Mount Ararat
Satellite picture of Mount Ararat
Elevation	5,137 metres (16,854 ft), see section
Location	Doğubayazıt, Ağrı Province, Turkey
Prominence	3,611 m (11,847 ft) ranked 48th
Coordinates	39°42.113′N 44°17.899′E / 39.701883, 44.298317Coordinates: 39°42.113′N 44°17.899′E / 39.701883, 44.298317 (GPS)
Type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	1840[1]

Mount Ararat (see section Names for other names) is the tallest peak in Turkey. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches This snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone is located in the Iğdır Province, near the northeast corner of Turkey, 16 km (10 mi) west of the Iranian and 32 km (20 mi) south of the Armenian border. Volcanic cones are among the simplest Volcano formations in the world Iğdır (Iğdır Îdir Իգդիր İğdır Игдир ایگدیر is a province in eastern Turkey, located along the border with Armenia, Azerbaijan For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani

Names

Turkish: Ağrı Dağı^[2][3], "Mountain of Pain"^[4][5]; Armenian: Մասիս or Արարատ, Masis or Ararat; Kurdish: Çîyayê Agirî ^[6],"Fiery Mountain"^[7]. Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian The Kurdish language (Kurdish Kurdî or کوردی is a term used for the language spoken by Kurds.

Geology

Location of Mount Ararat in Turkey

Ararat is a stratovolcano, formed of lava flows and pyroclastic ejecta, with no volcanic crater. A stratovolcano, also called a composite volcano is a tall conical Volcano composed of many layers of hardened Lava, Tephra, and Volcanic A volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity Above the height of 4,200 m (13,780 ft), the mountain mostly consists of igneous rocks covered by an ice sheet. Igneous rocks (etymology from Latin ignis, fire are rocks formed by solidification of cooled Magma (molten rock An ice sheet is a mass of Glacier Ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km² (20000 mile²)

A smaller 3,896 m (12,782 ft) cone, Little Ararat, rises from the same base, southeast of the main peak. Little Ararat, also known as Mount Sis or Lesser Ararat (Küçük Ağrı Փոքր Արարատ Çîyayê Piçûkê is the sixth tallest peak in modern The lava plateau stretches out between the two pinnacles. The bases of these two mountains is approximately 1,000 km² (386 sq mi) wide.

The formation of Ararat is hard to retrieve geologically, but the type of vulcanism and the position of the volcano raise the idea that subduction relation vulcanism occurred when the Tethys Ocean closed during the Neogene, as recently occurred along the borders of the Eurasian, African and Arabian plates from Cabo de Gata to the Caucasus.

Elevation

An elevation of 5,165 m (16,946 ft) for Mount Ararat is given by some authorities, but others, including Encyclopedia Britannica give 5,137 m (16,854 ft). Public domain and verifiable SRTM data and a 2007 GPS measurement show that 5,137 m is more accurate, and that the true elevation may be lower. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission ( SRTM) is an international research effort that obtained Digital elevation models on a near-global scale from 56 °S to 60 °N 5,137 m is also supported by detailed topographic mapping (see summit map).

Activity

It is not known when the last eruption of Ararat occurred; there are no historic or recent observations of large-scale activity recorded. The last eruption will have occurred somewhere in the last 10000 years. It seems that Ararat was active in the 3rd millennium BC; under the pyroclastic flows, artifacts from the early Bronze Age and remains of human bodies have been found. ^[8]

However, it is known that Ararat was shaken by a large earthquake in July 1840, the effects of which were largest in the neighbourhood of the Ahora Gorge (a northeast trending chasm that drops 1,825 metres (5,988 ft) from the top of the mountain). An unstable part of the northern slope collapsed and a chapel, a monastery and a village were covered by rubble. According to some sources, Ararat erupted then as well, albeit under the ground water level.

Ararat anomaly

Main article: Ararat anomaly

History

Ararat from the book "Noah's Ark Uncovered" by Henri Nissen

Over the centuries, the area has been contested territory between several states. The Ararat anomaly is an object appearing on photographs of the snowfields near the summit of Mount Ararat, Turkey, and advanced by some believers in Biblical The first unified state to rule the region surrounding the mountain was ancient Urartu. Urartu ( Assyrian: Urarṭu Urartian: Biainili Ուրարտու was an Iron Age kingdom in Eastern Anatolia ( Transcaucasia) rising After the decline of Urartu following invasions by Scythians and the Medes in 585 BC, a semi-independent Armenian state emerged under the rule of the Orontid Dynasty, the members of which frequently intermarried with their overlords, the Achaemenid Persians. The Scythians or Scyths (Σκύθες Σκύθοι were an Iranian speaking people of horse-riding Nomadic pastoralists who dominated the Pontic The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. The Orontid Dynasty (in Armenian: Երվանդունիների հարստություն was the first known Armenian dynasty The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of After the defeat of the Achaemenids by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, the Orontids gained autonomy, albeit under Macedonian influence. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ'

