THE RELIEF OF ARAGATSOTN REGION AS A TOURIST RESOURCE

Abstract

The touristic-recreational assessment of the relief is an important process in the economic development of the territory, especially since it becomes essential today, when tourism is one of the main directions of economic development of Armenia. In this article the touristic-recreational potential of the Aragatsotn relief is presented, which will be useful for travel companies, as well as for tourists. The relief of the Aragatsotn region stands out for its diversity, which is due to the peculiarities of natural conditions and geological structure. The relief of the region is divided into various orographic units, based on some indicators that have different opportunities for organizing recreation. In the article, with the use of modern GIS technologies, a morphometric analysis of the relief of the Aragatsotn region was performed. The basis for the creation of maps was digital terrain models compiled using ASTER GDEM satellite data, which have high accuracy and detail. As a result, several thematic maps were compiled: hypsometry, surface slopes and slope exposures, and these maps were analyzed from the perspective of assessing recreational potential. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the relief of the Aragatsotn region, with its morphometry, creates favorable conditions for the development of tourism.