Aragatsotn Province
Aragatsotn exhibits altitude zonation: Mount Aragats (4,090m) shapes vertical settlement patterns while Metsamor Nuclear Plant creates concentrated energy dependency.
Aragatsotn Province takes its name from Mount Aragats (4,090 meters), Armenia's highest peak and the dormant volcano dominating its landscape. The province represents altitude-dependent zonation in human settlement: the Ararat Plain lowlands support intensive agriculture while the mountain slopes host ancient fortresses and monasteries positioned for defensive advantage. Amberd Fortress, built at 2,300 meters in the 7th century, exemplifies this vertical defense strategy—attackers exhausted themselves climbing while defenders held the high ground.
The province contains Armenia's nuclear dependency in concentrated form. The Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, built in Soviet times near the Turkish border, provides roughly 40% of Armenia's electricity. Operating since 1976 and restarted after a 1988 earthquake shutdown, it represents both energy security and concentrated risk—a single facility creating national-scale vulnerability if disrupted.