Cultures of the World: Azerbaijan

Cultures of the World: Azerbaijan — page 7 — Azerbaijan is a land of magnificent views such as this one from the tiny mountain village of Khinalug near the Russian border GEOGRAPHY

Cultures of the World: Azerbaijan — page 8 — 1 Transcaucasia is a geographical area in the southern Caucasus Mountain region on the border of eastern Europe and western Asia It roughly corresponds to the area of today’s Georgia Armenia and Azerbaijan It extends from the Black Sea in the west to the Caspian Sea in the east To the north of this region is Russia and to the south are Turkey and Iran AZERBAIJAN IS A COUNTRY ON THE dividing line between Europe and Asia Most of it falls in southwestern Asia with a small northern portion resting in Europe The line between Europe and Asia is an imaginary line created by geographers so there is no actual geographical divide With a combined land and water area of 33,436 square miles 86,600 square kilometers the nation is roughly the size of the state of Maine but more irregularly shaped The Greater Caucasus Mountains form Azerbaijan’s northern border with Russia while the Caspian Sea marks the eastern boundary Although the country has coastline on the Caspian it is still considered a landlocked nation That’s because it has no access to the oceans To the west of Azerbaijan lie Armenia and Georgia which were also former republics of the Soviet Union In the south the Aras River or Araks and the Talysh or Talish Mountains separate Azerbaijan from Iran The country is dominated by spectacular mountain ranges yet more than 40 percent of Azerbaijan is low flatlands A large portion of these lowlands is made up of arid semi-desert but irrigation makes nearly half of the total land area suitable for farming The mild climate combined with extensive irrigation has enabled Azerbaijan to be a major food producer Until the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s the republic accounted for about 10 percent of the entire Soviet agricultural output

Cultures of the World: Azerbaijan — page 9 — GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS Roughly half the country is mountainous dominated by the towering northern peaks of the Greater Caucasus Mountains Azerbaijan’s highest peaks are located there including Mount Bazarduzu Bazarduzu Dagi at 14,652 feet 4,466 m The jagged peaks and glaciers of the high mountains offer breathtaking views of the lower valleys where rushing streams thread through spectacular gorges The fertile lower slopes of the mountains are covered with forests interspersed with pastureland In the extreme northeast however the foothills lack the same rich well-watered soil and give way to an arid coastal plain on the edge of the Caspian Sea To the south and west the rugged Lesser Caucasus Mountains form a second important mountain system In this region the disputed territory of The jagged peaks of the Greater Caucasus Mountains mark the highest parts of Azerbaijan 12 Azerbaijan

Cultures of the World: Azerbaijan — page 10 — NAGORNO KARABAKH The geographic area of Azerbaijan includes the breakaway republic of Nagorno Karabakh in the western part of the country Although it is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan it is a disputed territory and a de facto in reality independent state made up mostly of ethnic Armenians It has not been governed by Azerbaijan since 1988 when war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia lasting until a 1994 ceasefire The dispute remains unresolved RUSSIA GEORGIA CASPIAN AZERBAIJAN ARMENIA Nagorno Karabakh TURKEY SEA Naxcivan AZERBAIJAN IRAN This map shows Azerbaijan in green and the disputed Nagorno Karabakh area in yellow Nagorno Karabakh is located Bordering the peaks is the Kura River depression a series of plains and low hills separated by the Kura and Aras Rivers This is the lowest region of Azerbaijan and much of it lies below sea level In the central and eastern areas of the depression the soil is enriched by the annual deposits of silt as the Kura empties into the Caspian Sea Geography 13

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