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Map of Iraq

The geography of Iraq is diverse. The country slopes from mountains over 3,000 meters (10,000 ft) above sea level along the border with Iran and Turkey to the remnants of reedy marshes in the southeast. So-called "Marsh Arabs" have migrated through this region into modern-day Kuwait for centuries. ewwww no farting Much of Iraqi territory is desert or wasteland, especially in the southwest and central provinces along the borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The mountains in the northeast are an extension of the alpine system that runs eastward from the Balkans into southern Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, terminating in the Himalayas. Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Iraq_map. ... small Iraq image File links The following pages link to this file: History of Iraq Geography of Iraq Iraqi anti-Saddam groups Iraq war (disambiguation) Categories: GFDL images ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... The Marsh Arabs are the inhabitants of the lowlands of southern Iraq, the former Mesopotamia, whose families have lived in the area for thousands of years. ... This article is about arid terrain. ... Wasteland can refer to: Look up wasteland in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Perspective view of the Himalayas and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ...

Iraq holds a special distinction in the history of geography: a clay tablet generally accepted as "the earliest known map" was unearthed in 1930 during the excavation of Ga-Sur at Nuzi Yorghan Tepe, near the towns of Harran and Kirkuk, 200 miles north of the site of Babylon. The tablet, measuring 7.6 x 6.8 cm, is usually dated from the dynasty of Sargon of Akkad between 2,300-2,500 BC; an even earlier date for the tablet was promulgated by archeologist Leo Bagrow ^[1], placing it in the Agade Period (3,800 BC). Small tablets made out of clay were used from late 4th millennium BC onwards as a writing medium in Sumerian, Mesopotamian, Hittite, and Minoan/Mycenaean civilizations. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... Nuzi localisation Nuzi (or Nuzu) was an ancient Mesopotamian city southwest of Kirkuk in modern Iraq, located near the Tigris river. ... Harran, also known as Carrhae, is a district of Şanlıurfa Province in the southeast of Turkey, near the border with Syria, 24 miles (44 kilometres) southeast of the city of Şanlıurfa, at the end of a long straight road across the roasting hot plain of Harran. ... Kirkuk (also spelled Karkuk or Kerkuk; Arabic: كركوك, Kirkūk; Kurdish: كه‌ركووك, Kerkûk; Syriac: ܐܪܦܗܐ, Arrapha; Persian: کرکوک; Turkish: Kerkük) is a city in northern Iraq and capital of Taamim Governorate. ... Babylon (in Arabic: بابل; in Syriac: ܒܒܙܠ in Hebrew:בבל) was an ancient city in Mesopotamia (modern Al Hillah, Iraq), the ruins of which can be found in present-day Babil Province, about 80km south of Baghdad. ... Sargon of Akkad, or Sargon the Great (Akkadian Šarukinu, the true king, reigned 2334 BC - 2279 BC, short chronology), founder of the Dynasty of Akkad. ... Akkad (or Agade) was a city and its region of northern Iraq) between Assyria to the northwest and Sumer to the south. ...

Geographic coordinates: 33°00′N, 44°00′E

Through Algerian mediation, Iran and Iraq agreed in March 1975 to normalize their relations, and three months later they signed a treaty known as the Algiers Accord. The document defined the common border all along the Khawr Abd Allah (Shatt) River estuary as the thalweg. To compensate Iraq for the loss of what formerly had been regarded as its territory, pockets of territory along the mountain border in the central sector of its common boundary with Iran were assigned to it. Nonetheless, in September 1980 Iraq went to war with Iran, citing among other complaints the fact that Iran had not turned over to it the land specified in the Algiers Accord. This problem has subsequently proved to be a stumbling block to a negotiated settlement of the ongoing conflict. The Algiers Accord was signed on 6th March, 1975 in Algeria by the Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein as Vice-President of Iraq and Vice-Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council or RCC. It stated: Carry out a final delineation of their land boundaries in accordance with the Constantinople... The Khawr Abd Allah (Arabic: ‎) is today an estuary, but once was the point where the great Euphrates and Tigris rivers emptied into the Persian Gulf. ... Rio de la Plata estuary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Estuaries An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea[1]. Estuaries are often associated with high rates of... Thalweg (a German word compounded from Tal, valley, and Weg, way) is a term adopted into English usage for geography. ... The Algiers Accord was signed on 6th March, 1975 in Algeria by the Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein as Vice-President of Iraq and Vice-Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council or RCC. It stated: Carry out a final delineation of their land boundaries in accordance with the Constantinople...

