Editing Kurdistan (section)

== Geography ==
[[File:Ancient Kurdistan.png|thumb|225px|Historic map from 1721 showing borders of Curdistan provinces in [[Persia]]]]

According to the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', Kurdistan covers about 190,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (or 73,000 square miles), and its chief towns are [[Diyarbakır]] (Amed), [[Bitlis]] (Bedlîs) and [[Van, Turkey|Van]] (Wan) in Turkey, [[Erbil]] (Hewlêr) and [[Sulaymaniyah]] in Iraq, and [[Kermanshah]] (Kirmanşan), [[Sanandaj]] (Sine), [[Ilam, Iran|Ilam]] and [[Mahabad]] (Mehabad) in Iran.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/325241/Kurdistan Kurdistan], ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''</ref> According to the [[Encyclopaedia of Islam]], Kurdistan covers around {{convert|190,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in Turkey, {{convert|125,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in Iran, {{convert|65,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in Iraq, and {{convert|12,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in Syria, with a total area of approximately {{convert|392,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.<ref name=":0" />

[[Turkish Kurdistan]] encompasses a large area of [[Eastern Anatolia Region]] and [[Southeastern Anatolia Region|southeastern Anatolia]] of Turkey and it is home to an estimated 6 to 8 million Kurds.<ref>{{cite news |last=Myrie |first=Clive |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7062971.stm |title=Middle East &#124; Kurds show coded support for PKK |work=BBC News |date=26 October 2007 |access-date=13 May 2011}}</ref>

=== Subdivisions (Upper and Lower Kurdistan) ===
In ''A Dictionary of Scripture Geography'' (published 1846), John Miles describes Upper and Lower Kurdistan as following:
[[File:Kurdish States 1902 -outlined.jpg|thumb|The States outlined in red are two Kurdish States named Hakkiari and Mosul in this 1902 map. They are referred to as Upper Kurdistan and Lower Kurdistan respectively.]]
{{blockquote|Modern Curdistan is of much greater extent than the ancient Assyria, and is composed of two parts the Upper and Lower. In the former is the province of Ardelan, the ancient Arropachatis, now nominally a part of Irak Ajami, and belonging to the north west division called Al Jobal. It contains five others namely, Betlis, the ancient Carduchia, lying to the south and south west of the lake Van. East and south east of Betlis is the principality of Julamerick, south west of it is the principality of Amadia. the fourth is Jeezera ul Omar, a city on an island in the Tigris, and corresponding to the ancient Bezabde. the fifth and largest is Kara Djiolan, with a capital of the same name. The pashalics of Kirkook and Solimania also comprise part of Upper Curdistan. Lower Curdistan comprises all the level tract to the east of the Tigris, and the minor ranges immediately bounding the plains and reaching thence to the foot of the great range, which may justly be denominated the Alps of western Asia.<ref name="auto">A Dictionary of Scripture Geography, p 57, by John Miles, 486 pages, Published 1846, Original from Harvard University</ref>}}

The northern, northwestern and northeastern parts of Kurdistan are referred to as upper Kurdistan, and includes the areas from west of Amed to Lake Urmia.

The lowlands of southern Kurdistan are called lower Kurdistan. The main cities in this area are Kirkuk and Arbil.

=== Climate ===
Much of the region is typified by a [[continental climate]] – hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Despite this, much of the region is fertile and has historically exported [[grain]] and [[livestock]]. Precipitation varies between 200 and 400&nbsp;mm a year in the plains, and between 700 and 3,000&nbsp;mm a year on the high plateau between mountain chains.<ref name=":0" /> The mountainous zone along the borders with Iran and Turkey experiences [[Mediterranean climate|dry summers]], rainy and sometimes snowy winters, and damp springs, while to the south the climate progressively transitions toward [[Semi-arid climate|semi-arid]] and [[desert climate|desert]] zones.

