Porak

About Porak

The mid-Pleistocene Porak volcano lies in the Vardenis volcanic highland about 20 km SE of Lake Sevan. The volcanic field straddles the Armenia/Azerbaijan border, and lava flows extend into both countries. The flanks contain 10 satellitic cones and fissure vents. It was constructed along the active Pambak-Sevan strike-slip fault, which has bisected the mid-Pleistocene Khonarassar volcano, separating its two halves by about 800 m. Two large lava flows traveled up to 21 km north and NW, and fresh-looking lava flows form peninsulas extending into Lake Alagyol. Fifth century BCE petroglyphs were interpreted to depict volcanic eruptions (Karakhanian et al., 2002). Porak is referred to in a cuneiform inscription as Mount Bamni, and stratigraphic and archeological evidence indicates that an explosive eruption also producing a lava flow occurred at the time of a military battle dated to 782-773 BCE.