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Country Profile
The lands of
Turkey are located at a point where the
three continents making up the old
world. Asia, Africa and Europe are
closest to each other, and straddle the
point where Europe and Asia meet.
Geographically, the country is located
in the northern half of the hemisphere
at a point that is about halfway between
the equator and the north pole, at a
longitude of 36 degrees N to 42 degrees
N and a latitude of 26 degrees E to 45
degrees E. Turkey is roughly rectangular
in shape and is 1,660 kilometers wide.
Because of its geographical location the
mainland of Anatolia has always found
favor throughout history, and is the
birthplace of many great civilizations.
It has also been prominent as a center
of commerce because of its land
connections to three continents and the
sea surrounding it on three sides. |
Area
The actual
area of Turkey inclusive of its lakes,
is 814,578 square kilometers, of which
790,200 are in Asia and 24,378 are
located in Europe. |
Boundaries
The land
borders of Turkey are 2,573 kilometers
in total, and coastlines (including
islands) are another 8,333 kilometers,
Turkey has two European and six Asian
countries for neighbors along its land
borders.
The land border to the northeast with
the commonwealth of Independent States
is 610 kilometers long; that with Iran,
454 kilometers long, and that with Iraq
331 kilometers long. In the south is the
877 kilometer-long border with Syria,
which took its present form in 1939,
when the Republic of Hatay joined
Turkey. Turkey's borders on the European
continent consist of a 212-kilometre
frontier with Greece and a 269-kilometre
border with Bulgaria. |
Geographical Regions
Turkey is
generally divided into seven regions:
the Black Sea region, the Marmara
region, the Aegean, the Mediterranean,
Central Anatolia, the East and Southeast
Anatolia regions. The uneven north
Anatolian terrain running along the
Black Sea resembles a narrow but long
belt. The land of this region is
approximately 1/6 of Turkey's total land
area.
The Marmara region covers the area
encircling the Sea of Marmara, includes
the entire European part of Turkey, as
well as the northwest of the Anatolian
plain. Whilst the region is the smallest
of the regions of Turkey after the
Southeast Anatolia region, it has the
highest population density of all the
regions.
The most important peak in the region is
Uludag (2,543 meters), at the same time
it is a major winter sports and tourist
center. In the Anatolian part of the
region there are fertile plains running
from east to west.
The Aegean region extends from the
Aegean coast to the inner parts of
western Anatolia. There are significant
differences between the coastal areas
and those inland, in terms of both
geographical features and economic and
social aspects.
In general, the mountains in the region
fall perpendicularly into the sea. and
the plains run from east to west. The
plains through which Gediz, Kucuk
Menderes and Bakircay rivers flow carry
the same names as these rivers.
In the Mediterranean region, located in
the south of Turkey, the western and
central Taurus Mountains suddenly rise
up behind the coastline. The Amanos
mountain range is also in the area.
The Central Anatolian region is exactly
in the middle of Turkey and gives the
appearance of being less mountainous
compared with the other regions. The
main peaks of the region are Karadag,
Karacadag, Hasandag and Erciyes (3.917
meters).
The Eastern Anatolia region is Turkey's
largest and highest region. About three
fourths of it is at an altitude of
1,500-2,000 meters. Eastern Anatolia is
composed of individual mountains as well
as of whole mountain ranges, with vast
plateaus and plains. The mountains:
There are numerous inactive volcanoes in
the region, including Nemrut, Suphan,
Tendurek and Turkey's highest peak,
Mount Agri (Ararat), which is 5,165
meters high.
At the same time, several plains
extended along the course of the River
Murat, a tributary of the Firat
(Euphrates). These are the plains of
Malazgirt, Mus, Capakcur, Uluova and
Malatya.
The Southeast Anatolia region is notable
for the uniformity of its landscape,
although the eastern part of the region
is comparatively more uneven than its
western areas. |
Coastlines
Turkey is
surrounded by sea on three sides, by the
Black Sea in the north, the
Mediterranean in the south and the
Aegean Sea in the west. In the northwest
there is also an important internal sea,
the Sea of Marmara, between the straits
of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus,
important waterways that connect the
Black Sea with the rest of the world.
Because the mountains in the Black Sea
region run parallel to the coastline,
the coasts are fairly smooth, without
too many indentations or projections.
The length of the Black Sea coastline in
Turkey is 1,595 kilometers, and the
salinity of the sea is 17%. The
Mediterranean coastline runs for 1,577
kilometers and here too the mountain
ranges are parallel to the coastline.
The salinity level of the Mediterranean
is about double that of the Black Sea.
Although the Aegean coastline is a
continuation of the Mediterranean coast,
it is quite irregular because the
mountains in the area fall
perpendicularly into the Aegean Sea. As
a result, the length of the Aegean Sea
coast is over 2,800 kilometers. The
coastline faces out to many islands.
The Marmara Sea is located totally
within national boundaries and occupies
an area of 11,350 square kilometers. The
coastline of the Marmara Sea is over
1,000 kilometers long; it is connected
to the Black Sea by the Bosphorus and
with the Mediterranean by the
Dardanelles. |
Rivers
Most of the
rivers of Turkey flow into the seas
surrounding the country. The Firat
(Euphrates) and Dicle (Tigris) join
together in Iraq and flow into the
Persian Gulf. Turkey's longest rivers,
the Kizilirmak, Yesilirmak and Sakarya,
flow into the Black Sea. The Susurluk,
Biga and Gonen pour into the Sea of
Marmara, the Gediz, Kucuk Menderes,
Buyuk Menderes and Meric into the
Aegean, and the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Goksu
into the Mediterranean. |
Lakes
In terms of
numbers of lakes, the Eastern Anatolian
region is the richest. It contains
Turkey's largest, Lake Van (3.713 square
kilometers), and the lakes of Ercek,
Cildir and Hazar. There are also many
lakes in the Taurus mountains area: the
Beysehir and Egirdir lakes, and the
lakes that contain bitter waters like
the Burdur and Acigoller lakes, for
example. Around the Sea of Marmara are
located the lakes of Sapanca, Iznik,
Ulubat, Manyas, Terkos, Kucukcekmece and
Buyukcekmece. In Central Anatolia is the
second largest lake in Turkey: Tuzgolu:
The waters of this lake are shallow and
very salty. The lakes of Aksehir and
Eber are also located in this region.
As a result of the construction of dams
during the past thirty years, several
large dam lakes have come into
existence. Together with the Ataturk Dam
lake which started to collect water in
January 1990, the following are good
examples: Keban, Karakaya, Altinkaya,
Adiguzel, Kilickaya, Karacaoren,
Menzelet, Kapulukaya, Hirfanli, Sariyar
and Demirkopru. |
The Climate
Although
Turkey is situated in a geographical
location where climatic conditions are
quite temperate, the diverse nature of
the landscape , and the existence in
particular of the mountains that run
parallel to the coasts, results in
significant differences in climatic
conditions from one region to the other.
While the coastal areas enjoy milder
climates, the inland Anatolian plateau
experiences extremes of hot summers and
cold winters with limited rainfall |
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