Mount Ararat

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Mount Ararat (Turkish Ağrı Dağı; Armenian Արարատ; Kurdish Çîyayê Agirî; Persian آرارات Ararat; Hebrew אררט, Standard Hebrew Ararat, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĂrārāṭ), the tallest peak in modern Turkey, is a snow-capped dormant volcanic cone, located in the far northeast of Turkey, 16 km west of Iran and 32 km south of Armenia. The Book of Genesis identifies this mountain range as the resting place of Noah's Ark after the Great Flood described there. Ararat dominates the skyline of Armenia's capital Yerevan.

A smaller (3,896 m) cone, Little Mount Ararat, rises just southeast of the main peak. The lava plateau stretches out between the two pinnacles. Technically, Ararat is a stratovolcano, formed of lava flows and pyroclastic ejecta.

The last activity on the mountain was a major earthquake in July 1840 centered around the Ahora Gorge, a northeast trending chasm that drops 1,825 metres (6,000 ft) from the top of the mountain.

1 History
2 Symbolism
3 The Ararat Anomaly
4 Elevation
5 Sources
6 See also
7 External links

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History

The mountain was the setting for the legend of the ten thousand martyrs of Mount Ararat. The name Ağrı in Turkish is derived from Agirî in Kurdish meaning "fiery", referring to Ararat's being volcanic.

In earlier times, Ararat was located in what is historically and geographically regarded as part of Armenia, but for several centuries it was included within the Turkish Ottoman empire. It was part of the Kars and Ardahan area occupied by Russia in 1878. In 1918, in the aftermath of World War I, the area became part of the first Republic of Armenia, but the republic was short lived and with the invasion of the Red Army, became part of the Soviet Union. 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. But the second Republic of Armenia that emerged following the breakup of the USSR in 1991 does not recognize this treaty.

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Symbolism

Image:Yerewan with Ararat.jpg Since ancient times, Ararat has been revered by the Armenians as their spiritual home. Today, it is the national symbol of Armenia, where it is sometimes called Masis (Մասիս). Mount Ararat is featured in the center of the Coat of Arms of Armenia. The mountain is often depicted by Armenian artists on paintings, obsidian engravings and backgammon boards. From Yerevan, and practically most of the country, citizens and tourists get a clear glimpse of both Mount Ararat and Little Ararat. Khor Virap, a monastery located just before the border of Turkey, is particularly popular with tourists for its view of Mount Ararat.

In Abrahamic religions, the mountain is also thought to be the place Noah landed after the flood. (Genesis 8:4): "Then the ark rested in the seventh month on the seventeenth day of the month on the mountains of Ararat."

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The Ararat Anomaly

Image:Mount ararat from east of dogubeyazit.jpg The Ararat anomaly is an interesting feature located on the northwest corner of the Western Plateau of Mount Ararat (approximately Template:Coor dms) at about 15,500 feet (4,724 meters), some 2.2 kilometers west of the 16,854 feet (5,137 metres) summit, on the edge of what appears from the photographs to be a steep downward slope. It is claimed by a growing number of believers in Noah's Ark (from the Old Testament) that this anomaly is the remains of Noah's Ark, but apparantly this is not yet taken seriously by most archaeologists.

This ship-shaped feature, including what resembles a ship's superstructure in the right spot, has been sized by one satellite imaging expert at 1,015 feet (309 meters) long, as large as today's largest aircraft carriers and would dwarf the Titanic and Bismark.

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Elevation

An elevation of 5,165 m for Mount Ararat is given by some authorities, but SRTM data shows that this is less accurate than the elevation given here (5,137 m).

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