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Nemrut Caldera and Eastern Anatolian Volcanoes

Nemrut Caldera and Eastern Anatolian Volcanoes

Nemrut Caldera and Eastern Anatolian Volcanoes

Nemrut Caldera and Eastern Anatolian Volcanoes

Among the Eastern Anatolian volcanoes, the major volcanic centers are Ararat, Tendürek, Suphan, and Nemrut. Ararat (Ağrı Dağı) is the largest volcanic center, comprising of two stratovolcanoes, Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat. The former is Anatolia's highest point, reaching a height of almost 5000 meters. Tendürek is a shield volcano with two peaks that ejected a large volume of basalt lava in the form of pahoehoe and aa flows. It has a semi-caldera that isn't well defined. Suphan is a small stratovolcano with a silicic dome on top. With a height of almost 4000 m, it is Anatolia's second-highest topographic elevation. The volcano is surrounded by a ring of secondary cones and tiny domes. Nemrut is the biggest of a series of north-south trending volcanoes. It's a stratovolcano with a caldera lake and a well-defined collapse caldera. Over the last 1 to 2 million years, various volcanic ejecta has been extruded from these volcanic sites.

Nemrut is a dormant volcano near Lake Van in Eastern Turkey. The volcano was named after King Nimrod, who reigned over this region in 2100 BC. Nemrut's most violent eruptions occurred during the Pleistocene epoch. It is the area's sole volcano that has erupted in recorded history. Several minor eruptions occurred during the Holocene, the most recent of which occurred in 1650. The volcano's summit is a huge caldera with three crater lakes.

In 2003, the caldera was designated as a natural monument. The crater lake is surrounded by a 4.8-square-kilometer protected area (1.9 sq mi). The Nemrut Caldera Natural Monument (Turkish: Nemrut Kalderası Tabiat Anıtı) is preserved as a tourist attraction, a first-class protected area, and a wetland.

In 2013, Turkey's government recognized the caldera's wetland as the country's 14th Ramsar site.

Cutting reed in the crater and fishing in the lake are both prohibited; however, animal grazing is permitted surrounding the caldera. In 2007, a winter sports & ski complex was built on the caldera's southern slope. Overgrazing is the most serious environmental hazard threatening the area.