Geography and Climate
Gregory Twyman, Monmouth University

The Republic of Azerbaijan is an independent country located in the southeastern Caucasus region of western Asia. Geographic grid coordinates: 40 30 N, 47 30 E  Azerbaijan has a total area of 33,400 square miles (86,600 km) and shares borders with the Russian Federation on the north (284 km), Georgia on the northwest (322 km), Armenia on the west, southwest (221 km), Iran on the south (432 km) and the Caspian Sea on the east (800 km est).  The region of Iran, south of the Araz River, which marks the border, is also known as Azerbaijan.  People on both sides of this border speak the same Turkic language, share the religion of Islam and once shared a common history, until the Russian annexation of Azerbaijan north of the Araz River as a result of the Treaty of Turkmanchai, February 10, 1828.

Mountainous road to Guba

Azerbaijan was part of the Russian Empire from the early 19th century to 1918, briefly an independent republic from 1918 to 1920, and a part of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1991.  On August 30, 1991, it declared its independence from the Soviet Union.  Independence was officially restored on October 18, 1991.  The capital and largest city of Azerbaijan is Baku.  The republic includes two administrative divisions with special status.  These are the autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, which is separated from Azerbaijan proper by southern Armenia, and the autonomous district of Nagorno-Karabakh (Qarabag), which is occupied mainly by Armenians and was seized by Armenian military forces in 1992.

THE LAND

Terrain Features

Mountains cover half of Azerbaijan and three of the dominant relief features converge within the country.  These features are the Greater Caucasus Mountains in the northeast, the Lesser Caucasus in the southwest and the Kura River depression in between.  In the extreme southeast, the Araz River Valley extends between the Zangazur and Dilagarez ranges.  The highest elevation, 14715 feet (4485 meters) on Mount Bazardyuzyu, is in the Greater Caucasus, on the border with Russia.  The higher mountains abound in glaciers and rapids, while the mid-elevation ranges are separated by deep chasms.  The Greater Caucasus' descend abruptly in the east and shrink to low, arid hills.  To the north of the Greater Caucasus, in eastern Azerbaijan, extends the sloping Gusar Plateau.  The lowest region in the country, the Kura depression in the southeast, is divided into two parts.  Its western area and northern rim are marked by hills, ridges and valleys.  Along the foot hills of the subtropical southeastern coast viewers can observe tea plantations, citrus groves, numerous mud volcanoes, and minerals springs, along the gulches and ravines of Gobustan mountain to the west of Baku.  The central and eastern areas of the depression consist of alluvial plains and the low delta of the Kura River along the coast.  Much of this low-lying area is threatened by rising levels of the Caspian Sea.  The 500-mile (800 km) long Caspian cost line of Azerbaijan is largely consistent.  The largest land projections are the Absheron peninsula, the Sara Peninsula and the Kura sand bar.

Baku Harbour

Rivers and Lakes

Of the more than 1000 rivers in Azerbaijan, only 21 are longer than 60 miles (97 km).  The Kura, the largest river in the Transcaucasia, flows through Azerbaijan from northwest to southeast and empties into the Caspian Sea.  The Caspian is the source of the world's largest population of caviar-producing sturgeon. The main tributary of the Kura is the Araz River, also known as the Araxes.  Most of Azerbaijan's rivers are in the Kura basin.  In the plains the rivers are used for crop irrigation.  The large Mingachevir Hydroelectric Power Plant and the Migachevir Reservoir, 234 square miles (605 square km) in area, are located on the Kura.  Most of the 250 lakes in Azerbaijan are small.  Lake Hajigabul is the largest, with an area of 6 square miles (16 square km), and Lake Boyukshor with an area of 4 square miles (10 square km) is next largest.

Climate

Azerbaijan has a unique diversity of climates, which includes nine climate zones out of thirteen existing zones.  These range from arid sub-tropical and humid sub-tropical to a mountainous tundra climate (cold, dry).  The mean annual temperature ranges from 59F (15C) in low-lying areas to 32F (0C) in the mountains.  The mean temperatures in July are 70F (26C) in low-lying areas and 41F (5C) in the highlands.  Summers are dry in the lowlands.  The distribution of annual rainfall is highly uneven, with 8 to 12 inches (200-300mm) in coastal areas and in the southeastern lowlands, 12 to 35 inches (300-900 mm), in the foothills of the medium-elevation mountains, 39 to 51 inches (1000- 1300 mm) in the southern slopes of the Great Caucasus range and 47 to 55 inches (1200-1400) in the southern Lankaran lowland.  In the lowland, precipitation decreases in the winter, and in the mountains and hills, it decreases primarily from April to September.

The city of Sheki

FACT BOX

Capital: Baku
Population (July 2000): 8,113,000
Area: 33,440 square mile (86,600 sq km)

Elevation:
Highest point: 14,715 feet (4,485 meters) Mount Bazardyuzyu
Lowest point: 85 feet (26 meters) below sea level

Principal language: Azerbaijani
Principal religion: Islam 70% Shiia, 30% Sunni(not an official religion)
Political divisions: 76 Administrative Divisions, 1 autonomous republic, 1 autonomous district

Currency unit: 1 Manat = 100 gapiks
National holiday: May 28, Republic Day
National anthem: Azarbayjan vatanimizsan (Azerbaijan, Our Homeland)