The Tsaghkunyats Mountains (or Tsaghkunyats Ridge), (''Tsaghkunyats lernasheghta''), are a range of

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

s in

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 ...

, mainly in the provinces of Kotayk and

Aragatsotn Aragatsotn (, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the western part of the country. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Ashtarak. The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported its population was 128, ...

. The range is of volcanic origin including many

extinct volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the Crust (geology), crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth ...

es. It has a length of 42 km, stretched between Pambak Mountains near the village of

Mijnatun Mijnatun () is a village in the Alagyaz Municipality of the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. It is mostly populated by Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious gro ...

at the north, and the right bank of

Hrazdan River The Hrazdan (, ) 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 fed by several streams. In ...

to the southeast. The highest peak of the Tsaghkunyats Mountains is Mount Teghenis near

Tsaghkadzor Tsaghkadzor (, ) is a resort town and urban municipal community in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is a popular ski and health resort and one of Armenia's most important tourist destinations. It is situated on the eastern side of Mount Teghenis ...

, at 2851 meters. The range is formed by a

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 ...

, containing

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

-to-

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

lava dome In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions ...

s and

cinder cone A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, volcanic cone, conical landform of loose pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are forme ...

s.Soviet Armenian Encyclopaedia, vol. 5, page 113 The area is a popular mountain resort with its spa towns and villages, including Tsaghkadzor,

Hankavan Hankavan () is a village and a summer resort in the Kotayk Province of Armenia along in the Marmarik River below the Pambak mountains range. It is notable for its mineral springs, which were used as part of a sanitarium industry during the Soviet p ...

Bjni Bjni (), is a village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is situated in a valley between canyon walls and a small river. The village is one of the prominent centers of education and culture of ancient and medieval Armenia. It is the birthplac ...

, Arzakan and

Aghveran Aghveran () is a mountain resort in the Kotayk Province of Armenia, within the municipality of Arzakan village, located to the north of Buzhakan village. It is situated on the Hrazdan River's right-side tributary of Dalar (). Gallery Image:Re ...

Gallery

File:Lake Theghenyatc.jpg, Volcanic lake at the heights of Tsaghkunyats

References

{{Reflist Volcanic fields Lava domes Cinder cones Mountain ranges of Armenia

Gallery

See also

References