Lake Sevan (Armenian:Սևանա լիճ,romanized: Sevana lich) is the largest body of water in bothArmenia and theCaucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwaterhigh-altitude (alpine) lakes inEurasia.[7] The lake is situated inGegharkunik Province, at an altitude of 1,900 m (6,234 ft) above sea level. The total surface area of its basin is about 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi), which makes up1⁄6 of Armenia's territory.[7] The lake itself is 1,242 km2 (480 sq mi), and the volume is 32.8 km3 (7.9 cu mi).[3] It is fed by 28 rivers and streams. Only 10% of the incoming water is drained by theHrazdan River, while the remaining 90% evaporates.
Sevan has significant economic, cultural, and recreational value. Its sole major island (now a peninsula) is home to amedieval monastery. The lake provides some 90% of the fish and 80% of thecrayfish catch of Armenia.[8]
Sevan was heavily exploited for irrigation of theArarat plain and hydroelectric power generation during the Soviet period. Consequently, its water level decreased by around 20 m (66 ft) and its volume reduced by more than 40%. Later, twotunnels 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 1,916 m (6,286 ft) above sea level,[3] 95 m (312 ft) deep, covered an area of 1,416 km2 (547 sq mi) (5% of Armenia's entire area), and had a volume of 58.5 km3 (14.0 cu mi).
In the Middle Ages, Sevan was solely the name of the island (now peninsula) and themonastery built on it.[9] In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Russian and European sources sometimes referred to the lake asSevanga orSevang,[16] Perfolk etymology,Sevan is either a combination ofsev ("black") andvank’ ("monastery"),[17]sev ("black") + Van (i.e.,Lake Van),[18][19] or originates from the phrasesa ē vank'ə ("this is the monastery").[20]
The scholarly explanation, first suggested byMikhail V. Nikolsky [ru] in 1896,[21][9] is thatSevan originated from theUrartian wordsuinia, usually translated as "lake".[25] It is attested on an 8th-century BCcuneiform inscription by theUrartian kingRusa I, found inOdzaberd, on the southern shore of the lake.[19]
The historical Armenian name of the lake, attested in early medieval texts, isSea of Gegham[26][27] (classical Armenian: ծով Գեղամայ,tsov Geghamay).[a] The historicGeorgian name of the lake isGelakuni (გელაქუნი), which is essentially the Georgian transcription of ArmenianGegharkuni.[30][31] Inclassical antiquity, the lake was known asLychnitis (Ancient Greek:Λυχνῖτις).[32][33][34]John Chardin, who visited the lake in 1673, called it the "Lake of Erivan" and wrote that it was calledDeria-Shirin ("sweet lake") by Persians andKiagar-couni-sou by Armenians.[35]
Along withLake Van andLake Urmia, Sevan is considered one of the three great "seas"[46] ofhistoric Armenia.[47][48][49][50][51] 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[52][53][54] and is "recognized as a national treasure" in the country.[55] 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."[56]
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".[57]
Naturalist and travelerFriedrich Parrot, best known for ascendingMount Ararat in 1829 for the first time in history, wrote:
[the] sea enjoys a high celebrity for sanctity with all Armenians, far and near, on account of the many old, and now partly deserted religious houses on its shores; and with all the rest of the natives for its wonderful stores of fish, of which salmon-trout is peculiarly esteemed, being dried and carried to great distances for sale."[58]
It is important for the Armenian economy: being the main source of irrigation water, Sevan provides low-cost electricity, fish, recreation, and tourism.[7]
Sevan originated during the earlyQuaternary when tectonic formation created a Palaeo-Sevan, ten times larger than the present lake.[4] The current lake was formed some 25 to 30 thousand years ago.[2]
Sevan was recognized as being a major potential water resource in the 19th century. Its high altitude location relative to the fertileArarat 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 andhydroelectric power generation. He proposed draining the lake by 50 m (160 ft). Major Sevan would completely dry out, while Minor Sevan would have a surface area of 240 km2 (93 sq mi).[59]
Manasserian's proposal was adopted by the Soviet authorities in the 1930s when, underJoseph Stalin, the country was undergoing rapidindustrialization. Works on the project started in 1933. The riverbed ofHrazdan was deepened through excavation. A tunnel was bored around 40 metres (130 ft) 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 1 metre (3 ft) per year. The water was used for irrigation and theSevan–Hrazdan Cascade of six hydroelectric power stations on Hrazdan River.[59][60]
Hydrometric indices of Lake Sevan before and after human intervention[3]
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, increasedeutrophication, and detrimental impact of human activity on the biological diversity of the lake. According to Babayan et al. the lake level dropped by 19.88 m (65.2 ft) by 2002, while the volume decreased by 43.8% (from 58.5 to 32.9 km3 [14.0 to 7.9 cu mi]). Due to the water level decrease, the quality of the water deteriorated, natural habitats were destroyed that meantloss of biodiversity.[59] 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.[61]
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."[59]
Map showing the two tunnels bringing water to the lake and the Hrazdan River and the six hydroelectric power stations built on it.