In 1988 the boundary with Kuwait was another outstanding problem. It was fixed in a 1913 treaty between the Ottoman Empire and British officials acting on behalf of Kuwait's ruling family, which in 1899 had ceded control over foreign affairs to Britain. The boundary was accepted by Iraq when it became independent in 1932, but in the 1960s and again in the mid-1970s, the Iraqi government advanced a claim to parts of Kuwait. Kuwait made several representations to the Iraqis during the war to fix the border once and for all but Baghdad has repeatedly demurred, claiming that the issue is a potentially divisive one that could inflame nationalist sentiment inside Iraq. Hence in 1988 it was likely that a solution would have to wait until the war ended. Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–22 Mehmed VI... Politics of Kuwait takes place in a framework of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whereby the Emir is the head of government. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ...

In 1922 British officials concluded the Treaty of Mohammara with Abd al Aziz ibn Abd ar Rahman Al Saud, who in 1932 formed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The treaty provided the basic agreement for the boundary between the eventually independent nations. Also in 1922 the two parties agreed to the creation of the diamond-shaped Neutral Zone of approximately 7,500 square kilometers (2,900 mi²) adjacent to the western tip of Kuwait in which neither Iraq nor Saudi Arabia would build permanent dwellings or installations. Bedouins from either country could utilize the limited water and seasonal grazing resources of the zone. In April 1975, an agreement signed in Baghdad fixed the borders of the countries. Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ... The House of Saud ( translit: ) is the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... This article is about the unit of measure. ... A Bedouin man resting on a hillside at Mount Sinai Bedouin, derived from the Arabic ( ‎), a generic name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic pastoralist groups, who are found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ...

Major geographical features

Detailed map of Iraq

Most geographers, including those of the Iraqi government, discuss the country's geography in terms of four main zones or regions: the desert in the west and southwest; the rolling upland between the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in Arabic the Dijlis and Furat, respectively); the highlands in the north and northeast; and the alluvial plain through which the Tigris and Euphrates flow. Iraq's official statistical reports give the total land area as 438,446 square kilometers (169,285 sq. mi), whereas a United States Department of State publication gives the area as 434,934 square kilometers (167,929 sq. mi). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1667x2000, 1495 KB) Iraq. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1667x2000, 1495 KB) Iraq. ... This article is about arid terrain. ... The Tigris is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. ... Surfer Rosa The Euphrates (IPA: /juːˈfreɪtiːz/; Greek: EuphrátÄ“s; Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu; Hebrew: פְּרָת PÄ•rāth; Syriac: Prâth; Arabic: الفرات Al-Furāt; Turkish: Fırat; Kurdish: فرهات, Firhat, Ferhat, Azeri: FÉ™rat) is the western of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (the other... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ...

The desert zone, an area lying west and southwest of the Euphrates River, is a part of the Syrian Desert, which covers sections of Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The region, sparsely inhabited by pastoral nomads, consists of a wide, stony plain interspersed with rare sandy stretches. A widely ramified pattern of wadis - watercourses that are dry most of the year - runs from the border to the Euphrates. Some wadis are over 400 kilometers (250 mi) long and carry brief but torrential floods during the winter rains. The Syrian Desert is a combination of steppe and true desert that is located in parts of the nations of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. ... Wadi alMujib, Jordan A wadi (Arabic: ) is traditionally a valley. ... Wadi alMujib, Jordan A wadi (Arabic: ) is traditionally a valley. ... A kilometer (Commonwealth spelling: kilometre), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1,000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ...

