Dr. Shirley's Web Courses
NASA Mirror Pages
These Pages are provided primarily for students at ENMU (Eastern New Mexico University) who are enrolled in the Course REL 433 - Biblical Archaeology, given by Dr. Shirley Rollinson. They may also be used as general resource material for students taking other courses on Old or New Testament subjects, or for anyone else interested in studying the Bible.
Some of my students have had difficulty accessing the photos on the NASA site, so these pages are provided as an alternative.
Mount Ararat
STS064-080-087 Mount Ararat Massif, Turkey September 1994
This spectacular, near-vertical photograph features the Mount Ararat Massif in eastern Turkey. Snow-capped Great Ararat (visible near the center of the photograph), the traditional resting place of Noah's Ark, reaches an altitude of 16 946 feet (5169 meters) above sea level; 7 miles (11 km) southeast, Little Ararat is 12 877 feet (3928 meters) above sea level. Both are symmetrical, cone-shaped volcanoes composed of alternating layers of lava and ash. The widespread ash forms andesitic tuff, a grayish-white rock. Most of Great Ararat formed about 2 million years ago atop a block of uplifted rock during the Holocene Period; Little Ararat formed shortly thereafter. No eruptions have been recorded for either volcano. Nine glacial tongues escape downslope of Great Ararat from the permanent ice field, meet the snow line, melt, and produce streams.
The rather high snow line [15 420 feet (4700 meters)] for a mountain this far north results from the dry surrounding region. Because of the lack of water, the area is relatively barren and uninhabited. From medieval accounts, the Ararat region was a beautiful, forest-clad mountain with many human settlements and abundant wildlife; however, deforestation, overgrazing, and a destructive earthquake in 1840 have severely impacted the area. Because of fears of further earthquake activity and the very dry conditions, many inhabitants left the region and settled elsewhere.