In 1964 a project began to divert theArpa River (from a reservoir nearKechut) through a 49 km (30 mi) long tunnel to the lake nearArtsvanist.[62][63] The tunnel, called Arpa–Sevan, was completed in 1981. It brings up to 200 million cubic metres (7.1 billion cubic feet) of water to Sevan per year.[64]
It is estimated, that due toclimate change by year 2030, the outflow of the Arpa river will decrease by 22%.[65]
Since the water level in the lake did not rise as fast and as much, on 20 April 1981 theCouncil of Ministers of the Soviet Union made a decision for the construction of the Vorotan–Arpa tunnel.[66] This 21.6 km (13.4 mi) long tunnel was begun from the Spandarian Reservoir on theVorotan River further south from Kechut.[67] Due to theNagorno-Karabakh conflict and the1988 earthquake in northwestern Armenia construction was halted. The tunnel was inaugurated on 26 April 2004.[68] The Vorotan–Arpa tunnel brings an additional 165 million cubic metres (5.8 billion cubic feet) to the lake annually.[64][66]
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 2.44 metres (8.0 ft) in the previous six years.[69] It reached 1,900.04 m (6,233.7 ft) in October 2010. The government committee on Sevan forecasts that the level will reach 1,903.5 m (6,245 ft) by 2029.[70]
Water level stood at 1900.44 m in November 2019.[71]
Lake Sevan has the only beaches in Armenia.[73] They are a popular destination for the Armenians.[74] Sevan's beaches provide a unique experience within the landlocked country for Armenians. The beaches adjacent to hotels are usually privatized.[73] Numerous beaches are located along the entire lake shore. The most popular of them is a2.5-kilometre (1+1⁄2 mi) 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 fromTsovagyugh toShorzha, 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 nearTsapatagh.
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."[75] 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.[76] By 2014, the number of public beaches reached 11. Some 200,000 people took holiday there in 2014.[77]
The most famous cultural monument is theSevanavank monastery located on the peninsula, which was until the mid-20th century an island. Another prominent monastery at the western shore isHayravank, and further south, in the village ofNoratus, is a field ofkhachkars;a cemetery with about 900khachkars of different styles. Additionalkhachkars are found atNerkin Getashen on the south coast.
Sevan trout (Salmo ischchan) is anendemicspecies of the lake, but it is endangered as some competitors were introduced into the lake, includingcommon whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) fromLake Ladoga,goldfish (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 inIssyk-Kul Lake (Kyrgyzstan), 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, and of course fish. Thus, the benthic mass increased tenfold in 1940, due to oligochaetes and chrinomices. Today, the former prevail and multiply the oxygen-rich residue at the bottom of the lake.