According to a legend, a Roman emperor ordered a number of Roman soldiers who converted to Christianity (now called ten thousand martyrs of Mount Ararat) to be crucified on Mount Ararat. The ten thousand martyrs of Mount Ararat were according to a Medieval legend Roman soldiers who led by Saint Acacius converted to Christianity and were

Antiochus the Great briefly subjugated Armenia in 201 BC, ending Orontid rule in the region. Antiochus III the Great, ( Greek; ca 241&ndash187 BC ruled 222&ndash187 BC younger son of Seleucus II Callinicus After the defeat of Antiochus in the Battle of Magnesia, a new independent Armenian Kingdom emerged in 198 BC that lasted for over six centuries, until 428, when it was briefly being annexed to the Roman Empire by Trajan from 114 to 118. The Battle of Magnesia was fought in 190 BC near Magnesia ad Sipylum, on the plains of Lydia (modern Turkey) between the Romans The Kingdom of Armenia (or Greater Armenia) was an independent kingdom from 190 BC to AD 387 and a client state of the Roman and Persian empires until The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan ( September 18 53 &ndash August 9 117) was a Roman Emperor who Following the partition of Armenia between the Roman Empire and Sassanid Persia in 428, the region was a constant battleground between the two, and afterwards between the Arab Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire. The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) is the political leadership of the Muslim community in classical and medieval Islamic history

Ararat became part of the territory of the Armenian Kingdom of Ani under the Bagratuni Dynasty early in the ninth century A. History Armenian chroniclers such as Yeghishe and Ghazar Parpetsi first mentioned Ani in the 5th century AD The Bagratuni or Bagratid royal dynasty of Armenia (Բագրատունյաց Արքայական Տոհմ or Bagratunyac Arqayakan Tohm) is a royal family D. , which was then annexed by Byzantium in 1045. It then lost the territory to the Seljuk Turks following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. The Seljuq (also Seljuq Turks, Seldjuks, Seldjuqs, Seljuks; in Turkish Selçuklular; in Ṣaljūqīyān; in The Battle of Manzikert, or Malazgirt, was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq forces led by Alp Arslan on August 26 1071 near Manzikert The Georgian Kingdom took the region from the Seljuks from the late 12th century to the early 13th century, until various Mongol rulers of the Ilkhanate, including Tamerlane, took control of the area in the 13th and 14th centuries. The history of Georgia began with the rise of the early Georgian states of Colchis and Iberia, which in c The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate or Il Khanate (Ил Хан улс Il Khan uls;) was a Mongol Khanate established in Timur also written Emir Timur or Amir Temur ( Chagatai: تیمور - Tēmōr " Iron " (1336 – 19 February 1405 among The region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517 and often fought over and taken by the Safavids. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The Safavids ( صفوی) were an Iranian ref>Helen Chapin Metz In 1855 the northern side of the mountain became part of the Russian Empire, the southern side remained within the Ottoman Empire. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya

Ararat from Doğubeyazıt by Christian Koehn

Dr. Friedrich Parrot, with the help of Khachatur Abovian, was the first explorer in modern times to reach the summit of Mount Ararat, subsequent to the onset of Russian rule in 1829. Doğubeyazıt ( Kurdish: Bazîd; Armenian: Դարոյնք Դարենից or Պակովան ( Latin transliteration: Daroynk‘ Johann Jacob Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot ( 14 October 1792 &ndash 15 January 1841, Tartu) was a Baltic German naturalist Khachatur Abovian ( –; Խաչատուր Աբովյան) was an Armenian writer and national public figure of the early 19th century who mysteriously vanished in 1848 The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya He was followed in 1856 by a group of five explorers led by Major Robert Stuart. WikipediaPersondata --> Major Robert Stuart ( c 1812 – June 17, 1901) was an officer of the British Army and veteran

