Ararat, mountain in extreme eastern Turkey, near the border with Armenia and Iran. Except on the northwest, where a spur nearly 2134 m (7000 ft) high merges with a long ridge, the mountain is completely isolated, being surrounded on all other sides by elevated plains ranging from about 760 to 1370 m (about 2500 to 4500 ft) above sea level. From an elevation of about 2680 m (about 8800 ft) Mount Ararat rises in two peaks, known as Great Ararat (5137 m/16,854 ft) and Little Ararat (3914 m/12,840 ft). Above the 4267-m (14,000-ft) level, Great Ararat is perpetually covered with snow. Vegetation, consisting for the most part of grasses, is chiefly confined to the area between about 1525 and 3355 m (about 5000 and 11,000 ft). According to the Old Testament (see Genesis 8:4), Noah's ark landed on the "mountains of Ararat" after the deluge. Great Ararat was first climbed in modern times in 1829. On July 2, 1840, great masses of the mountain were torn loose by a violent earthquake. The resulting avalanche buried a village and a convent on its lower slopes. An American expedition ascended Mount Ararat in the summer of 1949 in an unsuccessful search for evidence of the existence of Noah's ark. Recent expeditions have reported finding timbers that members believe to have come from the ark.
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