Upper Miocene, Pliocene, and Quaternary stratigraphic reference sections of large intermontane depressions in Armenia

Information on integral reference sections of the large Shirk, Sevan, and Ararat inter-montane depressions in the VorotanAkera interuve with thickest (up to 2000 m) Upper Miocene, Pliocene, and Quaternary sediments is presented. In the late Sarmatian, the present-day Sevan, Ararat, and Shirak intermontane depressions were flooded by waters of the Eastern Paratethys. Signicant reduction of the Paratethys in the Meotian and Pontian resulted in its retreat with the formation of a large lake.