Hrazdan River

Hrazdan (Armenian: Հրազդան գետ, Azerbaijani: Zəngi Çayı) is a major river and the second largest in Armenia. It originates at the northwest extremity of Lake Sevan and flows south through the Kotayk Province and Armenia's capital, Yerevan; the lake in turn is fed by several streams. In the Ararat plain it joins the Aras River along the border with Turkey. A series of hydro-electric plants have been constructed on the river. Its waters are in demand to irrigate crops. It also meets drinking water requirements and provides for recreation.

Geography

The Sevan Lake (with 30 rivers contributing to its storage, the largest located in the central part of the country and the Hrazdan River which originates from it, together form the "Sevan-Hrazdan Management Area", which is one of the five sub-basins of the 14 sub-basins of Kura and Araks basins of Armenia. The river originates from the lake at an elevation of 1,900 metres (6,200 ft). The river which flows from the lake in a southern direction passes through a deep gorge as it enters on the western side of the Yerevan city, and then debauchees into the Aras River on the southern side of the city. The geological formations along the river course are made up of lava flows (existing as basalts) generated from three volcanoes in the Gegham range. The lava surfaces represent environments that existed in the form of "lakes, river channels and floodplains". The chronology of landscape of the upper most layer of basalts indicates an age of 200,000 years.

Hrazdan

Hrazdan (Armenian: Հրազդան), is a town in Armenia and the capital of the Kotayk Province, located 45 kilometres (28 miles) northeast of the capital Yerevan. The name Hrazdan is derived from the Middle-Persian name Frazdān, related to the Zoroastrian mythology. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town is 41,875. It has lost a significant number of inhabitants since the 1989 census reported 59,000 people.

During the Soviet period, Hrazdan was one of the highly industrialized centres of the Armenian SSR.

History

Hrazdan is among the towns that have been founded and developed during the Soviet rule. The former village of Akhta (or Nerkin Akhta) -covering the southern parts of present-day Hrazdan- was the centre of the Hrazdan region (formerly known as Akhta region) between 1930-59. In 1959, Akhta village was granted the status of an urban-type settlement and renamed Hrazdan. The first development plan of Hrazdan was introduces in 1961-63 by architects M. Grigoryan and E. Altunyan. Upon the 12 January 1963 decision of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR on the territorial changes in the state, the villages of Atarbekyan, Jrarat, Kakavadzor and Makravan have been merged within the town of Hrazdan. In fact, the town of Hrazdan was formed through the merger of a group of separate villages and settlements. Thus, after becoming a town of regional dependence, Hrazdan had witnessed a major development. The inhabitants of the town were originally from the regions of Sasun, Kars and Mush of Western Armenia, and the regions of Maku, Salmast and Khoy of present-day Iran, who arrived in Soviet Armenia between 1926-29. During the repatriation process, citizens from other regions of Armenia and Armenians from Diaspora were resettled in Hrazdan.

Hrazdan (disambiguation)

Hrazdan may refer to: