Geography of Armenia

Armenia is located in the southern Caucasus, the region southwest of Russia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Modern Armenia occupies part of historical Armenia, whose ancient centers were in the valley of the Araks River and the region around Lake Van in Turkey. ==Topography and drainage==

Twenty-five million years ago, a geological upheaval pushed up the Earth's crust to form the Armenian Plateau, creating the complex topography of modern Armenia. Other main lakes are: Arpi, , Sev, , Akna . Terrain is most rugged in the extreme southeast, which is drained by the Bargushat River, and most moderate in the Araks River valley to the extreme southwest. Most of Armenia is drained by the Araks or its tributary, the Hrazdan, which flows from Lake Sevan. The Araks forms most of Armenia's border with Turkey and Iran, while the Zangezur Mountains form the border between Armenia's southern province of Syunik and Azerbaijan's adjacent Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. ==Climate==

Temperatures in Armenia generally depend upon elevation. Mountain formations block the moderating climatic influences of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, creating wide seasonal variations with cold snowy winters, and warm to hot summers. On the Armenian Plateau, the mean midwinter temperature is to , and the mean midsummer temperature is to . Average precipitation ranges from per year in the lower Araks River valley to at the highest altitudes. Despite the harshness of winter in most parts (with frosts reaching and lower in Shirak region), the fertility of the plateau's volcanic soil made Armenia one of the world's earliest sites of agricultural activity. ==Area and boundaries==

Area:total: 29,743 km2 :country comparison to the world: 143 land: 28,203 km2water: 1,540 km2 Area comparative • Australia comparative: about one third (33%) the size of Tasmania • Canada comparative: greater than half (56%) the size of Nova Scotia • Turkey comparative: about a quarter (24%) smaller than the size of Konya Province. • United Kingdom comparative: about one third larger (30%) than Wales • United States comparative: slightly smaller (7%) than Maryland • EU comparative: slightly smaller (8%) than Belgium Land boundaries:total: 1,570 kmborder countries: Azerbaijan 566 km, Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan exclave 221 km, Georgia 219 km, Iran 44 km, Turkey 311 km Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Elevation extremes:lowest point: 375mhighest point: Mount Aragats 4,090 m Extreme points of Armenia:North: Tavush ()South: Syunik ()West: Shirak ()East: Syunik () ==Resources and land use==

Natural resources: deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, bauxite Armenia has significant deposits of copper, molybdenum and gold, as well as smaller deposits of zinc, lead and silver. Some copper-molybdenum and polymetallic ore deposits are rich in elements such as bismuth, tellurium, selenium, gallium, indium, thallium, rhenium and germanium. Land use: arable land:4.456 km², 15.8%permanent crops: 1.9%''permanent pastures: 4.2%'forest (2018): 11.2%'other:'' 31.2% (2011) Irrigated land: 2.084 km2 (2018) Total renewable water resources: 7.77 m3 (2011) Lake Sevan contains the largest amount of water in the country. Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):total: 2.86 km3/yr (40%/6%/54%)per capita: 929.7 m3/yr (2010) ==See also==