The Black Sea Region covers approximately 18 percent of the land in Turkey, with a surface area of 141,000 km2. The Black Sea Region, which gets its name and characteristics from the adjacent sea, extends from the border of Georgia in the east to the eastern edge of the Adapazari Plain in the west.
All of the provinces of Artvin, Rize, Trabzon, Gumushane, Bayburt, Giresun, Ordu, Samsun, Amasya, Sinop, Kastamonu, Zonguldak, Bartin, Bolu, and almost all of Tokat, are in the Black Sea Region. Artova County of Tokat Province is in the Central Anatolia Region. One half of Corum Province is in the Central Anatolia Region and the other half is in the Black Sea Region. The region is divided into the three sections: east, central and west, based on their geographical characteristics.
The great majority of the people in the region earn their living from the land. The most important feature of the agriculture in this region is that corn is grown in the coastal parts of this region rather than wheat, which is the main grain type in the other regions. In fact, more than one-third of corn production in Turkey is realized in the Black Sea Region. Wheat is sown mostly on the plains beyond the coastal mountains.
Barley is also an important crop in the region. Rice is cultivated in the Kizilirmak and Yesilirmak deltas, and at the Boyabat section of the Gokirmak Valley and at the Tosya section of the Devrez Valley. Beans lead in leguminous plants production and sugar beets lead in the production of industrial plants. Other important crops in the region are potatoes, onions, sunflowers and hemp. Tea which is grown only in the Eastern Black Sea Region in Turkey, is also among the most important crops in the region.
Hazelnuts are the main fruit of the Black Sea Region, especially, in the eastern sections. The Black Sea coastal strip is covered with hazelnut trees. The hazelnut trees, which are sparse in the Rize section, become denser in the Trabzon section and are the densest in Giresun and Ordu Provinces. Apple growing is also considerable in the region, and in recent years, fruits such as kiwi and avocado have started to be grown.
The main industrial organizations in the Black Sea Region are the iron-steel facilities at Karabuk and Eregli, the Catalagzi Thermal Power Plant, the coal regions in the surroundings of Zonguldak, the Murgul copper production facility and the factories for the production of sugar, paper, sulfuric acid, vegetable oil, tea, hazelnut shelling and hazelnut products, fish flour and cigarettes in various parts of the region.