Thebojak and winterbakhtak species of the Sevan-endemictrout have already disappeared. The summerbakhtak occurs rarely; thegegharkuni is still capable of reproducing naturally. In 1980s, the quantity of Sevankoghak 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 andAestivalis 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 25–30 m (80–100 ft).
Deoxidization of the bottom is extremely detrimental forsalmon, 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.
The bird fauna of the lake and its vicinity makes over 200 species, out of which 95 species are breeding.[79] The lake is an important breeding ground for theArmenian gull (Larus armenicus) with about 4,000–5,000 pairs. During migration the Lake is visited by wide variety of birds including raptors, such asMontagu's harrier (Circus pygargus) andSteppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis), waterbirds such asred-crested pochard (Netta rufina) andferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca), while during the wintering period the lake hosts another set of species such asBewick's swan (Cygnus columbianus) andgreat black-headed gull (Larus ichthyaetus). Sometimes the lake is visited by very rare Armenian migrantlesser white-fronted goose (Anser erythropus).
There are a lot of historical monuments located on the coast of Sevan, ranging from prehistoricpetroglyphs to various monasteries. The monasteries includeSevanavank,Vanevan,Kotavank and others. There are also many historical castles and fortresses on the coast, includingBerdkunk Fortress,Odzaberd, and others.
The rivers feeding Lake Sevan flow through densely populated settlements which produce agricultural, domestic, and industrial waste. It significantly changes the lake's ecosystem. According to a 2017 study the lake's water contains concentration of metals such asaluminium,nickel,arsenic,cobalt, andlead.[80]
According to Armenian environmental organization EcoLur, the lake is in a critical condition because of the presence ofvanadium. Environmental Impact Monitoring Center, an agency of the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection, reported in 2012 that the average annual concentration ofvanadium (64 μg/L) in the samples taken from Lake Sevan exceeded the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) by 6.4 times, whileselenium (26 μg/L) exceeded MPC 2.6 times,copper (21 μg/L) 2.1 times,magnesium (60 μg/L) 1.2 times.[81] A 2016 study found that mining and metallurgical industrial activities—namely theSotk gold mine on the southeastern shore of the lake—caused significant heavy metal, especially vanadium, pollution of the Sotk and Masrik rivers in the Lake Sevan catchment basin. According to the researchers it "may have posed health risks to aquatic life as well as to humans (at least in the case of river water used for drinking purposes)."[82]
^Semenov, Petr Petrovič (1873).Geografičesko-statističeskij slovarʹ Rossijskoj Imperii: Pavasterort – Sjatra-Kasy, Volume 4 (in Russian). Bezobrazov i komp. p. 532.Севанга, озеро, Эриванской г-іи, Новобаязетскаго у.; см. Гокчинское.
^Nadezhdin, P. (1869).Природа и люди на Кавказѣ и за Кавказом (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: V. Demakov Typography. p. 230.Гёг-чайское озеро (синяя вода), по-армянски Севанга, есть самое значительное въ цѣломъ Закавказскомъ краѣ...
^Francis Rawdon Chesney (1850).The expedition for the survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 763.Ghokhcha, Gouktcha, or Sevanga, lake (in Armenia)
^Baer, Karl M.; Lukina, Tatyana A. (1984).Каспийская экспедиция К.М. Бэра, 1853–1857 гг: дневники и материалы [Caspiran Encyclopedia of K. M. Baer, 1853–1857: Diary and Materials] (in Russian). Leningrad:Nauka. p. 532.Севанг (арм. сев-ванг – черный монастырь)
^René Grousset.The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, Rutgers University Press, 1970, p. 348,ISBN0-8135-1304-9
^Ivanovsky, A. A.[in Russian] (1911).По Закавказью. археологические наблюдения и исследования 1893, 1894 и 1896 гг. [Through the Transcaucasia: archeological observations and studies in 1893, 1894, and 1896] (in Russian). Moscow: Mamontov Typography. p. 30.
