page_title: Gegharkunik Province
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Gegharkunik Province / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: Hippophae rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn), Sevan Botanical Garden, Armenia.
context_page_description: Gegharkunik, is a province of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is the town of Gavar.
  Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part of Armenia, bordering Azerbaijan and the Shahumyan Region of de facto Republic of Artsakh. With an area of 5,348 km², Gegharkunik is the largest province in Armenia. However, approximately 24% or 1,278 km² of its territory is covered by Lake Sevan, the largest lake in Transcaucasia and a major tourist attraction of the region.
  The Yerevan-Sevan-Dilijan republican highway runs through the province.
context_section_description: Gegharkunik Province occupies the east of the central part of modern-day Armenia. With an area of 5,349 km² (18% of total area of Armenia), it is ranked first among the provinces of Armenia in terms of the total area.
  Historically, the current territory of the province mainly occupies the Gegharkunik and Sotk cantons of Syunik province of Ancient Armenia, along with parts of Mazaz and Varazhnunik cantons of Ayrarat province.
  Gegharkunik Province is situated at the east of modern-day Armenia, surrounding the Lake Sevan. Within Armenia, it has borders with Tavush Province, Kotayk and Ararat provinces from the west and Vayots Dzor Province from the south. The Dashkasan and Gadabay districts of Azerbaijan, and the Shahumyan Region of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic form the eastern border of the province.
  The Artsvashen Armenian exclave of Gegharkunik Province is currently occupied and controlled by Azerbaijan.
  Gegharkunik has a mountainous landscape. The territory is dominated by the Gegham mountains from the west, the mountains of Vardenis from the south, Sevan mountains from the east, Miapor mountains from the northeast and the Kenats mountains from the north. The height of the mountains ranges between 2500 and 3500 meters.
  The highest point of the province is mount Azhdahak of the Gegham mountains with a height of 3597 meters at the western part of the range. Lake Sevan occupies the central part of the province, lying at a height of 1900 meters above sea level and covering an area of 1260 km². (around 23.5% of the area of Gegharkunik).
  Gegharkunik is separated from Vayots Dzor by the 82 kilometers-long Vardenis Mountains, where the highest point is Mount Vardenis at 3,522 meters.
  The climate of Gegharkunik is cold and snowy in winter, while the summer is characterized with warm and humid climate. The annual precipitation level ranges between 500 and 600 mm at below 2000 meters, while it may reach up to 1000 mm in the mountainous areas.
  Lake Sevan is the largest body of sweet water in Armenia and Southern Caucasus. With a volume of around 32.92 billion m³ of water, Sevan is of a major environmental importance for the entire region.
  Getik, Gavaraget and Masrik are the main rivers of the province.
caption: Hippophae rhamnoides at the Sevan Botanical Garden
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