Geography of Turkey (original) (raw)

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

The largest lake is Lake Van in the east of the country.

**Geographic coordinates:**39 00 N, 35 00 E

**Map references:**Middle East

Area:
_total:_780,580 km²
_land:_770,760 km²
_water:_9,820 km²

**Area - comparative:**slightly larger than Texas

Land boundaries:
_total:_2,627 km
border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 331 km, Syria 822 km

**Coastline:**7,200 km

Maritime claims:
_exclusive economic zone:_in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
_territorial sea:_6 nm in the Aegean Sea; 12 nm in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea

**Climate:**temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior

**Terrain:**mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)

Elevation extremes:
_lowest point:_Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m

**Natural resources:**antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower

Land use:
_arable land:_32%
_permanent crops:_4%
_permanent pastures:_16%
_forests and woodland:_26%
_other:_22% (1993 est.)

**Irrigated land:**36,740 sq km (1993 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
_signed, but not ratified:_Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification

**Geography - note:**strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas

See also : Turkey