Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a country in the Caucasus region (a region at the border of Europe and Asia) of Eurasia. With an area of 86,600 km2, it stretches 500 km from west to east and 400 km from north to south. It is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhichevan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest. Almost half of the country consists of low lands, some of which are below sea level. The three mountain ranges cover approximately 40% of the country. The two main rivers are the Kura, which flows from the north-west to the Caspian Sea, and its tributary Araks, which flows along Azerbaijan’s border with Iran. The climate varies from subtropical and humid in the southeast to subtropical and dry in central and eastern Azerbaijan. Along the shores of the Caspian Sea it is temperate, while the higher mountain elevations are generally cold. Baku, on the Caspian, enjoys mild weather that averages 4 °C (39.2 °F) in January and 25 °C (77 °F) in July. Most of Azerbaijan receives little rainfall, only 152 to 254 millimeters (5.98 to 10.00 inches) annually on average.