Vanadzor

City in northwestern Armenia, 65 km/40 mi north of Yerevan; population (2001 est) 193,500. It lies in the mountain valley of the River Pambak, at a height of 1,350 m/4,429 ft above sea-level. It is an important industrial centre, with a large chemical works. There are also engineering works and food-processing plants here.

Vanadzor arose on the site of a Bronze Age settlement. It became a town in 1826. When the chemical works were built in 1929–40, they were the largest such plant in the Soviet Union.