=== Flora and fauna===
Kurdistan is one of the most mountainous regions in the world with a [[continental climate|cold climate]] receiving annual [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] adequate to sustain temperate forests and [[shrubs]]. Mountain chains harbor pastures and forested valleys, totaling approximately 16 million hectares (160,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including [[fir]]s and countryside is mostly [[oak]]s, [[Conifer cone|conifers]], [[platanus]], [[willow]], [[Populus|poplar]] and, to the west of Kurdistan, [[olive trees]].<ref name=":0" />

The region north of the mountainous region on the border with Iran and Turkey features meadow grasses and such wild trees as, [[Abies cilicica]], [[Fagus sylvatica]], [[Quercus calliprinos]], [[Quercus brantii]], [[Quercus infectoria]], [[Quercus ithaburensis]], [[Quercus macranthera]], [[Cupressus sempervirens]], [[Platanus orientalis]], [[Pinus brutia]], [[Juniperus foetidissima]], [[Juniperus excelsa]], [[Juniperus oxycedrus]], [[Prunus cerasus]], [[Salix alba]], [[Fraxinus excelsior]], [[Paliurus spina-christi]], [[Olea europaea]], [[Ficus carica]], [[Populus euphratica]], [[Populus nigra]], [[Crataegus monogyna]], [[Crataegus azarolus]], [[Prunus cerasifera]], [[rose hip]]s, [[Cercis siliquastrum]], [[pistachio tree]]s, [[Pyrus elaeagrifolia|pear]] and [[Sorbus graeca]]. The desert in the south is mostly [[steppe]] and would feature [[xeric]] plants such as [[Arecaceae|palm trees]], [[tamarix]], [[date palm]], [[fraxinus]], [[poa]], [[white wormwood]] and [[chenopodiaceae]].<ref>Village on the Euphrates: From Foraging to Farming at Abu Hureyra, by A.M.T Moore, G.C. Hillman and A.J. Legge, Published 2000, Oxford University Press</ref><ref name="auto"/> The [[steppe]] and desert in the south, by contrast, have such species as [[Arecaceae|palm trees]] and [[date palm]].

Animals found in the region include the [[Syrian brown bear]], [[wild boar]], [[gray wolf]], the [[golden jackal]], [[Indian crested porcupine]], the [[red fox]], [[goitered gazelle]], [[Eurasian otter]], [[striped hyena]], [[Persian fallow deer]], [[long-eared hedgehog]], [[onager]], [[mangar (fish)|mangar]] and the [[Euphrates softshell turtle]].<ref>Al-Sheikhly, O.F.; and Nader, I.A. (2013). ''[http://www.otterspecialistgroup.org/Bulletin/Volume30/AlSheikhly_Nadar_2013.pdf The Status of the Iraq Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli Hayman 1956 and Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra Linnaeus 1758 in Iraq.]'' IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull. 30(1).</ref> Birds include, the [[hooded crow]], [[common starling]], [[Eurasian magpie]], [[European robin]], [[water pipit]], [[spotted flycatcher]], [[namaqua dove]], [[saker falcon]], [[griffon vulture]], [[little crake]] and [[collared pratincole]], among others.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq's Marshes Show Progress toward Recovery |url=http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/good-iraqimarshes.html#cr |publisher=Wildlife Extra |access-date=7 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509195006/http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/good-iraqimarshes.html#cr |archive-date=9 May 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Mountains ===
Mountains are important geographical and symbolic features of Kurdish life, as evidenced by the saying "Kurds have no friends but the mountains."<ref>John Bulloch and Harvey Morris, ''No Friends but the Mountains: The Tragic History of the Kurds'', {{ISBN|0-19-508075-0}}</ref> Mountains are regarded as [[Sacred mountains|sacred]] by the [[Kurds]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-l-phillips/iraqi-kurds-no-friend-but_b_4045389.html |title=Iraqi Kurds: "No Friend but the Mountains" |work=The Huffington Post |date=7 October 2013}}</ref> Included in the region are [[Mount Judi]] and [[Mount Ararat|Ararat]] (both prominent in Kurdish folklore), [[Zagros Mountains|Zagros]], [[Qandil Mountains|Qandil]], [[Sinjar Mountains|Shingal]], [[Mount Abdulaziz]], [[Kurd Mountains]], [[Jabal al-Akrad]], Shaho, Gabar, [[Hamrin Mountains|Hamrin]], and [[Mount Nisir|Nisir]].

