View source for Geography of Azerbaijan

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{{Infobox country geography
| name                 = Azerbaijan
| map                  = Satellite_image_of_Azerbaijan_in_March_2003.jpg
| map_alt              =
| continent            = [[Europe]] and [[Asia]]
| region               = [[Caucasus]]
| coordinates          = {{Coord|40|30|N|47|30|E|type:country_region:AZ|}}
| area ranking         = 112th
| km area              = 86,600
| percent land         = 99.87
| km coastline         = 713
| exclusive economic zone = None, the [[Caspian Sea]] is a lake
| borders              = 
| highest point        = [[Bazardüzü]] <br> {{convert|4,466|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| lowest point         = [[Caspian Sea]] <br> {{convert|-28|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| longest river        = [[Kura (Caspian Sea)|Kura River]] <br> {{convert|1,514|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}
| largest lake         = [[Mingachevir reservoir]] <br> {{convert|605|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}}
| climate              = subtropical and humid in the southeast, subtropical and dry in the center and east, continental and humid in the mountains, and continental and dry in Nakhchivan
| terrain              = mountainous and lowlands
| natural resources    = [[Petroleum]], natural gas, iron [[ore]], nonferrous metals, [[bauxite]]
| natural hazards      = Droughts and floods, rising levels of the Caspian Sea
| environmental issues = [[air pollution]], water pollution, [[desertification]], hazardous wastes, marine dumping, ship pollution
}}

[[File:Azerbaijan map of Köppen climate classification.svg|thumb|300px|Azerbaijan map of Köppen climate classification zones]]

[[Azerbaijan]] is a country in the [[Caucasus]] region, situated at the juncture of [[Eastern Europe]] and [[West Asia]]. 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.<ref name=":0">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite book|last=Curtis|first=Glenn E.|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/94045459/|title=Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia : country studies|date=1995|publisher=[[Federal Research Division]]|isbn=0-8444-0848-4|edition=1st|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=99–101|oclc=31709972}} }}</ref> About the size of [[Portugal]] or the US state of [[Maine]], Azerbaijan has a total land area of approximately 86,600&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, less than 1% of the land area of the former [[Soviet Union]].<ref name=":0" /> Of the three Transcaucasian states, Azerbaijan has the greatest land area.<ref name=":0" /> Special administrative subdivisions are the [[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.<ref name=":0" /> The status of Nagorno-Karabakh is disputed by Armenia, but is internationally recognized as territory of Azerbaijan.

Located in the region of the southern [[Caucasus Mountains]], Azerbaijan borders the [[Caspian Sea]] to the east, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Russia]] to the north, [[Iran]] to the south, and [[Armenia]] to the southwest and west.<ref name=":0" /> A small part of Nakhchivan also borders [[Turkey]] to the northwest.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/aj.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001017121654/http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/aj.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 17, 2000|title=CIA Site Redirect — Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-03-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2096.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613004344/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2096.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 13, 2007|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-03-07}}</ref>

==Topography and drainage==
[[File:Azerbaijan topographic map-de.svg|thumb|300px|right|Topographic map of Azerbaijan]]
The elevation changes over a relatively short distance from lowlands to highlands; nearly half the country is considered mountainous.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" />

Except for its eastern Caspian shoreline and some areas bordering Georgia and Iran, Azerbaijan is ringed by mountains.<ref name=":0" /> To the northeast, bordering Russia's Dagestan Autonomous Republic, is the [[Greater Caucasus]] range; to the west, bordering Armenia, is the [[Lesser Caucasus]] range.<ref name=":0" /> To the extreme southeast, the [[Talysh Mountains]] form part of the border with Iran.<ref name=":0" /> The highest elevations occur in the Greater Caucasus, where [[Bazardüzü|Mount Bazardüzü]] rises 4,466 meters above sea level.<ref name=":0" /> 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]] (Kura) and its main tributary, the Aras.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> The waters of the reservoir provide hydroelectric power and irrigation of the Kura-Aras plain.<ref name=":0" /> Most of the country's rivers are not navigable.<ref name=":0" /> About 15% of the land in Azerbaijan is arable.<ref name=":0" />

{{Location map+ |Azerbaijan |width=300 |float=right |caption=Map of Azerbaijan |places=
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=40.39528 |long=49.88223 |label=Baku }}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=40.68278 |long=46.36056 |label=Ganja  |position=left}}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=40.58972|long=49.66861 |label=Sumqayit  |position=left}}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=40.77000|long=47.04889 |label=Mingachevir  |position=top}}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=40.39667|long=49.97361 |label=Qaraçuxur|position=bottom }}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=39.93194|long=48.92028 |label=Shirvan }}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=39.20889|long=45.41222 |label=Nakhchivan&nbsp;City |position=bottom}}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=40.42167|long=49.96444 |label=Bakıxanov|position=right}}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=41.19194|long=47.17056 |label=Shaki }}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=40.61722|long=47.15000 |label=Yevlakh }}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=39.81528|long=46.75194 |label=Khankedi  |position=left}}
{{Location map~ |Azerbaijan |lat=38.75361|long=48.85111 |label=Lankaran }}
}}

==Mountains==
The country's highest peak, [[Bazardüzü]], rises to 4,485 m in this range at the Azerbaijan-Russia border.

