The State of Armenia is located on the mainland of Eurasia. It is located in the southern part of the geopolitical region of the South Caucasus (Transcaucasia). What is the size of the territory of Armenia? The area of the state is almost 30,000 square meters. km. The population is about 3.3 million people. Armenia declared independence in 1991. It borders on 4 states: in the west - with Turkey, in the north - with Georgia, in the south - with Iran and in the east - with Azerbaijan. The state has no maritime borders. The capital is the city of Yerevan. The form of government is a republic.
Between the inland Caspian Sea and the Black Sea lies the Armenian Highland. In the north it reaches the ranges of the Lesser Caucasus. And its northeastern part is the territory of the republic. Armenia, however, like other states of the Caucasus, is a mountainous country. Naturally, this geographical location directly affects many factors. But which ones, you can find out by reading this article.
Featuresterrain
Armenia, as mentioned above, is a mountainous country located on the young Alpine folding. This is an area of mountains, the process of formation of which has not yet been completed. The most important factor that indicates the continuation of mountain building is earthquakes. It has been historically established that during its existence, Armenia has been subjected to destructive action many times. Very often, the strength of the shocks reached 10 points out of the maximum 12.
Earthquakes are connected with the fact that the territory of Armenia is located on the territory where tectonic faults pass: Garni, Akhuryan and Pambak-Sevan. It is in them at a depth of 20-35 km that the centers of future shocks arise. The last major earthquake in Armenia occurred in 1988. The shocks reached 10 points and covered the entire territory of the country, and the shuddering wave went around the entire Earth. As a result of this natural disaster, many cities were destroyed, about 25 thousand people died.
Relief
The territory of Armenia is mostly occupied by mountains. The republic is considered a highland country. More than 90% of the entire territory of the state is located at an altitude of about 1,000 meters. The lowest sites are registered in the river valley on the south side (380 m above sea level). The highest peak in Armenia is the Aragats mountain range. It is located in the west of the country. This massif is a mountain range of 4 high peaks with a total length of 40 km. The highest peak reaches over 4 thousand meters.
Only 15% of the territory is occupied by plains. They have a smallarea and are represented mainly by intermountain basins and depressions. The largest plain of Armenia is the Ararat plain, with an area of 3,300 sq. km. It is located in the western region of the country. Despite the small area, the plains are of great importance for the life of the country. It is thanks to these sites that it became possible to develop agriculture.
Climatic features
The territory of Armenia is completely located in the subtropical climate zone. But the weather conditions in the country differ significantly by region. It depends to a greater extent on the heights at which a certain area is located. There are 6 climatic zones in the country. They are distributed in the direction of altitudinal zonality. The flat terrain is dominated by a subtropical climate with hot summers and warm winters with little snow. The higher the territory rises, the hotter it gets:
- in the low mountains - a dry climate with moderate winters and warm comfortable summers;
- in the middle mountains - moderate with warm summers and cold winters;
- in the highlands the climate is temperate cold with frosty winters and cold summers.
Precipitation also increases with height: from 350 mm in the plains to 900 mm in the highlands. Winds play an important role in the temperature regime. In winter they come from the northern and western directions, in summer the southern and southeastern directions prevail.
Mineral resources
Armenia is a country with rich deposits of minerals. In total, about 60 species have been explored and mined. Fromdeposits of aluminum, molybdenum ores, as well as deposits of gold and platinum are found in metal minerals. The mountainous territory of Armenia is rich in rocks. These are marble, pumice, tuff, dolomite, perlite, limestone rocks.
Inland waters
On the territory of the country, about 700 sources of underground mineral waters have been explored, which have a healing effect. All residents of the former Soviet Union know about the unique properties of this water. It is not for nothing that many people used to strive to come to Armenia in order to improve their he alth.
This country is rich in water resources. About 9.5 thousand rivers flow through its territory, there are over 100 lakes. The largest rivers of Armenia are Akhuryan, Debed, Hrazdan, Arpa. The largest lake is Sevan.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Ethno-political conflict has long been going on between the two states (Armenia and Azerbaijan). However, in the late 80s of the twentieth century, it escalated with renewed vigor. In 1991, large-scale hostilities began that affected the inhabitants of both states. They lasted four years. In May 1994, a ceasefire document was signed, but to this day, Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
