Mount Aragats (, ) is an isolated four-peaked volcano massif in Armenia. Its northern summit, at above sea level, is the highest point of the Lesser Caucasus and Armenia. It is also one of the highest points in the Armenian Highlands. The Aragats massif is surrounded by Kasagh River on the east, Akhurian River on the west, Ararat plain on the south and Shirak plain on the north. The circumference of the massif is around , and covers an area of or around of Armenia's total area. of the massif is located above . Etymology and names According to Armenian tradition, Aragats originates from the words Արա Ara + գահ gah, which translates to "Ara's throne". Ara refers to the legendary hero Ara the Beautiful. Aragats was mentioned by the early medieval historian Movses Khorenatsi, who in his History of Armenia claims that the mountain is named after Aramaneak, the son of Hayk, the legendary patriarch of the Armenian people. Aramaneak called his possessions "the foot of Aragats" (classical Armenian: ոտն Արագածոյ, otn Aragats'oy; modern: Aragatsotn). The modern Aragatsotn Province, dominated by the mountain, was formed in 1995. The name of the mountain is less often spelled Aragatz or Aragac. A relatively modern name for the mountain is Alagöz (), sometimes spelled Alagheuz, which literally means "variegated eye" in Turkish and Azerbaijani. This term was widely used up until the mid-20th century in European, Tsarist Russian, and early Soviet sources. Another version, Alagyaz (Ալագյազ), has been used in Armenian. A village on the foot of Aragats is named Alagyaz. Geography and geology Aragats is isolated from Armenia's other mountain ranges. However, it is considered part and the highest point of the larger Lesser Caucasus mountain range. It has four summits, which are named according to their relative geographic position: Northern— Western— Eastern— Southern— Mount Aragats has a topographic prominence of 2,143 meters, more than some higher mountains, such as Dykh-Tau (5,205 m high) in Russian part of Great Caucasus Range. Situated northwest of Armenian capital Yerevan, Aragats is a large volcano with numerous fissure vents and adventive cones. Numerous large lava flows descend from the volcano and are constrained in age between middle Pleistocene and 3,000 BCE. The summit crater is cut by a long line of cones which generated possibly Holocene-age lahars and lava flows. The volcanic system covers an area of 5,000 km2 and is one of the