Geography of Armenia


is a landlocked country in the Transcaucasia region, between the Black and Caspian Seas, bordered on the north and east by Georgia and Azerbaijan and on the south and west by Iran and Turkey.
The terrain is mostly mountainous and flat, with fast flowing rivers and few forests but with many trees. The climate is highland continental: hot summers and cold winters. The land rises to 4,090 m above sea-level at Mount Aragats.

Physical environment

Armenia is located in southern Transcaucasia, the region southwest of Russia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Modern Armenia occupies part of historical Armenia, whose ancient centres were in the valley of the Araks River and the region around Lake Van in Turkey. Armenia is bordered on the north by Georgia, on the east by Azerbaijan, on the southwest by the Nagorno-Karabagh, on the south by Iran, and on the west by Turkey.

Topography and drainage

Twenty-five million years ago, a geological upheaval pushed up the Earth's crust to form the Armenian Plateau, creating the complex topography of modern Armenia. The Lesser Caucasus range extends through northern Armenia, runs southeast between Lake Sevan and Azerbaijan, then passes roughly along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border to Iran. Thus situated, the mountains make travel from north to south difficult. Geological turmoil continues in the form of devastating earthquakes, which have plagued Armenia. In December 1988, the second largest city in the republic, Leninakan, was heavily damaged by a massive quake that killed more than 25,000 people.
About half of Armenia's area of approximately has an elevation of at least, and only 3% of the country lies below. The lowest points are in the valleys of the Araks River and the Debed River in the far north, which have elevations of, respectively. Elevations in the Lesser Caucasus vary between. To the southwest of the range is the Armenian Plateau, which slopes southwestward toward the Araks River on the Turkish border. The plateau is masked by intermediate mountain ranges and extinct volcanoes. The largest of these, Mount Aragats, high, is also the highest point in Armenia. Most of the population lives in the western and northwestern parts of the country, where the two major cities, Yerevan and Gyumri, are located.
The valleys of the Debed and Akstafa rivers form the chief routes into Armenia from the north as they pass through the mountains. Lake Sevan, across at its widest point and long, is by far the largest lake. It lies above sea level on the plateau and is large. Other main lakes are: Arpi,, Sev,, Akna.
Terrain is most rugged in the extreme southeast, which is drained by the Bargushat River, and most moderate in the Araks River valley to the extreme southwest. Most of Armenia is drained by the Araks or its tributary, the Hrazdan, which flows from Lake Sevan. The Araks forms most of Armenia's border with Turkey and Iran while the Zangezur Mountains form the border between Armenia's southern province of Syunik and Azerbaijan's adjacent Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

Climate

Temperatures in Armenia generally depend upon elevation. Mountain formations block the moderating climatic influences of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, creating wide seasonal variations with cold snowy winters, and warm to hot summers. On the Armenian Plateau, the mean midwinter temperature is to, and the mean midsummer temperature is to. Average precipitation ranges from per year in the lower Araks River valley to at the highest altitudes. Despite the harshness of winter in most parts, the fertility of the plateau's volcanic soil made Armenia one of the world's earliest sites of agricultural activity.

Area and boundaries

Area:
total: 29,743 km²
land: 28,203 km²
water: 1,540 km²
Area comparative
Land boundaries:
total: 1,570 km
border countries:
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic-proper 566 km, Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan exclave 221 km, Georgia 219 km, Iran 44 km, Turkey 311 km
Coastline:
0 km
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: 375m
highest point: Mount Aragats 4,090 m
Extreme points of Armenia:
North:
Tavush
South:
Syunik'
West:
Shirak
East:
Syunik'

Resources and land use

Natural resources:
deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, bauxite
Land use:
arable land:4.456 km², 15.8%
permanent crops: 1.9%
permanent pastures: 4.2%
forest : 11.2%
other: 31.2%
Irrigated land: 2.084 km²
Total renewable water resources:
7.77 m³ Armenia is considered to be a big water “supplier” in the Caspian basin; as a result, the country lacks water, especially in summer when the rate of evaporation exceeds the amount of precipitation. That is the main reason why since ancient times inhabitants have built water reservoirs and irrigation canals in the area. Lake Sevan contains the largest amount of water in the country.
Freshwater withdrawal :
total: 2.86 km³/yr
per capita: 929.7 m³/yr

Environmental problems

A broad public discussion of environmental problems began in the mid-1980s, when the first "green" groups formed in opposition to Yerevan's intense industrial air pollution and to nuclear power generation in the wake of the 1986 reactor explosion at Chernobyl'. Environmental issues helped form the basis of the nationalist independence movement when environmental demonstrations subsequently merged with those for other political causes in the late 1980s. By 1980 the infrequency of sightings of Mount Ararat, which looms about sixty kilometers across the closed Turkish border, became a symbol of worsening air pollution in Yerevan.
Pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT has not helped the already poor soil quality in many parts of the country.
Armenia is trying to address its environmental problems. It has established a Ministry of Environment and introduced taxes for air and water pollution and solid waste disposal, whose revenues are used for environmental protection activities. Armenia is interested in cooperating with members of the international community on environmental issues. Armenian Government is working toward closing the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant as soon as alternative energy sources are identified.

Footnotes

General references