Mount Ara ( hy, Արա լեռ, ''Ara leř'') is a polygenetic stratovolcanic cone in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

Kotayk Province Kotayk ( hy, Կոտայք, ), is a province (''marz'') of Armenia. It is located at the central part of the country. Its capital is Hrazdan and the largest city is Abovyan. It is named after the Kotayk canton of the historic Ayrarat province ...

. The town of

Zoravan Zoravan ( hy, Զորավան; formerly, Ghargavank and Pokravan; historically and prior to 1972–80, Khacho) is a village situated along the lower slopes of Mount Ara in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. The village was established in 1972–80, d ...

and a nearby church,

Gharghavank Gharghavank (also, Zoravor Church, hy, Զորավոր եկեղեցի) is a ruined Armenian Apostolic church located on the outskirts of the village of Zoravan, at the lower slopes of Mount Ara in Kotayk Province, Armenia. To get to the church, ...

, are located along the mountain's lower slopes. The town of

Yeghvard Yeghvard ( hy, Եղվարդ) is a town and urban municipal community in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is located 39 kilometres southwest of the provincial centre Hrazdan. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town is 11,672, almo ...

is below the mountain. Located north of

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...

, the mountain has a destroyed crater and a base diameter of 9km at an altitude of 1,900m. The volcano is constructed from lava and agglomerate layers with intrusions of andesite and dacite. The slopes on the north and east are forested. One flank cone south of Arailer has erupted andesite. Andesite also appears in the former crater and lava flows spread to the

Hrazdan River The Hrazdan ( hy, Հրազդան գետ, ) is a major river and the second largest in Armenia. It originates at the northwest extremity of Lake Sevan and flows south through the Kotayk Province and Armenia's capital, Yerevan; the lake in turn is ...

. One K-Ar date indicates an age of 1.3 Ma, there are two subsidiary cones Nokhut and Shakhvard. The mountain has a high biodiversity with ''

Sympecma paedisca ''Sympecma paedisca'', known generally as siberian winterdamsel, is a species of spreadwing in the damselfly family Lestidae. It is found in Europe. The IUCN conservation status of ''Sympecma paedisca'' is "LC", least concern, with no immedi ...

'', ''

Colias aurorina ''Colias aurorina'', the Greek clouded butterfly or dawn clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Central Greece, the Near East and the Caucasus area. It is rare in former Yugoslavia. Description ''Colias aurorina' ...

'', '' Parnassius mnemosyne rjabovi'', '' Armenohelops armeniacus'', '' Cylindronotus erivanus'', ''

Conizonia kalashiani ''Conizonia kalashiani'' is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Mikhail Leontievich Danilevsky in 1992. It is known from Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus re ...

'', ''

Parnassius apollo The Apollo or mountain Apollo (''Parnassius apollo''), is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. Etymology The species is named in the classical tradition for the deity Apollo. Subspecies Subspecies include: * ''Parnassius apollo apollo'' ...

kashtshenkoi'', '' Dorcadion kasikoporanum'', ''

Papilio alexanor ''Papilio alexanor'', the Alexanor or southern swallowtail, is a butterfly species in the Papilionidae or swallowtails. The insect has a wingspan of 62–70 mm. It flies from April to July in a single generation, in mountainous regions (1 ...

orientalis'', '' Proterebia afra hyrcana'' and ''

Tetralonia macroglossa ''Tetralonia malvae'', also known as the Mallow longhorn, is a species of insect belonging to the family Apidae. The bee takes pollen from oligolectic sources on the mallow family (Malvaceae). Behaviour They generally nest on bare or sparsel ...

'' represented. ''

Conizonia ''Conizonia'' is a genus of longhorn beetles of the subfamily Lamiinae,Biolib.cz - ''Conizonia''
Retrieved on ...

'' is endemic on Arailer. The ecosystem is well preserved apart from a minor threat from grazing. The Mountain also holds high variety of bird species, including Golden Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Caucasian Black Grouse, Red-billed Chough, White-throated Robin, and others. For the reason, the area was recognized as Important Bird Area. File:Mount Ara, Aragatsotn, Armenia, by Alexander Mkhitaryan.jpg, Mount Ara File:Ուխտավայր.jpg, Wild mountain sorrel, poppies and other items of tribute sold on Mount Ara to the pilgrims of Tsaghkevank ( Kuys Varvara) 40 days after Resurrection Day (Easter). Sorrel is often braided in this fashion in Armenia and Artsakh and can be dried for extended use File:Gharghavank2.JPG, Ruins of

on a hillside of Mount Ara File:Yeghvard, Armenia.JPG, View of

from Mount Ara File:Mount Ara 16.jpg, Rock formations

References

{{Mountains of Armenia Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Subduction volcanoes Volcanoes of Armenia Mountains of Armenia Polygenetic volcanoes