Azerbaijan Environment

Environment:
Azerbaijan is a small country located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea in the south-eastern part of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The Lesser Caucasus stretch along the western border. Russia is on its north-eastern border, Georgia on the north-west; Armenia borders it to the west, Iran to the south and there's a 10km border with Turkey in the south-west. The Aras River runs along the southern border, flowing into the Kura River, which runs from the north-western mountains to the south-eastern coast, where it empties into the Caspian Sea.

A 5500 sq km (2125 sq mi) section of Azerbaijan called the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic lies to west, separated from the main part of the country by about 50km (30mi) of Armenia. Another section, the Autonomous Oblast of Nagorno-Karabakh, lies in the south-western corner of Azerbaijan proper but has proclaimed itself an independent republic following a war with Armenia (the population of Karabakh is now mostly Armenian) and remains under Armenian control, as does much of the territory immediately surrounding it. A narrow corridor centred on the town of Lachin provides a bridge between Karabakh and Armenia.

The highest point in Azerbaijan is snow-covered Mt Bazardyuzyu, at 4465m (14,645ft), in the Caucasus range. The Sheki Zakataly region, just south of the mountains, is full of rivers and hosts a dense population, including one of the oldest settlements in the region. It produces grain, fruit, tobacco and nuts. The coastal lowlands produce vegetables, fruit and grains. The country is saturated with oil and natural gas, much of which lies under the ground on the Apsheron Peninsula and off the coast on the Caspian shelf.

There are over 4000 plant species in Azerbaijan, including 200 indigenous varieties. Oak, hornbeam, beech, ash and maple forests cover the lower slopes of the mountain ranges, and orange groves carpet the southern coastal lowlands.

A large portion of the animal life is reptilian, though in the mountains, goats, deer, bear and wild boar are found. Azerbaijan has over 12,000 animal species, including 350 species of bird - 200 of which can be found in the Kizilagadj Reserve (in the Lenkoran lowlands). There are gazelles on the coastal plains and tigers and porcupines in the Talysh forests south of Lenkoran. The waters of the Caspian are lousy with sturgeon (four-fifths of the world's sturgeon are found here), along with herring, salmon and the rare pike perch.

Running the gamut of nine climatic zones, Azerbaijan's climate alternates between extremes in the northern and western mountains and pleasantly moderate along the Caspian Sea. Expect temperatures in the 20s and 30s C (70s and 80s F) through spring and summer (mid-April to October), and average temperatures of 5 to 10 C (40 to 50 F) from December to March.

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