ARMENIA

ARMENIA / ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆ.

Landscapes.
Lake Sevan.
Fourth stamp in a set of 5, issued on 24.05.1993.
Face value: 5 Armenian rubles.
Design: Haroutiun Samuelian (b. 1947).
Printed by House of Questa.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 100,000 copies.
Size: 62.5 x 32 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 218.
- Scott No. 455.
- StampWorld No. 244.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 271.
- Unificato No. 195.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 192.

Lake Sevan (Armenian: Սևանա լիճ) is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. Situated in Gegharkunik Province, at 1,900.44 m (6,235 ft) above sea level, it is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude in Eurasia. The total surface area of its basin is about 5,000 km² (1,900 sq mi). Its maximum length is 74 km (46 mi). Sevan was heavily exploited for irrigation of the Ararat plain and hydroelectric power generation during the Soviet period; consequently, its water level decreased by around 20 m (66 ft) and its volume reduced by more than 40%. Later two tunnels were built to divert water from highland rivers, which halted its decline and its level began rising. Sevan originated during the early Quaternary when a Palaeo-Sevan, ten times larger than the present lake, came into existence by tectonic formation. The current lake was formed some 25 to 30 thousand years ago.