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Mount Ararat fact sheet: key figures and where they come from

Ararat Info · Checked 25 September 2026

This sheet collects the main figures about Mount Ararat in one place, each with its source and the page of this site where it is explained. Where sources disagree, both values are given. Figures from the nineteenth century are records of their time, not current measurements. Metric equivalents of foot values are this reference’s conversions.

The mountain

Fact Value Source More
Turkish name Ağrı Dağı Ağrı Governorship; GoTürkiye names
Armenian name Massis Parrot (1846); Bryce (1878) names
Persian name Kuh-i Nuh, “mountain of Noah” Bryce (1878); Ağrı Governorship names
Region Eastern Anatolia, near the border with Iran Ağrı Governorship geographic setting
Rivers on either side Aras and Murat Ağrı Governorship geographic setting
Height of Greater Ağrı 5,137 m GoTürkiye; Ağrı Governorship elevation
Height of Little Ağrı 3,896 m GoTürkiye; Ağrı Governorship elevation
Width of the massif at its base about 35 km GoTürkiye geographic setting
Size of the massif about 25 miles NW–SE, about half as wide Bryce (1878) geographic setting
Distance between the two summits about 7 miles (12,440 yards by Fedorov) Parrot (1846) geographic setting
Latitude 39°42′ N Bryce (1878) geographic setting
Nature two volcanic cones; summit a dormant volcanic cone GoTürkiye geology and nature
Rock sequence basalt to about 4,000 m, andesite lavas above Ağrı Governorship geology and nature

Surroundings

Fact Value Source More
Aras plain below the north and east sides 2,500–2,800 ft (about 760–850 m) Bryce (1878) geographic setting
Plain at Aralykh 790 m Brockhaus and Efron (1890–1907) geographic setting
Plateau of Bayazid (Doğubayazıt) 4,000–5,000 ft (about 1,220–1,520 m) Bryce (1878) geographic setting
Col linking Ararat to the north-west ridge about 7,000 ft (about 2,130 m) Bryce (1878) geographic setting
Sardarbulakh, on the saddle between the peaks 7,514 ft (about 2,290 m) Bryce (1878) features on a map
Saddle between the peaks 2,688 m Brockhaus and Efron elevation
Height of summit above the Aras plain 14,320 ft (about 4,365 m) Parrot (1846) elevation

Snow, ice and climate

Fact Value Source More
Snow line, 1829 (mean of two sides) about 14,080 ft (about 4,292 m) Parrot (1846) snow and ice
Snow line, 1876 nearly 14,000 ft (about 4,270 m) Bryce (1878) snow and ice
Glacier area, 1977 8.9 km² USGS EROS snow and ice
Glacier area, 2013 5.3 km² USGS EROS snow and ice
Glacier in the north-eastern chasm, 1876 nearly a mile long, 200–400 yards wide, from about 8,000 to nearly 10,000 ft Bryce (1878) features on a map
Mean temperature, January / August, Ağrı station −10.4 °C / 21.4 °C (1940–2025) MGM climate
Mean precipitation, April / August, Ağrı station 71.0 mm / 12.7 mm (1940–2025) MGM climate
Annual rainfall at Aralykh, 19th century 6.08 inches (about 154 mm) Bryce (1878) climate
Months called most suitable for climbing July, August, September Ağrı Governorship climate

Status and administration

Fact Value Source More
National park declared in 2004 GoTürkiye hazards and environment
Climbing subject to permission Ağrı Governorship (page dated 14.09.2020) permits and access
Approach line to the main summit named officially Doğubayazıt – Topçatan – Eli Çiftliği Ağrı Governorship route names

Dates

Event Date Source More
Peace between Russia and Persia making Ararat a Russian frontier 10 February 1828 Parrot (1846) permits and access
First recorded ascent of Great Ararat 27 September (9 October) 1829 Parrot (1846); Ağrı Governorship gives 9 October climbing history
Parrot’s ascent of Little Ararat 27 October (8 November) 1829 Parrot (1846) elevation
Abich reaches the eastern top 1845 Bryce (1878) turnaround decisions
Earthquake and rockfall destroying Arguri and St Jacob’s monastery 20 June 1840 (Old Style, per Bryce) Bryce (1878); Parrot (1846 appendix) hazards and environment
Chodzko’s survey party on the summit 1850 (Brockhaus and Efron: 1860) Bryce (1878) climbing history
Bryce’s ascent September 1876 Bryce (1878) climbing history
Winter ascent recorded by the Governorship 21 February 1970 Ağrı Governorship climbing history

Sources

  1. Ağrı Valiliği, Ağrı Dağı (page dated 14.09.2020). Checked 14 September 2026.
  2. GoTürkiye, Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı) in Ağrı. Checked 14 September 2026.
  3. Friedrich Parrot, Journey to Ararat, translated by W. D. Cooley, New York: Harper and Bros., 1846. Internet Archive. Read 25 September 2026.
  4. James Bryce, Transcaucasia and Ararat, 3rd ed., London: Macmillan, 1878. Internet Archive. Read 25 September 2026.
  5. «Арарат, горы», Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона (1890–1907). Wikisource. Read 14 September 2026.
  6. USGS EROS Center, RBV Images Mount Ararat. Checked 14 September 2026.
  7. Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü, statistics page for Ağrı. Read 25 September 2026.