Highest Mountains in Turkey

Geography

Mount Ararat is located in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, between the provinces of Ağrı and Iğdır, near the border with Iran, Armenia and Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between the Aras and Murat rivers. The Serdarbulak lava plateau, at 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) of elevation, separates the peaks of Greater and Little Ararat. There are Doğubayazıt Reeds on the western slopes of Mount Ararat. Ararat's summit is located west of the Turkey-Iran border and south of the Turkey-Armenia border. The Ararat plain runs along its northwest to western side.

Ararat is the third most prominent mountain in West Asia behind Elbrus and Damavand.

Geology

Mount Ararat is a polygenic, compound stratovolcano. Covering an area of 1,100 km2 (420 sq mi), it is the largest volcanic edifice within the region. Along its northwest–southeast trending long axis, Mount Ararat is about 45 kilometers (28 mi) long and is about 30 kilometers (19 mi) long along its short axis. It consists of about 1,150 km3 (280 cu mi) of dacitic and rhyolitic pyroclastic debris and dacitic, rhyolitic, and basaltic lavas.

Mount Ararat consists of two distinct volcanic cones, Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat (Little Ararat). The western volcanic cone, Greater Ararat, is a steep-sided volcanic cone that is larger and higher than the eastern volcanic cone.

Geography and etymology

The name Kaçkar (from Armenian khachkar (Խաչքար) literally meaning "cross stone") may be used in various senses. It may describe the whole mountain range, including the many mountain groups, or it may just describe the Kaçkar-Kavron group with its highest peak, or just the highest peak itself.

Mount Kaçkar is about 40 km from the Black Sea Coast and 70 km from the eastern border with Georgia and the port city Batumi there. The Turkish coastal cities Rize and Trabzon are about 70 and 120 km west of the mountain.

The surrounding mountain ranges are about 400 km long and represent the eastern third of the Pontic Mountains.

Geology and geomorphology

Erciyes lies in the Kayseri Province of Turkey. The city of Kayseri lies 15 kilometres (9.3 mi)-25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Erciyes volcano; some lava domes generated by the volcano are within the urban limits. Other towns in the region are Talas and Hacilar, also north of Erciyes but closer to the volcano (19 kilometres (12 mi) and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), respectively), Develi, located south, and İncesu, located west and southwest of the volcano. Access to the summit area is difficult. Climbers in antiquity reported that both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean could be seen from the summit.

Mount Erciyes and Mount Hasan are both large stratovolcanoes that lie in Central Anatolia, on the Anatolian Plate.

Eruptive history

A number of potassium–argon dates have been obtained for Erciyes, ranging from 2.59 ± 0.1 million years ago to 80,000 ± 10,000 years ago. Some stratigraphic units from Erciyes have been dated. Early volcanic activity occurred at the same time as the initial formation of the Erciyes basin. Since about 88,000 - 85,000 years ago, the average magma production rate has been about 0.1 cubic kilometres per millennium (0.024 mi3/ka), with a long-term flux about four times larger.

The oldest volcanic activity at Erciyes is known as Koç Dağ, which forms the eastern slope of Erciyes. This complex erupted pyroxene andesite, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) long lava flows from Topakkaya Tepe cone and 0.2 cubic kilometres (0.048 cu mi) dense rock equivalent of fall deposits and scoria from Kızıl Tepe.

Climate and biology

The climate of the region is influenced by topography, with the Taurus and Kaçkar Mountains blocking the entry of moisture into Anatolia. Summers are dry and hot and winters snowy and cold; in Kayseri, summer temperatures are about 19 °C (66 °F) and winter temperature about 0 °C (32 °F). Precipitation at Kayseri falls mostly in autumn, winter, and spring and amounts to 383 millimetres (15.1 in) per year. In Develi, south of Erciyes, maximum temperatures are about 29.5 °C (85.1 °F) and minimum temperatures −5.6 °C (21.9 °F). Estimated temperatures at 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) altitude are about −0.4 °C (31.3 °F), and precipitation 722 millimetres (28.4 in) per year. Groundwater under Kayseri is recharged from the mountain.