Geography of Turkey
Kızılırmak 1,350 km | |
Largest lake | Van 3,755 km2 (1,449.81 sq mi) |
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Exclusive economic zone | 261,654 km2 (Exclusive economic zone)[citation needed] |
The
External boundaries
Turkey, surrounded by water on three sides, has well-defined natural borders with its eight neighbors.[3]
Turkey’s frontiers with Greece—206 kilometers—and Bulgaria—240 kilometers— were settled[5] by the Treaty of Constantinople (1913) and later confirmed[5] by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. The 1921 treaties of Moscow[6] and Kars with the Soviet Union[6] defines Turkey’s current borders with Armenia (268 kilometers), Azerbaijan (9 kilometers), and Georgia (252 kilometers). The 499-kilometer Iranian border was first settled by the 1639 Treaty of Kasr-ı Şirin and confirmed in 1937.[7] With the exception of Mosul, Turkey ceded the territories of the present-day Iraq and Syria with the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. In 1926, Turkey ceded Mosul to the United Kingdom in exchange for 10% the oil revenues from Mosul for 25 years.[7] Syria does (as of 1990) not recognize its border with Turkey because of a dispute of the 1939 transfer of Hatay Province following a referendum that favored union with Turkey.[5]
Main articles:
- Greece–Turkey border
- Bulgaria–Turkey border
- Armenia–Turkey border
- Azerbaijan–Turkey border
- Georgia–Turkey border
- Iran–Turkey border
- Iraq–Turkey border
- Syria–Turkey border
Regions
The First Geography Congress, held in Ankara between 6–21 June 1941, divided Turkey into seven regions after long discussions and work.[8] These geographical regions were separated according to their climate, location, flora and fauna, human habitat, agricultural diversities, transportation, topography, etc.[8] At the end, 4 coastal regions and 3 inner regions were named according to their proximity to the four seas surrounding Turkey, and their positions in Anatolia.[8]
Turkey has a diverse terrain: the plains of Anatolia, and forests of the Black Sea,
Black Sea Region
The physical geography of the Black Sea Region landscapes is characterized by the mountain range forming a barrier parallel with the Black Sea Coast and high humidity[10] and precipitation.[11] The Eastern Black Sea Region presents alpine landscapes[12] with steep and densely forested slopes. Steep slopes, as a morphological feature, occur both under the sea, and in the mountain ranges, with the sea floor at below 2000 m[11] along a line from Trabzon to the Turkish–Georgian border, and the mountains quickly reaching over 3000 m, with a maximum of 3971 m[13] in Kaçkar Peak. The parallel valleys running north to the Black Sea used to be isolated from one another until a few decades ago because the densely forested ridges made transportation and exchange very difficult.[14] This allowed for the development of a strong cultural[14] identity— the Laz language, music and dance—linked to this specific geographic context.
From west to east, the main rivers of the region are the Sakarya (824 km), the Kızılırmak River (1355 km, the longest river of Turkey), the Yeşilırmak (418 km) and the Çoruh (376 km).[11]
Year-round high[10] precipitation—up to 2200mm[15]—generate dense forests, with oak, beech family trees, hazel (Corylus avellana), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) and sweet chesnut (Castanea sativa) prevailing.[16]
Isolated from one another because of steep valleys,[3] the Black Sea Region includes 850[17] plant taxa of which 116[17] is endemic to the area, and of which 12 are endangered[3] and 19[18] vulnerable. Hazelnut is a native species[3] for this region, which covers 70 and 82%[10] of the world's production and exports respectively.
The Kaçkar Range at altitudes of 3000 m and above is heavily glaciated (see map on the right)[13] owing to the suitable geomorphological- climatological conditions[10] during the Pleistocene.
Marmara Region
The European portion of Turkey consists mainly of rolling plateau country well suited to agriculture.
Densely populated, this area includes the cities of
The most important valleys are the Kocaeli Valley, the Bursa Ovası (Bursa Basin), and the Plains of Troy (historically known as the Troad). The valley lowlands around Bursa is densely populated.
