Lake Sevan () is the largest body of water in both

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 the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

. The lake is situated in

Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenian ...

, at an altitude of above sea level. The total surface area of its basin is about , which makes up of Armenia's territory. The lake itself is , and the volume is . It is fed by 28 rivers and streams. Only 10% of the incoming water is drained by the Hrazdan River, while the remaining 90% evaporates. Sevan has significant economic, cultural, and recreational value. Its sole major island (now a peninsula) is home to a medieval monastery. The lake provides some 90% of the fish and 80% of the

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some spe ...

catch of Armenia. Sevan was heavily exploited for irrigation of the Ararat plain and hydroelectric power generation during the Soviet period. Consequently, its water level decreased by around and its volume reduced by more than 40%. Later, two

tunnels A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

were built to divert water from highland rivers, which halted its decline and its level began rising. Before human intervention dramatically changed the lake's ecosystem, the lake was at an altitude of above sea level, deep, covered an area of (5% of Armenia's entire area), and had a volume of .

Etymology

In the Middle Ages, Sevan was solely the name of the island (now peninsula) and the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

built on it. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Russian and European sources sometimes referred to the lake as ''Sevanga'' or ''Sevang'', Per

folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

, ''Sevan'' is either a combination of ''sev'' ("black") and ''vank’'' ("monastery"), ''sev'' ("black") + Van (i.e.,

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

), or originates from the phrase ''sa ē vank'ə'' ("this is the monastery"). The scholarly explanation, first suggested by in 1896, is that ''Sevan'' originated from the Urartian word ''suinia'', usually translated as "lake". It is attested on an 8th-century BC

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

inscription by the Urartian king Rusa I, found in Odzaberd, on the southern shore of the lake. The historical Armenian name of the lake, attested in early medieval texts, is ''Sea of Gegham'' (

classical Armenian Classical Armenian (, , ; meaning "literary anguage; also Old Armenian or Liturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at the beginning of the 5th century, and most Armenian literature fro ...

: ծով Գեղամայ, ''tsov Geghamay''). The historic Georgian name of the lake is ''Gelakuni'' (გელაქუნი), which is essentially the Georgian transcription of Armenian ''Gegharkuni''. In

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, the lake was known as ''Lychnitis'' (). John Chardin, who visited the lake in 1673, called it the "Lake of Erivan" and wrote that it was called ''Deria-Shirin'' ("sweet lake") by Persians and ''Kiagar-couni-sou'' by Armenians. The Turkic name ''Gokcha'' or ''Gökche'', which means "blue lake" was also used in Russian and British sources from the 17th to early 20th centuries.

Significance

Cultural

Along with

and

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...

, Sevan is considered one of the three great "seas" of historic Armenia. It is the only one within the boundaries of present-day Republic of Armenia, while the other two are located in Turkey and Iran, respectively. Lake Sevan is considered the "jewel" of Armenia and is "recognized as a national treasure" in the country. The 2001 Law on Lake Sevan defines the lake as "a strategic ecosystem valuable for its environmental, economical, social, scientific, cultural, aesthetic, medical, climatic, recreational, and spiritual value." Chardin in 1673 noted the "extraordinary sweetness of the water", the "small Island in the middle of it; where stands a Monastery built about 600 years ago, of which the Prior is an Archbishop", and "nine sorts of fish which are there taken; the fairest trouts and carps which are eaten at Erivan being caught in this Lake". Naturalist and traveler

Friedrich Parrot Johann Jacob Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot (14 October 1791) was a Baltic German naturalist, explorer, and mountaineer, who lived and worked in Tartu, Estonia in what was then the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. A pioneer of Russian ...

, best known for ascending

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 ...

in 1829 for the first time in history, wrote:

Economic

It is important for the Armenian economy: being the main source of irrigation water, Sevan provides low-cost electricity, fish, recreation, and tourism.

Origin

Sevan originated during the early

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

when tectonic formation created a Palaeo-Sevan, ten times larger than the present lake. The current lake was formed some 25 to 30 thousand years ago.

Human intervention

Exploitation and reduction

Background

Sevan was recognized as being a major potential water resource in the 19th century. Its high altitude location relative to the fertile Ararat plain and limited energy resources attracted engineers to explore ways of usage of the lake's water. In his 1910 book, Armenian engineer Sukias Manasserian proposed using Sevan's water for irrigation and

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

generation. He proposed draining the lake by . Major Sevan would completely dry out, while Minor Sevan would have a surface area of .

