Natural Conditions of Armenia

Abstract

Armenia is a South Caucasian republic, bordering with Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Iran. It is a landlocked country with a total area of 29,740 km², at a distance of about 145 km from the Black Sea and 175 km from the Caspian Sea. It lies between 38°50′ and 41°18′ of northern latitude and between 43°27′ and 46°37′ eastern longitude and measures 400 km along its main axis (northwest to southeast). Armenia is generally a mountainous country, having its lowest point of 375 m above sea level and culminating at 4095 m with an average altitude of 1850 m (Fig. 1.1). Forty-four percent of the territory of Armenia are high mountainous areas, not suitable for inhabitation. The degree of land use is strongly unproportional. The zones under intensive development make 18.2% of the territory of Armenia with a concentration of 87.7% of total population. On these areas, the population density exceeds several times the ecological threshold index (200 person/km²) reaching here up to 480–558 person/km². The poorly developed zones make 38.0% of the territory, where only 12.3% of total population resides with a very low density of 11–20 person/km². The zones under intensive development are provided with engineering-transportation infrastructures. In this zone, there are the most available public services, more human resources, and financial opportunities. Simultaneously, the poorly developed areas have rich natural resources with preserved unique natural ecosystems, beautiful landscapes, clean water and air, and biological resources (Gabrielyan 1986; Fayvush and Aleksanyan 2016).