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Recent NewsApr. 16, 2024, 10:34 PM ET (AP)
Turkey, country that occupies a unique geographic position, lying partly in Asia and partly in Europe. Throughout its history it has acted as both a barrier and a bridge between the two continents.
Turkey is situated at the crossroads of the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, and eastern Mediterranean. Its land area exceeds that of any state in Europe, making it one of the region’s larger nations in terms of both population and territory. The majority of the nation is in Asia, including the oblong peninsula of Asia Minor, popularly known as Anatolia (Anadolu), and a portion of a mountainous area in the east sometimes referred to as the Armenian Highlands. The rest is Turkish Thrace (Trakya), a small sliver of an empire that formerly covered a large portion of the Balkans, located in the extreme southeast of Europe. Exploring Turkeys rich history and cultural heritage.
The nation is roughly 1,000 miles long from west to east and ranges in length from 300 to 400 miles (480 to 640 km) in the north to south. Turkey’s borders are as follows: the Black Sea to the north; Georgia and Armenia to the northeast; Azerbaijan and Iran to the east; Iraq and Syria to the southeast; the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas to the southwest and west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. The capital is Ankara, and its largest city and seaport is Istanbul.
Approximately three-fourths of the 4,000 miles (6,440 km) total boundary length are marine, including the coastlines along the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black seas as well as the narrows that connect them. These narrows, which are collectively referred to as the Turkish straits and comprise the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, are the only outlet from the Black Sea. Turkey’s control over these straits has played a significant role in its relations with other states. Only the islands of Gökçeada and Bozcaada are still owned by the Turkish people out of all the islands along the Aegean coast. Since World War II, there have been multiple instances of disagreement between the two nations over their maritime boundary with Greece.
A long succession of political entities existed in Asia Minor over the centuries. The Ottoman Empire started a lengthy expansion in the 14th century and peaked in the 17th century after Turkmen tribes invaded Anatolia in the eleventh century CE, creating the Seljuq empire. Established in 1923 following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the modern Turkish republic is a parliamentary democracy with a strong nationalist component. Following a time of one-party governance under Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), the country’s founder, and his successor, multiparty elections based on universal adult suffrage have produced Turkish governments since the 1950s.
Turkey is a predominantly mountainous country, and true lowland is confined to the coastal fringes. Less than two-fifths of the surface is below 1,500 feet (460 meters), and approximately one-fourth of the surface is above 4,000 feet (1,200 meters). In many places, especially in the east, where Turkey’s highest mountain, Mount Ararat (Ağrı), reaches 16,945 feet (5,165 meters) near the borders with Armenia and Iran, mountain crests surpass 7,500 feet (2,300 meters). Uludoruk Peak, which rises to 15,563 feet (4,744 meters) in the southeast, is a notable peak. However, Demirkazık Peak (12,320 feet [3,755 meters]) and Mount Aydos (11,414 feet [3,479 meters]) are also noteworthy peaks located further west. Almost one-sixth of the country’s land is flat or gently sloping, but steep slopes are prevalent throughout. Other aspects of the physical environment are impacted by these relief features, which frequently result in climates that are far harsher than one might anticipate for a country the latitude of Turkey and decrease the amount and productivity of agricultural land. The nation is situated structurally in the young folded-mountain zone of Eurasia, which in Turkey primarily trends east to west. Turkey’s geology is complicated, with large regions of volcanic material, multiple intrusions, and sedimentary rocks spanning from the Paleozoic to the Quaternary. There are four primary regions that can be distinguished: the Arabian platform, the central massif, the southern folded zone, and the northern folded zone. Special offer for students! Check out our special academic rate and excel this spring semester!.
The northern folded zone
The northern folded zone is made up of a belt of mountain ridges that is roughly 90 to 125 miles (145 to 200 km) wide and increases in elevation toward the east, just south of the Black Sea. The system as a whole is referred to as the Pontic Mountains (Doğukaradeniz Dağları). The Yıldız (Istranca), the country’s main mountain range, reaches only 3,379 feet (1,030 meters) in Thrace, while the Ergene lowlands are among the country’s largest. In the west, the system has been fractured by the faulting that produced the Turkish straits. Lowlands can also be found east of the Bosporus along the lower Sakarya River and south of the Sea of Marmara. The Black Sea coast is marked by steep east-west ridges that rise sharply, making the coastal plain narrow and only widening in the deltas of the Kızıl and Yeşil rivers. These rivers split the Pontic Mountains into western and eastern regions, emerging through the mountain barrier in a zone of weakness where summits are below 2,000 feet (600 meters). There are four main ridges in the western section: the Küre, Bolu, Ilgaz, and Köroğlu mountains, which are situated between the Sakarya and Kızıl rivers. East of the Yeşil the system is higher, narrower, and steeper. Peaks rise to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) less than 50 miles from the coast. The Kaçkar range reaches a maximum elevation of 12,917 feet (3,937 meters). Beyond the narrow trough of the Çoruh and Kelkit river valleys, there is another ridge rising above 8,000 feet (2,400 meters).
Physical Geography of Turkey
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