View of the lake from space

Lake Sevan ("Սևանա լիճ" in Armenian), named Gegham Sea ("Գեղամա ծով") in ancient times, is the largest lake in Armenia and one of the largest high altitude lakes in the world. The entire lake is situated inside the eastern Armenian province of Geghark'unik'. It is fed by 28 rivers and drained by the Hrazdan (Razdan) river. Only 10% of the outgoing water is drained by the Hrazdan, while the remaining 90% evaporates. Along with lake Van and lake Urmia it was one of the three great lakes of the Armenian Kingdom, referred to as the seas of Armenia, and it is the only one within today's Republic of Armenia. Download high resolution version (423x639, 71 KB)Lake Sevan, aerial view. ... Download high resolution version (423x639, 71 KB)Lake Sevan, aerial view. ... Armenian province Gegharkunik Gegharkunik (Գեղարքունիքի մարզ) is one of the provinces of Armenia. ... Hrazdan is the capital of the Kotayk province of Armenia. ... Lake Van from space, September 1996 Lake Van Landsat photo Lake Van (Turkish: Van Gölü, in Armenian: ÕŽÕ¡Õ¶Õ¡ Õ¬Õ«Õ³) is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country. ... Lake Urmia from space, October 1984 Satellite image of Lake Urmia, taken in November 2003 Lake Urmia (37. ... Motto: none Anthem: Mer Hayrenik Capital Yerevan Largest city Yerevan Official language(s) Armenian Government President Prime Minister Republic Robert Kocharian Andranik Markaryan Independence  - Declared  - Established From the Soviet Union August 23, 1990 September 21, 1991 Area  â€¢ Total  â€¢ Water (%)   29,800 km² (139th 1) 4. ...

Before human intervention the lake was 95 metres deep, covered an area of 1,360 km² (5% of Armenia's entire area), had a volume of 58 km³ and a perimeter of 260 km. The lake was located at an altitude of 1,950 m. metre or meter, see meter (disambiguation) The metre (in the U.S., chiefly meter) is a measure of length, approximately equal to 3. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ...

Churches at Sevanavank

Sevanavank is the historic area near the lake. Sevanavank, Sourb Arakelots church at the left, Sourb Astvatsatsin church at the right. ... Sevanavank, Sourb Arakelots church at the left, Sourb Astvatsatsin church at the right. ... Sevanavank (Սևանավանք in Armenian, meaning monastery of Sevan) is a monastery located on the northwestern shore of Lake Sevan in the eastern Armenian province of Gegharkunik, not far from the town of Sevan. ...

Intervention

In 1910 Soukias Manasserian (one of the civil engineers behind the interventions that caused the Aral Sea disaster) published a study Evaporating billions and stagnation of the Russian Capital, suggesting to lower the lake to 45 metres and use the water for irrigation and hydroelectricity. 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Map of area around the Aral Sea. ...

In the Stalin era the plan was slightly modified: the water level would be reduced by 55 metres (5 metres more than suggested by Manasserian), the perimeter would shrink to 80 km and the volume to only 5 km³. Nut and oak trees would be planted on newly acquired land, and introducing some trout species into the remainder of the lake would increase fishery production by ten times. Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ...

The Armenian Supreme Soviet approved the plan without consulting the local people and the major works started in 1933. The river bed of the Hrazdan was deepened and construction of a tunnel 40 metres below the original water level started. The work was delayed due to World War 2 and was only finished in 1949 when the water level began to fall by more than one metre per year. The Supreme Soviet (Russian: , Verhovniy Sovet, literally the Supreme Council) comprised the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in the interim of the sessions of the Congress of Soviets, and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Poland, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, France/Free France, United States, China, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Burma, Slovakia Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

An ecological disaster like that in Aral Sea was avoided when the Stalinist era ended in 1956 and the project and its consequences were reviewed thoroughly. As there were troubles with planting oaks and nuts and with fishery, the Sevan committee was established with the mission "to raise the level as much as possible". Hydro-electric power stations on the Hrazdan would be replaced with thermal power stations. In 1962 the level stabilised at 18 metres below the original level, but two years later the lake started to "bloom" due to eutrophic algae. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Eutrophication is apparent northern part of the Caspian Sea as imaged from orbit. ... A seaweed (Laurencia) up close: the branches are multicellular and only about 1 mm thick. ...