==Climate==

===Temperature===
The climate varies from subtropical and humid in the southeast to subtropical and dry in central and eastern Azerbaijan, continental and humid in the mountains, and continental and dry in Nakhchivan. [[Baku]], on the Caspian, enjoys mild weather that averages {{convert|4|°C|1}} in January and {{convert|25|°C}} in July.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azerbaijans.com/content_457_fr.html|title=Azərbaycan :: Baş səhifə|website=www.azerbaijans.com|language=az|access-date=2018-03-07}}</ref>

===Precipitation===
Physiographic conditions and different atmosphere circulations admit 8 types of air currents including continental, sea, arctic, tropical currents of air that formulates the climate of the Republic. The maximum annual precipitation falls in Lenkeran (1,600 to 1,800&nbsp;mm.) and the minimum in Absheron (200 to 350&nbsp;mm.). The maximum daily precipitation of 334&nbsp;mm was observed at the Bilieser Station in 1955.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azhydromet.com/SRIH/Water%20Resurs.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070524005453/http://www.azhydromet.com/SRIH/Water%20Resurs.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-05-24 |title=Hydromet Azerbaijan |access-date=2018-10-02}}</ref>

=={{anchor|Environmental issues}}Environmental problems==
{{main|Environmental issues in Azerbaijan}}
[[Image:Flooding in Azerbaijan.jpg|thumb|300px|Subtle changes due to falling sea level (in the [[Caspian Sea]]) can be seen along this coastline.]]
Air and water pollution are widespread and pose great challenges to economic development.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> Air quality is extremely poor in Baku, the center of oil refining.<ref name=":0" /> Some reports have described Baku's air as the most polluted in the former Soviet Union, and other industrial centers suffer similar problems.<ref name=":0" />

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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> Excessive application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has caused extensive [[groundwater pollution]] and has been linked by Azerbaijani scientists to birth defects and illnesses.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" />

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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> Early in 1994, plans called for Azerbaijan to participate in the international Caspian Sea Forum, sponsored by the European Union (EU).<ref name=":0" />

; Natural hazards:
: Droughts and floods; some lowland areas threatened by rising levels of the Caspian Sea
; 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 contamination|soil pollution]]; soil pollution results from the use of [[DDT]] as a pesticide and also from toxic defoliants used in the production of [[Cotton production in Azerbaijan|cotton]].
; Environment - international agreements
:* Party to: [[Air Pollution]], [[Biodiversity]], Climate Change, [[Desertification]], Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

==Area and boundaries==
; Area:
:* Total: 86,600 km²
:**''country rank in the world:'' 113rd
:* Land: 82,629 km²
:* Water: 3,971 km²
:* Note: Includes the exclave of [[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: approximately {{sfrac|2|7}} larger than [[Tasmania]]
:* Canada comparative: approximately {{sfrac|1|5}} larger than [[New Brunswick]]
:* United Kingdom comparative: slightly larger than [[Scotland]]
:* United States comparative: slightly smaller than [[Maine]]
:* [[European Union|EU]] comparative: slightly smaller than [[Portugal]]
; Land boundaries:
:* Total: 2,468 km
:* Border countries: [[Armenia]] (with Azerbaijan-proper) 566 km, Armenia (with Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan exclave) 221 km, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] 428 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-proper) 432 km, [[Iran]] (with Azerbaijan-Nakhchivan exclave) 700 km, Russia 338 km, [[Turkey]] 17 km
; Coastline:
: Mostly landlocked, but has a 713 km coastline with the [[Caspian Sea]].
; Maritime claims:
: None 
; Terrain
:* large, flat lowland (much of it below sea-level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, uplands in the west
; Elevation extremes
:* Lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
:* Highest point: [[Bazardüzü]] 4,466 m (on the border with Russia)
:* Highest peak entirely within Azeri territory: [[Mount Shahdagh|Shah Dagi]] 4,243 m

===Islands===
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
*[[Bulla Island|Bulla]]
*[[Çikil]]
*[[Çilov]]
*[[Gil Island (Azerbaijan)|Gil]]
*[[Glinyaniy Island|Glinyaniy]]
*[[Nargin (island)|Nargin]]
*[[Pirallahi Island|Pirallahı]]
*[[Qara Su]]
*[[Qum Island|Qum]]
*[[Səngi Muğan]]
*[[Vulf]]
*[[Zənbil]]
}}

==Resources and land use==
{{Main|Natural resources of Azerbaijan|Geology of Azerbaijan}}
; Natural resources:
: [[Petroleum]], natural gas, iron [[ore]], nonferrous metals, [[bauxite]]
; Land use:
:* [[Arable land]]: 22.95%
:* Permanent crops: 2.79%
:* Other: 74.26% (2012 est.)
; Irrigated land:
:* 14,250 km² (2010)
; Total renewable water resources:
:* 34.68 km<sup>3</sup> (2011)
; Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
:* Total: 12.21 km<sup>3</sup>/yr (4%/18%/78%)
:* Per capita: 1,384 cu m/yr (2010)

==See also==
*[[List of volcanoes in Azerbaijan]]
*{{wikiatlas|Azerbaijan}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===General references===
*{{CIA World Factbook}}

{{Azerbaijan topics}}
{{Geography of Asia}}
{{Asia topic|Climate of}}
{{Geography of Europe}}
{{Europe topic|Climate of}}

[[Category:Geography of Azerbaijan| ]]