The geology of the Mediterranean is complex, involving the break-up and then collision of the African and Eurasian plates, and the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the late Miocene when the Mediterranean dried up. The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m and the deepest recorded point is 5267 meters (about 3.27 miles) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea. The coastline extends for 46,000 km. A shallow submarine ridge (the Strait of Sicily) between the island of Sicily and the coast of Tunisia divides the sea in two main subr ...

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As a result of the drying of the sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, the marine biota of the Mediterranean are derived primarily from the Atlantic Ocean. The North Atlantic is considerably colder and more nutrient-rich than the Mediterranean, and the marine life of the Mediterranean has had to adapt to its differing conditions in the five million years since the basin was reflooded. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 created the first salt-water passage between the Mediterranean and Red seas. The Red Sea is higher than the Ea ...

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Turkey's diverse regions have different climates, with the weather system on the coasts contrasting with that prevailing in the interior. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts have cool, rainy winters and hot, moderately dry summers. Annual precipitation in those areas varies from 580 to 1,300 millimeters, depending on location. Generally, rainfall is less to the east. The Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of rainfall. The eastern part of that coast averages 1,400 millimeters annually and is the only region of Tur ...

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Geography of Turkey, Geography of Turkey - External boundaries, Geography of Turkey - Geology, Geography of Turkey - Regions, Geography of Turkey - Black Sea, Geography of Turkey - Marmara, Geography of Turkey - Aegean, Geography of Turkey - Mediterranean, Geography of Turkey - Central Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - East Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Southeast Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Climate, Geography of Turkey - Land use, Geography of Turkey - Natural hazards, Geography of Turkey - Environment, Geography of Turkey - Current issues, Geography of Turkey - International agreements, Geography of Turkey - Note, Geography of Turkey - Sources

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The Black Sea (known as the Euxine Sea in antiquity) is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara, and to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch. There is a net inflow of seawater through the Bosporus, 200 km³ per year. There is an inflow of freshwater from the surrounding areas, especially central and middle-eastern Europe, totalling 320 km³ per year. The most important ...

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Land use: arable land: 32% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 16% forests and woodland: 26% other: 22% (1993 est.) Irrigated land: 36,740 sq km (1993 est.) Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m Mount Olympos, Olympos is a valley at the south coast of Turkey, 90k ...

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Geography of Turkey, Geography of Turkey - External boundaries, Geography of Turkey - Geology, Geography of Turkey - Regions, Geography of Turkey - Black Sea, Geography of Turkey - Marmara, Geography of Turkey - Aegean, Geography of Turkey - Mediterranean, Geography of Turkey - Central Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - East Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Southeast Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Climate, Geography of Turkey - Land use, Geography of Turkey - Natural hazards, Geography of Turkey - Environment, Geography of Turkey - Current issues, Geography of Turkey - International agreements, Geography of Turkey - Note, Geography of Turkey - Sources

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Land boundaries: 2,627 km border countries: Greece 206 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 331 km, Syria 822 km Coastline: 7,200 km Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR territorial sea: 6 nm in the Aegean Sea; 12 nm in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea Turkey is bounded by eight countries and six bodies of water. Surrounded by water on three sides and pr ...

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Geography of Turkey, Geography of Turkey - External boundaries, Geography of Turkey - Geology, Geography of Turkey - Regions, Geography of Turkey - Black Sea, Geography of Turkey - Marmara, Geography of Turkey - Aegean, Geography of Turkey - Mediterranean, Geography of Turkey - Central Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - East Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Southeast Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Climate, Geography of Turkey - Land use, Geography of Turkey - Natural hazards, Geography of Turkey - Environment, Geography of Turkey - Current issues, Geography of Turkey - International agreements, Geography of Turkey - Note, Geography of Turkey - Sources

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Geography of Turkey - 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. Geography of Turkey - International agreements. Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Antarctic ...

