Eastern Anatolia Region

Eastern Anatolia Region ( _tr. Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi) encompasses the eastern provinces of Turkey, and it is one of the 7 non-administrative subdivisions used for census purposes. The region and the name of "Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi" were first defined at the First Geography Congress in 1941. It has the highest average altitude, largest area and lowest population density of all regions of Turkey.

Location and borders

Eastern Anatolia Region is located in the easternmost part of Anatolia, Turkey. It is bounded by; Central Anatolia Region to the west, Black Sea Region to the north, Southeast Anatolia Region and Iraq to the south and; Iran, Nakhichevan and Armenia to the east.

The area of the region is 171.061 km² which is 21% of the total area of Turkey.

Provinces

*Ağrı Province
*Ardahan Province
*Bingöl Province
*Bitlis Province
*Elazığ Province
*Erzincan Province
*Erzurum Province
*Hakkari Province
*Iğdır Province
*Kars Province
*Malatya Province
*Muş Province
*Tunceli Province
*Van Province

Population

The total population of the region is 6,100,000 (2000 census).The rural population is larger than the urban population. The migration level (to the other regions, especially to Marmara Region) is high and population density (35 person/km²) is lower than the average for Turkey (85 person/km²).

Geography

The average altitude is 2200 m. Major geographic features include plains, plateaus and massifs. There is some volcanic activity today.

Massifs and mountains
*There are three massif lines running north-south:
**To the north, the Çimen Dağı, Kop Dağıand Yalnızçam mountains
**In the centre, the Munzur, Karasu Dağı, Aras Dağı mountains
**To the south, Southeast Tauros, Bitlis, Hakkari, and Buzul mountains.
*The volcanic mountains Nemrut, Süphan, Tendürek and Ararat are in the region.

Plateaus and plains
*The largest plateau in the region is Erzurum-Kars Plato.
*The region includes the Malatya, Elazığ, Bingöl, Muş plains and the Van Lake basin.

Lakes
*Van Gölü is the largest lake in Turkey.
*Hazar
*Balık
*Bulanık
*Nazik
*Çıldır
*Erçek

Rivers
*Fırat
*Dicle
*Aras
*Kura
*Zap

Climate and nature

Since most of the region is far from the sea, and has high altitude, it has a long winter and short summer periods. During the winter, it is cold and snowy, during summer the weather is cool in the highlands and hot in the lowlands. The region has the lowest average temperature of all Turkish regions.(-25°C)The summer average is about 20°C.

The region's annual temperature difference is the highest in Turkey.

Some areas in the region have different microclimates. As an example Iğdır (near Mount Ararat) has a very warm climate.

The region contains 11% percent of the total forested area of Turkey. Oak and yellow pine trees form the majority of the forests. It is rich in native plants and animals.

The region has high potential for hydroelectric power.