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: 780,580 sq km
water: 9,820 sq km
land: 770,760 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:
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
CLIMATE:
temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
Terrain:
mostly mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 m
Natural resources:
antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 34.53%
permanent crops: 3.36%
other: 62.11% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
42,000 sq km (1998 est.)

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

Source of information: The World Factbook 2002 by CIA