In 1918, in the aftermath of World War I, the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the October Revolution, the area became part of the Democratic Republic of Armenia, but the republic was short-lived. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The October Revolution (Октябрьская революция Oktyabrskaya revolyutsiya) also known as the Soviet Revolution The Democratic Republic of Armenia ( DRA; Armenian: Դեմոկրատական Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Demokratakan Hayastani Hanrapetutyun With the invasion of the Red Army, the area became part of the Soviet Union. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Following the Treaty of Kars in 1923, the area was divided up between Turkey and the USSR, and the new border, which became internationally recognised, placed Ararat on the Turkish side of the border. The Treaty of Kars (Kars Antlaşması Карсский договор / Karskiy dogovor) was a friendship treaty between the Grand National Assembly of Turkey At that time, Armenia was joined together with Georgia and Azerbaijan as part of the Transcaucasian SFSR. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (Հայաստանի Խորհրդային Սոցիալիստական Հանրապետություն Azerbaijani: When the TSFSR was dissolved in 1936 and each of the three countries became separate Soviet Republics (Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, and Georgian SSR), Armenia depicted Ararat on its coat of arms. The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (Հայկական ՍովետականՍոցիալիստական Հանրապետություն Haykakan Sovetakan Sotsialistakan Hanrapetutyun This article is about the former Soviet republic for other similar uses see Azerbaijan (disambiguation. The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (საქართველოს საბჭოთასოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა Turkey protested against this symbolic gesture on the grounds that Ararat was part of its territory, but the Kremlin refused to take action.

Symbolism for Armenians

Ararat rises from a flat plain and dominates the skyline of Armenia's capital, Yerevan. Yerevan (Երևան Երեւան or Երեվան ˌjɛrəˈvɑːn sometimes written as Erevan, Iravan, Erewan, Ayrivan, and Erivan Since ancient times, Ararat has been revered by the Armenians as their spiritual home and as the home of the gods of the Armenian pantheon. Today, it is the national symbol of Armenia. Mount Ararat is featured in the center of the Coat of Arms of Armenia. The national coat of arms of Armenia consists of an eagle and a lion supporting a shield In 1937, a coat of arms was adopted. This coat prominently featured Mount Ararat along with the Soviet hammer and sickle and red star behind it. The inclusion of Ararat brought objections from Turkey because the mountain is part of its territory. The Kremlin retorted that although the Turkish symbol was the crescent, surely it did not mean that they laid claim to the moon. The Soviet Union broke apart in 1991 and Armenia thus became an independent republic. In 1992, a slightly modified version of the DRA's coat of arms was adopted and has remained in place ever since. The mountain is often depicted by Armenian artists on paintings, obsidian engravings, backgammon boards and other artifacts. Obsidian is a naturally occurring Glass formed as an extrusive Igneous rock. From Yerevan, Artashat (Artaxarta), Masis and Armavir, and throughout much of the country, citizens and tourists get a clear glimpse of both peaks, Mount Ararat and Little Ararat (Sis). Artashat (Արտաշատ Hellenized as Artaxata: Ἀρτάξατα is a city on the Araks River in the Ararat valley Khor Virap, a monastery located just across the border from Turkey, is particularly popular with tourists for its view of the mountain. The Khor Virap ("Խոր Վիրապ" in Armenian, meaning deep dungeon) monastery is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Armenia. Ararat (film) is a 2002 film by Atom Egoyan (about the Armenian Genocide) that displays this symbolism. Ararat is a 2002 film directed written and co-produced by Atom Egoyan about the Armenian Genocide, an event that is denied by the Atom Egoyan OC (Ատոմ Էգոյան (born July 19, 1960) is a critically acclaimed Canadian - Armenian film maker

Climbing Mount Ararat

The climb is long, but there is a fairly easy route from the south in late summer for climbers who are familiar with the use of axe and crampons. Snow covers the last 400 m (¼ mile) year-round. There are two possible campsites on the mountain, and the glacier begins around 4,800 m (15,750 ft). The Turkish government requires a climbing permit and use of a certified Turkish guide. Arrangements can take two months to complete.

Gallery

Ararat, Climbing route at 4,700m (15,400 ft)	Ararat, View on snow covered top from 4,900m (16,100 ft)	Ararat, from 2,700m (8,900 ft)	Ararat, from a village
Ararat, with clouds behind	Ararat, View with truck driving mountaineers	Ararat, the two peaks	View of Mount Ararat from the Khor Virap monastery in the Ararat Province by Mcschreck
Khor Virap monastery in front of Mount Ararat	Ararat from Yerevan	Yerevan, Armenia with Mount Ararat in the background by Mcschreck	Ararat, ASTER-derived digital topography model by NASA
Mount Ararat from Iğdır	Mount Ararat from Iğdır	Mount Ararat from Iğdır

A three dimensional model that shows both peaks

See also

• Mountains of Ararat
• 96205 Ararat is an asteroid named in the mountain's honour
• Volcanic Seven Summits
• Searches for Noah's Ark
  • Ararat anomaly
  • Durupinar

Notes

External links

• Karakhanian et al. Historical volcanoes of Armenia and adjacent areas: What is revisited?
• Armenian History; Mount Ararat
• Mount Ararat live webcam
• NASA Earth Observatory page
• Space shuttle image and basic details.
• The Mountain of Noah - Biblical references to Mount Ararat
• Maps of Mt Ararat
• Detailed 2007 trip report