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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
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total: 780,580 sq km
land: 770,760 sq km
water: 9,820 sq km
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
Geography
Some say that Turkey is the bridge between Europe and Asia. The
Republic of Turkey, located in southeastern Europe and southwestern
Asia, is bordered on the north by Bulgaria, Greece; Georgia, Armenia,
and the Black Sea.
It has Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Naxηivaneast
for company on the east and is neighbours with Iraq, Syria, and
the Mediterranean Sea at its south and the Aegean Sea to its west.
The total area of Turkey is 779,452 sq km (300,948 sq mi). The capital
is Ankara; Istanbul is the largest city.
Climate
The Mediterranean and Aegean shores of Turkey experience long, hot
summers and mild, rainy winters. Istanbul, located on the Bosporus,
has an average January temperature of 0° C (32° F), while the July
average is 23° C (73° F).
Precipitation averages about 697 mm (about 27.4 in) annually, and
is heaviest between October and March.
Turkey is a Middle Eastern nation that lies both in Europe and
in Asia. About 3 per cent of the country occupies the easternmost
tip of southern Europe, a region called Thrace.
Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, lies in this region of green, fertile
hills and valleys.
Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman
Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace
traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN and in
1949 it became a member of NATO.
Turkey occupied the northern portion of Cyprus in 1974 to prevent
a Greek takeover of the island; relations between the two countries
remain strained.
Periodic military offensives against Kurdish terrorists have dislocated
part of the population in southeast Turkey and have drawn international
condemnation.
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