Maps! Maps! Maps! (of Turkey)

Human geographers use a variety of tools to understand where a place is. Maps are one of them. Geographers use different maps to highlight different features of a place. What can we learn about Turkey from the following maps?


Turkey on a world map

Geographers us world maps, like this 3D rendering of the Earth, to understand where a place is in the context of the world. From this map we can see that Turkey is North of Africa, it is bordered by a least two oceans etc. Geographers use this map to gain a broad, general understanding of where Turkey is.

Turkey on a map with latitude and longitude

Geographers also use the geographic grid, "a system of imaginary arcs drawn in a grid pattern on Earth's surface", to describe where a place is (Rubenstein, 10). This map contains parallels, lines that run east to west (latitude) and meridians, lines that run north to south (longitude). Turkey is located at Sometimes geographers use latitude and longitude to describe the geographic location of a place. Turkey is located at 39.9167° N, 32.8333° E.  Latitude and longitude provide very specific information about geographic location. 





                                     

Turkey and its neighboring countries

                              

Geographers also use political maps to talk about geographic location. Political maps show state and political boundaries. From this map, we can see that Turkey is bordered by Greece, Bulgaria, Syria, Iraq, Armenia, Iran, and Georgia.



                                       


This political map highlights not only state and political boundaries but also continent boundaries. This gives us a key detail about Turkey's geographic location that has not been apparent on the other maps. Turkey is located in both Europe and Asia.  About 3% of Turkey is located west of the Bosphorus strait, a strip of water that divides Europe from Asia. This part of Turkey is known as Thrace. The remaining 97% percent of Turkey, to the East of the strait, is in Asia. This much larger section of Turkey is known as Anatolia. 


Geographers also render topographic maps, climate maps, regional maps, and city maps. (and many more!)

What else can you learn about Turkey from these maps?

Helpful Links: Check out this interactive map of Turkey from National Geographic!

Sources: Rubenstein, J. M. (2010). Contemporary human geography. Prentice Hall: Glenview, IL.