NORTWESTERN  

 

SOUTHERN  

WESTERN  

 

WESTERN ROUTE: BAKU - HAJIGABUL - KURDEMIR - YEVLAKH - TERTER - NAFTALAN - GANJA - KHANLAR - DASHKESEN - SHEMKIR - GEDEBEY - TOVUZ - AGSTAFA - GAZAKH

NAKHCHIVAN  

GARABAGH  

 

KARABAKH: BARDA-AGDAM-SHUSHA-KALBADZHAR

The ancient Karabakh is the heart of Azerbaijan, the land that gave the country a great number of talents. Karabakh is not only the unique nature, the landscapes included in the List of Natural Monuments of the Republic; it is also a constellation of gifted individuals - poets, writers, musicians, khanendes (performers of mugam - the national music). Karabakh is the cradle of the Azerbaijani music. The nature and resources of this ancient land leave no one untouched. Probably that is why this beautiful land is occupied now…

The rapid development of all spheres of economics and human activity has led to an increasingly negative impact on the environment, including the inefficient usage of natural resources. As can be seen in many other countries, Azerbaijan is interested in finding solutions to the problems regarding environmental protection and rational utilization of natural resources. In support of Azerbaijan's environmental protection goals, a number of important laws, legal documents and state programs, all of which conform to European law requirements, have been developed and approved in order to improve the ecological situation in the country.

These measures have been undertaken within the framework of the corresponding state programs to solve the urgent ecological problems at the very foundation of development principles.

Hydrographically, the Republic of Azerbaijan belongs to the Caspian Sea basin. The water systems of Azerbaijan (rivers, lakes) were formed over a long geological timeframe and changed significantly throughout that period. This is particularly evidenced by remnants of ancient rivers found throughout the country. The country's water systems are continually changing under the influence of natural forces and human introduced industrial activities. Artificial rivers (canals) and ponds are a part of Azerbaijan's water systems.

Rivers

Rivers form the principal part of the water systems of Azerbaijan. There are 8,359 rivers of various lengths within Azerbaijan. Of them 8,188 rivers are less than 25 kilometers in length. Only 24 rivers are over 100 kilometers long. Kur, Araz, Qanix (in Alazan), Qabirri (Iori), Samur, Terter, Turyan, Agstafa, Hekeri, Vilesh and others are the largest rivers that flow through the country.

The country's rivers are divided into three groups:

1) The Kur basin rivers (Qanix, Qabirri, Turyan, Agstafa, Shekir, Terter, Khachin, etc.);
2) The Araz basin rivers (Arpachay, Nakhchivan, Okhchu, Hekeri, Kondelenchay, etc.);
3) Rivers, flowing directly into the Caspian Sea (Samur, Gudyal, Velvele, Vilesh, Lenkeran, etc.).

The world's largest lake - the Caspian Sea is situated within the vast continental depression settled over bordering areas of a single Euro-Asia continent.

The most ancient inscriptions related to the Caspian Sea were encountered upon an Assirian ceramic pot, mentioned as the Southern Sea. The Hekatey of Milet's historical and geographic books (VI BC) mentioned this sea as Caspy and Hirkan. The first ethnic name is associated with the name of the Caspy people who were dwelling in southwest coastal areas of the current territory of Azerbaijan. Its second name was originated from Hircan country, which was located in the southeast coastal areas (translated from Persian as "the country of wolves"). These two names of the Caspian Sea were also mentioned by Herodotus (5th century BC).

The diversity of various types of animals, which inhabit and populate a defined ground or water area, is the animal kingdom. The first reports on the richness and diversity of animal life in Azerbaijan can be found in travel notes of Eastern travelers. Animal carvings on architectural monuments, ancient rocks and stones survived up to the present times. The first information on the animal kingdom of Azerbaijan was collected during the visits of naturalists to Azerbaijan in 17th century. Unlike fauna, the concept of animal kingdom covers not only the types of animals, but also the number of individual species.

The animal kingdom of Azerbaijan is very rich, partly due to diversity of its natural complexes. There are 97 species of mammals, 357 species of birds, 67 species of reptiles and amphibians, 97 species of fish and over 15 thousand species of invertebrates in Azerbaijan.

People use the animal kingdom resources for food, as well as for raw materials in industries and working power in field works. Vertebrates are used to produce meat, eggs, feather, leather, horns, as well as butter and technical oil. Their products are used to produce drugs, perfumes, fertilizers and fodder. The natural habitat of various types of animals is very different within the country. Some species populate special restricted areas (lakes, parts of mountainous areas) while others are spread throughout the country. For example, passerines can be found anywhere in the territory of Azerbaijan. Protozoa parasites are also registered in all areas of the country, depending on natural habitat of carrier animals (cattle, poultry, etc.). Among mammals, jeyran gazelles populate plain areas, Caucasian goat inhabits the Major Caucasus areas, most species of birds can be found in forests, some in water basins. Pest insects occupy different agricultural fields, while others populate defined biotopes only.

The Republic of Azerbaijan has a very rich flora. There are more than 4,500 species of higher plants here. The flora of Azerbaijan is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other republics of the South Caucasus. Sixty-six per cent of the species growing in the whole Caucasus can be found in Azerbaijan.

The richness of Azerbaijan's flora and the variety of its vegetation results from the variety and richness of its physical-geographic and natural-historic conditions and from its compound history influenced by the remote floristic regions.

Relict genera of the tertiary period can be frequently found in all the zones of Azerbaijan, especially in Talysh. They are the iron tree (Parrotia persica), the Lenkoran acacia (Albizzia julibrissin), the basket oak (Quercus castaneifolia), the Caucasian persimmon (Diospyrus lotus), the evergreen shrub of Ruscus hyrcana, the box tree (Buxus hyrcana), etc. There are 240 endemic species of plants in Azerbaijan.

In the flora of Azerbaijan there are representatives of all the types of floristic areas, e.g. ancient wood, boreal, plain, xerophytic, desert, Caucasian and accidental. The representatives of the ancient wood type are most widely spread in the region of Talysh, and the boreal type is spread in the high mountains of the Minor and Great Caucasus and a little in the lower areas. Meanwhile, the xerophytic, Caucasian, plain and desert types are spread on the lowlands, foothills, the Steppe Plateau and, most of all, on the Kura-Araz lowland. The accidental type of floristic areas is represented inconsiderably. In the Kura-Araz, Near Caspian and other lowlands there are many lakes, pools and bogs rich in vegetation.