The Country

General Characteristics

Armenia is a small country in south-western Asia that occupies 29740 sq km of the northeastern portion of the Armenian Highland, an extensive upland area that extends as far south as Lake Van in Turkey. The county is bordered by Georgia in the north, Azerbaijan to the east and the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan to the southwest, Iran in the south, and Turkey to the west. Together with Georgia and Azerbaijan, Armenia is situated in the Transcaucasus (the southern portion of the region of Caucasus), which occupies part of the isthmus between the Black and Caspian Seas. Armenia is the only landlocked country in Transcaucasia. The republic contains many mountain lakes, the largest of which are Lake Arpilich and Lake Sevan. The latter is the largest lake in Transcaucasia and one of the largest high-elevation lakes in the world. Armenia contains a dense network of rivers, the most important of which are Arax, Debed, Aghstev, Hrazdan, Vorotan, Akhuryan, Kasakh, Pambak and Voghji, together with the other smaller rivers and streams that are part of the Arax and Kura river basins.

Armenia is particularly mountainous. The country's average elevation is 1800 m a. s. l. with extremes ranging from 380 m a. s. l. (Debed River-bed) to 4090 m a. s. l. (summit of Aragats Mt). The main mountain ranges in the republic include the Bazoom, Googarats, Pambak, Sevan, Geghama, Vardenis, Urts, Vaik, Zangezur, Bargooshat and Meghri branches of the Lesser Caucasus mountain system.

As one would expect, the climate of Armenia varies with altitude, but is predominantly dry and continental, with long, hot summers and moderate winters. The elevated plateaux, which are less sheltered by mountains than the inland plains, have more inclement weather in winter. Precipitation varies by location and is heaviest during the autumn. The most arid region of the country is along the Arax River.

The upfolding and powerful volcanism of the highlands, the impressive contrast in altitudes and the remoteness from sea areas, all account for the complicated relief and climate of Armenia. In addition, the republic is situated at the junction of completely different floristic provinces: mesophyllous Caucasian and xerophyllous Anatolian and Armeno-Iranian. All these features taken together have resulted in a rich and unique diversity of flora with over 3200 species in the relatively small territory of the country. The vegetation displays well defined altitudinal zones.

In the past, the entire Caucasus, and the Transcaucasus in particular, have been areas of development and movement for various types of faunal groups, with heat-loving and xerophilous species' expanding from the south and more hygrophilous, steppe and forest species from the north.

Being situated at the south-eastern limits of the Western Palearctic Armenia unites three major zoo-geographical regions - Woodland Caucasian in the NE, Iranian in extreme S and Asia Minor over the rest of the country.

Armenia's physical characteristics, variety of habitats and geographical situation at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East explain the rich avifauna found in the country. Some 345 species have been reliably recorded from Armenia, with 245 proven to breed here and about 170 found in winter (including resident species). Following a major flyway more than 180 species pass through Armenia on the way to and from their wintering grounds in the Middle East and Africa.