=== Water resources ===
Iraqi Kurdistan is a region relatively rich in water, especially for countries in the [[Middle East]] region. It is the source for much of the water supply for neighboring countries. It means that political stability and peace in the region are important to the water supply of the region and preventing wars.<ref>{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Marcus |title=A Watershed Moment for Iraqi Kurdistan: Subnational Hydropolitics and Regional Stability |url=https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2018/05/watershed-moment-iraqi-kurdistan-subnational-hydropolitics-regional-stability/ |website=Environmental Change and Security Program Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |date=22 May 2018 |access-date=24 May 2019}}</ref> Many think that for conserving the water "returning to traditional water-conserving cultivation techniques" will be needed, as well as "communal economy"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Keller |first1=Sean |title=Agriculture and Autonomy in the Middle East |url=https://www.localfutures.org/agriculture-autonomy-middle-east/ |website=Local Futures – Economics of Happiness |publisher=International Society for Ecology and Culture |access-date=24 May 2019|date=6 February 2018 }}</ref>

'''Rivers'''

The plateaus and mountains of Kurdistan, which are characterized by heavy rain and snow fall, act as a water reservoir for the Near and Middle East, forming the source of the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] rivers, as well as other numerous smaller rivers, such as the [[Little Khabur]], [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabur]], Tharthar, Ceyhan, [[Aras (river)|Araxes]], Kura, Sefidrud, Karkha, and Hezil. Among rivers of historical importance to Kurds are the [[Murat River|Murat]] (Arasān) and Buhtān rivers in Turkey; the Peshkhābur, the [[Little Zab]], the [[Great Zab]], and the [[Diyala River|Diyala]] in Iraq; and the Jaghatu (Zarrinarud), the Tātā'u (Siminarud), the Zohāb (Zahāb), and the Gāmāsiyāb in Iran.<ref name=":1" />

These rivers, which flow from heights of three to four thousand meters above sea level, are significant both as water sources and for the production of energy. Iraq and Syria dammed many of these rivers and their tributaries. Turkey has an extensive dam system under construction as part of the [[Southeastern Anatolia Project|GAP (Southeast Anatolia Project)]]; though incomplete, the GAP already supplies a significant proportion of Turkey's electrical energy needs.<ref name=":1" /> Due to the extraordinary archaeological richness of the region, almost any dam impacts historic sites.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2018-10-11 |title=The Water |url=https://kurdistanica.com/494/the-water/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=Kurdistanica, The Encyclopedia of Kurdistan |language=en-US}}</ref> With the outbreak of the [[Syrian civil war]], Turkey was accused of withholding water from the reservoir [[Lake Assad]] in Syria, while filling the [[Atatürk Dam|Atatürk dam]] in Turkey.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-11 |title=Turkish dams threaten northeast Syria with ecological and economic blight |url=https://syriadirect.org/turkish-dams-threaten-northeast-syria-with-ecological-and-economic-blight/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=Syria Direct |language=en-US}}</ref>

'''Lakes'''

Kurdistan extends to [[Lake Urmia]] in Iran on the east. The region includes Lake Van, the largest body of water in Turkey; the only lake in the Middle East with a larger surface is Lake Urmia – though not nearly as deep as Lake Van, which has a much larger volume. [[Lake Urmia|Urmia]], [[Lake Van|Van]], as well as [[Zarivar Lake]] west of [[Marivan]], and [[Lake Dukan]] near the city of [[Sulaymaniyah]], are frequented by tourists.<ref name="Kurdistanica">{{cite web |title=Economy: Water |url=http://www.kurdistanica.com/?q=node/113 |access-date=14 December 2017 |publisher=The Encyclopædia of Kurdistan}}</ref>

=== Petroleum and mineral resources ===
[[Kurdistan Region]] is estimated to contain around {{convert|45|Goilbbl}} of oil, making it the sixth largest reserve in the world. Extraction of these reserves began in 2007.

