Aras
Aras River, Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan to the right and Iran to the left.
Origin	Erzurum Province, Turkey
Mouth	Kura river
Basin countries	Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan
Length	1,072 kilometers (665 miles)
Source elevation	N/A
Mouth elevation	N/A
Avg. discharge	N/A
Basin area	N/A

The Aras (also known as Araks, Arax, Araxi, Araxes, Araz, or Yeraskh; Armenian: Արաքս, Persian: ارس, Turkish: Aras, Azerbaijani: Araz, Kurdish: Aras or Araz; Russian: Аракс) is a river located in and along the countries of Turkey, Armenia, Iran, and Azerbaijan. Its total length is 1,072 kilometers (665 miles). Given its length and a basin that covers an area of 102,000 km², it is one of the largest rivers of the Caucasus. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2032x1520, 380 KB) Aras river in the vicinity of Julfa-Iran (Left hand Iran - Right Hand Nakhichevan) - March 2006 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (Azerbaijani: Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası, Armenian: Õ†Õ¡Õ­Õ«Õ»Ö‡Õ¡Õ¶Õ« Ô»Õ¶Ö„Õ¶Õ¡Õ¾Õ¡Ö€ Õ€Õ¡Õ¶Ö€Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©ÕµÕ¸Ö‚Õ¶, Russian: Нахичеванская Автономная Республика, Persian:جمهوری خودمختار نخجوان, Turkish: Nahçıvan Özerk Cumhuriyeti), known simply as Nakhichevan, is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan. ... River Wey near its source at Farringdon, Hampshire Headstream is the origin of water flow that initiates the subject watercourse. ... shows the Location of the Province Erzurum Erzurum (or Erzerum, Arzen in antiquity, Karin in ancient Armenian, Theodosiupolis or Theodosiopolis during Byzantine rule) is one of the Provinces of Turkey, in the Eastern Anatolia Region, to the east of the country. ... Mtkvari (Kura) River near Old Town, Tbilisi Kura (Georgian მტკვარი - Mtkvari, Azerbaijani Kür) is a river in the Caucasus Mountains. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (blue outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (green lines) of a contiguous area. ... River Wey near its source at Farringdon, Hampshire Headstream is the origin of water flow that initiates the subject watercourse. ... In hydrology, the discharge of a river is the volume of water transported by it in a certain amount of time. ... “Farsi” redirects here. ... The Kurdish language is the language spoken by Kurds. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ...

Description

The Aras River rises near Erzurum, Turkey. It meets with the Akhurian River southeast of Digor, flows along the Turkish-Armenian border, and then near a corridor that connects Turkey to Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan exclave (and by extension Azerbaijan itself). It then flows along the Iranian-Nakhichevan and the Iranian-Armenian border. The river then flows along the border between Iran and mainland Azerbaijan and then rises into Azerbaijan to meet with the Kura River at the village of Sabirabad. It then directly flows into the Caspian Sea. About 101,937 km² of the Araz River basin is located in Azerbaijan.^{[citation needed]} Theodosiopolis redirects here; it is also a name of the ancient city of Apros, Thrace. ... Akurian river and its basin (blue) within Armenia The Akhurian (Armenian: ; Turkish: ; Russian: ) is a river in the South Caucasus. ... Digor (Armenian: Տեկոր (Latin transliteration: Tekor)) is a district of Kars Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the name of the small town that is the districts administrative capital. ... The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (Azerbaijani: Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası, Armenian: Õ†Õ¡Õ­Õ«Õ»Ö‡Õ¡Õ¶Õ« Ô»Õ¶Ö„Õ¶Õ¡Õ¾Õ¡Ö€ Õ€Õ¡Õ¶Ö€Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©ÕµÕ¸Ö‚Õ¶, Russian: Нахичеванская Автономная Республика, Persian:جمهوری خودمختار نخجوان, Turkish: Nahçıvan Özerk Cumhuriyeti), known simply as Nakhichevan, is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan. ... Mtkvari (Kura) River near Old Town, Tbilisi Kura (Georgian მტკვარი - Mtkvari, Azerbaijani Kür) is a river in the Caucasus Mountains. ... The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the worlds largest lake or a full-fledged sea. ...

