Aras Mountains (), is a mountain range in northeastern Turkey. Also known as Haykakan Par (). It is located on the border of

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District.� ...

Ağrı Ağrı (; ) is a city in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. It is the seat of Ağrı Province and Ağrı District.

and Iğdır provinces. It is a ridge at the middle of the

Armenian highlands The Armenian highlands (; also known as the Armenian upland, Armenian plateau, or Armenian tableland)Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: ...

. It starts near sources of the Araxes river and stretches from the south bank as far west as

Mount Ararat Mount Ararat, also known as Masis or Mount Ağrı, is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in Eastern Turkey, easternmost Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest p ...

.We and Our Place Names
/ref> The length of the ridge 200 km, the height - up to 3445 m. It was formed by a chain of volcanoes that arose along a major tectonic fault. The ridge is part of the watershed between the basins of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

and the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

History

The Aras Mountains formed the borders of the Kingdom of Erikua and

Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...

in ancient times. The crossings above it, on the other hand, have been the most important defense points where the borders of the two countries are protected. Due to the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

, the ethnic composition of the region has changed radically over the last 150 years. In the 1920s, the newly-founded Turkish Republic started the Turkification of all Armenian toponyms remaining in the eastern half of present-day Turkey.

Geology and geomorphology

The Aras Mountains start from the

border, pass the

Ağrı Ağrı (; ) is a city in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. It is the seat of Ağrı Province and Ağrı District.

and

Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District.� ...

borders, and end in the west of

. This mountain range, extending from west to east, divides the geography it passes through into two in the north-south direction. The most important elevations of the mountains are Zor and Pamuk mountains.

Doğubayazıt Doğubayazıt (; or , ) is a town of Ağrı Province of Turkey, near the Iran–Turkey border, border with Iran. Its elevation is 1625 m. It is the seat of Doğubayazıt District. History For most of the periods described here, Doğubay ...

district center is located in the south of the Karasu-Aras Mountains, Iğdır is in the north. Lake Balık is located in the Aras Mountains. Doğubayazıt Reeds are located to the east of Zor Dağ, which is part of the Aras Mountains.

References

{{EAnatolia-geo-stub Mountain ranges of Turkey Landforms of Erzurum Province Landforms of Kars Province Landforms of Ağrı Province Mount Ararat Mountains of the Armenian Highlands