Artsvanik Dam

This large dam is sited in a strongly seismic zone, and there are several villages right in line with any flood that would result from its collapse. The large town of Kapan is in a different valley, but not far up from where the two valleys join, and is probably not safe from such a flood.

It’s not a reservoir: it’s a tailings dam for a mine. The mine produces copper, molybdenum, gold, and other metals – and as with most mines (particularly opencast mines like this one), there are already serious environmental problems affecting the whole area and its population. Any flood would spread toxic waste on a catastrophic scale, as well as all the other damage the water would cause.

Back to Armenia Thumbnails.