Mount Ararat, volcanic massif in extreme easternTurkey, overlooking the point at which the frontiers of Turkey,Iran, andArmeniaconverge. Its northern and eastern slopes rise from the broadalluvial plain of theAras River, about 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) abovesea level; its southwestern slopes rise from a plain about 5,000 feet (1,500 metres) above sea level; and on the west a low pass separates it from a long range of other volcanic ridges extending westward toward the easternTaurus ranges. The Ararat Massif is about 25 miles (40 km) in diameter.

Ararat consists of two peaks, their summits about 7 miles (11 km) apart.Great Ararat, or BüyükAğrı Dağı, which reaches an elevation of 16,945 feet (5,165 metres) above sea level, is the highest peak in Turkey.Little Ararat, or Küçük Ağrı Dağı, rises in a smooth, steep, nearly perfect cone to 12,782 feet (3,896 metres). Both Great and Little Ararat are the product of eruptivevolcanic activity. Neither retains any evidence of a crater, but well-formed cones andfissures exist on their flanks. Towering some 14,000 feet (4,300 metres) above the adjoining plains, the snowcapped conical peak of the Great Ararat offers a majestic sight. The snowline varies with the season, retreating to 14,000 feet above sea level by the end of the summer. The only trueglacier is found on the northern side of the Great Ararat, near its summit. The middle zone of Ararat, measuring from 5,000 to 11,500 feet (1,500 to 3,500 metres), is covered with good pasture grass and some juniper; there the localKurdish population graze their sheep. Most of the Great Ararat is treeless, but Little Ararat has a few birch groves. Despite the abundant cover ofsnow, the Ararat area suffers from scarcity of water.

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Ararat traditionally is associated with themountain on whichNoah’s Ark came to rest at the end of the Flood. The name Ararat, as it appears in the Bible, is the Hebrew equivalent of Urardhu, orUrartu, the Assyro-Babylonian name of a kingdom that flourished between the Aras and the Upper Tigris rivers from the 9th to the 7th centurybce. Ararat is sacred to the Armenians, who believe themselves to be the first race of humans to appear in the world after theDeluge. A Persianlegend refers to the Ararat as the cradle of thehuman race. There was formerly a village on the slopes of the Ararat high above the Aras plain, at the spot where, according to local tradition, Noah built an altar and planted the first vineyard. Above the village Armenians built a monastery tocommemorate St. Jacob, who is said to have tried repeatedly but failed to reach the summit of Great Ararat in search of the Ark. In 1840 an eruption and landslide destroyed the village, the monastery of St. Jacob, and a nearby chapel ofSt. James, and it also killed hundreds of villagers.

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Local tradition maintained that the Ark still lay on the summit but that God had declared that no one should see it. In September 1829, Johann Jacob von Parrot, a German, made the first recorded successful ascent. Since then Ararat has been scaled by several explorers, some of whom claim to have sighted the remains of the Ark.