Turkey Geography

General

Asian Turkey (made up largely of Asia Minor), which includes 97% of the country, is separated from European Turkey (made up of East Thrace) by the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form a water link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean). Northeast Asian Turkey includes part of historical Armenia, and Southeast Asian Turkey includes part of Kurdistan. European Turkey, which includes Edirne and most of Istanbul, is largely rolling agricultural land, drained by the Ergene River. Asian Turkey is mostly made up of highland and mountains, with some narrow strips of lowland in the west on the coasts of the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara and along the Simav, Gediz, and Menderes rivers; in the north on the Black Sea coast and along the Sakarya and Kizil Irmak rivers; and in the south on the Mediterranean coast and along the Aksu, Göksu, Seyhan, and Ceyhan rivers.

The centre of West Asian Turkey is made up of the vast semiarid Plateau of Anatolia (average height c.3,000 ft/914 m), which includes lakes Tuz and Beysehir and which is fringed in the north by the Köroglu Mts. and in the south by the Taurus Mts. In Northeast Turkey are the Pontic Mts. and in East Turkey are the Eastern Taurus Mts. Great Ararat Mt. (16,945 ft/5,165 m), the highest point in Turkey, and Lake Van are in the extreme eastern part of the country. Southeast Turkey is drained by the upper courses of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

An Overview:

Location	southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria
Geographic coordinates	39 00 N, 35 00 E
Map references	Middle East
Area	total: 780,580 sq km land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries	total: 2,648 km border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km
Coastline	7,200 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea; 12 nm in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
Climate	temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Terrain	high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
Natural resources	coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower
Land use	arable land: 30.93% permanent crops: 3.31% other: 65.76% (2001)
Irrigated land	42,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards	very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van
Environment - current issues	water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note	strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country