Location

Lake Sevan is the largest alpine high mountain freshwater lake in the Caucasus region and in Armenia Highland. Lake Sevan is a source of water for irrigation, hydropower, recreation, fish, migratory bird habitat and nursery zones for aquatic and amphibian species.

Latitude 40° 17' 0" (40.2833) Longitude 45° 24' 0" (45.4000) Before human intervention the lake was 95 metres deep, covered an area of 1,360 km2 (5% of Armenia's entire area), had a volume of 58 km3 and a perimeter of 260 km. The lake was located at an altitude of 1,950 m. Sevan trout (Salmo ischan) was an endemic species of the lake, but it is endangered as some competitors were introduced into the lake, e.g. the common whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) from Lake Ladoga, goldfish (Carrasius auratus) and crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus).

If the Sevan trout is likely to become extinct in its "home" lake, it seems that it will survive in Issyk-Kul lake (Kirghizistan) where it was introduced.