Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - V. To Erivan. The physical features of Armenia
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124 ARMENIA AND THE NEAR EAST
can explain this state of things ; especially as there must
be more rain on the slopes than on the plain, and presumably
enough for some trees to grow there, if the conditions were
favourable in other ways.
The soil on the mountain slopes consists chiefly of lava,
tuff, and volcanic ashes ; it is so porous that the water sinks
in and disappears from the surface. A remarkable illustration
of this is the fact that, although the summit of Mount Ararat
is covered by an enormous snowcap which melts rapidly all
through the summer, not a single river flows down from that
mighty mountain. Only a few streams come from the snowy
peak of Mount Alagoz in summer, for there, too, most of the
water sinks into the porous ground. In some places it reap
pears at the foot of the mountain in the form of springs of
pure clear water ; and certain rivers, such as Kara Su on the
plain south-west and south of Echmiadzin, obviously come
from such springs, and carry a considerable volume of clear
water which is not so good for irrigation purposes as the
muddy water of the Arax. The nåme Kara Su—the dark
river—aliudes to the fact that its water is clear, and that the
river thus looks dark.
One reason why such rain as there is does not foster the
growth of trees or other permanent vegetation is, no doubt,
that it often falls in brief, violent showers ; one can see traces
of these in the deeply furrowed courses of the streams on the
mountain-sides, with great quantities of gravel and stones
that have been swept down by the foaming torrents. Between
these downpours there may be long periods of drought.
But this does not seem to offer a complete explanation of
the absence of trees. Were there never trees and a richer
vegetation in these parts ? We have very little evidence to
go upon. High up on the sides of Ararat there are some
stunted birches and shrubs which may possibly be remnants
of former woods ; and on the other mountain slopes there
may also have been woods, which were cut down in earlier
times and could not grow up again. Another reason account
ing for the destruction of the vegetation is that the inhabitants
usually burn the dry grass and stubble on the fields every
spring to improve the grazing for their animals ; very likely
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