The uplands region, between the Tigris north of Samarra and the Euphrates north of Hit, is known as Al Jazira (the island) and is part of a larger area that extends westward into Syria between the two rivers and into Turkey. Water in the area flows in deeply cut valleys, and irrigation is much more difficult than it is in the lower plain. Much of this zone may be classified as desert. Map showing Samarra near Baghdad Sāmarrā (سامراء) is a town in Iraq ( ). It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad Din Governorate, 125 km north of Baghdad and, in 2002, had an estimated population of 201,700. ... The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name for the river, which is in Old Persian Ufrat, Aramaic Prâth/Frot, in Arabic Al-Furat الفرات, in Turkish Fırat and in ancient Assyrian language Pu-rat-tu) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (Bethnahrin in Aramaic), the... Al-Jazira (Arabic, الجزيرة) is the traditional Arabic name for the region of northeastern modern-day Syria and northwestern modern-day Iraq. ... Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil. ...

The northeastern highlands begin just south of a line drawn from Mosul to Kirkuk and extend to the borders with Turkey and Iran. High ground, separated by broad, undulating steppes, gives way to mountains ranging from 1,000 to nearly 4,000 meters (3,300 to 13,100 ft) near the Iranian and Turkish borders. Except for a few valleys, the mountain area proper is suitable only for grazing in the foothills and steppes; adequate soil and rainfall, however, make cultivation possible. Here, too, are the great oil fields near Mosul and Kirkuk. The northeast is the homeland of most Iraqi Kurds. Tigris River and bridge in Mosul Mosul (Arabic: ‎ , Kurdish: Mûsil, Syriac: NînÄ›wâ, Turkish: Musul) is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of Ninawa Governorate. ... Kirkuk (also spelled Karkuk or Kerkuk; Arabic: كركوك, KirkÅ«k; Kurdish: كه‌ركووك, Kerkûk; Syriac: ܐܪܦܗܐ, Arrapha; Persian: کرکوک; Turkish: Kerkük) is a city in northern Iraq and capital of Taamim Governorate. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: - , Ukrainian: - , Kazakh: - ), pronounced in English as , is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ...

An alluvial plain begins north of Baghdad and extends to the Persian Gulf. Here the Tigris and Euphrates rivers lie above the level of the plain in many places, and the whole area is a river delta interlaced by the channels of the two rivers and by irrigation canals. Intermittent lakes, fed by the rivers in flood, also characterize southeastern Iraq. A fairly large area (15,000 km² or 5,800 mi²) just above the confluence of the two rivers at Al Qurnah and extending east of the Tigris beyond the Iranian border is marshland, known as Hawr al Hammar, the result of centuries of flooding and inadequate drainage. Much of it is permanent marsh, but some parts dry out in early winter, and other parts become marshland only in years of great flood. Alluvium (from the Latin, alluvius, from alluere, to wash against) is soil or sediments deposited by a river or other running water. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... Map of the Persian Gulf. ... Nile River delta, as seen from Earth orbit. ... A man-made lake in Keukenhof, Netherlands A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... Lake Hammar is a saline lake in southeastern part of Iraq. ...

Because the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates above their confluence are heavily silt- laden, irrigation and fairly frequent flooding deposit large quantities of silty loam in much of the delta area. Windborne silt contributes to the total deposit of sediments. It has been estimated that the delta plains are built up at the rate of nearly twenty centimeters in a century. In some areas, major floods lead to the deposit in temporary lakes of as much as thirty centimeters of mud. Silt is soil or rock derived granular material of a specific grain size. ... Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil. ...

