Akhurian Reservoir (; ) is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

on the

Akhurian River The Akhuryan () or Arpachay () is a river in the South Caucasus. It originates in Armenia and flows from Lake Arpi, along the closed border with Turkey, forming part of the geographic border between the two states, until it flows into the Aras ...

between

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. 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 spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, although smaller than the

Mingachevir reservoir The Mingachevir reservoir () (also known as the Mingachevir sea ()) is a large reservoir on the Kura river in northwestern Azerbaijan. It supplies water to the Upper Karabakh and Upper Shirvan channels, and is used for electricity generation, i ...

and the

Shamkir reservoir The Shamkir reservoir () is a large reservoir built on the Kura (Caspian Sea), Kura River in the Shamkir Rayon of northwestern Azerbaijan. It is the second-largest reservoir in the Caucasus after the Mingachevir reservoir, also in northwestern Azer ...

in Azerbaijan. Its water is used for irrigation in Armenia's Aragatsotn, Armavir Province, Armavir and Shirak Province, Shirak provinces. Its water is used in Turkey for irrigation (70000 ha agricultural area) in the provinces of Kars Province, Kars and Ardahan Province, 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 Kars District Akyaka District International lakes of Asia Armenia–Turkey border Reservoirs in Armenia