NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Turkey, also known as the Republic of Turkey, is located at the northeast end of the Mediterranean Sea in southeast Europe and southwest Asia. It is south of the Black Sea and west of the Aegean Sea. Turkey neighbors Greece and Bulgaria on the west, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania to the north and northwest Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran to the east. Syria and Iraq is south of Turkey. Turkey expands across both Europe and Asia. The total area of the land is about 779, 452 km, which 97 percent of it is in Asia and the remaining 3 percent is in Europe. The Europe portion of Turkey is about the size of Massachusetts and the Asia portion is about the size of Texas.
The climate of Turkey varies in each area; the climate consists of temperatures of hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winter. The coastal area bordering the Black Sea have temperatures of warm, wet summers and cool to cold, wet winters. The Black Sea coast receives the most amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that gets high precipitation during the year. The winters in Turkey are known to be severe, with low temperatures and snow can stay on the ground for up to 120 days. The month of May is usually the wettest month whereas July and August are the driest.
There are six independent Turkic states, which Turkey is one of them. There are many different languages that one would hear while in Turkey. The language that is considered the official language is Turkish. Other languages consist of Kurdish, used by Kurds; and Zazas speak Zazaki. There are 81 provinces split into subdivisions of territory. The provinces are split this way for censuses used. The 81 provinces are arranged into seven regions, yet they have no representation of the administrative structure.
Turkey’s location allows for Turkey to control the Turkish Straits, which is composed of Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, which join the Black Sea to the Aegean on the west coast. Shipping has a substantial role in Turkey’s economy, perhaps due to the fact that 70 percent of the country’s boundaries consist of the four seas. Turkey has 21 international ports that export several of Turkey’s resources.
Turkey is the tenth ranked producer of minerals in the world in terms of diversity. Turkey yields over 60 different minerals. Turkey’s most significant minerals are chromites, bauxite, and copper. The country also utilizes deposits of other minerals such as iron, manganese, lead, zinc, antimony, asbestos, pyrites sulfur, mercury, and manganese. Turkey exports a variety of minerals the most important of which are blister copper, chrome, and boron products. Minerals accounted for an average of about 2 percent of export earnings in the mid-1990s. The chemical industry is one of the country’s most important in terms of value. It is strong in a few large state enterprises, including the Petrochemical Corporation (Petrokimya Anonimsirketi-Petkim) and Etibank and some 600 private enterprises. Chemicals produced in Turkey include boron products, caustic soda, chlorine, industrial chemicals, and sodium phosphates. The high quality of the country’s minerals gives it a proportional advantage in several products. Turkey also produces natural gas and oil but not enough to make the country self-sufficient so they import both oil and gas. New oil and natural gas fields have been revealed in Turkey off the Black Sea and other places that will help Turkey get closer to being self-sufficient in energy production. Turkey has the fifth highest direct utilization and capacity of geothermal power in the world. Geothermal energy is defined as energy derived from the heat in the interior of the earth.
SUMMARY of NATURAL RESOURCES and ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Turkey geographical location makes the country very noteworthy because its ability to be in command of the water supply for both its neighbors to the south and