The Dzoraget () is a river in the
Lori region in Northern
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 ' ...
. It originates in the
Bazum Mountains
Bazum ( hy, Բազում) is a village in the Lori Province of 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 reg ...
and flows west to east through spectacular gorges around
Stepanavan
Stepanavan ( hy, Ստեփանավան), is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province of Armenia. It is located 139 km north of the capital Yerevan and 24 km north of the provincial centre Vanadzor, halfway between Yerevan and T ...
. It finally feeds into the river
Debed
The Debed ( hy, Դեբեդ) or Debeda ( ka, დებედა) is a river in Armenia and Georgia. It also serves as a natural boundary between Armenia and Georgia at the village Sadakhlo, Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
The ...
near
Dzoragyugh, which ultimately drains to the
Kura.
''Dzoraget'' is a compound word in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
meaning ''Gorge-river'' and formed with the
lexemes
A lexeme () is a unit of lexical meaning that underlies a set of words that are related through inflection. It is a basic abstract unit of meaning, a unit of morphological analysis in linguistics that roughly corresponds to a set of forms taken ...
ձոր ('gorge') and գետ ('river') joined by the
interfix ա .
The gorge in certain places (e.g. at
Kurtan) is over in depth.
Rafting
The Armenian Travel Bureau considers the Dzoraget River the only Armenian river suitable for rafting. The commonest rafting route begins at the Dzoraget bridge, near the town of
Stepanavan
Stepanavan ( hy, Ստեփանավան), is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province of Armenia. It is located 139 km north of the capital Yerevan and 24 km north of the provincial centre Vanadzor, halfway between Yerevan and T ...
. Rafting on the river is concentrated in the Dzoraget Canyon, which is in some places as deep as 300 meters.
Towns and villages
Towns and villages along the river include:
Stepanavan
Stepanavan ( hy, Ստեփանավան), is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province of Armenia. It is located 139 km north of the capital Yerevan and 24 km north of the provincial centre Vanadzor, halfway between Yerevan and T ...
,
Amrakits,
Lori Berd,
Agarak,
Vardablur,
Kurtan,
Arevatsag, and
Dzoragyukh.
Gallery
Image:Dzoragetatstepanavan.jpg, Dzoraget Canyon.
File:Rivers of Armenia.jpg, Dzoraget river and its basin (light green) within Armenia
Image:Dzoraget(river).jpg, Kayaking on the Dzoraget
Image:Dzoraget(river) Bridge.jpg, The Dzoraget bridge
Image:Rocks over the Dzoraget River Canyon.jpg, The Dzoraget River Canyon from Lori Berd
See also
*
List of lakes of Armenia
This is a list of lakes of Armenia. Lake Sevan, in Gegharkunik Province, is the largest body of water in Armenia and the entire Caucasus region.
Armenia has one very large lake called Lake Sevan and more than 100 small mountain lakes. None of ...
*
Geography of Armenia
References
Rivers of Armenia
{{Armenia-river-stub