Gegharkunik

Gegharkunik is a province of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is the town of Gavar.Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part of Armenia, bordering Azerbaijan. It includes the exclave of Artsvashen, which has been under Azerbaijani occupation since the First Nagorno-Karabakh war. With an area of 5,348 km2 (2,065 sq mi), Gegharkunik is the largest province in Armenia. However, approximately 24% or 1,278 km2 (493 sq mi) of its territory is covered by Lake Sevan, the largest lake in Transcaucasia and a major tourist attraction of the region.

Gegharkunik Province occupies the east of the central part of modern-day Armenia. With an area of 5,349 km2 (18% of total area of Armenia), it is ranked first among the provinces of Armenia in terms of the total area.Historically, the current territory of the province mainly occupies the Gegharkunik and Sotk cantons of Syunik province of Ancient Armenia, along with parts of Mazaz and Varazhnunik cantons of Ayrarat province.Gegharkunik Province is situated at the east of modern-day Armenia, surrounding the Lake Sevan. Within Armenia, it has borders with Tavush Province, Kotayk and Ararat provinces from the west and Vayots Dzor Province from the south. The Dashkasan, Gadabay and Kalbajar districts of Azerbaijan form the eastern border of the province. Shahumyan Region of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was bordered from east between 1993 and 2020.

The Artsvashen Armenian exclave of Gegharkunik Province is currently occupied and controlled by Azerbaijan.Gegharkunik has a mountainous landscape. The territory is dominated by the Gegham mountains from the west, the mountains of Vardenis from the south, Sevan mountains from the east, Miapor mountains from the northeast and the Kenats mountains from the north. The height of the mountains ranges between 2500 and 3500 meters.The highest point of the province is mount Azhdahak of the Gegham mountains with a height of 3597 meters at the western part of the range. Lake Sevan occupies the central part of the province, lying at a height of 1900 meters above sea level and covering an area of 1260 km2.Gegharkunik is separated from Vayots Dzor by the 82 kilometers-long Vardenis Mountains, where the highest point is Mount Vardenis at 3,522 meters.