The Tigris and Euphrates also carry large quantities of salts. These, too, are spread on the land by sometimes excessive irrigation and flooding. A high water table and poor surface and subsurface drainage tend to concentrate the salts near the surface of the soil. In general, the salinity of the soil increases from Baghdad south to the Persian Gulf and severely limits productivity in the region south of Al Amarah. The salinity is reflected in the large lake in central Iraq, southwest of Baghdad, known as Bahr al Milh (Sea of Salt). There are two other major lakes in the country to the north of Bahr al Milh: Buhayrat ath Tharthar and Buhayrat al Habbaniyah. For other uses, see Salt (disambiguation). ... Cross section showing the water table varying with surface topography as well as a perched water table The water table or phreatic surface is the surface where the water pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure. ... Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ... Lake Milh from space, June 1996 Lake Milh (also known as the Sea of Salt) can be seen in this northeast-looking view. ... Lake Tharthar, known in Iraq as Buhayrat ath Tharthar, is a lake situated 120 kilometres north of Baghdad between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. ... Lake Habbaniyah, known in Iraq as Hawr al-Habbaniyah, is a shallow natural lake in al-Anbar, Iraq. ...

The Euphrates originates in Turkey, is augmented by the Nahr al Khabur in Syria ("nahr" means river in Arabic), and enters Iraq in the northwest. Here it is fed only by the wadis of the western desert during the winter rains. It then winds through a gorge, which varies from two to sixteen kilometers in width, until it flows out on the plain at Ar Ramadi. Beyond there the Euphrates continues to the Hindiyah Barrage, which was constructed in 1914 to divert the river into the Hindiyah Channel; the present day Shatt al Hillah had been the main channel of the Euphrates before 1914. Below Al Kifl, the river follows two channels to As-Samawah, where it reappears as a single channel to join the Tigris at Al Qurnah. The Khabur river (also Habor, Habur) is 200 miles (320 km) long, beginning in southeastern Turkey, and flowing generally south to Syria where it is joined by the Jaghjagh River and eventually empties into Euphrates River. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Ramădī (الرمادي) is a city in central Iraq, about 100 kilometers west of Baghdad. ... Vendors line the main road through Kifl. ... Samawah or As Samawah (Arabic language:السماوة) is a city in Iraq, 280 km southeast of Baghdad. ...

The Tigris also rises in Turkey but is significantly augmented by several rivers in Iraq, the most important of which are the Khabur, the Great Zab, the Little Zab, and the Uzaym, all of which join the Tigris above Baghdad, and the Diyala, which joins it about thirty-six kilometers below the city. At the Kut Barrage much of the water is diverted into the Shatt al Gharraf, which was once the main channel of the Tigris. Water from the Tigris thus enters the Euphrates through the Shatt al Gharraf well above the confluence of the two main channels at Al Qurnah. Zab (Kurdish: Zê, Syriac: ܙܘܐ; Zawa) is the name given to two separate rivers that flow through Iran, Iraq and Turkey to become the two principal tributaries of the Tigris. ... Diyala is one of the constituent governorates of the nation of Iraq. ...

Both the Tigris and the Euphrates break into a number of channels in the marshland area, and the flow of the rivers is substantially reduced by the time they come together at Al Qurnah. Moreover, the swamps act as silt traps, and the Shatt al Arab is relatively silt free as it flows south. Below Basra, however, the Karun River enters the Shatt al Arab from Iran, carrying large quantities of silt that present a continuous dredging problem in maintaining a channel for ocean-going vessels to reach the port at Basra. This problem had been superseded by a greater obstacle to river traffic, however, namely the presence of several sunken hulks that had been rusting in the Shatt al Arab since early in the Iran-Iraq war. Location of Basra Basra (Arabic: ‎; BGN: Al BaÅŸrah) is the second largest city of Iraq with an estimated population of 2,600,000 (2003). ... Karun River passing the Iranian city of Ahvaz The Karun river is Irans longest, and only navigable river. ... The Shatt al-Arab (Arabic: شط العرب) or Arvand (called اروندرود: arvandrūd in Persian), also called the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, is a river in Southwest Asia of some 200 km in length, formed by the... Location of Basra Basra (Arabic: ‎; BGN: Al BaÅŸrah) is the second largest city of Iraq with an estimated population of 2,600,000 (2003). ...

