Lake Arpi

Lake Arpi
Location Shirak, Armenia
Coordinates 41°03′0″N 43°37′00″E / 41.05000°N 43.61667°E / 41.05000; 43.61667Coordinates: 41°03′0″N 43°37′00″E / 41.05000°N 43.61667°E / 41.05000; 43.61667
Primary outflows Akhurian River
Basin countries Armenia
Surface area 220 km2 (85 sq mi)
Average depth 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Water volume 0.1 km3 (0.024 cu mi)
Surface elevation 2,025 m (6,644 ft)
Designated 7 June 1993
Reference no. 621[1]

Lake Arpi (Armenian: Արփի լիճ) is located in the Shirak Province of Armenia, on the Ashotsk plateau in the northwestern part of the country. The lake sits at an altitude of 2,025 m with an area of 220km2. It originates from a volcano tectonic earthquake.

In 1951, the Arpi dam was built to create the Lake Arpi reservoir and artificially increased the natural state of 4.5km2, 1.6m deep, and volume of 5 million cubic meters.[2] The reservoir's dam is 10m high, and 80m long. The reservoir-lake spans 7.3km long and 4.3km wide, with an area of 20km2, 8m deep, and a volume of 30 million cubic meters.[3]

Lake Arpi has become the second most important body of water in Armenia, next to Lake Sevan. It is used for irrigation and hydropower production. The lake is fed by meltwater and four streams, and it is the source of the Akhurian River.

The lake has rich flora and fauna. It is a Ramsar Convention protected site, and a national park was established around the lake in 2009. During the winter, it is completely covered by ice. In its waters, cyprinus and varicorhinus. More than 100 species of birds have been observed around Lake Arpi,[4] that is why the area was recognized as Important Bird Area.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Lake Arpi". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ↑ H․ M․ Ayvazyan and others, Nature of Armenia Encyclopedia, Yerevan, «Armenian Encyclopedia Publishing House», 2006, pg 146 — 692— 3500 each, ISBN 5-89700-029-8
  3. ↑ Hagopian T. K., Melik-Bakhshyan S. Fr., Barseghyan H., Armenia and Neighboring Regions Dictionary, Vol. 1 [A-C] (ed. Manukyan L. III), Yerevan, «Yerevan State University Publishing», 1986, pg 514 — 992
  4. ↑ "NATIONAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RAMSAR CONVENTION ON WETLANDS: ARMENIA" (PDF). 2015.
  5. ↑ Armenian Bird Census Council. Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in Armenia. TSE NGO. Retrieved on 29 Oct 2017 from http://www.abcc-am.org/iba.html


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.