Aegean Region
Located on the western side of Anatolia, the Aegean region has fertile soil and a typically Mediterranean climate; with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The broad, cultivated valley lowlands contain about half of the country's richest farmlands.
The largest city in the Aegean Region of Turkey is İzmir, which is also the country's third-largest city and a major manufacturing center; as well as its second-largest port after Istanbul.
Olive and olive oil production is particularly important for the economy of the region. The seaside town of Ayvalık and numerous towns in the provinces of Balıkesir, İzmir and Aydın are particularly famous for their olive oil and related products; such as soap and cosmetics.
The region also has many important centers of tourism which are known both for their historic monuments and for the beauty of their beaches; such as Assos, Ayvalık, Bergama, Foça, İzmir, Çeşme, Sardis, Ephesus, Kuşadası, Didim, Miletus, Bodrum, Marmaris, Datça and Fethiye.
Mediterranean Region
Toward the east, the extensive Cilician Plain, around Adana, Turkey's fifth most populous city, consist largely of reclaimed flood lands. In general, rivers have not cut valleys to the sea in the western part of the region. Historically, movement inland from the western Mediterranean coast was difficult. East of Adana, much of the coastal plain has limestone features such as collapsed caverns and sinkholes. Between Adana and Antalya, the Taurus Mountains rise sharply from the coast to high elevations. Other than Adana, Antalya, and Mersin, the Mediterranean coast has few major cities, although it has numerous farming villages.
Paralleling the Mediterranean coast, the Taurus Mountains (Turkish: Toros Dağları) are Turkey's second chain of folded mountains. The range rises just inland from the coast and trends generally in an easterly direction until it reaches the Arabian Platform, where it arcs around the northern side of the platform. The Taurus Mountains are more rugged and less dissected by rivers than the Pontic Mountains and historically have served as a barrier to human movement inland from the Mediterranean coast except where there are mountain passes such as the historic Cilician Gates (Gülek Pass), northwest of Adana.
Central Anatolia Region
Stretching inland from the Aegean coastal plain, the Central Anatolia Region occupies the area between the two zones of the folded mountains, extending east to the point where the two ranges converge. The plateau-like, semi-arid highlands of Anatolia are considered the heartland of the country. The region varies in elevation from 700 to 2000 meters from west to east. Mount Erciyes is the peak at 3916 meters. The two largest basins on the plateau are the Konya Ovası and the basin occupied by the large salt lake, Tuz Gölü. Both basins are characterized by inland drainage. Wooded areas are confined to the northwest and northeast of the plateau. Rain-fed cultivation is widespread, with wheat being the principal crop. Irrigated agriculture is restricted to the areas surrounding rivers and wherever sufficient underground water is available. Important irrigated crops include barley, corn, cotton, various fruits, grapes, opium poppies, sugar beets, roses, and tobacco. There also is extensive grazing throughout the plateau.
Central Anatolia receives little annual rainfall. For instance, the semi-arid center of the plateau receives an average yearly precipitation of only 300 millimeters. However, actual rainfall from year to year is irregular and occasionally may be less than 200 millimeters, leading to severe reductions in crop yields for both rain-fed and irrigated agriculture. In years of low rainfall, stock losses also can be high. Overgrazing has contributed to soil erosion on the plateau. During the summers, frequent dust storms blow a fine yellow powder across the plateau. Locusts occasionally ravage the eastern area in April and May. In general, the plateau experiences moderate heat, with almost no rainfall in summer and cold weather with heavy snow in winter.
Frequently interspersed throughout the folded mountains, and also situated on the Anatolian Plateau, are well-defined basins, which the Turks call ova. Some are no more than a widening of a stream valley; others, such as the Konya Ovası, are large basins of inland drainage or are the result of limestone erosion. Most of the basins take their names from cities or towns located at their rims. Where a lake has formed within the basin, the water body is usually saline as a result of the internal drainage—the water has no outlet to the sea.