The waters of the Tigris and Euphrates are essential to the life of the country, but they may also threaten it. The rivers are at their lowest level in September and October and at flood in March, April, and May when they may carry forty times as much water as at low mark. Moreover, one season's flood may be ten or more times as great as that in another year. In 1954, for example, Baghdad was seriously threatened, and dikes protecting it were nearly topped by the flooding Tigris. Since Syria built a dam on the Euphrates, the flow of water has been considerably diminished and flooding was no longer a problem in the mid-1980s. In 1988 Turkey was also constructing a dam on the Euphrates that would further restrict the water flow. A dyke (or dike) is a stone or earthen wall constructed as a defence or as a boundary. ...

Until the mid-twentieth century, most efforts to control the waters were primarily concerned with irrigation. Some attention was given to problems of flood control and drainage before the revolution of July 14, 1958, but development plans in the 1960s and 1970s were increasingly devoted to these matters, as well as to irrigation projects on the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates and the tributaries of the Tigris in the northeast. During the war, government officials stressed to foreign visitors that, with the conclusion of a peace settlement, problems of irrigation and flooding would receive top priority from the government. July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Settlement patterns

In the rural areas of the alluvial plain and in the lower Diyala region, settlement almost invariably clusters near the rivers, streams, and irrigation canals. The bases of the relationship between watercourse and settlement have been summarized by Robert McCormick Adams, director of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He notes that the levees laid down by streams and canals provide advantages for both settlement and agriculture. Surface water drains more easily on the levees' backslope, and the coarse soils of the levees are easier to cultivate and permit better subsurface drainage. The height of the levees gives some protection against floods and the frost that often affect low-lying areas and may kill winter crops. Above all, those living or cultivating on the crest of a levee have easy access to water for irrigation and household use in a dry, hot country. The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. ...

Although there are some isolated homesteads, most rural communities are nucleated settlements rather than dispersed farmsteads; that is, the farmer leaves his village to cultivate the fields outside it. The pattern holds for farming communities in the Kurdish highlands of the northeast as well as for those in the alluvial plain. The size of the settlement varies, generally with the volume of water available for household use and with the amount of land accessible to village dwellers. Sometimes, particularly in the lower Tigris and Euphrates valleys, soil salinity restricts the area of arable land and limits the size of the community dependent on it, and it also usually results in large unsettled and uncultivated stretches between the villages. Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ... The Tigris is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. ... Surfer Rosa The Euphrates (IPA: /juːˈfreɪtiːz/; Greek: Euphrátēs; Akkadian: Pu-rat-tu; Hebrew: פְּרָת Pĕrāth; Syriac: Prâth; Arabic: الفرات Al-Furāt; Turkish: Fırat; Kurdish: فرهات, Firhat, Ferhat, Azeri: Fərat) is the western of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia (the other...

Fragmentary information suggests that most farmers in the alluvial plain tend to live in villages of over 100 persons. For example, in the mid-1970s a substantial number of the residents of Baqubah, the administrative center and major city of Diyala Governorate, were employed in agriculture. Baqubah (Arabic: ‎; BGN: Ba‘qūbah; also spelled Baquba and Baqouba) is the capital of Iraqs Diyala Governorate. ...

The Marsh Arabs (the Madan) of the south usually live in small clusters of two or three houses kept above water by rushes that are constantly being replenished. Such clusters often are close together, but access from one to another is possible only by small boat. Here and there a few natural islands permit slightly larger clusters. Some of these people are primarily water buffalo herders and lead a semi-nomadic life. In the winter, when the waters are at a low point, they build fairly large temporary villages. In the summer they move their herds out of the marshes to the river banks. There are several meanings of the term Madan: Madan is an alternative name (Madana) for the god Kama in Hinduism. ... Look up Rush in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the controversy at the University of Pennsylvania, see Water buffalo incident. ... Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. ...

The war has had its effect on the lives of these denizens of the marshes. With much of the fighting concentrated in their areas, they have either migrated to settled communities away from the marshes or have been forced by government decree to relocate within the marshes. Also, in early 1988, the marshes had become the refuge of deserters from the Iraqi army who attempted to maintain life in the fastness of the overgrown, desolate areas while hiding out from the authorities. These deserters in many instances have formed into large gangs that raid the marsh communities; this also has induced many of the marsh dwellers to abandon their villages.