Implementation

Manasserian's proposal was adopted by the Soviet authorities in the 1930s when, under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, the country was undergoing rapid

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

. Works on the project started in 1933. The riverbed of

Hrazdan Hrazdan ( ) is a town and urban municipal community in Armenia serving as the administrative centre of Kotayk Province, located northeast of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town is 44,231. During the Soviet Uni ...

was deepened through excavation. A tunnel was bored around under the lake's surface. The tunnel was completed in 1949 and thereafter the Sevan's level began to drop significantly, at a rate over per year. The water was used for irrigation and the Sevan–Hrazdan Cascade of six hydroelectric power stations on Hrazdan River.

Effects

During the second half of the 20th century, the ecological condition of Lake Sevan underwent tangible changes and vast degradation due to reduced water level, increased

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

, and detrimental impact of human activity on the biological diversity of the lake. According to Babayan et al. the lake level dropped by by 2002, while the volume decreased by 43.8% (from ). Due to the water level decrease, the quality of the water deteriorated, natural habitats were destroyed that meant loss of biodiversity. Vardanian wrote that drop of the lake level and the economic development in the basin brought about the change in hydro-chemical regime of the lake. The quality of the water deteriorated, water turbidity increased. The inner circulation of the water constituents as well as the circulation of the biological substances altered.

Reversal and recovery

According to Babayan et al. "by the 1950s it had become evident that the ecological and economic consequences of extensive exploitation of the water of Lake Sevan were too undesirable to continue in the same way."

Arpa–Sevan tunnel

In 1964 a project began to divert the Arpa River (from a reservoir near Kechut) through a long tunnel to the lake near Artsvanist. The tunnel, called Arpa–Sevan, was completed in 1981. It brings up to of water to Sevan per year. It is estimated, that due to

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

by year 2030, the outflow of the Arpa river will decrease by 22%.

Vorotan–Arpa tunnel

Since the water level in the lake did not rise as fast and as much, on 20 April 1981 the

Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ˌɛsˌɛsˌɛsˈɛr), sometimes abbreviated as Sovmin or referred to as the ...

made a decision for the construction of the Vorotan–Arpa tunnel. This long tunnel was begun from the Spandarian Reservoir on the Vorotan River further south from Kechut. Due to the

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbai ...

and the

1988 earthquake 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

in northwestern Armenia construction was halted. The tunnel was inaugurated on 26 April 2004. The Vorotan–Arpa tunnel brings an additional to the lake annually.

Increase in water level

After the construction of the two tunnels the water level began rising significantly since the mid-2000s. In 2007 it was reported that the water level had risen by in the previous six years. It reached in October 2010. The government committee on Sevan forecasts that the level will reach by 2029. Water level stood at 1900.44 m in November 2019.

Population

The

, which roughly corresponds to the lake's basin, had a ''de facto'' population of 211,828 according to the 2011 Armenian census. The largest settlements in the province are: Gavar (20,765), Sevan (19,229), Martuni (12,894), Vardenis (12,685), Vardenik (9,880), Yeranos (6,119), Chambarak (5,660), Lchashen (5,054),

Tsovagyugh Tsovagyugh ( ) is a village in the Sevan Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. History The village contains church ruins, and upon an egg-shaped hill to the northeast are the remains of an Iron Age The Iron Age () is the ...

(4,189).

Tourism

Beaches

Lake Sevan has the only beaches in Armenia. They are a popular destination for the Armenians. Sevan's beaches provide a unique experience within the landlocked country for Armenians. The beaches adjacent to hotels are usually privatized. Numerous beaches are located along the entire lake shore. The most popular of them is a stretch on the northern shore, extending northwest from the peninsula. Resorts include Harsnaqar Hotel, Best Western Bohemian Resort, and numerous smaller facilities. Activities include swimming, sunbathing, jet skiing, windsurfing, and sailing. The area also includes numerous campgrounds and picnic areas for daytime use. A less-developed beach destination stretches along the eastern shore from

to Shorzha, with numerous small cabins at Shorzha. The Avan Marak Tsapatagh Hotel, a Tufenkian Heritage Hotel, is a luxury resort on the undeveloped southeastern shore of the lake near Tsapatagh. The Armenian government pledged to "reduce the growing commercialization of rest at Lake Sevan that makes it unaffordable for most citizens struggling to find other beach options during hot Armenian summers." In 2011 the government established public beaches in the Sevan National Park's recreational zone. The first two public beaches were opened in July. Some 100,000 people visited the public beaches in summer of 2011. The beaches have free parking space, children's and sports playgrounds, toilets, medical aid stations, and rescue services. They are also equipped with beach couches. By 2014, the number of public beaches reached 11. Some 200,000 people took holiday there in 2014. Tufenkian Avan Marak Tsapatagh hotel.jpg, Tufenkian Avan Marak Tsapatagh Hotel ( Tsapatagh) Lake Sevan beach at Best Western Bohemian Resort.JPG, Best Western Bohemian Resort Sevan beach.jpg, The beach of Sevan town Sevan Northern Beach-1.JPG Sevan town water park2.jpg, The Harsnaqar Hotel Complex Lake Sevan from Harsnakar.jpg, View from the northeastern shore near the city of Sevan

