Ararat Plain

The Ararat Plain (Armenian: Արարատյան դաշտ Araratyan dasht), alternatively known as the Iğdır Plain (Turkish: Iğdır Ovası), is one of the largest plains of the Armenian Highlands. It stretches west of the Sevan basin, at the foothills of the Gegham mountains. In the north, the plain borders on Mount Aragats, and Mount Ararat in the south. It is divided into two sections by the Aras River, the northern part located in Armenia, and the southern part in Turkey.[1] Turkish part of the plain is an Important Bird Area.[2]

View of the Ararat plain from Yerevan

Etymology

The Medieval Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi recorded in his History of Armenia that the Ararat plain was named after King Ara the Handsome, the great-grandson of Amasya.[3]

Climate

The Ararat plain and the Sevan basin experience abundant sunshine and are the sunniest areas in Armenia, receiving about 2,700 hours of sunshine a year. The shortest duration of sunshine is in mid-mountain areas of the forest zone (about 2,000 hours). In the foothills, there is rarely a sunless day between the months of June and October.[4]

Agriculture
Aerial view of the Ararat plain around Metsamor and Armavir

The Ararat plain makes up 4% of Armenia's total land area, and yet it yields 40% of Armenia's farm production.[4] In Turkish part of the plain, apricot is widely produced on a 1,525 ha-area.[5]

Archaeology

This area has been occupied since the Neolithic or the Early Chalcolithic times.

At Aratashen, first pottery appears at the end of the fifth millennium BC, or before 4000 BC.[6]

Panorama of the Ararat plain as seen from Dzorap, Armenia.

References
  1. Dowsett, Charles. "Armenia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  2. "Iğdır Plain". BirdLife International. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  3. "Mount Ararat Expedition!". Ararat Expedition. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  4. Petrosian, Irina; Underwood, David (May 15, 2006). Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore. LuLu. p. 23. ISBN 1411698657.
  5. "İlimiz" (in Turkish). Iğdır İl Tarım ve Orman Müdürlüğü. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  6. Ruben BADALYAN, Pierre LOMBARD, THE NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC PHASES IN THE ARARAT PLAIN (ARMENIA): THE VIEW FROM ARATASHEN (PDF file) 2004

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