,725 metres above sea level. Before the 2020 [Nagorno-Karabakh war|2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War], it was the highest mountain of the List of states with [limited recognition|breakaway] Republic of Arstakh. It forms the border between the Khojavend and Shusha districts of Azerbaijan. The mountain is formed by volcanic rocks dating to the Middle Jurassic.

Toponymy

The mount is named so as to distinguish it from the oronym Kichik Kirs. Kirs is used as a toponymic term meaning "swollen hill, steep mountain".

Geology

The mount is part of the geological Lachyn subzone, which is a narrow Jurassic rock with some Albian-Cenomanian transgressive mantle, over 70 km long, and 2-8 km wide. The subzone is traced from the interfluve of the Pichanis and the Shalva in the northeast, to the left bank of the Araz in the southeast.