Eastern Anatolia Region
In addition to its rugged mountains, the area is known for severe winters with heavy snowfalls. The few valleys and plains in these mountains tend to be fertile and to support diverse agriculture. The main basin is the Muş Valley, west of Lake Van. Narrow valleys also lie at the foot of the lofty peaks along river corridors.
Southeastern Anatolia Region
Southeast Anatolia is south of the Anti-Taurus Mountains. It is a region of rolling hills and a broad plateau surface that extends into Syria. Elevations decrease gradually, from about 800 meters in the north to about 500 meters in the south. Traditionally, wheat and barley were the main crops of the region, but the inauguration of major new irrigation projects in the 1980s has led to greater agricultural diversity and development.
Geology
The
Turkey's varied landscapes are the product of a wide variety of tectonic processes that have shaped Anatolia over millions of years and continue today as evidenced by frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. Except for a relatively small portion of its territory along the Syrian border that is a continuation of the Arabian Platform, Turkey geologically is part of the great
However, many of the rocks exposed in Turkey were formed long before this process began. Turkey contains outcrops of Precambrian rocks, (more than 520 million years old; Bozkurt et al., 2000). The earliest geological history of Turkey is poorly understood, partly because of the problem of reconstructing how the region has been tectonically assembled by plate motions. Turkey can be thought of as a collage of different pieces (possibly terranes) of ancient continental and oceanic lithosphere stuck together by younger igneous, volcanic, and sedimentary rocks.
During the
During the Cenozoic folding, faulting, and uplifting, accompanied by volcanic activity and intrusion of igneous rocks was related to major continental collision between the larger Arabian and Eurasian plates (e.g. Robertson & Dixon, 1984).
Present-day earthquakes range from barely perceptible tremors to major movements measuring five or higher on the open-ended
Turkey's terrain is structurally complex. A central massif composed of uplifted blocks and downfolded troughs, covered by recent deposits and giving the appearance of a plateau with rough terrain, is wedged between two folded mountain ranges that converge in the east. True
Nearly 85% of the land is at an elevation of at least 450 meters; the average and median altitude of the country is 1,332 and 1,128 meters, respectively. In Asiatic Turkey, flat or gently sloping land is rare and largely confined to the deltas of the
Climate
Turkey's diverse regions have different climates, with the weather system on the coasts contrasting with that prevailing in the interior. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts have cool, rainy winters and hot, moderately dry summers. Annual precipitation in those areas varies from 580 to 1,300 millimeters (22.8 to 51.2 in), depending on location. The Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500 millimeters (98.4 in) annually which is the highest precipitation in the country.
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Ankara
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Antalya
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Istanbul
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Van
Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland, giving the interior of Turkey a continental climate with distinct seasons. The Anatolian Plateau is much more subject to extremes than are the coastal areas. Winters on the plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of −30 to −40 °C (−22 to −40 °F) can occur in the mountainous areas in the east, and snow may lie on the ground 120 days of the year. In the west, winter temperatures average below 1 °C (33.8 °F). Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F). Annual precipitation averages about 400 millimeters (15.7 in), with actual amounts determined by elevation. The driest regions are the Konya Ovasi and the Malatya Ovasi, where annual rainfall frequently is less than 300 millimeters (11.8 in). May is generally the wettest month and July and August the driest.
The climate of the Anti-Taurus Mountain region of eastern Turkey can be inhospitable. Summers tend to be hot and extremely dry. Winters are bitterly cold with frequent, heavy snowfall. Villages can be isolated for several days during winter storms. Spring and autumn are generally mild, but during both seasons sudden hot and cold spells frequently occur.
Land use
Land use:
arable land:
35.00
permanent crops:
4.00
other:
61.00(2011)
Irrigated land: 53,400 km2 (2012)
Total renewable water resources: 211.6 km2 (2012)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point:
Mount Ararat 5,166 m
Natural hazards
Very severe
Current issues
Water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas;
Ratified international agreements
.Signed but unratified international agreements
See also
- Lakes of Turkey
- List of rivers of Turkey
- List of islands of Turkey
- List of beaches in Turkey
- List of mountains of Turkey
- List of volcanoes in Turkey
- List of caves in Turkey
- Forest in Turkey
- Geographical name changes in Turkey
- Flora and Vegetation of Turkey
Notes
- ^ Sarıkaya, M. A. The Late Quaternary glaciation in the Eastern Mediterranean. In: Hughes P, Woodward J (eds) Quaternary glaciation in the Mediterranean mountains. Geological Society of London Special Publication 433, 2017, pp. 289–305.
