Geography
GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE
Including the lakes, the surface area of Turkey is 814,580km2 / 314,500sq miles. The country is rectangular in shape with a lenght of 1,660km / 1,031 miles and a wide of 550km / 314 miles.
Turkey is a peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean in the south, the Aegean in the west and the Marmara sea in the northwest which is an important internal sea between the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.
Turkey has 159 islands, 109 of them are in the Aegean Sea, 26 in the Mediterranean, 23 in the Marmara Sea and only one in the Black Sea.
There are more than 300 natural (tectonic and crater) and 130 artificial lakes in Turkey. The largest lake in the country is the Lake Van (3,713km2 / 1,433sq miles and 100m / 328ft deep).
The North Anatolian Mountains along the Black Sea and the Taurus Mountains in the South are the two important ranges of mountains in Turkey. The highest peak of Turkey is the Mount Ararat of over 5000 meters in the Eastern Anatolia, on which Noah’s Ark is believed to be.
Kizilirmak is the longest river in Turkey. The Eruphrates and Tigris flow into the Persian Gulf after joining together in Turkey. Yesilirmak and Sakarya flow into the Black Sea.The Seyhan, Ceyhan and Goksu Rivers flow into the Mediterranean.The Susurluk, Biga and Gonen flow into the Marmara Sea.The Gediz, B.Menderes, K.Menderes and Meric flow into the Aegean Sea. The Aras and Kurucay flow beyond the country’s borders into the Caspian Sea.
Turkey is divided into seven regions, Marmara, Aegean, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia and the Mediterranean. These regions were originally defined at the First Geography Congress in 1941. Although they don’t refer an administrative division, each region has its own distinct climate, landscape and traditions.
The mountains that run parallel to the coasts and the diverse nature of the landscape, result in significant differences in climatic conditions from one region to the other. While the coastal regions enjoy milder climates, the inland Anatolia plateau has hot summers and cold winters with limited rainfall and Eastern Anatolia experiences even harsher conditions.
