Azerbaijan Geography

Republic of Azerbaijan is found in the southeastern part of the Caucasus, bordering Georgia in the northwest, Armenia and Turkey in the west and southwest, Iran in the south, and the Caspian Sea in the east. The total area includes the enclave of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan. In addition to the mainland, the territory of Azerbaijan includes several islands located along the coast of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Baku. It is known as a multi-denominational country where different communities, religions and philosophies of peace coexist.

Territory

The territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is 86,600 km.²

The length of the land borders is 2,646 km²

The length of the borders of the Republic with the border states: with Armenia – 1007km, with Georgia – 480km, with Iran – 756km, with Russia – 390km and with Turkey – 13km

Climate

As a country located in Asia according to CONSTRUCTMATERIALS, Azerbaijan has an extraordinary diversity of climates, which includes nine climate zones. They range from arid sub-tropical and humid subtropical to tundra climates with cold and dry weather. The annual average temperature ranges from 15 degrees Celsius in the lowlands to 0 degrees in the mountains. The average temperature in July is 21 degrees in the lowlands and 5 degrees in the highlands.

Summers are dry in the lowlands. The distribution of annual rainfall is very uneven, with 20 to 30.5 cm in the coastal areas and in the southeastern lowlands, from 30.5 to 88.9 cm in the foothills of the mid-elevation mountains, from 99 to 129 cm on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus and 119 to 139.7 cm in the southern Lankran lowlands.

Topography

Mountains cover half of Azerbaijan and three main relief features converge in the country: the Greater Caucasus Mountains in the northeast, the Lesser Caucasus in the southwest, and the Kurá River depression in the middle. In the most southeastern part of the country, the Araz river valley stretches between the Zangazúr and Dereleyéz. Mount Bazarduzu, which is located in the Greater Caucasus Mountains and on the border of Russia, is the highest peak in Azerbaijan, reaching 4,485 meters.

At the higher elevations, there are countless glaciers, while the mid-elevation mountain ranges are dissected by deep chasms. The Greater Caucasus drops sharply in the east and shrinks from low, arid hills. North of the Greater Caucasus, in eastern Azerbaijan, lies the sloping Gusár Plateau. The lowest region in the country, the Kurá depression in the southeast, is divided into two parts. Its western zone and the northern edge are characterized by hills, ridges and valleys.

Along the foothills of the southeastern subtropical coast, there are tea and citrus plantations, numerous mud volcanoes and mineral springs, while ravines and ravines are predominant near Gobustan Mountain, located west of Baku. The central and eastern parts of the depression consist of alluvial plains and the lower delta of the Kurá River along the coast. Azerbaijan’s Caspian coastline nearly 805 kilometers long is largely consistent. The largest projections are the Absherón peninsula, the Sara peninsula and the Kurá sandbar.

Hydrography

There are more than 1 000 rivers in Azerbaijan, the Kura River, the largest river in the South Caucasus, flows through Azerbaijan from the northwest to the 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 Kurá River is the Araz River, also known as the Araxes. Most of Azerbaijan’s rivers are in the Kurá basin. In the plains, rivers are used for irrigation. The large Mingachevír Hydroelectric Power Plant and Mingachevír Depósito are located in the Kurá. Most of the 250 lakes in Azerbaijan are small.

Natural resources

In addition to well-known oil and gas deposits, Azerbaijan has rich deposits of natural minerals that are useful in chemistry, metallurgy, building construction, and health therapy. These include ferrous and non-ferrous metals, minerals, rare and fine, semi-precious stones, as well as a wide variety of underground sources of thermal mineral and natural spring water. Overall, approximately 340 deposits of metallic and non-metallic minerals were discovered in Azerbaijan and 100 of them are in exploitation.

Farming

Azerbaijan has cotton, grains, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco ; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and 18% of its territory is farmland.

Population

At the beginning of 2010, the population of Azerbaijan reached 9.2 million residents. Azerbaijan is home to more than 70 different ethnic groups, including Kurds, Jews, Russians, Armenians, Lesguins, and many others. However, the vast majority of the country’s population are Azerbaijanis and the official language is Azerbaijani.

To date 330 religious communities are registered in the State Committee of Religious Associations. Muslim 93.4%; Russian-Orthodox 2.5%; Armenian-Orthodox 2.3%; and other 1.8% [3]

The Languages spoken in Azerbaijan are: Azerbaijani (Azerbaijani) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, others 6% (est 1995.). 97.0% of the total are literate; of them 99.0% men and 96% women [4] . The life expectancy is: Men: 58.65 years; Women: 67.49 years [5]

Azerbaijan Geography