Yerevan has been the capital and largest city of Armenia since 1918. From the early days, Armenia had other capitals of which Yerevan is the thirteenth. As a city, Yerevan dates back to the eighth century. The city is in the center-west of the country on the edge of Hrazdan River. The city lies in the north-eastern part of the Ararat plain. The lowest part of Yerevan has an elevation of 2,837.93 feet while the highest part has an elevation of 4,560.37 feet above sea level. Yerevan is not part of any Armenian province but borders Kotayk, Ararat, Armavir, and Aragatsotn provinces.

As of 2011, the population of Yerevan was about 1,060,138. The total population is almost evenly distributed within the 12 districts with a total area of 86 square miles. 2016 estimates show the district populations to be Ajapnyak (109,100), Arabkir (115,800), Avan (53,100), Davtashen (42,500), Erebuni (126,500), Kanaker-Zeytun (74,100), Kentron (125,700), Malatia-Sebastia (135,900), Nork-Marash (11,800), Nor Nork (130,300), Nubarashen (9,800), and Shengavit (139,100).

Being an old but continuously inhabited city, tourists get attracted to some heritage buildings as well as historical records. Some notable attractions are Erebuni Fortress (the city’s birthplace), the old Katoghike Tsiranavor church, Saint Gregory Cathedral, Tsitsernakaberd memorial site, Yerevan Opera Theatre, National Archives of Armenia, the National Library of Armenia, the National Gallery of Armenia, the History Museum of Armenia, the Matenadaran, and the Cafesjian Museum of Art. In 2012, UNESCO named Yerevan as the year’s World Book Capital and since then, the number of foreign tourists has been on the increase. This trend led to the development of many world-class hotels and facilities like the Ani Plaza Hotel, Armenia Marriott Hotel, Radisson Blu Hotel, and the Best Western.

The climate of Yerevan can is a continental-influenced steppe climate or simply a cold semi-arid climate. Summers are usually long, hot and dry but winters are very cold and full of snow. This kind of climate is a direct result of being on a plain in between mountains and distance from the sea. During summer, August temperatures often go as high as 40 degrees Celsius whereas, during winter, January can go to temperatures lower than -15 degrees Celisus with an average of 2,700 sunlight hours each year. Precipitation is normally low.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

More on Graphicmaps