Geography of Georgia (country)
Template:Short description Template:Infobox country geography
Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region on the coast of the Black Sea. Sometimes considered a transcontinental country, it is located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia Quote: “One widely accepted scheme draws the dividing line along the crest of the Greater Caucasus range, putting the portion of the region north of the line in Europe...another scheme identifies the Aras River and the Turkish border as the line of continental demarcation, thereby locating...Georgia in Europe.”</ref> and is today generally regarded as part of Europe.<ref>International Geographic Encyclopaedia and Atlas. Springer: p. 273</ref><ref>Encyclopedic World Atlas, George Philip & Son, Oxford University Press: 2002, p.104</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is bordered to the north and northeast by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan.<ref>Nana Bolashvili, Andreas Dittmann, Lorenz King, Vazha Neidze (eds.): National Atlas of Georgia, 138 pages, Steiner Verlag, 2018, Template:ISBN</ref>
Location
[edit]Georgia is largely surrounded by the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus mountains, which form part of a natural boundary between Eastern Europe and West Asia. Because the Europe–Asia boundary is essentially a "historical and cultural construct",<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, Asia:"The land boundary between Asia and Europe is a historical and cultural construct that has been defined variously" June 2021</ref> Georgia's continental placement has varied greatly. Anaximander placed the boundary between Europe and Asia along the Phasis River (the modern Rioni River), which effectively located northern parts of Georgia in Europe and the south in Asia, a convention also followed by Herodotus.<ref>Histories 4.38. Cf. James Rennell, The geographical system of Herodotus examined and explained, Volume 1, Rivington 1830, p. 244</ref> According to one 18th century definition, which set the Kuma–Manych Depression as the continental boundary, Georgia and the entire Caucasus fell into Asia. However, yet another definition drew the line at Aras River, effectively placing all of Georgia in Europe.<ref>Encyclopedia Britannica”, Caucasus, June 2021: “another scheme identifies the Aras River and the Turkish border as the line of continental demarcation, thereby locating Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in Europe.”</ref>
Notwithstanding variations in geographic placement, Georgia's proximity to the bulk of Europe, combined with various historical, cultural and political forces, has led to its inclusion in Europe. The country has joined European organizations, such as the Council of Europe and Eurocontrol, and was deemed eligible to apply for membership of the European Union,<ref name="EU perspective">European Parliament, European Parliament Resolution 2014/2717(RSP), 17 July 2014: "...pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – like any other European state – have a European perspective and may apply to become members of the Union…"</ref> which it did in 2022 and was recognized as a candidate member state.
Topography
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Despite its small area, Georgia has one of the most varied topographies of the former Soviet republics.<ref name=":02">Template:Citation-attribution</ref> It is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe,<ref>Economic Commission for Europe. "Environmental Performance Reviews: Georgia", United Nations: 2016, p. 105</ref> lying mostly in the Caucasus Mountains, with its northern boundary partly defined by the Greater Caucasus range.<ref name=":02" /> The Lesser Caucasus range, which runs parallel to the Turkish and Armenian borders, and the Surami Range, which connects the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus, create natural barriers that are partly responsible for cultural and linguistic differences among regions.<ref name=":02" /> Because of their elevation and a poorly developed transportation infrastructure, many mountain villages are virtually isolated from the outside world during the winter.<ref name=":02" /> Earthquakes and landslides in mountainous areas present a significant threat to life and property.<ref name=":02" /> Among the most recent natural disasters were massive rock- and mudslides in Ajaria in 1989 that displaced thousands in southwestern Georgia, and two earthquakes in 1991 that destroyed several villages in Racha, upper Imereti and the Tskhinvali Region (South Ossetia).<ref name=":02" />
Georgia has about 25,000 rivers, many of which power small hydroelectric stations.<ref name=":02" /> Drainage is into the Black Sea to the west and through Azerbaijan to the Caspian Sea to the east.<ref name=":02" /> The largest river is the Kura River, which flows 1,364 km from northeast Turkey across the plains of eastern Georgia, through the capital, Tbilisi, and into the Caspian Sea.<ref name=":02" /> The Rioni River, the largest river in western Georgia, rises in the Greater Caucasus and empties into the Black Sea at the port of Poti.<ref name=":02" /> Soviet engineers turned the river lowlands along the Black Sea coast into prime subtropical agricultural land, embanked and straightened many stretches of river, and built an extensive system of canals.<ref name=":02" /> Deep mountain gorges form topographical belts within the Greater Caucasus.<ref name=":02" />
Coastline
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The coastline of Georgia about Template:Convert:<ref name="NationsEncyclopedia">Template:Cite web</ref> of the coastline, Template:Convert is the coastline of Ajaria (Ajara)<ref name="goBatumi">Template:Cite web</ref> and Template:Convert is the coastline of Abkhazia.<ref name="Proletarskaya Gazeta">Template:Cite web</ref> Georgia has an Exclusive Economic Zone of Template:Convert in the Black Sea.
