The Eastern Anatolia Region is the largest geographical region in Turkey. It covers 21 percent of Turkey with a surface area of 163,000 km2. It is adjacent to the Black Sea, Central Anatolian, the Mediterranean and the Southeastern Anatolia Regions. It also has borders with Georgia, Armenia, Nakhichevan, Iran and Iraq.
The Eastern Anatolia Region is the highest and the most uneven region. The average altitude is around 2000 meters. The highest peaks in Turkey are located in this region. Agri Dagi (Mount Ararat) is 5137 meters, the Resko Peak on Cilo Mountain is 4135 meters and Suphan Mountain is 4058 meters.
The fact that Eastern Anatolia is high and mountainous and separated from the sea by mountain ranges causes the average annual temperatures to be low and the winters to be severe. The region is different from other regions from the aspect of the number of days it snows in the region and the number of days when the ground is covered with snow.
In Kars and Erzurum Provinces, the number of days the ground is covered with snow is approximately 90 days a year. The main economic activities in the Eastern Anatolia Region are animal husbandry and agriculture. The abundance of pastures in the region caused the number of animals to increase and priority was given to the production of animal products. In fact, the production of animal products in the region is about one fourth of the total production in Turkey.
Arable lands suitable for agriculture are limited in Eastern Anatolia. Only one tenth of the whole region is arable. More than 90 percent of these arable lands are allocated for grains. Among the types of grains, wheat is first and barley is second. In contrast to this, the sowing of industrial plants is not very widespread.
Cotton, tobacco and sugar beets are among the main industrial plants sown. Sugar beets started to be sown following the construction of sugar plants in the region.
Fruit trees at high elevations have almost completely disappeared. In contrast to this, various fruits are grown on some hollow plains which are protected from the cold. The plains of Erzincan, Malatya and Elazig are important in this respect. Good quality fruit is also grown on the narrow strip surrounding Van Lake. The section below Kagizman of the Aras Valley and Igdir Plain are regions where fruit trees are concentrated.
The main industrial branches in the region are cotton textiles, sugar, cement, food and tobacco enterprises. The hydroelectric power plant at Keban, the thermoelectric power plant at Afsin-Elbistan and the other plants which are still being constructed contribute significantly to the energy production in Turkey.