The Durupınar formation, the Mount Ararat region, and field expeditions — through six decades of photography.
A chronological photo history of the formation, 1956 to the present.
From the 1959 discovery to present-day surveys — the photographic record of the Durupınar boat-shaped formation.
Ara Güler's iconic 1961 aerial photograph that brought worldwide attention to the site. Reproduced from the 5th International Mount Ararat & Noah's Ark Symposium proceedings.
Credit: Ara Güler
1988 — Bayraktutan & Baumgardner core drilling campaign. Four 3½-inch holes were drilled across the formation between July 28 and August 7, 1988.
2019 — Modern drone photography revealing the full scope of the formation. Used as the recent reference image in the comparison slider.
2020 — Drone photograph overlaid with Ground Penetrating Radar scan results, showing internal structures and right angles 7 meters below the surface.
December 2024 — Recent on-site photograph from the formation.
High-resolution drone imagery of the 157-meter formation, captured from multiple altitudes and angles.
DJI drone photograph of the formation, 2020.
Annotated drone view highlighting structural features visible from the air.
High-resolution drone photograph capturing the formation in its surrounding terrain.
Drone perspective showing the formation in its broader landscape context.
Wide panorama of the formation and surrounding region.
GPR, ERT, and 3D visualizations of structures detected beneath the surface.
Ground Penetrating Radar scan at 100 MHz, showing reflections from subsurface structures along a transect line.
GPR measurements of subsurface layering on the west side of the formation.
Composite GPR visualization showing detected anomalies at multiple depths.
3D rendered visualization of the subsurface model, August 2021.
Side-view rendering of the 3D subsurface model, August 2021.
The research team on site — drilling, scanning, mapping, and meeting with local officials.
The research team at the Durupınar site.
On-site field work, July 2021.
Site of the planned Noah's Ark Visitor Center.
Field photos from the 2014, 2019, and 2021 expeditions to re-photograph the Wyatt 1984 inscriptions on the Turkish-Iranian border markers.
Coordinating with local officials at the Turkish military checkpoint near the border markers.
Historical photo collage of Ron Wyatt and Bill Shea documenting the border-marker inscriptions.
Border-marker stele documented during the inscription expeditions.
Panorama of an inscription site documented during the border expeditions.
GPS tracks from the 2014, 2019, and 2021 border expeditions to markers 64–66.
Combined map of all exploration tracks across the project area, including border traverses.
Map showing the path of investigation and the locations of border markers 64, 65, and 66.
Mount Ararat itself, the surrounding region, and views from the International Space Station.
Aerial view of Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı).
Mount Ararat's summit ice cap is retreating rapidly. Prof. Dr. Faruk Kaya estimates the cap has shrunk from 70 km² to under 5 km², with projected loss of half its remaining area by 2050.
Mount Ararat — known historically by some local communities as 'Doomsday Mountain.'
Figure from Sarıkaya (2012, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences) mapping the Mount Ararat ice cap.
International Space Station view of the Mount Ararat region. NASA, Expedition 2.
ISS Expedition 8 view of the Mount Ararat region. NASA.
ISS Expedition 18 photograph of the Mount Ararat region. NASA.
ISS Expedition 28 large-format view of Mount Ararat and the surrounding plateau. NASA.
ISS Expedition 9 view of Mount Ararat. NASA.
ISS Expedition 53 high-resolution photograph of Mount Ararat. NASA.
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