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