^Клинообразные надписи Закавказья, исследование М. В. Никольского, 1896, p.127
^Севан от урартск. суниа – "озеро"Pospelov, Evgeniy[in Russian] (1998).Географические названия мира [Geograficheskie Nazvaniia Mira] (Geographic names of the world) (in Russian). Moscow: Russkie Slovari. p. 160.ISBN5-89216-029-7.
^Murzayev, Ed. M. (1984).Словарь народных географических терминов (in Russian). Mysl. p. 112.Вне ряда Севан – озеро в Армении, имя которого восходит к урартскому гумна – " озеро".
^Translated as "lake of Geḷam" byRobert W. Thomson, seeThomson, Robert W. (1980).Moses Khorenats'i History of the Armenians (2nd ed.). Harvard University Press. p. 185.
^abBryce, James (1878).Transcaucasia and Ararat: Being Notes of a Vacation Tour in Autumn of 1876 (3rd ed.). London: Macmillan and Co. p. 168....the lake which the Russians call Goktcha (a corruption of the Tartar name, which means blue lake), and the natives Sevan, the Lychnitis of the ancients...
^Toumanoff, Cyrille (1963).Studies in Christian Caucasian history. Georgetown University Press. p. 33....Thospitis, Mantiane, and Lychnitis, or, as they are now called, Van, Urmia, and Sevan...
^"The Travels of Sir John Chardin into Persia and the East Indies". London, 1686, pp247-248
^Sykes, Sir Percy (2013).A History Of Persia. Vol. 2. Taylor & Francis. p. 317.ISBN9781136525971.The Dispute about Gokcha and its Seizure by Russia, 1825. —The treaty of Gulistan had been so vaguely worded that three districts lying between Erivan and the Gokcha Lake, the most important of which was Gokcha, remained in dispute.
^Schütz, E. (1998).Armeno-Turcica Selected Studies. Indiana University, Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies. p. 273.ISBN9780933070431.but also on the Armenians of the Persian metropolis , Isfahan , the tümen of Nakhichevan , the Gökche Sec ( Lake - Sevan ...
^Mill, James (1858).The history of British India: (In 10 vol.). Madden. p. 152.It had gone farther , and had occupied a strip of land on the north - west of the Gokcha Lake belonging , by its own admission to Persia ...
^Woolf, Greg (2007).Ancient civilizations: the illustrated guide to belief, mythology, and art. Barnes & Noble. p. 129.ISBN978-1-4351-0121-0.Lakes Sevan, Urmia, and Van are considered by Armenians to be their "three seas"...
^J. R. Russell. Zoroastrianism in Armenia. — Harvard University Press, 1987. — P. 1—2.
^Encyclopaedia of Islam. — Leiden: BRILL, 1986. — Vol. I. — P. 634.
^Robert H. Hewsen. The Geography of Armenia // The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century / Edited by Richard G. Hovannisian. — St. Martin's Press, 1997. — Vol. I. — P. 8—10.
^Papajian, Sarkis (1974).A brief history of Armenia. Fresno, California:Armenian Evangelical Union of North America. p. 2.Historic Armenia has three great lakes: Sevan, Van and Urmia.
^Mouradian, George (1995).Armenian infotext. Bookshelf Publishers. p. 185.ISBN978-0-9634509-2-0.Urmia, Lake, one of the three large lakes of ancient Armenia, the other two being Lake Van and Lake Sevan.
^Krikorian, Robert; Masih, Joseph (1999).Armenia: At the Crossroads. Routledge. p. 2.ISBN978-1-134-41218-1.The water level of Lake Sevan, the jewel of Armenia, was dropping precipitously...
^Johnson, Jerry L. (2000).Crossing Borders--confronting History: Intercultural Adjustment in a Post-Cold War World. University Press of America. p. 72.ISBN978-0-7618-1536-5.Armenians consider Lake Sevan a jewel of their country.
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