GEOGRAPHY
Because of its location, Turkey was a region through which ancient Asian
Turkish culture moved into Europe, and also a window of Western culture opening to meet
the east.
Turkey is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Aegean
Sea, which connects the country to the whole world. Because of these long coastal borders
and the bridge between Asia and Europe, Turkey has been the centre of major commercial and
migration routes.
Turkey is located between Europe and Asia and is roughly a
rectangular shape. The largest section is the Anatolian Peninsula at 790,200 km2, known as
Asia Minor. Thrace (Trakya) is the smaller area, at 24,378 km2, and is located at the east
of Balkan peninsula, bringing the total area of the country to 814,578 km2. With a
coastline measuring 8272km, Turkey is a naval country in a central position to the
world’s prominent continents.
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| Regions |
| The First Geographical Summit gathered in Ankara in 1941, and separated
Turkey into seven major geographic regions after a carefuk study. The first four
pre-determined regions are named after their neighbouring seas (Black Sea, Marmara, Aegean
and Mediterranean Region). The remaining three are named in accordance with their
geographic locations within Anatolia (Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern
Anatolia Region). |
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Turkey is considered a high-altitude country, as the
mountains cover the majority of the surface even though there is a significant area which
is made up of plains, plateaus and sediment areas. These geographical variations mean that
the climate is also varied, and affects the location of settlements and economic
conditions.
Turkey is separated into seven major geographic regions according
to climate, natural plantation and distribution of the agricultural activities.
In the north are the Northern Anatolia Mountains, and in the south
the Taurus (Toros) Mountains, which are separated by the wide plains of Central Anatolia.
The highest mountain in Turkey, and Europe, is Great Ararat (Buyuk Agri) which is 5137m,
and Suphan is an extinct volcano located inside the borders of Eastern Anatolia.
Karacadag, Raman and Sof are the major mountains of Southeastern Anatolia.
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| Rivers |
There
are numerous rivers in Turkey, the majority of which are used in energy production
processes. The Firat and Dicle rivers in Eastern Anatolia flow into the Basra Gulf;
Yesilirmak, Kizilirmak and Sakarya rivers in Central Anatolia into the Black Sea, Susurluk
Creek, Biga and Gonen creeks into the Marmara Sea; and Gediz and Big and Small Menderes
rivers into the Aegean Sea.
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| Lakes |
The total surface area of the lakes in Turkey is 9200 km2, with Eastern
Anatolia having the largest area. Lake Van is the biggest, (3713 km2) and Ercek, Cildir
and Hazar lakes are also in this region. The largest in Central Anatolia are mostly
shallow with high salt content, hence the name of the second biggest in the country,
Tuzgolu (Salt lake) at 1500 km2. There is a boat service which operates across the lake
Van.
The
Sea of Marmara, which is completely within the national borders, is connected to the Black
Sea by Istanbul Bosphorus, and connected to Aegean and Mediterranean by the Straits of
Canakkale Strait.
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