The Zangmar, Sariso, Ghotour River, Hajilar River, Kalibar River, Ilghena River, Darreh River and Balha River are the major tributaries of the Aras from the south (right). In Turkey the Ghareso river flows in on the left side. The Akhurian, Metsamor, Hrazdan, Azat, Vedi, Arpa, Vorotan, Voghdji and Megri rivers flow in from the Armenian north side (left). The Khachin River, Okhchi River, Kuri River and Kandlan River flow in from the Azerbaijan north side (left).^[1] The Zangmar River is a river in Maku Shahrestan, West Azarbaijan Province, Iran. ... Akurian river and its basin (blue) within Armenia The Akhurian (Armenian: ; Turkish: ; Russian: ) is a river in the South Caucasus. ... The Hrazdan (Armenian: ) is the major river of Armenia. ... Azat river at Garni. ... Arpa river and its basin (pink) within Armenia The Arpa (Armenian: ) is a river that flows through Armenia and Azerbaijans Nakhichevan exclave. ... Vorotan river and its basin (light gray) within Armenia Vorotan (Armenian: ) is a river in Transcaucasia, a left tributary of the Araks River. ... Vogchi river in Kapan. ...

History

In Armenian tradition, the river is named after Arast, a great-grandson of the legendary Armenian patriarch Haik.^[2] The name was later Hellenized to Araxes and was applied to the Kura-Araxes culture, a prehistoric people which flourished in the valleys of the Kura and Aras. But many times it is the Volga River which is called Araxes especially in Herodotus' History first chapter - The First of Book the Histories, Called Clio. By some, the river Aras has been associated with the otherwise unidentified Pishon river mentioned in the second chapter of the Bible.^[3] Statue of Haik in Yerevan Haik (Also spelled Hayk or Haig) is the legendary patriarch and establisher of the first Armenian nation. ... Greek ( IPA: or simply IPA: — Hellenic) has a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest of any single language in the Indo-European language family. ... The Kura-Araxes culture was a important Chalcolithic (copper-stone age) and bronze age culture that flourished in the Caucasus, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran from about 4000 B.C. to 2200 B.C. after which they were presumably overrun and absorbed by the Hurrians, who swept down from the... “Volga” redirects here. ... Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: Hērodotos Halikarnāsseus) was a Greek historian from Ionia who lived in the 5th century BC (ca. ... The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. ... The Pishon is mentioned in the Biblical Genesis (2:11) as one of four rivers branching off from a single river within Eden. ...

Arax River at the Armenian-Turkish border (view from the Armenian side).

In modern history, the Aras gained significance as a geographic political boundary. Under the terms of the Treaty of Gulistan and the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the river was chosen as the border limit between the Russian and Persian Empires. Iran and the Soviet Union later built a joint dam on the Aras at Poldasht area. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Russia-Persia borders before and after the treaty The Treaty of Gulistan (Russian: Гюлистанский договор; Persian: عهدنامه گلستان) was a peace treaty concluded between Imperial Russia and Persia on October 24, 1813 in the village of Gulistan in Karabakh as a result of the first Russo-Persian War. ... Russia-Persia borders before and after the treaty The Treaty of Turkmenchay (Russian: Туркманчайский договор; Persian: عهدنامه ترکمنچای) was a treaty negotiated in Turkmenchay by which the Persian Empire, more commonly known today as Iran, recognized Russian suzerainty over the Erivan khanate, Nakhchivan khanate and the remainder of the Talysh khanate, establishing the Aras... Persia redirects here. ... Poldasht (پلدشت) is a city in the Maku township in the West Azarbaijan province in north-western Iran. ...

In popular culture

• The river appears in the lyrics of the System of a Down song Holy Mountains.

For the bands self-titled album, see System of a Down (album). ... Hypnotize is the fifth album by System of a Down and the second half of the Mezmerize/Hypnotize double album. ...

See also

• Geography of Turkey
• Geography of Armenia
• Geography of Iran
• Geography of Azerbaijan
• Rivers and lakes in Armenia
• Rivers and lakes in Azerbaijan
• Nature of Azerbaijan

Turkey is situated in Anatolia and Southeastern Europe (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe, and Anatolia is part of Southwestern Asia), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria. ... Armenia is a landlocked country in Asia Minor, 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. ... Fars Province landscape The Iranian landscape is predominantly mountainous, with high contrasting green oases. ... Map of Azerbaijan with cities This article describes the geography of Azerbaijan. ... Lake Sevan is one of the few large lakes in the world located at high altitude. ... The Araz River in Iranian border with Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan. ... Mountains near the highest village in Azerbaijan, Khinalyg. ...

Footnotes