Mount Ara ( hy, Արա լեռ, ''Ara leř'') is a polygenetic stratovolcanic cone in

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 ...

Kotayk Province Kotayk ( hy, Կոտայք, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located at the central part of the country. Its capital is Hrazdan and the largest city is Abovyan. It is named after the Kotayk canton of the historic Ayrarat province o ...

. The town of

Zoravan Zoravan ( hy, Զորավան; formerly, Ghargavank and Pokravan; historically and prior to 1972–80, Khacho) is a village situated along the lower slopes of Mount Ara in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. The village was established in 1972–80, du ...

and a nearby church,

Gharghavank Gharghavank (also, Zoravor Church, hy, Զորավոր եկեղեցի) is a ruined Armenian Apostolic church located on the outskirts of the village of Zoravan, at the lower slopes of Mount Ara in Kotayk Province, Armenia. To get to the church, tu ...

, are located along the mountain's lower slopes. The town of

Yeghvard Yeghvard ( hy, Եղվարդ) is a town and urban municipal community in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is located 39 kilometres southwest of the provincial centre Hrazdan. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town is 11,672, almost ...

is below the mountain. Located north of

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

, the mountain has a destroyed crater and a base diameter of 9km at an altitude of 1,900m. The volcano is constructed from lava and agglomerate layers with intrusions of andesite and dacite. The slopes on the north and east are forested. One flank cone south of Arailer has erupted andesite. Andesite also appears in the former crater and lava flows spread to the

Hrazdan River The Hrazdan ( hy, Հրազդան գետ, ) is a major river and the second largest in Armenia. It originates at the northwest extremity of Lake Sevan and flows south through the Kotayk Province and Armenia's capital, Yerevan; the lake in turn is f ...

. One K-Ar date indicates an age of 1.3 Ma, there are two subsidiary cones Nokhut and Shakhvard. The mountain has a high biodiversity with '' Sympecma paedisca'', ''

Colias aurorina ''Colias aurorina'', the Greek clouded butterfly or dawn clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Central Greece, the Near East and the Caucasus area. It is rare in former Yugoslavia. Description ''Colias aurorina'' ...

'', '' Parnassius mnemosyne rjabovi'', '' Armenohelops armeniacus'', '' Cylindronotus erivanus'', '' Conizonia kalashiani'', ''

Parnassius apollo The Apollo or mountain Apollo (''Parnassius apollo''), is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. Etymology The species is named in the classical tradition for the deity Apollo. Subspecies Subspecies include: * ''Parnassius apollo apollo'' L ...

kashtshenkoi'', ''

Dorcadion kasikoporanum ''Dorcadion kasikoporanum'' is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are ch ...

'', ''

Papilio alexanor ''Papilio alexanor'', the Alexanor or southern swallowtail, is a butterfly species in the Papilionidae or swallowtails. The insect has a wingspan of 62–70 mm. It flies from April to July in a single generation, in mountainous regions (170 ...

orientalis'', ''

Proterebia afra ''Proterebia afra'' is a small butterfly found in the Palearctic (Dalmatia, South Russia, South Urals, Kazakhstan, Caucasus, Asia Minor - Kopet-Dagh) that belongs to the browns family. Subspecies *''P. a. afra'' *''P. a. dalmata'' (Godart, 82 ...

hyrcana'' and '' Tetralonia macroglossa'' represented. '' Conizonia'' is endemic on Arailer. The ecosystem is well preserved apart from a minor threat from grazing. The Mountain also holds high variety of bird species, including Golden Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Caucasian Black Grouse, Red-billed Chough, White-throated Robin, and others. For the reason, the area was recognized as Important Bird Area. File:Mount Ara, Aragatsotn, Armenia, by Alexander Mkhitaryan.jpg, Mount Ara File:Ուխտավայր.jpg, Wild mountain sorrel, poppies and other items of tribute sold on Mount Ara to the pilgrims of Tsaghkevank (

Kuys Varvara Kuys Varvara (the Virgin Barbara) is a revered religious figure in parts of Armenia, and the Tsaghkavank (Flower Monastery) is a cave shrine devoted to her on the southern slopes of Mount Ara.Armenia: with Nagorno Karabagh by Deirdre Holding 2 ...

) 40 days after Resurrection Day (Easter). Sorrel is often braided in this fashion in Armenia and Artsakh and can be dried for extended use File:Gharghavank2.JPG, Ruins of

on a hillside of Mount Ara File:Yeghvard, Armenia.JPG, View of

from Mount Ara File:Mount Ara 16.jpg, Rock formations

References

{{Mountains of Armenia Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Subduction volcanoes Volcanoes of Armenia Mountains of Armenia Polygenetic volcanoes