Geography of Azerbaijan
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2008-07-05T16:29:11Z
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[[Image:Azerbaijan 1995 CIA map.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Detailed map of Azerbaijan]]
[[Image:Satellite image of Azerbaijan in March 2003.jpg|thumb|right|300px|NASA satellite image of Azerbaijan.]]
[[Image:Flooding in Azerbaijan.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Subtle changes due to rising sea level can be seen along this coastline]]
'''[[Azerbaijan]]''' is situated in the [[Caucasus]] region of [[Eurasia]]. Three physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the [[Caspian Sea]], whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the [[Greater Caucasus]] mountain range to the north; and the extensive flatlands at the country's center. About the size of [[Portugal]] or the state of [[Maine]], Azerbaijan has a total land area of approximately 86,600 [[square kilometer]]s, less than 1% of the land area of the former [[Soviet Union]]. Of the three Transcaucasian states, Azerbaijan has the greatest land area. Special administrative subdivisions are the [[Nakhchivan|Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic]], which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by a strip of [[Armenia]]n territory, and the [[Nagorno-Karabakh|Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region]], entirely within Azerbaijan. (The status of Nagorno-Karabakh was under negotiation in 1994.) Located in the region of the southern Caucasus Mountains, Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea to the east, Georgia and Russia to the north, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the southwest and west. A small part of Nakhchivan also borders Turkey to the northwest. The capital of Azerbaijan is the ancient city of Baku, which has the largest and best harbor on the Caspian Sea and has long been the center of the republic's oil industry.
; [[Geographic coordinates]]:
: {{coor dm|40|30|N|47|30|E|type:country}}
==Topography and drainage==
[[Image:Azerbaijan Topography.png|thumb|right|Topography of Azerbaijan]]
The elevation changes over a relatively short distance from lowlands to highlands; nearly half the country is considered mountainous. Notable physical features are the gently undulating hills of the subtropical southeastern coast, which are covered with tea plantations, orange groves, and lemon groves; numerous mud volcanoes and mineral springs in the ravines of [[Kobustan Mountain]] near Baku; and coastal terrain that lies as much as twenty-eight meters below sea level.
Except for its eastern Caspian shoreline and some areas bordering Georgia and Iran, Azerbaijan is ringed by mountains. To the northeast, bordering Russia's Dagestan Autonomous Republic, is the [[Greater Caucasus]] range; to the west, bordering Armenia, is the [[Lesser Caucasus]] range. To the extreme southeast, the [[Talysh Mountains]] form part of the border with Iran. The highest elevations occur in the Greater Caucasus, where [[Mount Bazar-dyuzi]] rises 4,740 meters above sea level. Eight large rivers flow down from the Caucasus ranges into the central [[Kura-Aras Lowlands]], alluvial flatlands and low delta areas along the seacoast designated by the Azerbaijani name for the [[Mtkvari River]](Kur) and its main tributary, the Aras. The Mtkvari, the longest river in the Caucasus region, forms the delta and drains into the Caspian a short distance downstream from the confluence with the Aras. The [[Mingechaur Reservoir]], with an area of 605 square kilometers that makes it the largest body of water in Azerbaijan, was formed by damming the Kura in western Azerbaijan. The waters of the reservoir provide hydroelectric power and irrigation of the KuraAras plain. Most of the country's rivers are not navigable. About 15% of the land in Azerbaijan is arable.
==Climate==
The climate varies from subtropical and dry in central and eastern Azerbaijan to subtropical and humid in the southeast, temperate along the shores of the Caspian Sea, and cold at the higher mountain elevations. Baku, on the Caspian, enjoys mild weather, averaging 4°C in January and 25°C in July. Because most of Azerbaijan receives scant rainfall--on average 152 to 254 millimeters annually--agricultural areas require irrigation. Heaviest precipitation occurs in the highest elevations of the Caucasus and in the Lenkoran' Lowlands in the far southeast, where the yearly average exceeds 1,000 millimeters.
==Environmental problems==
Air and water pollution are widespread and pose great challenges to economic development. Major sources of pollution include oil refineries and chemical and metallurgical industries, which in the early 1990s continued to operate as inefficiently as they had in the Soviet era. Air quality is extremely poor in Baku, the center of oil refining. Some reports have described Baku's air as the most polluted in the former Soviet Union, and other industrial centers suffer similar problems.
