Aras (river)
{{short description|River in West Asia}}
{{hatnote group|
{{redirect|Araks}}
{{redirect|Arax}}
{{redirect|Araz|other uses|Araz, Azerbaijan|and|Araz (given name)}}
}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Aras
| image = Jolfa-Aras2.jpg
| image_caption = The Aras with Nakhchivan (Azerbaijan) to the right and Iran to the left
| map = {{Infobox mapframe |shape-fill-opacity=.1|wikidata=yes |zoom=5 |frame-height=300 | stroke-width=4 |coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}|point = none|stroke-color=#0000FF }}
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Aras River highlighted on a map of the Kura River watershed
| source1 = Aras
| source1_location = Bingöl Mountains, Kocagün creek (Varto), Orman Creek (Hınıs), Tekman, Erzurum, Turkey
| source1_coordinates = {{Coord|39.395954|41.285200|format=dms|display=i}}
| source1_elevation = {{Convert|2288|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth = Kura
| mouth_location = Sabirabad, Azerbaijan
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|40.0184|N|48.4535|E|source:kolossus-dewiki|display=it}}
| mouth_elevation = {{Convert|0|m|abbr=on}}
| subdivision_type1 = Countries
| subdivision_name1 = {{hlist|Turkey|Armenia|Iran|Azerbaijan}}
| length = {{convert|1,072|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| basin_size = {{convert|102,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_avg = {{convert|285|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| progression = {{RKura}}
|name_other={{langx|hy|Արաքս}}, {{langx|az|Araz}}, {{langx|fa|ارس}}, {{langx|tr|Aras}}}}
The Aras{{efn|{{langx|grc|Αράξης}} {{translit|grc|Aráxēs}} {{IPA|grc|aráksɛːs|}}; {{langx|hy|Արաքս}} {{IPA|hy|ɑˈɾɑkʰs|}}; {{langx|az|Araz}} {{IPA|az|ɑˈɾɑz|}}; {{langx|fa|ارس}} {{IPA|fa|æˈɾæs|}}; {{langx|ka|არაქსი}} {{IPA|ka|aɾakʰsi|}}; {{langx|os|Аракс}} {{IPA|os|aˈrakʂ|}}; {{langx|tr|Aras}}}} is a transboundary river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between Iran and both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and, finally, through Azerbaijan where it flows into the Kura river as a right tributary. It drains the south side of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, while the Kura drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus. The river's total length is {{cvt|1072|km|mi}} and its watershed covers an area of {{cvt|102000|km2|mi2}}. The Aras is one of the longest rivers in the Caucasus.
Names
In classical antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as Araxes ({{langx|el|Ἀράξης}}). Its modern Armenian name is Arax or Araks ({{langx|hy|Արաքս}}). Historically, it was called {{Transliteration|xcl|Eraskh}} ({{langx|xcl|Երասխ}}, {{Transliteration|hy|Yeraskh}} in modern pronunciation) by Armenians and its Old Georgian name is Rakhsi ({{lang|sk|რახსი}}). In Azerbaijani, the river's name is Araz. In Persian, Kurdish and Turkish its name is {{lang|fa|ارس}} (Aras).
