Turkey: Geography#
| 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 39.0,35.0 |
| Area | total: 783,562 sq km land: 769,632 sq km water: 13,930 sq km We are unable to verify those figures from Factbook, since the 6 main sources we used for checking give different figures as follows: Factbook: 783562 DBpedia: 783562 Geoname: 780580 Infoplease: 780580 Britannica: 785347 Wolfram: 783562 Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,656 km border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 17 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km |
| Coastline | 7,200 km |
| Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m |
| Highest Mountains | Due to difference in mountain rankings taken from two data sources we are listing here both lists : According to Wolfram: Mount Ararat 5165 m; Suphan Dagi 4434 m; Kaçkar 3942 m; Erciyes 3917 m; Demirkazik 3756 m According to Geonames: Mount Ararat 5165 m; Süphan Dagi 4058 m; Kaçkar Dagi 3932 m; Erciyes Dagi 3917 m; Mihtepe 3717 m Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org Important Mountains |
| Terrain | high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges |
| Natural Hazards | severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van volcanism: limited volcanic activity; its three historically active volcanoes; Ararat, Nemrut Dagi, and Tendurek Dagi have not erupted since the 19th century or earlier |
| Natural Resource | 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: 26.21% permanent crops: 3.94% other: 69.84% (2011) |
| Climate | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
| Irrigated Land | 53,400 sq km (2012) |
| Renewable Water Resources | 211.6 cu km (2011) |
| Environment_CurrentIssues | 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 |
| Large Cities | Istanbul; Ankara; Izmir; Bursa; Adana [Verified] Important Cities |
| 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 Important Lakes |