Porak or Akharbakhar ("gutted belly" in Azerbaijani) is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

located in the Vardenis volcanic ridge. It lies about southeast of

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan () is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater Alpine lake, high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of abov ...

and the

volcanic field A volcanic field is an area of Earth's Earth's crust, crust that is prone to localized volcano, volcanic activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters ...

spans the border between

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

with

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

s running into both countries. Ten satellite cones and fissure vents lie on the flanks of the volcano. The Porak volcano itself and the third stage has been dated 15 ± 15 ka by K-Ar dating. Two long lava flows, one of which 21 km long, stretch from the field north and northeastwards. There are thermal springs in the area, and the Middle Pleistocene Khonarassar fault area lies to the north of the Porak centre. The Karkar volcanoes are situated in the same region. The complex is built on partly

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

and partly

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

genic

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

and

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

series with

Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...

intrusions.

Description

There are four stages of trachyandesitic lava flows, the oldest composing the Porak volcano itself and the younger three derived from cones and fissures. Two lava flows overlay Sevan Lake deposits with thin soil cover form an early Holocene stage. The second stage forms lava flows entering Lake Alaghel and is devoid of soil cover. Several archaeological sites (one of these dated by radiocarbon analysis on charcoal to be no younger than 3080±40 BP-3200±40 BP) are constructed on the two oldest Holocene stages but not on the most recent stage. Third-stage lava flows run at the edge of one of these sites which was constructed on lavas from the previous two stages, suggesting that the site was affected by historical volcanic activity. There is also evidence of strong earthquake activity 6640±90 BP and between 782 and 773 BC. The volcano may have potential for

geothermal power Geothermal power is electricity generation, electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation i ...

generation but is also a potential threat to several villages in the area.

Khorkhor inscription

The Khorkhor inscription, in which

Argishti I Argishti I, was the sixth known king of Urartu, reigning from 786 BC to 764 BC. He founded the citadel of Erebuni in 782 BC, which is the present capital of Armenia, Yerevan. Alternate transliterations of the name include ''Argishtis'', ''Argisti' ...

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 ...

records the conquest of the city of Behoura, records that during the siege the town was destroyed by an earthquake and eruption of "Mount Bamni". Historians consider it likely that Porak volcano is Mount Bamni and that Behoura was one of the archeological sites in the area. The location of Behoura is controversial, however. The identification of another inscription by Argishti's successor, Sarduri II, gives evidence of another eruption of Porak. Older evidence of volcanic activity, including

lacustrine A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

deposits, indicate temporary disappearance of forests in the area before 6,270BP, likely due to forest fires induced by volcanic activity.

Petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s dated about 5,000BP also portray volcanic activity, together with even older portrayals of volcanic eruptions in

Chauvet Cave The Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave ( ) in the Ardèche department of southeastern France is a cave that contains some of the best-preserved figurative cave paintings in the world, as well as other evidence of Upper Paleolithic life.Clottes (2003b), p. ...

(

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) and in

Çatalhöyük Çatalhöyük (English: Chatalhoyuk ; ; also ''Çatal Höyük'' and ''Çatal Hüyük''; from Turkish language, Turkish ''çatal'' "fork" + ''höyük'' "tumulus") is a Tell (archaeology), tell (a mounded accretion resulting from long-term huma ...

(

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

) they are among the oldest records of volcanic activity in the world (these other portrayals related to the Bas-Vivarais volcanic field in the Massif Central and to Hasan Dagi, respectively). It is not entirely clear which eruption is depicted by the Porak petroglyphs.

References

{{Authority control Subduction volcanoes Volcanoes of Armenia Mountains of Armenia Mountains of Azerbaijan Volcanoes of Azerbaijan Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Polygenetic volcanoes Armenia–Azerbaijan border International mountains of Europe International mountains of Asia Stratovolcanoes of Asia