Geography
The Aras is supported by the Kocagün stream, Dallı stream and Orman stream from the Bingöl Mountains on the borders of Varto district merge with it around the Kırıkhan village of Tekman district.{{cite web |title=Erzurum Mülkî İdare İl Haritası|url=https://www.harita.gov.tr/uploads/files/products/erzurum-mulk-idare-il-haritasi-1423.pdf|website=harita.gov.tr|publisher=Harita Genel Müdürlüğü|page=1}}{{cite web |title=Bingöl Dağları |url=https://www.dogadernegi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/dog016-bingol-daglari-onemli-doga-alanlari-kitabi.pdf |website=dogadernegi.org |publisher=Doğa Derneği |page=1}} It is surrounded by the Aras Mountains from the south.{{cite web |title=Aras Vadisi|url=https://www.dogadernegi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/dog027-aras-vadisi-onemli-doga-alanlari-kitabi.pdf|website=dogadernegi.org |publisher=Doğa Derneği |page=1}} The Aras meets the Akhuryan River southeast of Digor. From Digor it flows along the Armenia–Turkey border, then runs close to the corridor that connects Turkey to Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave, and continues along the Iranian-Armenian and the Iranian-Azerbaijani border.{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/araxes-river|title=Araxes River|publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-date=17 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517013151/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/araxes-river|url-status=live}} The Aras is fed by several major tributaries, including the Arpa Çayı (also known as the Akhuryan), which gathers the waters from the Kars River and Lake Çıldır located in Turkey, the Hrazdan River, which empties into Lake Sevan in Armenia, and the Qareh Sū, originating from the Sabalān Mountains in northeastern Iranian Azerbaijan.{{Cite web |title=Aras River {{!}} river, Asia {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aras-River |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}
The lowest point in Armenia is a point along the Aras at an elevation of {{convert|380|m|ft}}.{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite book|last=Curtis|first=Glenn E.|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/94045459/|title=Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia : country studies|date=1995|publisher=Federal Research Division|isbn=0-8444-0848-4|edition=1st|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=25–29|oclc=31709972}}}}
=Tributaries=
The following rivers are tributaries of the Aras, from source to mouth:[http://bse.sci-lib.com/article067502.html Аракс], Great Soviet Encyclopedia[https://www.ais.unwater.org/ais/aiscm/getprojectdoc.php?docid=773 Reducing Trans-boundary Degradation of the Kura-Aras River Basin], UN-Water
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
- Akhuryan (left)
- Metsamor (left)
- Hrazdan (left)
- Azat (left)
- Vedi (left)
- Arpa (left)
- Zangmar (right)
- Naxçıvançay (left)
- Qatur (right)
- Hajilarchay (right)
- Meghri (left)
- Bəsitçay (left)
- Voghji (left)
- Kaleybarchay (right)
- Hakari (left)
- Qarasu/Dareh-Rud (right)
- Köndələnçay (left)
{{div col end}}
Etymology and history
File:Aras River in Persian (IRAN) Empire 1747 map.JPG
In Armenian tradition, the river is named after Arast, a great-grandson of the legendary Armenian patriarch Haik. The name was later Hellenized to Araxes and was applied to the Kura–Araxes culture, a prehistoric people who flourished in the valleys of the Kura and Aras. The river is also mentioned in the last chapter of Virgil's Aeneid VIII, as "angry at the bridge," since the Romans built a bridge over it so that it is thereby conquered. The river Aras has been associated with the biblical rivers Gihon and Pishon. Robert H. Hewsen described Aras as the only "true river" of Armenia and as "Mother Araxes," a symbol of pride to the Armenian people.{{cite book|title=The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times. Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century|date=1997|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=0-312-10169-4|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/armenianpeoplefr00rich_0/page/7 7]|last1=Hewsen|first1=Robert|author-link1=Robert H. Hewsen|editor1-last=Hovannisian|editor1-first=Richard G.|editor1-link=Richard G. Hovannisian|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/armenianpeoplefr00rich_0/page/7}}
According to a legend cited by Strabo, in ancient times, the Araxes river in Armenia had no outflow to the Caspian Sea, but spread out in plains and created a lake without outflow.{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0198:book=11:chapter=14&highlight=plains|title=Strabo, Geography, Book 11, chapter 14|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu|access-date=2018-01-15|archive-date=2019-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730115443/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text%3Fdoc%3DPerseus:text:1999.01.0198:book%3D11:chapter%3D14%26highlight%3Dplains|url-status=live}}
During Islamic times, the Araxes became known in Arabic parlance as al-Rass (not to be confused with modern-day Ar Rass) and in Perso-Turkish contexts as Aras.
