Editing Geography of Turkey (section)

=== Black Sea region ===
{{Main|Black Sea region, Turkey}}

[[File:KackarDagi fromNorth hory.jpg|thumb|[[Kaçkar Mountains]].]]

The physical geography of the [[Black Sea region]] landscapes is characterized by the [[Pontic Mountains|mountain range]] forming a barrier parallel with the [[Black Sea]] Coast and high humidity<ref name="Delaney, Carol 2011">Delaney, Carol. The Seed and the Soil of Turkey. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011.</ref> and precipitation.<ref name="Akçar, N 2005, pp. 102">Akçar, N. Paleoglaciations in Anatolia: A schematic review and first results. Eiszeitalt Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften 55: 2005, pp. 102–121.</ref> The eastern Black Sea region presents alpine landscapes<ref>Erinç, S. Glacial evidences of the climatic variations in Turkey. Annals of the American Association of Geographers 34: 1952, pp. 89–98.</ref> with steep and densely forested slopes. Steep slopes, as a morphological feature, occur both under the sea, and in the mountain ranges, with the sea floor at below 2000&nbsp;m<ref name="Akçar, N 2005, pp. 102" /> along a line from [[Trabzon]] to the [[Turkey|Turkish]]–[[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] border, and the mountains quickly reaching over 3000&nbsp;m, with a maximum of 3971&nbsp;m<ref name="Birman, J. H 1968">Birman, J. H. Glacial reconnaissance in Turkey. Geological Society of America Bulletin 79: 1968, pp. 1009–1026.</ref> in Kaçkar Peak. The parallel valleys running north to the Black Sea used to be isolated from one another until a few decades ago because the densely forested ridges made transportation and exchange very difficult.<ref name="Fleischer, R 2009, pp. 109">Fleischer, R. The rock-tombs of the Pontic Kings in Amaseia (Amasya). In: Højte JM (ed) Mithridates VI and the Pontic Kingdom, Black Sea Studies, vol 9. Aarhus University Press, Aarhus, 2009, pp. 109–120.</ref> This allowed for the development of a strong cultural<ref name="Fleischer, R 2009, pp. 109" /> identity— the [[Laz language]], music and dance—linked to this specific geographic context.

From west to east, the main rivers of the region are the [[Sakarya River|Sakarya]] (824&nbsp;km), the [[Kızılırmak River]] (1355&nbsp;km, the longest river of Turkey), the [[Yeşilırmak (river)|Yeşilırmak]] (418&nbsp;km) and the [[Çoruh]] (376&nbsp;km).<ref name="Akçar, N 2005, pp. 102" />

Year-round high<ref name="Delaney, Carol 2011" /> precipitation—up to 2200mm<ref>Tunçel, H. Doğu Karadeniz Dağlarında Yaylacılık. Fırat Üniversitesi Sos Bilim Derg (Elazığ) 14(2): 2004, pp. 49–66.</ref>—generate dense forests, with [[oak]], [[beech]] family trees, [[hazel]] (Corylus avellana), [[hornbeam]] (Carpinus betulus) and [[Castanea sativa|sweet chesnut]] (Castanea sativa) prevailing.<ref>Kurdoğlu, O. Doğal ve Kültürel Değerlerin Korunması Açısından Kaçkar Dağları Milli Parkı’nın Önemi ve Mevcut Çevresel Tehditler. D.K. Ormancılık Araştırma Müdürlüğü, Ormancılık Araştırma Dergisi 21, ve Çevre ve Orman Bakanlığı Yayını 231: 2004, pp. 134–150.</ref>

Isolated from one another because of steep valleys,<ref name="Erturaç, M. K 2012, pp. 497" /> the Black Sea region includes 850<ref name="Ekim, T 2000">Ekim, T. Türkiye Bitkileri Kırmızı Kitabı. 2000.</ref> plant taxa of which 116<ref name="Ekim, T 2000" /> is endemic to the area, and of which 12 are endangered<ref name="Erturaç, M. K 2012, pp. 497" /> and 19<ref>Brickell, Christopher. Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2011.</ref> vulnerable. [[Hazelnut]] is a native species<ref name="Erturaç, M. K 2012, pp. 497" /> for this region, which covers 70 and 82%<ref name="Delaney, Carol 2011" /> of the world's production and exports respectively.

The Kaçkar Range at altitudes of 3000&nbsp;m and above is heavily glaciated (see map on the right)<ref name="Birman, J. H 1968" /> owing to the suitable [[Geomorphology|geomorphological]]- climatological conditions<ref name="Delaney, Carol 2011" /> during the [[Pleistocene]].