ARMENIA - Lake Sevan, Noratus, Hayravank, Sevanavank

Lake Sevan (Armenian: Սևանա լիճ Sevana lič) is the largest lake in Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude lakes in the world.
Lake Sevan is situated in the central part of the Republic of Armenia, in the Gegharkunik Province, at the altitude of 1,900 m (6,200 ft) above sea level. The total surface area of its basin is about 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi), the lake itself is 940 km2, and the volume is 34.0 billion m3. It is fed by 28 rivers and streams. Only 10% of the outgoing water is drained by the Hrazdan (Razdan) river, while the remaining 90% evaporates.
Before human intervention dramatically changed the Lake Sevan ecosystem, the lake was 95 m (312 ft) deep, covered an area of 1,360 km² (5% of Armenia's entire area), had a volume of 58 km³ and had a perimeter of 260 km. The lake surface was at an altitude of 1,916 m above sea level.
Along with Lake Van and Lake Urmia, Sevan was considered one of the three great lakes of the historical Armenian Kingdom, collectively referred to as the 'Seas of Armenia'; it is the only one within the boundaries of today's Republic of Armenia. The Sevan peninsula (formerly an island) is home to a medieval monastery.

Noratus cemetery, also spelled Noraduz, (Armenian: Նորատուսի գերեզմանատուն) is a medieval cemetery with a large number of early khachkars located in the village of Noratus, Gegharkunik marz near Gavar and Lake Sevan, 90 km north of Yerevan.

Hayravank (Armenian: Հայրավանք) is a 9th-12th century Armenian monastery located just northeast of the village of Hayravank along the southwest shores of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. The monastic complex consists of a church, chapel, and gavit.

Sevanavank (Armenian: Սևանավանք; meaning Sevan Monastery) is a monastic complex located on a peninsula at the northwestern shore of Lake Sevan in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, not far from the town of Sevan. Initially the monastery was built at the southern shore of a small island. After the artificial draining of Lake Sevan, which started in the era of Joseph Stalin, the water level fell about 20 metres, and the island transformed into a peninsula. At the southern shore of this newly created peninsula, a guesthouse of the Armenian Writers' Union was built. The eastern shore is occupied by the Armenian president's summer residence, while the monastery's still active seminary moved to newly constructed buildings at the northern shore of the peninsula.

Wikipedia