Climate
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Georgia's climate is affected by temperate humid influences from the west and continental influences from the east.<ref name=":02" /> The Greater Caucasus range moderates local climate by serving as a barrier against cold air from the north.<ref name=":02" /> Warm, moist air from the Black Sea moves easily into the coastal lowlands from the west.<ref name=":02" /> Climatic zones are determined by distance from the Black Sea and by altitude.<ref name=":02" /> Along the Black Sea coast, from Abkhazia to the Turkish border, and in the region known as the Colchis Lowland inland from the coast, the dominant subtropical climate features high humidity and heavy precipitation (Template:Convert per year; the Black Sea port of Batumi receives Template:Convert per year).<ref name=":02" /> Several varieties of palm trees and citrus grow in these regions, where the midwinter average temperature is Template:Convert and the midsummer average is Template:Convert.<ref name=":02" />
The plains of eastern Georgia are shielded from the influence of the Black Sea by mountains that provide a more continental climate.<ref name=":02" /> Summer temperatures average Template:Convert, winter temperatures Template:Convert.<ref name=":02" /> Humidity is lower, and rainfall averages Template:Convert per year.<ref name=":02" /> Alpine and highland regions in the east and west, as well as a semi-arid region on the Iori Plateau to the southeast, have distinct microclimates.<ref name=":02" />
At higher elevations, precipitation is sometimes twice as heavy as in the eastern plains.<ref name=":02" /> In the west, the climate is subtropical to about Template:Convert; above that altitude (and to the north and east) is a band of moist and moderately warm weather, then a band of cool and wet conditions.<ref name=":02" /> Alpine conditions begin at about Template:Convert, and above Template:Convert snow and ice are present year-round.<ref name=":02" />
Environmental issues
[edit]Template:Main Beginning in the 1980s, Black Sea pollution has greatly harmed Georgia's tourist industry.<ref name=":02" /> Inadequate sewage treatment is the main cause of that condition.<ref name=":02" /> In Batumi, for example, only 18 percent of wastewater was treated before release into the sea as of the early 1990s.<ref name=":02" /> As of the early 1990s, an estimated 70 percent of surface water contained health-endangering bacteria to which Georgia's high rate of intestinal disease was attributed.<ref name=":02" />
The war in Abkhazia did substantial damage to the ecological habitats unique to that region.<ref name=":02" /> In other respects, experts considered Georgia's environmental problems less serious than those of more industrialized former Soviet republics.<ref name=":02" /> Solving Georgia's environmental problems was not a high priority of the national government in the post-Soviet years, however; in 1993 the minister for protection of the environment resigned to protest this inactivity.<ref name=":02" /> In January 1994, the Cabinet of Ministers announced a new, interdepartmental environmental monitoring system to centralize separate programs under the direction of the Ministry of Protection of the Environment.<ref name=":02" /> The system would include a central environmental and information and research agency.<ref name=":02" /> The Green Party used its small contingent in the parliament to press environmental issues in 1993.<ref name=":02" />
Georgia participates in a number of international environmental agreements. It is a party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Wetlands.
Extreme points
[edit]- Northernmost point: (de jure): Abkhazia
- Northernmost point (de facto): Mestia Municipality, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
- Southernmost point: Dedoplistsqaro Municipality, Kakheti
- Westernmost point (de jure): Abkhazia
- Westernmost point (de facto): Adjara
- Easternmost point: Dedoplistsqaro Municipality, Kakheti (border with Azerbaijan)
See also
[edit]References
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