Inter-mountainous concavities

In Armenian Highland there are northern and southern districts of inter-mountainous concavities. The northern district includes the valleys of Araxes and the Western Euphrates, and the southern one consists of the plains of the Aratsani Valley.

Araxes Basin

The Tvratsatap plain spreads over the upper stream of Araxes. The plain is covered by lush tropical vegetation. To the north of it, at an altitude of 1900-2000 meters stretches the plain of Basen which is divided into two parts – Upper Basen and Lower Basen. Tօ the north of Basen, the river Araxes flows into the ravine of Kaghzvan, passes through a 700 meters deep valley and disembogues into the Ararat Plain. The latter is situated at an altitude of 800-1000 meters and consists of Armavir, Artashat and Yeraskhavan plains. The lowland of Nakhijevan is the continuation of the Ararat Plain and is situated at an altitude of 600-800 meters above sea level. In the lower stream of Araxes, the plains of Mughan and Mill extend. The latter are part of the Kura-Araks lowland.

Araxes Plain on the borderline of Armenian and Iran

Euphrates Basin

The plain of Karno extends over the upper valley of Western Euphrates and is situated at an altitude of 200 meters above sea level. The plain is completely covered by marshes. The waters of Western Euphrates are muddied in this part, and the river is referred to as Karasu. From the Karno plain to the lower stream of the river broadens the plain of Ashkala which has a width of 7 kilometers. The latter is separated from the plain of Derjan by the mountain belt of Mariam. The plain of Derjan is enclosed by Mariam, Lusavorich and Kopa mountains. The lower part of the plain gradually narrows and extends towards the plain of Erznka. The ground is extremely fragmented and is considered to be the area with the highest risk of seismic activity. The Erznka Plain is followed by the plateau of Kamakh. This is the only inter-mountainous concavity covered by lava. On the western side of Kamakh Euphrates crosses the mountain system of Mndzur and disembogues through the gorge of Akn into the plain of Kharberd.

Aratsani Basin

In the upper stream of Aratsani at an altitude of about 2300 meters broadens the plain of Daroynk. Here the tributaries of Aratsani conjoin and form the river, which flows towards the plain of Alashkert. Aratsani basin is covered in volcanic rocks from the Tsaghkants mountains, a larger surface area than on Daroynk. To the south of Alashkert, the river flows into the plain of Manazkert which is situated near the Bznunyats Plateau and is more extensive than other lowlands. Here Aratsani meets one of its largest tributaries, Khnus. The latter’s valley is situated on the plain of Khnus. To the south-west of the Manazkert Plain, the valley gradually narrows. The Msho Plain is relatively wide and is the place where Aratsani intersects with the Nela River. To the east of the Msho Plain, the plains of Chapaghjur, Genji and Balahovit extend, and the river flows into the plain of Kharberd which is situated at an altitude of 800-1000 meters. Here the Western Euphrates and the Eastern Euphrates intermingle.

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