Sites of interest

The most famous cultural monument is the

Sevanavank Sevanavank (; meaning ''Sevan Monastery'') is a monastic complex located on a Sevan Island, peninsula at the northwestern shore of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, not far from the town of Sevan (city), Sevan. Initially the mon ...

monastery located on the peninsula, which was until the mid-20th century an island. Another prominent monastery at the western shore is Hayravank, and further south, in the village of Noratus, is a field of ''

khachkar A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosette (design), rosettes ...

s''; a cemetery with about 900 ''khachkars'' of different styles. Additional ''khachkars'' are found at Nerkin Getashen on the south coast. In 2017, a Wikipedia globe was submerged in the lake to create an

artificial reef An artificial reef (AR) is a human-created freshwater or marine benthic structure. Typically built in areas with a generally featureless bottom to promote Marine biology#Reefs, marine life, it may be intended to control #Erosion prevention, erosio ...

Island

Sevan Island2.jpg, Sevan Island Sevanavanq 01.jpg, Sevan Island Sevan Island1.jpg, Sevan Island Sevan peninsula.jpg, Sevan peninsula (formerly an island) in Lake Sevan Sevan peninsula, Armenia, panoramic view (June 2015).jpg, Sevan peninsula in 2015

Fauna

Fish

Sevan trout (''Salmo ischchan'') is an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the lake, but it is endangered as some competitors were introduced into the lake, including

common whitefish ''Coregonus lavaretus'' is a species of freshwater whitefish, in the family Salmonidae. It is the type species of its genus ''Coregonus''. There are widely different concepts about the delimitation of the species ''Coregonus lavaretus'' and abou ...

(''Coregonus lavaretus'') from

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the w ...

(''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 Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl (, ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the List of lakes by depth, eighth-deepest lake in t ...

(

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

), where it was introduced in the 1970s. Due to anthropogenic impact, changes have occurred in all the biological components of the lake, including bacteria,

benthos Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

have already disappeared. The summer ''bakhtak'' occurs rarely; the ''gegharkuni'' is still capable of reproducing naturally. In 1980s, the quantity of Sevan ''koghak'' significantly decreased. Numerous reasons for this have been identified: * The level of the water was lowered, the paths of rivers changed, and the trout (''gegharkuni'' and ''Aestivalis'' species) lost their natural spаwning places. Changes in the areas near the shore (mossing, disappearance of macrophyte plants) also had a negative impact on the trout lays. The trout spawn only in certain areas, with oxygen-rich underground water at the depth of . * Deoxidization of the bottom is extremely detrimental for

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

, which are used to more than 4 mg/L of O₂. * In the last 10 years, poaching rapidly increased, which significantly reduced the number of fish in the lake.

Birds

The bird fauna of the lake and its vicinity makes over 200 species, out of which 95 species are breeding. The lake is an important breeding ground for the

Armenian gull __NOTOC__ The Armenian gull (''Larus armenicus'') is a large gull found in the Caucasus and the Middle East. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the European herring gull (''L. argentatus''), but is now generally considered to be a sepa ...

(''Larus armenicus'') with about 4,000–5,000 pairs. During migration the Lake is visited by wide variety of birds including raptors, such as Montagu's harrier (''Circus pygargus'') and Steppe eagle (''Aquila nipalensis''), waterbirds such as red-crested pochard (''Netta rufina'') and ferruginous duck (''Aythya nyroca''), while during the wintering period the lake hosts another set of species such as

Bewick's swan The tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus'') is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (''Cygnus bewickii'') of the Palaearctic and the ...

(''Cygnus columbianus'') and great black-headed gull (''Larus ichthyaetus''). Sometimes the lake is visited by very rare Armenian migrant

lesser white-fronted goose The lesser white-fronted goose (''Anser erythropus'') is a goose closely related to the larger greater white-fronted goose (''A. albifrons''). It breeds in the northernmost Palearctic, but it is a scarce breeder in Europe, with a reintroduction ...

(''Anser erythropus'').

Culture

There are a lot of historical monuments located on the coast of Sevan, ranging from prehistoric

petroglyphs 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 ...

to various monasteries. The monasteries include

, Vanevan, Kotavank and others. There are also many historical castles and fortresses on the coast, including Berdkunk Fortress, Odzaberd, and others.