The war has also affected settlement patterns in the northern Kurdish areas. There, the persistence of a stubborn rebellion by Kurdish guerrillas has goaded the government into applying steadily escalating violence against the local communities. Starting in 1984, the government launched a scorched-earth campaign to drive a wedge between the villagers and the guerrillas in the remote areas of two provinces of Kurdistan in which Kurdish guerrillas were active. In the process whole villages were torched and subsequently bulldozed, which resulted in the Kurds flocking into the regional centers of Irbil and As Sulaymaniyah. Also as a military precaution, the government has cleared a broad strip of territory in the Kurdish region along the Iranian border of all its inhabitants, hoping in this way to interdict the movement of Kurdish guerrillas back and forth between Iran and Iraq. The majority of Kurdish villages, however, remained intact in early 1988. Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ... Guerrilla (also called a partisan) is a term borrowed from Spanish (from guerra meaning war) used to describe small combat groups. ... Guerrilla (also called a partisan) is a term borrowed from Spanish (from guerra meaning war) used to describe small combat groups. ... Kurdistan (Soranî: كوردستان, literally meaning the land of Kurds[2]; Ancient: Corduene, old: Koordistan, Curdistan, Kurdia, also Kurdish: ) is the name of a geographic and cultural region in the Middle East, inhabited predominantly by the Kurds. ... This article is about the province of Iraq. ... Sulaymānīyah (السليمانية) is a city in the southeast of greater Kurdistan and the northeast of Iraq, located at 35. ... Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ...

In the arid areas of Iraq to the west and south, cities and large towns are almost invariably situated on watercourses, usually on the major rivers or their larger tributaries. In the south this dependence has had its disadvantages. Until the recent development of flood control, Baghdad and other cities were subject to the threat of inundation. Moreover, the dikes needed for protection have effectively prevented the expansion of the urban areas in some directions. The growth of Baghdad, for example, was restricted by dikes on its eastern edge. The diversion of water to the Milhat ath Tharthar and the construction of a canal transferring water from the Tigris north of Baghdad to the Diyala River have permitted the irrigation of land outside the limits of the dikes and the expansion of settlement. Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... Dyke (normal International spelling) or Dike (normal American spelling) can mean several things: A dyke / dike is a long wall built to keep out the sea or enclose land. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... Map of Mesopotamia showing the Diyala River The Diyala River is a river and tributary of the Tigris that runs through Iran and Iraq. ...

Climate

Dust storms in Iraq, September 2000

Average temperatures in Iraq range from higher than 48 °C (120 °F) in July and August to below freezing in January. Most of the rainfall occurs from December through April and averages between 100 and 180 millimeters (4 to 7 in) annually. The mountainous region of northern Iraq receives appreciably more precipitation than the central or southern desert region. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x1836, 1057 KB) Dust storm over Iran/Iraq. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x1836, 1057 KB) Dust storm over Iran/Iraq. ... Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter), symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...

Roughly 90% of the annual rainfall occurs between November and April, most of it in the winter months from December through March. The remaining six months, particularly the hottest ones of June, July, and August, are dry.

Except in the north and northeast, mean annual rainfall ranges between 10 and 17 centimeters (4–6.7 in). Data available from stations in the foothills and steppes south and southwest of the mountains suggest mean annual rainfall between 32 and 57 centimeters (12.6–22.4 in)for that area. Rainfall in the mountains is more abundant and may reach 100 centimeters (39.4 in) a year in some places, but the terrain precludes extensive cultivation. Cultivation on nonirrigated land is limited essentially to the mountain valleys, foothills, and steppes, which have 30 centimeters (12 in) or more of rainfall annually. Even in this zone, however, only one crop a year can be grown, and shortages of rain have often led to crop failures. This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The steppe of Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, steppe (from Slavic step) is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally reckoned as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are said...