- ^ a b The Dorling Kindersley World Reference Atlas. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Erturaç, M. K. Kinematics and basin formation along the Ezinepazar-Sungurlu fault zone, NE Anatolia, Turkey. Turk J Earth Sci 21: 2012, pp. 497–520.
- ^ "Google marks Turkey's Çorum as center of the Earth – Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
- ^ a b c Finkel, Andrew, and Nükhet Sirman, eds. Turkish State, Turkish Society. New York: Routledge, 1990.
- ^ a b Geoffrey Lewis, Modern Turkey. New York: Praeger, 1974.
- ^ a b Shaw, Stanford J., and Ezel Kural Shaw. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. (2 vols.) Cambridge University Press, 1976.
- ^ a b c "Worldofturkey.com: Regions of Turkey". Archived from the original on 2006-03-20. Retrieved 2006-03-27.
- ^ Heper, Metin, Duygu Öztürk-Tunçel, and Bilge Criss. 2018. Historical dictionary of Turkey.
- ^ a b c d Delaney, Carol. The Seed and the Soil of Turkey. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011.
- ^ a b c Akçar, N. Paleoglaciations in Anatolia: A schematic review and first results. Eiszeitalt Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften 55: 2005, pp. 102–121.
- ^ Erinç, S. Glacial evidences of the climatic variations in Turkey. Annals of the American Association of Geographers 34: 1952, pp. 89–98.
- ^ a b Birman, J. H. Glacial reconnaissance in Turkey. Geological Society of America Bulletin 79: 1968, pp. 1009–1026.
- ^ a b Fleischer, R. The rock-tombs of the Pontic Kings in Amaseia (Amasya). In: Højte JM (ed) Mithridates VI and the Pontic Kingdom, Black Sea Studies, vol 9. Aarhus University Press, Aarhus, 2009, pp. 109–120.
- ^ Tunçel, H. Doğu Karadeniz Dağlarında Yaylacılık. Fırat Üniversitesi Sos Bilim Derg (Elazığ) 14(2): 2004, pp. 49–66.
- ^ Kurdoğlu, O. Doğal ve Kültürel Değerlerin Korunması Açısından Kaçkar Dağları Milli Parkı’nın Önemi ve Mevcut Çevresel Tehditler. D.K. Ormancılık Araştırma Müdürlüğü, Ormancılık Araştırma Dergisi 21, ve Çevre ve Orman Bakanlığı Yayını 231: 2004, pp. 134–150.
- ^ a b Ekim, T. Türkiye Bitkileri Kırmızı Kitabı. 2000.
- ^ Brickell, Christopher. Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2011.
References
- Bozkurt, E. and Satir, M. (2000) The southern Menderes Massif (western Turkey); geochronology and exhumation history. Geological Journal, 35: 285–296.
- Rice, S.P., Robertson, A.H.F. and Ustaömer, T. (2006) Late Cretaceous-Early Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Eurasian active margin in the Central and Eastern Pontides, northern Turkey. In: Robertson, (Editor), Tectonic Development of the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 260, London, 413–445.
- Robertson, A. and Dixon, J.E.D. (1984) Introduction: aspects of the geological evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean. In: Dixon and Robertson (Editors), The Geological Evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 17, 1–74.
- Ustaömer, T. and Robertson, A. (1997) Tectonic-sedimentary evolution of the north Tethyan margin in the Central Pontides of northern Turkey. In: A.G. Robinson (Editor), Regional and Petroleum Geology of the Black Sea and Surrounding Region. AAPG Memoir, 68, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 255–290.
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Turkey: A Country Study. Federal Research Division.
- This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.