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 favour throughout history, and is
the birthplace of many great civilizations. It has also been prominent as
a centre 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 neighbours
along its land borders.
In the northeast the land border with
Georgia is 252, with Azerbaijan 9, with Armenia 268 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 centre. 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 metres. 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 metres 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.
|
Bridge Over the
River Meric
|
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 Atatürk 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.
Copyright © 2003
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey, Washington, DC. |