Ararat, Armenia

Ararat
Արարատ

World War II memorial in Ararat
Ararat
Coordinates: 39°48′34″N 44°42′52″E / 39.80944°N 44.71444°E
Country Armenia
Marz (Province) Ararat
Founded 1920
Government
 • Mayor Hayk Haykian
Area
 • Total 6 km2 (2 sq mi)
Elevation 825 m (2,707 ft)
Population (2009)
 • Total 20,700
 • Density 245.5/km2 (636/sq mi)
Time zone   (UTC+4)
Sources: Population [1]

Coordinates: 39°48′34″N 44°42′52″E / 39.80944°N 44.71444°E

Ararat (Armenian: Արարատ) is a town in the Ararat Province of Armenia, located 42 km (26 mi) southeast of Yerevan.

The cement factory of Ararat has been operating since 1927 along with few apartments to accommodate the workers. In 1935, the settlement was merged with the village of Davalu. The town was officially founded in 1920 as Davalu and renamed Ararart in 1947.[2]

Economy

Currently, the town has two major factories: the Ararat Cement factory and the Ararat Gold Recovery Company. The ecology of the city is in danger due to emissions of cement dust and cyanide from the gold manufacturing plants. In the summer of 2005, the impurity of the atmosphere was recorded to be 9.6 times the acceptable norm.

Climate

Ararat has a desert climate with low precipitation each month. Winters are cold, especially at night, and somewhat snowy, with highs usually from 30-45 and lows 15-30. Summers are long and hot with 100 degree weather being common.

Climate data for Ararat
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 35
(2)		 42
(6)		 55
(13)		 64
(18)		 76
(24)		 83
(28)		 93
(34)		 93
(34)		 83
(28)		 70
(21)		 56
(13)		 41
(5)		 65.9
(18.8)
Average low °F (°C) 19
(−7)		 22
(−6)		 33
(1)		 44
(7)		 52
(11)		 59
(15)		 67
(19)		 66
(19)		 56
(13)		 45
(7)		 33
(1)		 25
(−4)		 43.4
(6.3)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.9
(23)		 0.5
(13)		 0.2
(5)		 0.8
(20)		 0.8
(20)		 0.4
(10)		 0.3
(8)		 0.7
(18)		 0.1
(3)		 0.5
(13)		 0.7
(18)		 0.2
(5)		 6.1
(156)

Controversy over the Ararat Gold Company

Besides the various enterprises based on the manufacturing of building materials, the city is also home to the Ararat Gold Recovery Company (AGRC) which extracts gold from the raw ore sent from the gold mine in Sotk which is 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Lake Sevan.[3] About 0.46 grams of gold is extracted from each ton of sand unearthed at the mines. The extraction process involves first pulverizing the raw material, and then filtering out the gold using a cyanide nitrate chemical process.[3]

The soupy byproduct of the cyanide nitrate chemical process is both toxic and radioactive and collects in a tailings dam. There have been numerous incidents of animals dying near and around the plant's area.[3] Also, within the years 2003 and 2008, there have been at least 10 accidents at the plant, some of which have resulted in the discharge of the cyanide soup into neighboring agricultural lands and fisheries, killing off cows and fish stock.[3]

Sport

Araks Ararat had represented the town in domestic and international football competitions. The club was founded in 1960 and dissolved in 2001 due to financial difficulties. They won the Armenian Premier League in 2 occasions: in 1998 as Tsement Ararat and in 2000 as Araks Ararat. In 2001, the president of Araks Ararat; Abraham Babayn was unable to finance the club. However, in August 2001, the rights of the club were sold to a new sponsor based in Yerevan and Araks Ararat FC was dissolved.

At the end of 2001, another football club with the name of FC Araks was founded in the town, in an effort to keep the football traditions alive among the new generation of Ararat. However, after 4 years of major difficulties, the financially struggling club was dissolved in 2005.

The town is served by the all-seater Ayg Stadium with a capacity of 1,280 spectators. It is part of a large sport complex with many other structures including an indoor sports hall, indoor swimming pool, billiards saloon, mini-football ground and other facilities.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Ararat is twinned with

Famous natives

The statue of Vazgen Sargsyan at the central town square

References

  1. ↑ Armstats:Population
  2. ↑ Armenian settlements dictionary
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Behind Gold’s Luster Lie Lands Torn Asunder and Urgent Questions, Hetq Online, May 19, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Armtown.com".