Lake Arpi ( hy, Արփի լիճ; tr, Arpa Göl) is located in the

Shirak Province Shirak ( hy, Շիրակ, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north. Its capital and largest city is Gyumri, which is the second largest city ...

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 ' ...

, on the Ashotsk plateau in the northwestern part of the country. The lake sits at an altitude of 2,025 m with an area of 20 km². It originates from a

volcano tectonic earthquake A volcano tectonic earthquake is caused by the movement of magma beneath the surface of the Earth. The movement results in pressure changes where the rock around the magma has experienced stress. At some point, this stress can cause the rock to bre ...

. In 1951, the Arpi dam was built to create the Lake Arpi reservoir and artificially increased the natural state of 4.5 km², 1.6 m deep, and volume of 5 million cubic meters. The reservoir's dam is 10 m high and 80 m long. The reservoir-lake spans 7.3 km long and 4.3 km wide, with an area of 20 km², 8 m deep, and a volume of 30 million cubic meters. Lake Arpi has become the second most important body of water in Armenia, next to

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan ( hy, Սևանա լիճ, Sevana lich) is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, ...

. It is used for irrigation and hydropower production. The lake is fed by meltwater and four streams, and it is the source of 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, al ...

Conservation

The lake has rich flora and fauna. It is a

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

–protected site, and a national park was established around the lake in 2009.During the winter, it is completely covered by ice. In its waters are found ''

Cyprinus ''Cyprinus'' is the genus of typical carps in family Cyprinidae. Most species in the genus are of East Asia origin with only the common carp (''C. carpio'') in Western Asia and Europe; this invasive species has also been introduced to many othe ...

'' and '' Varicorhinus''. More than 100 species of birds have been observed around Lake Arpi, which is why the area was recognized as an Important Bird Area.Armenian Bird Census Council. ''Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in Armenia''. TSE NGO. Retrieved on 29 Oct 2017 from http://www.abcc-am.org/iba.html

References

Lakes of Armenia Mountain lakes Ramsar sites in Armenia Geography of Shirak Province {{Europe-protected-area-stub