The Caspian Sea, including Baku Bay, has been polluted by oil leakages and the dumping of raw or inadequately treated sewage, reducing the yield of caviar and fish. In the Soviet period, Azerbaijan was pressed to use extremely heavy applications of pesticides to improve its output of scarce subtropical crops for the rest of the Soviet Union. The continued regular use of the pesticide DDT in the 1970s and 1980s was an egregious lapse, although that chemical was officially banned in the Soviet Union because of its toxicity to humans. Excessive application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has caused extensive groundwater pollution and has been linked by Azerbaijani scientists to birth defects and illnesses. Rising water levels in the Caspian Sea, mainly caused by natural factors exacerbated by man-made structures, have reversed the decades-long drying trend and now threaten coastal areas; the average level rose 1.5 meters between 1978 and 1993. Because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, large numbers of trees were felled, roads were built through pristine areas, and large expanses of agricultural land were occupied by military forces.
Like other former Soviet republics, Azerbaijan faces a gigantic environmental cleanup complicated by the economic uncertainties left in the wake of the Moscow-centered planning system. The Committee for the Protection of the Natural Environment is part of the Azerbaijani government, but in the early 1990s it was ineffective at targeting critical applications of limited funds, establishing pollution standards, or monitoring compliance with environmental regulations. Early in 1994, plans called for Azerbaijan to participate in the international Caspian Sea Forum, sponsored by the European Union (EU).
; [[Natural hazard]]s:
: Droughts; some lowland areas threatened by rising levels of the Caspian Sea
; [[Natural environment|Environment]]--current issues:
: Local scientists consider the Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) (including Baky and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, water, and soil [[pollution]]; soil pollution results from the use of [[DDT]] as a pesticide and also from toxic defoliants used in the production of [[cotton]].
; Environment - international agreements:
:* Party to: Climate Change, [[Desertification]], Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
:* Signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity
==Area and boundaries==
; [[Area]]:
:* Total: [[1 E10 m²|86,600 km²]]
:* Land: 86,100 km²
:* Water: 500 km²
:* Note: Includes the exclave of [[Nakhchevan|Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic]] and the [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] region; the region's autonomy was abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on [[November 26]], [[1991]].
; Area comparative
:* [[Australia]] comparative: slightly smaller than [[Tasmania]]
:* [[Canada]] comparative: larger than [[New Brunswick]]
:* [[United Kingdom]] comparative: slightly larger than [[Scotland]]
:* [[United States]] comparative: slightly smaller than [[Maine]]
:* [[EU]] comparative: slightly smaller than [[Portugal]]
; Land [[Border|boundaries]]:
:* Total: 2,013 km
:* Border countries: [[Armenia]] (with Azerbaijan-proper) 566 km, Armenia (with Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan exclave) 221 km, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] 322 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-proper) 432 km, [[Iran]] (with Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan exclave) 700 km, [[Russia]] 284 km, [[Turkey]] 9 km
; [[Coastline]]:
: 0 km (landlocked). Azerbaijan borders the [[Caspian Sea]]. (800 km, est.)
; [[Maritime claims]]:
: None (landlocked)
; [[Elevation extremes]]:
:* Lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 [[metre|m]]
:* Highest point: [[Bazarduzu Dagi]] 4,485 m (on border with Russia)
:* Highest peak entirely within Azeri territory: Shah Dagi 4,243 m
===Islands===
*[[Bulla Island|Bulla]]
*[[Çikil]]
*[[Çilov]]
*[[Gil Island (Azerbaijan)|Gil]]
*[[Glinyaniy Island|Glinyaniy]]
*[[Nargin]]
*[[Pirallahı]]
*[[Qara Su]]
*[[Qum Island|Qum]]
*[[Səngi Muğan]]
*[[Vulf]]
*[[Zənbil]]
==Resources and land use==
; [[Natural resources]]:
: [[Petroleum]], [[natural gas]], [[iron]] [[ore]], nonferrous metals, [[alumina]], [[gold]] and [[underground water]].
; [[Land use]]:
:* [[Arable land]]: 18%
:* Permanent crops: 5%
:* Permanent pastures: 25%
:* Forests and woodland: 11%
:* Other: 41% (1993 est.)
; [[Irrigated land]]:
: 10,000 km² (1993 est.)
==References==
*{{loc}}
*{{factbook}}
{{Geography of Asia}}
{{Geography of Europe}}
[[Category:Geography of Azerbaijan| ]]
[[bn:আজারবাইজানের ভূগোল]]
[[cs:Geografie Ázerbájdžánu]]
[[es:Geografía de Azerbaiyán]]
[[fr:Géographie de l'Azerbaïdjan]]
[[no:Aserbajdsjans geografi]]
[[nn:Aserbajdsjansk geografi]]
[[pt:Geografia do Azerbaijão]]