Azerbaijan

I

Introduction

Azerbaijan, republic in western Asia. Azerbaijan is the easternmost country in the South Caucasus (the southern portion of the region of the Caucasus), which occupies the southern part of the isthmus between the Black and Caspian seas. The country is bordered on the north by Russia, on the east by the Caspian Sea, on the south by Iran, on the west by Armenia, and on the northwest by Georgia. Azerbaijan also shares a short border with Turkey through its autonomous exclave of Naxçivan (Nakhichevan), which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by a mountainous strip of Armenian territory. Azerbaijan includes the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian-inhabited enclave in western Azerbaijan. In Azeri, the official state language, the country is called Azarbaijchan Respublikasy (Azerbaijan Republic). Baku, a large port city on the Caspian Sea, is Azerbaijan’s capital and largest city.

After a mere two years of independence, Azerbaijan was invaded by the Bolshevik Red Army in 1920 and became part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922. In 1991 it became independent again. The republic’s first years of renewed independence were troubled by political upheaval, economic decline, and a war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Until a cease-fire agreement effectively ended the war in May 1994, Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh fought for secession of the enclave. In 1995 Azerbaijan held its first legislative elections since independence and passed its first post-Soviet constitution.

II

Land and Resources

Azerbaijan covers an area of about 86,600 sq km (about 33,400 sq mi). The borders of Azerbaijan generally correspond to natural geographic features. The western coast of the Caspian Sea forms the country’s entire eastern border, which extends about 800 km (about 500 mi). The main stretch of the Caucasus Mountains, known as the Greater Caucasus, forms part of Azerbaijan’s northern border with Russia and contains the country’s highest peak, Mount Bazar Dyuzi (4,480 m/14,698 ft). The Greater Caucasus extend into northeastern Azerbaijan and run southeast as far as the Abşeron Peninsula, which juts into the Caspian Sea. In western Azerbaijan, the Lesser Caucasus mountains attain heights of about 3,500 m (about 11,500 ft) and form part of the border with Armenia. The Talish Mountains border Azerbaijan in the extreme southeast.

A

Rivers

Lower elevations are found along the Caspian coast and in the river basins of the country’s two main waterways, the Kura and Aras (Araks or Arax) rivers. These rivers, which form a continuous lowland through central Azerbaijan, both originate in the mountains of northeastern Turkey. The Kura flows into northwestern Azerbaijan from neighboring Georgia and then follows a southeasterly course to the Caspian Sea. The Aras forms part of Azerbaijan’s southern border with Iran and eventually turns northeast to enter south central Azerbaijan; it then joins with the Kura and also empties into the Caspian. The Kura and Aras are also linked farther upriver by the Upper Karabakh Canal, which channels water from the Mingäçevır Reservoir on the upper Kura in northwestern Azerbaijan, providing irrigation water to farms in the central lowland and supplying the Aras during the dry summer months. The reservoir, which was formed by a dam built in 1953, covers an area of about 605 sq km (234 sq mi). Another canal in the east, the Samur-Abşeron Canal, redirects water from the Samur River on Azerbaijan’s northeastern border to the Abşeron Peninsula, an arid area where Baku, the capital, is located.

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B

Plants and Animals

Forests of beech, oak, and pine cover 11 percent of the country, with most tree cover on the mountain slopes and in the southeastern Länkäran Lowland. The subalpine forests support a number of mammal species, including bear, deer, lynx, and wild boar. Leopards also inhabit the forests but are rare. Reptiles, such as lizards and poisonous snakes, thrive in the arid and semiarid lowlands, which constitute the majority of the country’s territory. Gazelles, jackals, and hyenas populate the lowlands as well. The Caspian Sea coast provides a mild winter home to populations of pelicans, herons, flamingos, swans, and other migratory birds.

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