Pontus and Taurus
The Mountain Range of Pontus and Taurus
The geographical structure of this part of Turkey in the south-eastern Anatolian region is a very complex one. The massive mountain chains of the Pontus and Taurus meet to form a new, single mountain chain. Between the mountains there are large areas of east Anatolia bordered by parallel mountain chains. These chains are divided by the Dersim and the Kuzu Dagi, which separate the two existing rivers. The plateaus of Bingol and Tekman, 2400 metres and 2200 metres high, similar to the Nemrud Dagi, Süphan, 4434 metres high, and the Agri Dagi, 5165 metres high, were created by immense earth movements thousands of years ago. Borders with neighbouring countries are close to these huge mountains. Erzurum and Mus are the major cities of this area.
The Van Lake
The plateaus, more to the south at Harput, Beyazit and at the coast of the Van Lake, which is three times bigger than the ?Bodensee?, in Germany, are lower but much bigger in area.
The Van, a lake with a high percentage of salt, was formed by the eruption of a volcano which formed a deep hole from which the water could not escape.
Agriculture
On these plateaus of Erzurum, Erzincan, Agri, Kars, Igdir, Mus, Elazig and Malatya the farmers grow wheat, barley and sugar beet. Around these towns the farmers grow a huge variety of different fruits and vegetables which is only possible because of their irrigation system. It should be remembered, though, that this is just a small region in comparison to the whole of Turkey.
The agricultural use of the land has led to the development of other industries based on food, textiles and leather. This part of the Turkish economy is still growing and becoming more important.