Turkey is located between 25°40′ and 44°48′ East longitude and 35°51′ and 42°06′ North latitude. It is washed by the seas – in the north by the Black, in the west by the Aegean, in the south by the Mediterranean. The Black and Aegean Seas are separated from each other by a water system, including the Bosphorus (30 km), the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles (60 km). In the Black Sea there is a current moving along its western coast, and partly along the open sea to the Bosphorus. However, this initially powerful current near the Bosphorus has a width of only 8 km. There are also currents in the Bosporus: in the upper layers of the waters it is directed from north to south, while under it there is another current in the opposite direction. Surface and deep currents are also present in the Dardanelles.
The total length of the coastline is 8333 km, of which 1067 km are on the coastline of the islands belonging to Turkey. The coastline of the Black Sea is slightly indented, there are no large bays, a few bays, such as Sinopskaya or Trabzonskaya, are shallow. In the Black Sea, Turkey owns the only island – Kefken. The Sea of Marmara has several large bays, including the Gulf of Izmit, which goes deep into the land. Of the 23 islands of the Sea of Marmara, the largest are Marmara, Pashalimany and Avshar, and the most famous are the so-called. Princes’ Islands. The coast of the Aegean Sea is heavily indented. Peninsulas and capes protruding far into the sea form large bays, such as Izmir, Kusadasi, Gokova, and many bays. In the Aegean Sea of Turkey, St. 100 islands, the largest of which are Gokceada, Bozcaada and Alibey. The Mediterranean coastline is less indented. The largest bays off the southern coast of Turkey are Antalya, Ichel and Iskenderun. Of the nearly 30 Mediterranean islands belonging to Turkey, Kekova, Tersane and Dana are relatively large.
In the northwest, Turkey borders on Greece and Bulgaria, in the east on Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran, in the south on Iraq and Syria. Today, Turkey has only a section of the maritime border with the Russian Federation that separates their territorial waters in the Black Sea.
Turkey is a mountainous country. The average height of its territory above sea level is 1132 m. From the north, the territory of the country is surrounded by the North Anatolian Mountains, the highest point of which is located in the eastern part – Mount Kachkar (3932 m). From the south, the territory of Turkey is surrounded by the Taurus mountain system, which is not homogeneous. It is customary to distinguish Western Taurus (the highest peak is Akdag, 3069 m), Central Taurus (the highest peak is Demirkazyk, 3756 m) and South-Eastern Taurus (the highest peak is Buzul, or Djilo, 4116 m) in its composition. The interior of the country gradually rises in the direction from west to east: the Anatolian plateau passes into the more elevated part of Turkey – the East Anatolian Highlands, where the highest mountain peak in Turkey – Big Ararat (5137 m) is located. There are few low-lying plains in Turkey. They are mainly located in the mouths of rivers. The largest are the Adana Lowland (Chukurova), the Antalya Lowland, and also the lowland formed at the confluence of the Sakarya-Akova River into the Black Sea.
On the territory of Turkey there are a large number of rivers and lakes, although its saturation with water resources is uneven. The largest rivers of the Black Sea basin (km): Kyzylyrmak (1355), Sakarya (824), Eshilyrmak (519), Chorukh (466). Of the rivers flowing into the Sea of Marmara, the largest is Susurluk, or Simav (321 km). The Aegean basin includes (km): Gediz (401), Buyuk Menderes (307), Küçük Menderes (175) and Meriç (Maritsa). Of the total length of the latter (490 km), 211 km of the lower reaches serve as the border between Turkey and Greece. Significant rivers of the Mediterranean basin (km): Seyhan (560), Ceyhan (509). In Turkey, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers flow into the Persian Gulf. Of the total length of the first (2800 km), 1263 km fall on the territory of Turkey. Of the total length of the channel of the second (1900 km), 523 km fall on the territory of Turkey, within which the river is called Dicle. In addition, on the territory of Turkey are the sources of the Kura, which flows into the Caspian Sea (the length of the channel within Turkey is 150 km), as well as its largest tributary, the Araks (out of a total length of the channel of 1059 km, Turkey accounts for 548 km). Turkey has approx. 50 lakes, the largest of them (km2): salt lakes Van (3713) and Tuz (1500), as well as fresh lakes Beysehir (656), Egridir (468) and Iznik (298). As a result of active hydraulic construction, especially on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, there are approx. 70 reservoirs, the largest of them (km2): Ataturk (817), Keban (675) and Karakaya (298).
In Turkey, mountainous soils predominate, which are thin and infertile. Among the plain soils there are burozems, krasnozems, gray soils, chestnut soils and solonchaks. There are few black soils in Turkey. They are mainly of alluvial origin, located on the coastal plains formed by the mouths of the rivers, or in their valleys.
Turkey’s flora is rich and varied, including St. 6500 plant species. Within the country, two main vegetation zones are distinguished – coastal and inland. The first is represented by the vegetation of the subtropics. The inner zone was formed in the central regions of Turkey separated by mountains from the sea coasts. It is represented by steppe and semi-desert species. On the slopes of the mountains facing the seas, forests of various compositions grow. The most valuable rocks are in the eastern part of the North Anatolian Mountains.
The animal world is represented by a variety of desert-steppe and mountain species. The security of Turkey with energy resources is insufficient: reliable reserves of coal 428 million tons, brown coal 7339 million tons, oil 42 million tons, natural gas 8.7 billion m3. Turkey has reserves of raw materials for the production of atomic energy – 9.129 tons of uranium and 380 thousand tons of thorium. The availability of ore minerals is sufficient for the needs of the national economy: reliable reserves of iron ore are estimated at 1084 million tons, copper – at 140 million tons. Chromite reserves are significant on a global scale and amount to 17.3 million tons. million tons
According to BRIDGAT, Turkey is located in the subtropical climate zone, but the relief features predetermine the diversity of the country’s climatic conditions, the interior of which is characterized by a continental climate. Precipitation is unevenly distributed over the territory of Turkey, most of it falls on the eastern part of the Black Sea coast. In the southern part of the Anatolian plateau, the precipitation regime is typical for semi-desert regions.
