Akhurian Reservoir ( hy, Ախուրյանի ջրամբար; tr, Arpaçay Baraj Gölü) is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

on the

Akhurian River The Akhuryan ( hy, Ախուրյան ''Axuryan''; xcl, Ախուրեան ''Axurean''; russian: Арпачай or Ахурян), or Arpachay ( tr, Arpaçay) is a river in the South Caucasus. It originates in Armenia and flows from Lake Arpi, alon ...

between

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The reservoir has a surface area of 54 km² and a volume of 525 million cubic meters. It is one of the largest reservoirs in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, smaller than the

Mingachevir reservoir The Mingachevir reservoir ( az, Mingəçevir su anbarı) or The Mingachevir sea ( az, Mingəçevir dənizi),) is a large reservoir in northwestern Azerbaijan. It is the largest reservoir in the Caucasus. The reservoir's filling began in 1953 and w ...

and the

Shamkir reservoir The Shamkir reservoir ( az, Şəmkir su anbarı) is a large reservoir in the Shamkir Rayon of northwestern Azerbaijan. It is the second largest reservoir in the Caucasus after the Mingachevir reservoir. Overview The Shamkir reservoir was built o ...

in Azerbaijan. Its water is used for irrigation in Armenia's

Aragatsotn Aragatsotn ( hy, Արագածոտն, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the western part of the country. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Ashtarak. The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported ...

, Armavir and Shirak provinces. Water used on Turkey for irrigation (70000 ha agricultural area) in provinces of

Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...

and

Ardahan Ardahan (, ka, არტაანი, tr, hy, Արդահան, translit=Ardahan Russian: Ардаган) is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border. It is the capital of Ardahan Province. History Ancient and medieval Ardahan ...

Foundation

On April 25, 1963, Turkey and the Soviet Union (which Armenia was part of at the time) signed an agreement on constructing a dam on Akhurian River and regulating the flow of four rivers into the reservoir. It was built between 1975 and 1980 and began to be operated in 1980.

Pollution

According to Armenian researchers, "the water system is polluted with heavy metals and different toxic materials."

References

External links

* {{Lakes of Turkey Lakes of Armenia Reservoirs in Turkey Landforms of Kars Province Geography of Shirak Province