In modern history, the Aras gained significance as a geographic political boundary. Under the terms of the Treaty of Gulistan and the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the river was chosen as the border limit between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran, as the latter was forced to cede its Caucasian territories to Russia.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KTq2BQAAQBAJ&q=russo+persian+war+1804-1813&pg=PA728|title=Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond ...|isbn=9781598849486|access-date=23 April 2015|last1=Dowling|first1=Timothy C.|date=2 December 2014|publisher=Abc-Clio |archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204221910/https://books.google.com/books?id=KTq2BQAAQBAJ&q=russo+persian+war+1804-1813&pg=PA728|url-status=live}} Because of these 19th-century border changes, one modern, not widely accepted scheme draws Aras River as the line of continental demarcation between Europe and Asia.{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Caucasus |title=Caucasus |access-date=2019-09-10 |archive-date=2020-05-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504123439/https://www.britannica.com/place/Caucasus |url-status=live }}
In 1963–1970, Iran and the Soviet Union built the Aras Dam near the Azerbaijani city of Nakhchivan, creating the Aras Reservoir. In 1999–2008, Iran built the Khoda Afarin Dam near the historic Khudafarin Bridges, creating the Khoda Afarin Reservoir, and the Giz Galasi Dam 12 km down the river, creating the Giz Galasi Reservoir. Iran and Armenia are planning to build the Meghri Dam near the Armenian town of Meghri.{{Cite web|title=News: Meghry Power Plant Kicks off |date=17 November 2012 |publisher=Iran Water & Power Resources Development Co. |url=http://en.iwpco.ir/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=151 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313020814/http://en.iwpco.ir/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=151 |archive-date=13 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}
Aras Valley
In 2006, a bird research and education center was established by KuzeyDoğa, a Turkish non-governmental organization for nature conservation, in the Aras Valley at the village Yukarı Çıyrıklı, in the Tuzluca district of Iğdır Province, Turkey. It is one of Turkey's two bird-ringing stations that remain active yearly. Between 2006 and 2021, more than 145,000 birds of 201 species were ringed, and 306 bird species were observed at this station. Sixty-three percent of the 489 bird species found in Turkey are recorded at this wetland, making it eastern Turkey's most species-rich wetland for birds. The number of ringed and observed 306 bird species comprises 90 percent of the 340 bird species in Iğdır Province, the most bird species rich landlocked province of Turkey. Seven new bird species were observed during the bird ringing activities in 2012 alone, including the raptor Shikra, or Little Banded Goshawk (Accipiter badius), which was new to Turkey's avifauna.
A Biology professor at the University of Utah and a president of the KuzeyDoğa Society, Çağan Şekercioğlu, appealed to the Ministry of Forest and Water Management to drop the Tuzluca Dam project, which would destroy the wetland harboring bird wildlife in the Aras Valley. In 2013, the ministry granted the site the highest level of conservation status (Nature Conservation Area).
Gallery
File:Aras-02.jpg|The Aras in the Poldasht District
File:Aras Nehri.jpg|The Aras in Iğdır
File:Aras River, Turkey-Armenia-Iran Border Region.JPG|Photograph of the Aras from space
File:Araz River.jpg|The Araz near Joulfa
File:Aras River with Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan at Right - Iran at Left - Iranian Azerbaijan - Iran (7421349614).jpg|Aras River with Iran to the left and (Karabakh Plains) / Azerbaijan to the right
File:Aras river at Nurduz 04.jpg |Aras river at Nurduz, the border post between Iran and Armenia
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{cite news |url=http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/id/25421859/ |newspaper=NTV MSNBC |title=Aras Kuş Cenneti korunmalı |date=13 February 2013 |language=tr |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714155659/http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/id/25421859/ |url-status=live }}
{{cite news |url=http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/id/25381357/ |newspaper=NTV MSNBC |title=Afrikalı atmaca Türkiye'de halkalandı |date=13 February 2013 |language=tr |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-date=15 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715002701/http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/id/25381357/ |url-status=live }}
{{cite news |url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/aras_kus_cenneti_mujdesi-1143773 |newspaper=Radikal |title=Aras Kuş Cenneti müjdesi |author=Ocak, Serkan |date=28 July 2013 |language=tr |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170725/http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/aras_kus_cenneti_mujdesi-1143773 |url-status=live }}
}}
{{Rivers of Armenia}}
{{Rivers and lakes in Azerbaijan}}
{{Rivers of Iran}}
{{Rivers of Turkey}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:International rivers of Asia
Category:Armenia–Turkey border
Category:National symbols of Armenia
Category:Azerbaijan–Iran border
Category:Azerbaijan–Turkey border
Category:Landforms of Iğdır Province