Turkey

Location	Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria
Geographic coordinates	39 00 N, 35 00 E
Map references	Middle East
Area	total: 783,562 sq km land: 769,632 sq km water: 13,930 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Texas
Land boundaries	total: 2,648 km border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 352 km, Syria 822 km
Coastline	7,200 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea; 12 nm in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR
Climate	temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Terrain	high central plateau (Anatolia); narrow coastal plain; several mountain ranges
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
Natural resources	coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower
Land use	arable land: 29.81% permanent crops: 3.39% other: 66.8% (2005)
Irrigated land	52,150 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	234 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 39.78 cu km/yr (15%/11%/74%) per capita: 544 cu m/yr (2001)
Natural hazards	severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van volcanism: limited volcanic activity; its three historically active volcanoes; Ararat, Nemrut Dagi, and Tendurek Dagi have not erupted since the 19th century or earlier
Environment - current issues	water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note	strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas; Mount Ararat, the legendary landing place of Noah's ark, is in the far eastern portion of the country