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The Aras is a transboundary river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between Iran and both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and, finally, through Azerbaijan where it flows into the Kura river as a right tributary. It drains the south side of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, while the Kura drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus. The river's total length is and its Drainage basin covers an area of . The Aras is one of the longest rivers in the Caucasus.
The lowest point in Armenia is a point along the Aras at an elevation of .
According to a legend cited by Strabo, in ancient times, the Araxes river in Armenia had no outflow to the Caspian Sea, but spread out in plains and created a lake without outflow.
During Islamic times, the Araxes became known in Arabic parlance as al-Rass (not to be confused with modern-day Ar Rass) and in Perso-Turkish contexts as Aras.
In modern history, the Aras gained significance as a geographic political boundary. Under the terms of the Treaty of Gulistan and the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the river was chosen as the border limit between the Russian Empire and Qajar dynasty, as the latter was forced to cede its Caucasus territories to Russia. Because of these 19th-century border changes, one modern, not widely accepted scheme draws Aras River as the line of continental demarcation between Europe and Asia.
In 1963–1970, Iran and the Soviet Union built the Aras Dam near the Azerbaijani city of Nakhchivan, creating the Aras Reservoir. In 1999–2008, Iran built the Khoda Afarin Dam near the historic Khudafarin Bridges, creating the Khoda Afarin Reservoir, and the Giz Galasi Dam 12 km down the river, creating the Giz Galasi Reservoir. Iran and Armenia are planning to build the Meghri Dam near the Armenian town of Meghri.
A Biology professor at the University of Utah and a president of the KuzeyDoğa Society, Çağan Şekercioğlu, appealed to the Ministry of Forest and Water Management to drop the Tuzluca Dam project, which would destroy the wetland harboring bird wildlife in the Aras Valley. In 2013, the ministry granted the site the highest level of conservation status (Nature Conservation Area).
Aras Valley
In 2006, a bird research and education center was established by KuzeyDoğa, a Turkish non-governmental organization for nature conservation, in the Aras Valley at the village Yukarı Çıyrıklı, in the Tuzluca district of Iğdır Province, Turkey. It is one of Turkey's two bird-ringing stations that remain active yearly. Between 2006 and 2021, more than 145,000 birds of 201 species were ringed, and 306 bird species were observed at this station. Sixty-three percent of the 489 bird species found in Turkey are recorded at this wetland, making it eastern Turkey's most species-rich wetland for birds. The number of ringed and observed 306 bird species comprises 90 percent of the 340 bird species in Iğdır Province, the most bird species rich landlocked province of Turkey. Seven new bird species were observed during the bird ringing activities in 2012 alone, including the raptor Shikra, or Little Banded Goshawk ( Accipiter badius), which was new to Turkey's avifauna.
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Categories: International Rivers Of Asia, Rivers Of Turkey, Rivers Of Armenia, Rivers Of Azerbaijan, Rivers Of Iran, Armenia–iran Border, Armenia–turkey Border, National Symbols Of Armenia, Azerbaijan–iran Border, Azerbaijan–turkey Border, Landforms Of Iğdır Province, Landforms Of Erzurum Province, Border Rivers, Lowest Points Of Countries
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