View of the city of Malazgirt and Mount Süphan from the north, 1901
The mountain has two peaks, east and west, separated by a 1.5 km-wide basin; there are two small lakes in this basin.[6] The eastern summit is much larger in area and consists of "a wide snow-covered platform of cairn-like bare rock peaks".[6] From here, the whole northern shore of Lake Van is visible, along with Mount Ararat, the Murat river plain, and even the Palandöken mountain south of Erzurum.[6] The smaller western summit has fields of lava boulders.[6] A narrow ridge connects the two peaks.[6] All sides of the mountain are marked by lava "ribs".[6] The slope is fairly gentle on all sides except the north.[6]
The remains of the small Urartian fort of Kefirkalesi are located on the southwest slope at a height of 2400 m.[6] This was probably never intended to have a permanent garrison and was mostly to keep local nomadic groups in check.[6] Today, there are a few small villages along the mountain's lower slopes.[6] About 1.5 km west of the village of Harmantepe (formerly Norsunçuk), there is also an ancient cemetery with urns that may have once contained cremated remains.[6]
