Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey

 

Eastern Anatolia Region (Turkish: Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi) encompasses the eastern provinces of Turkey, and it is one of the 7 non-administrative sub-divisions used for census purposes.
The region and the name of "Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi" were first defined at the First Geography Congress, 1941 to replace terms such as "Armenian plateau" and "Armenian highlands" used in non-Turkish publications to describe the region.
It has the highest average altitude, largest area and lowest population density of all regions of Turkey.

Location and borders

Eastern Anatolia Region is located in the easternmost part of Anatolia, Turkey. It is bounded by; Central Anatolia Region to the west, Black Sea Region to the north, Southeast Anatolia Region and Iraq to the south and; Iran, Nakhichevan and Armenia to the east.

The area of the region is 171.061 km² which is 21% of the total area of Turkey.

Provinces

• Ağrı Province
• Ardahan Province
• Bingöl Province
• Bitlis Province
• Elazığ Province
• Erzincan Province
• Erzurum Province
• Hakkari Province
• Iğdır Province
• Kars Province
• Malatya Province
• Muş Province
• Tunceli Province
• Van Province

Population

The total population of the region is 6,100,000 (2000 census). The rural population is larger than the urban population. The migration level (to the other regions, especially to Marmara Region) is high and population density (35 person/km²) is lower than the average for Turkey (85 person/km²).

Geography

The average altitude is 2200 m. Major geographic features include plains, plateaus and massifs. There is some volcanic activity today.

Massifs and mountains

• There are three massif lines running north-south:
  • To the north, the Çimen Dağı, Kop Dağıand Yalnızçam mountains
  • In the centre, the Munzur, Karasu Dağı, Aras Dağı mountains
  • To the south, Southeast Tauros, Bitlis, Hakkari, and Buzul mountains.
• The volcanic mountains Nemrut, Süphan, Tendürek and Ararat are in the region.

Plateaus and plains

• The largest plateau in the region is Erzurum-Kars Plato.
• The region includes the Malatya, Elazığ, Bingöl, Muş plains and the Van Lake Basin.

Lakes

• Van Gölü is the largest lake in Turkey.
• Hazar
• Balık
• Bulanık
• Nazik
• Çıldır
• Erçek

Rivers

• Fırat
• Dicle
• Aras
• Kura
• Zap

Climate and Nature

• Since most of the region is far from the sea, and has high altitude, it has a long winter and short summer periods.

During the winter, it is cold and snowy, during summer the weather is cool in the highlands and hot in the lowlands. The region has the lowest average temperature of all Turkish regions.(-25°C) The Summer average is about 20°C. The region's annual temperature difference is the highest in Turkey. However, some areas in the region have different microclimates. As an example Iğdır (near Mt. Ararat) has a very warm climate.

• The region contains 11% percent of the total forested area of Turkey(Fifth in rank). Oak and yellowpine trees form the majority of the forests.
• The region is rich in native plants and animals.

The region has great potential for the generation of power through hydroelectricity.

See also

• Provinces of Turkey
• Lesser Armenia
• Western Armenia

	Census-defined regions of Turkey
Aegean Region | Black Sea Region |Central Anatolia Region |East Anatolia Region |Marmara Region |Mediterranean Region |Southeastern Anatolia Region

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