Geography

The province was established 1640 m above the sea level. The importance of the province increases because it is located on the intersection point of Anatolia and Iran. Its neighbours are Iran in the east, Muş and Erzurum in the west, Kars in the north, Van and Bitlis in the south and Iğdır in the northeast. Characteristic of the land is 46% mountain, 29% plains, 19% plateau and 7% highland. The climate is dry and cold in the winters and drought and hot in summer.

PlainsIn Ağrı province, plains and planes are generally bounded by fault lines and mountains and therefore they are not wide enough. These plains in the form of collapse basins are formed by the accumulation of soil. The leading plains of the province are Ağrı Plain, Eleşkirt Plain, Patnos Plain, Doğubayazıt Plain and Tutak Plain. Forage crops, grain and sugar beet are planted in the plains which are important for the agriculture and stockbreeding as a source of income for the economy of Ağrı. The plains, apart from the cultivation area, are also used as meadow.

MountainsThe mountains, which cover a large part of Ağrı province, are generally mountain ranges. The mountains that cover the province are seen as the continuation of the Alpine-Himalayan volcanic mountain system and in two branches in the east and west Big Mount Ağrı, the highest summit of Turkey and Europe, is in Doğubayazıt district and its height is 5.138m. Height of small Mount Ağrı is 3.896 meters. Height of Mount Süphan, some of which is located in Patnos province,is 4,049 meters. Height of Mount Kösedağ, which was once gave its name to Ağrı province, is 3.340 meters and it is highly important in this region. The highest summit of Mount Tendürek, a mount between Doğubayazıt and Çaldıran, is 3,533 meters and it also hosts a crater lake with a diameter of 400-500 meters at 300 meters height. Tendürek is also known as the most active volcano of Turkey. Mount Bubi, which is located approximately 18 km away from the center of Agri, is another important elevation.

StreamsThe biggest river in Ağrı province is Murat River, which is one of the main branches of Euphrates. The stream starts from Diyadin and unites with the branches coming from Aladağ and Mount Muratbaşı. Murat River passes through the Diyadin Plain and unites with the branches coming from Eleşkirt region and flows to southwest to reach Malazgirt Plain.

Spas and Hot SpringsAğrı province is rich in thermal springs and healing waters. The temperature of the thermal springs in Diyadin district reaches up to 75 degree. In the analyzes, thermal sources, which are proved to be good for many diseases, are made available to the public service by private and public sector. Thermal sources are also used for heating.

FloraMountains and plains are naked because it is a volcanic land, the raining is low and the temperature is very low. The natural flora of the province, which does not have any forests, is usually steppes like high plateau steppes. The steppes are particularly dense around city center of Ağrı, Eleşkirt district and Upper Murat River.