Mean minimum temperatures in the winter range from near freezing (just before dawn) in the northern and northeastern foothills and the western desert to 2 to 3 °C (36–37 °F) and 4 to 5 °C (39 to 41 °F) in the alluvial plains of southern Iraq. They rise to a mean maximum of about 16 °C (60 °F) in the western desert and the northeast, and 17 °C (62 °F) in the south. In the summer mean minimum temperatures range from about 22 °C to about 29 °C (72 to 84°F) and rise to maximums between roughly 38 and 43 °C (100 to 110 °F). Temperatures sometimes fall below freezing and have fallen as low as -14 °C (6 °F) at Ar Rutbah in the western desert. They are more likely, however, to go over 46 °C (115 °F) in the summer months, and several stations have records of over 48 °C (118 °F). Celsius is, or relates to, the Celsius temperature scale (previously known as the centigrade scale). ... Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ...

The summer months are marked by two kinds of wind phenomena. The southern and southeasterly sharqi, a dry, dusty wind with occasional gusts of 80 kilometers an hour (50 mph), occurs from April to early June and again from late September through November. It may last for a day at the beginning and end of the season but for several days at other times. This wind is often accompanied by violent duststorms that may rise to heights of several thousand meters and close airports for brief periods. From mid-June to mid-September the prevailing wind, called the shamal, is from the north and northwest. It is a steady wind, absent only occasionally during this period. The very dry air brought by this shamal permits intensive sun heating of the land surface, but the breeze has some cooling effect. Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... A shamal is a summer northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf, often strong during the day, but decreasing at night. ...

The combination of rain shortage and extreme heat makes much of Iraq a desert. Because of very high rates of evaporation, soil and plants rapidly lose the little moisture obtained from the rain, and vegetation could not survive without extensive irrigation. Some areas, however, although arid, do have natural vegetation in contrast to the desert. For example, in the Zagros Mountains in northeastern Iraq there is permanent vegetation, such as oak trees, and date palms are found in the south. The Zagros Mountains (In Persian:رشته‌کوه‌های زاگرس) make up Irans second largest mountain range. ... Binomial name Phoenix dactylifera L. The Date Palm Phoenix dactylifera is a palm, extensively cultivated for its edible fruit. ...

Area and boundaries

Area:
total: 437,072 km² (168,754 sq. mi)
land: 432,162 km² (166,859 sq. mi)
water: 4,910 km² (1,896 sq. mi)

Land boundaries:
total: 3,631 km (2,256 mi)
border countries: Iran 1,458 km (906 mi), Jordan 181 km (112 mi), Kuwait 242 km (150 mi), Saudi Arabia 814 km (506 mi), Syria 605 km (376 mi), Turkey 331 km (206 mi) A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ...

Coastline: 58 km (36 mi)

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ...

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Cheekah Dar 3,611 m / 11,847 ft (not Haji Ibrahim—3,600 m / 11,811 ft) Cheekah Dar (Black Tent) is the highest point in Southern Kurdistan at 3,611 m (11,847 ft). ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The or meter (see spelling differences) is a measure of length. ...

Resources and land use

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 79% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 25,500 km² or 9,850 sq. mi (1993 est.)

While its proven oil reserves of 112 billion barrels ranks Iraq second in the world behind Saudi Arabia, the United States Department of Energy estimates that up to 90 percent of the country remains unexplored. Unexplored regions of Iraq could yield an additional 100 billion barrels. Iraq's oil production costs are among the lowest in the world. However, only about 2,000 oil wells have been drilled in Iraq, compared to about 1 million wells in Texas alone. ^[2] The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. ... An oil well is seen in Texas. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ...

Environmental concerns

Natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms, floods

Environment - current issues: government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Shi'a Muslims, who have inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of Tigris-Euphrates Rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; and desertification. This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Major ecoregions : PA1303 | PA1320

Minor ecoregions : PA0446 | PA1320 | PA0812 | PA1207 | PA1305 | PA1328 | PA0906 | PA1325 | PA1323

ecoregion : Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh (Ref PA0906). ...

See also

• Iraq
• List of places in Iraq

This is a list of places in Iraq. ...

References

1. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica: Maps and geography in the ancient world
2. ^ US Department of Energy Information - Assessment of Iraqi Petroleum Assets

• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.

• This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.