page_title: Lake Sevan
section_title: Reversal and recovery
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Sevan / Human intervention / Reversal and recovery
caption_attribution_description: English: Lake Sevan, its tunnels, the Hrazdan Sevan cascade used this map as a base: http://armenpress.am/static/news/b/2014/12/789744.jpg
context_page_description: Lake Sevan, is the largest body of water in Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of 1,900 m above sea level. The total surface area of its basin is about 5,000 km², which makes up ​¹⁄₆ of Armenia's territory. The lake itself is 1,242 km², and the volume is 32.8 km³. It is fed by 28 rivers and streams. Only 10% of the incoming water is drained by the Hrazdan River, while the remaining 90% evaporates.
  The lake provides some 90% of the fish and 80% of the crayfish catch of Armenia. Sevan has significant economic, cultural, and recreational value. Its sole major island is home to a medieval monastery.
  Sevan was heavily exploited for irrigation of the Ararat plain and hydroelectric power generation during the Soviet period. Consequently, its water level decreased by around 20 m and its volume reduced by more than 40%. Later two tunnels were built to divert water from highland rivers, which halted its decline and its level began rising.
context_section_description: According to Babayan et al. "by the 1950s it had become evident that the ecological and economic consequences of extensive exploitation of the water of Lake Sevan were too undesirable to continue in the same way."
caption: Map showing the two tunnels bringing water to the lake and the Hrazdan River and the six hydroelectric power stations built on it.
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