Lake Kari, High-altitude lake on Mount Aragats, Aragatsotn Region, Armenia.
Lake Kari rests at an elevation of approximately 10,449 feet (3,185 meters) on the slopes of Mount Aragats, covering about 0.046 square miles (0.12 square kilometers) with a maximum depth of 26 feet (8 meters) and perimeter of roughly 3,773 feet (1,150 meters).
Historical accounts suggest that Lake Kari may have been created through human activity during the pre-Urartian period to serve irrigation needs, and in the 17th century, Catholicos Pilippos I directed efforts to divert its waters to the Amberd River through a canal that later vanished.
In 1943, physicists Abraham and Artem Alikhanyan established a cosmic ray research station adjacent to Lake Kari, which has contributed substantially to scientific studies of cosmic radiation and continues to operate today for ongoing research in high-altitude physics.
Access to Lake Kari is typically available through roads from Agarak village and a route connecting to the Armenian alphabet monument, though these roads remain closed during winter due to heavy snowfall that can persist into late May, making travel highly seasonal.
The lake remains frozen for approximately eight to nine months each year due to its extreme elevation, and despite the artificial introduction of Sevan trout in 1963, the fish displayed faster growth rates than their counterparts in Lake Sevan, revealing notable ecological adaptations.
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