Lake Sevan 5
Sevan is the second largest mountain lake after Lake Titicaca in South America. At 1,900m above sea level, the air is much cooler than back in Yerevan – which was just as well for climbing the 321 steps to the top of the peninsula.
In 1910 one of the civil engineers behind the interventions that caused the Aral Sea disaster, suggested the lowering of Lake Sevan's surface to 45 metres and the use of the water for irrigation and hydroelectricity. The Armenian Supreme Soviet approved the plan without consulting the local people, and major work started in 1933. The water level then began to fall by more than one metre per year to a total of 19m. An ecological disaster like in the Aral Sea was avoided when the Stalinist era ended in 1956 and the project and its consequences were reviewed thoroughly. There are current plans to bring the water level back up by several metres over the next 30 years.
Lake Sevan 5
Sevan is the second largest mountain lake after Lake Titicaca in South America. At 1,900m above sea level, the air is much cooler than back in Yerevan – which was just as well for climbing the 321 steps to the top of the peninsula.
In 1910 one of the civil engineers behind the interventions that caused the Aral Sea disaster, suggested the lowering of Lake Sevan's surface to 45 metres and the use of the water for irrigation and hydroelectricity. The Armenian Supreme Soviet approved the plan without consulting the local people, and major work started in 1933. The water level then began to fall by more than one metre per year to a total of 19m. An ecological disaster like in the Aral Sea was avoided when the Stalinist era ended in 1956 and the project and its consequences were reviewed thoroughly. There are current plans to bring the water level back up by several metres over the next 30 years.