In 1981, a 49 km tunnel was constructed, diverting water from the Arpa river (from a reservoir near Kechut) to the lake near Artsvanist. The level rose only 1.5 metres, so another 22 km tunnel was begun from Vorotan (further south from Kechut). Only 18 km were constructed because in 1988 Azerbaijan imposed an economic blockade on Armenia due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the work had to be stopped. 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijani: Dağlıq Qarabağ or Yuxarı Qarabağ, literally mountainous black garden or upper black garden; Russian: Нагорный Карабах, translit. ...

The Armenian government completed the Vorotan tunnel in 2003, but water has not yet begun to flow into the lake. The level stabilised at 20 metres below the original, and the lake's area is now 940 km². 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Due to recent rain and other changes, the water level is again slowly rising (as of 2005). 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Fauna

Sevan trout (Salmo ischchan) was an endemic species of the lake, but it is endangered as some competitors were introduced into the lake, including common whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) from Lake Ladoga, goldfish (Carrasius auratus), and crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus). If the Sevan trout is likely to become extinct in its "home" lake, it seems that it will survive in Issyk-Kul lake (Kyrgyzstan) where it was introduced. Sevan trout (Salmo ischchan) is an endemic fish species of Lake Sevan in Armenia. ... In biology and ecology endemic means exclusively native to a place or biota, in contrast to cosmopolitan or introduced. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Binomial name Coregonus lavaretus (Linnaeus, 1758) The common whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family (family Salmonidae). ... Map of lake Ladoga Towpath Bridge between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega (from a photograph taken ca. ... Trinomial name Carassius auratus auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) For the Baked Snack Crackers, please see Goldfish (snack). ... Binomial name Astacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823 Astacus leptodactylus, the Danube crayfish or Galician crayfish, is a species of crayfish native to eastern Europe. ... Issyk Kul from space, September 1992 Issyk Kul at sundown (2002) Issyk Kul beach (2002) Issyk Kul (also Ysyk Köl, Issyk-kol) (located at 42°30′N 77°30′E) is an endorheic lake in the northern Tian Shan mountains in northwestern Kyrgyzstan. ...

Beaches

There are numerous beaches along the entire lake shore. The most famous cultural monument is the Sevanavank monastery near the town of Sevan at the northwestern shore. Initially the monastery was located on an island, but the fall of the water level turned it into a peninsula. Another monastery at the western shore is Hayrivank, and further south, near Noratus, there is a field of khachkars, a cemetery with approximately 900 khachkars of different styles. When the water level fell, many archaeological artifacts were found, dated to 2000 years of age and older (some as old as the early Bronze Age). Most of them are now displayed in Yerevan. Sevanavank (Սևանավանք in Armenian, meaning monastery of Sevan) is a monastery located on the northwestern shore of Lake Sevan in the eastern Armenian province of Gegharkunik, not far from the town of Sevan. ... Lake Sevan (Սևանա լիճ in Armenian) is Armenias largest lake, the largest lake in Transcaucasia and one of the largest high altitude lakes in the world. ... A khachkar in Echmiadzin Khachkar (Ô½Õ¡Õ¹Ö„Õ¡Ö€ in Armenian, meaning cross-stone) is a carved memorial stone, typically found in Armenia. ... A khachkar in Echmiadzin Khachkar (Ô½Õ¡Õ¹Ö„Õ¡Ö€ in Armenian, meaning cross-stone) is a carved memorial stone, typically found in Armenia. ... Yerevan (Armenian: ÔµÖ€Õ¥Ö‚Õ¡Õ¶ or ÔµÖ€Ö‡Õ¡Õ¶; sometimes written as Erevan; former names include Erebuni and Erivan) (population: 1,088,300 (2004 estimate) [1]) is the largest city and capital of Armenia. ...

External links

• http://www.sevan.am/ — all about the lake.
• Lake Sevan - Armeniapedia article with information and photos