[[Al-Hasakah Governorate|Al-Hasakah]] province, also known as [[Upper Mesopotamia|Jazira]] region, has geopolitical importance of [[Petroleum|oil]] and is suitable for agricultural lands.

In November 2011, [[Exxon]] challenged the Iraqi central government's authority with the signing of oil and gas contracts for exploration rights to six parcels of land in Kurdistan, including one contract in the disputed territories, just east of the Kirkuk mega-field.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.westernzagros.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121126_operator_activity_EXTERNAL.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109173803/http://www.westernzagros.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121126_operator_activity_EXTERNAL.pdf|url-status=dead|title=westernzagros.com|archive-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> This act caused Baghdad to threaten to revoke Exxon's contract in its southern fields, most notably the [[West Qurna Field|West-Qurna]] Phase 1 project.<ref>{{cite news |title=Exxon's Kurdistan |url=http://www.zawya.com/story/ZAWYA20120304053739/ |access-date=31 December 2012 |newspaper=Zawya |date=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417231147/http://www.zawya.com/story/ZAWYA20120304053739/ |archive-date=17 April 2012}}</ref> Exxon responded by announcing its intention to leave the West-Qurna project.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iraq says expects Exxon to finish West Qurna Sale by December |url=https://news.yahoo.com/iraq-says-expects-exxon-finish-west-qurna-sale-104523440--finance.html |agency=Reuters |access-date=31 December 2012}}</ref>

As of July 2007, the Kurdish government solicited foreign companies to invest in 40 new oil sites, with the hope of increasing regional oil production over the following five years by a factor of five, to about {{convert|1|Moilbbl/d|m3/d}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/19228 |title=Iraqi Kurds open 40 new oil sites to foreign investors |publisher=Iraq Updates |date=9 July 2007 |access-date=13 May 2011 |archive-date=12 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012181216/http://iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/19228 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Gas and associated gas reserves are in excess of {{convert|100|e12cuft|km3|abbr=on|order=flip}}. Notable companies active in Kurdistan include [[ExxonMobil]], [[Total S.A.|Total]], [[Chevron Corporation|Chevron]], [[Talisman Energy]], [[Genel Energy]], [[Hunt Oil]], [[Gulf Keystone Petroleum]], and [[Marathon Oil]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Kurdistan Oil and Gas Activity Map |url=http://www.westernzagros.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121126_operator_activity_EXTERNAL.pdf |publisher=Western Zagros |access-date=31 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109173803/http://www.westernzagros.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121126_operator_activity_EXTERNAL.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2013 }}</ref>

Other mineral resources that exist in significant quantities in the region include [[coal]], [[copper]], [[gold]], [[iron]], [[limestone]] (which is used to produce [[cement]]), [[marble]], and [[zinc]]. The world's largest deposit of rock sulfur is located just southwest of [[Erbil]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071012180933/http://kurdistancorporation.com/Oil_and_gas.htm Official statements on the oil and gas sector in the Kurdistan region]}}, Kurdistan Development Corporation.</ref>

In July 2012, Turkey and the Kurdistan Region signed an agreement by which Turkey would regularly supply the KRG with refined petroleum products in exchange for crude oil.<ref>{{cite web |title=First Shipment of Kurdistan Crude Arrives in Turkey |url=http://www.brightwire.com/news/229205-first-shipment-of-kurdistan-crude-arrives-in-turkey |publisher=BrightWire |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118132757/http://www.brightwire.com/news/229205-first-shipment-of-kurdistan-crude-arrives-in-turkey |archive-date=18 January 2013 }}</ref>