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Geography of Turkey, Geography of Turkey - External boundaries, Geography of Turkey - Geology, Geography of Turkey - Regions, Geography of Turkey - Black Sea, Geography of Turkey - Marmara, Geography of Turkey - Aegean, Geography of Turkey - Mediterranean, Geography of Turkey - Central Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - East Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Southeast Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Climate, Geography of Turkey - Land use, Geography of Turkey - Natural hazards, Geography of Turkey - Environment, Geography of Turkey - Current issues, Geography of Turkey - International agreements, Geography of Turkey - Note, Geography of Turkey - Sources

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Turkey's varied landscapes are the product of complex earth movements that have shaped Anatolia over thousands of years and still manifest themselves in fairly frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. Except for a relatively small portion of its territory along the Syrian border that is a continuation of the Arabian Platform, Turkey geologically is part of the great Alpine belt that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Himalaya Mountains. This belt was formed during the Tertiary Period (about 65 million to 1.6 million B.C.), ...

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Geography of Turkey, Geography of Turkey - External boundaries, Geography of Turkey - Geology, Geography of Turkey - Regions, Geography of Turkey - Black Sea, Geography of Turkey - Marmara, Geography of Turkey - Aegean, Geography of Turkey - Mediterranean, Geography of Turkey - Central Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - East Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Southeast Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Climate, Geography of Turkey - Land use, Geography of Turkey - Natural hazards, Geography of Turkey - Environment, Geography of Turkey - Current issues, Geography of Turkey - International agreements, Geography of Turkey - Note, Geography of Turkey - Sources

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For more detail, see the main article at Black Sea deluge theory. In 1997, William Ryan and Walter Pitman from Columbia University published a theory that a massive flood through the Bosporus occurred in ancient times. They claim that the Black and Caspian Seas were vast freshwater lakes, but that about 5600 BC, the Mediterranean spilled over a rocky sill at the Bosporus, creating the current communication between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Subsequent work has been done to both support and discredit this theory, and it re ...

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Distinct contrasts between the interior and periphery of Turkey are manifested in its landform regions, climate, soils, and vegetation. The periphery is divided into the Black Sea region, the Marmara region, the Aegean region, and the Mediterranean region. The interior is also divided into three regions: the Pontus and Taurus mountain ranges, the Anatolian Plateau, and the eastern highlands. The seventh region of the country is the Arabian Platform in the southeast, adjacent to the Syrian border. See also:

Geography of Turkey, Geography of Turkey - External boundaries, Geography of Turkey - Geology, Geography of Turkey - Regions, Geography of Turkey - Black Sea, Geography of Turkey - Marmara, Geography of Turkey - Aegean, Geography of Turkey - Mediterranean, Geography of Turkey - Central Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - East Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Southeast Anatolia, Geography of Turkey - Climate, Geography of Turkey - Land use, Geography of Turkey - Natural hazards, Geography of Turkey - Environment, Geography of Turkey - Current issues, Geography of Turkey - International agreements, Geography of Turkey - Note, Geography of Turkey - Sources

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The term Mediterranean derives from the Latin mediterraneus, 'inland' (medius, 'middle' + terra, 'land, earth'), in Greek "mesogeios". The Mediterranean Sea has been known by a number of alternative names throughout human history. It was, for example, commonly called Mare Nostrum (Latin, Our Sea) by the Romans. In the Bible, it is referred to as the Great Sea or the Western Sea. In modern Hebrew, it is called "ha-Yam ha-Tichon" (הים התיכון), "the middle sea", a literal adaptation of t ...

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The Mediterranean Sea is sub-divided into a number of smaller seas, each with their own designation (from west to east): the Alboran Sea, between Spain and Morocco, the Catalan Sea, between the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic Islands, the Ligurian Sea between Corsica and Liguria (Italy), the Tyrrhenian Sea enclosed by Sardinia, Italian peninsula and Sicily, the Adriatic Sea between the Italian peninsula and the Dalmatian coast, the Ionian Sea between Italy and Greece, the ...

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