In the Genesis story of Noah’s Ark, where did the vessel come to rest?

In the Genesis story of Noah’s Ark, the vessel came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Genesis 8:4 uses the plural expression “mountains of Ararat,” describing a region rather than naming one precise peak.

Ararat is associated with Urartu, an ancient kingdom and geographical region in the highlands around modern eastern Turkey, Armenia, and nearby areas. The biblical wording therefore does not explicitly say that the ark landed on Mount Ararat, the famous volcanic peak in present-day Turkey.

That distinction is one of the most common mix-ups in discussions of the story. Later tradition and popular culture often turn the plural mountains into the singular Mount Ararat, and many alleged expeditions have searched that mountain or surrounding terrain.

No archaeological discovery has been scientifically verified as Noah’s Ark. The Genesis account provides a literary and religious narrative location, while the modern geographic identification of the biblical mountains remains debated.