Area 2,110 km² | ISO 3166 code AZ-AB | |
 | ||
Subdivisions ListBaku (city)Sumqayit (city)Absheron (rayon) | ||
Yanar dag absheron peninsula baku region azerbaijan eurasia
The Absheron Peninsula (Azerbaijani: Abşeron yarımadası) is a peninsula in Azerbaijan. It is host to Baku, the biggest and the most populous city of the country, and also the Baku metropolitan area, with its satellite cities Sumqayit and Khyrdalan.
Contents
- Yanar dag absheron peninsula baku region azerbaijan eurasia
- Map of Absheron peninsula Baku Azerbaijan
- Etymology
- Geography
- Climate
- Economy
- References
Map of Absheron peninsula, Baku, Azerbaijan
There are three districts, of which two are urban (Baku and Sumqayit), and one (Absheron Rayon), is suburban district in Absheron region.
It extends 60 km (37 mi) eastward into the Caspian Sea, and reaches a maximum width of 30 km (19 mi). Though technically the easternmost extension of the Caucasus Mountains, the landscape is only mildly hilly, a gently undulating plain that ends in a long spit of sand dunes known as Shah Dili, and now declared the Absheron National Park. In this part the peninsula is dissected by ravines and characterized by frequent salt lakes.
Etymology
The name "Absheron" comes from Persian āb šur (salty water) and the suffix -ān, which marks the plural. This also gave its name to the city of Apsheronsk in Russia.
According to Conrad Malte-Brun in 1810, an alternative name for the peninsula was Okoressa.
Geography
The Absheron Peninsula is nearly the metropolitan area of Baku because the Baku metropolitan area consists of Baku city, Sumgayit and Khyrdalan whereas the Absheron Peninsula consists of Baku city, Sumgayit and Absheron rayon whose center is Khyrdalan.
Climate
The Absheron Peninsula, has a temperate semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk) with warm and dry summers, cool and occasionally wet winters, and strong winds all year long. The peninsula is the most arid part of Azerbaijan (precipitation here is around or less than 200 mm (8 in) a year). The majority of the light annual precipitation occurs in seasons other than summer, but none of these seasons are particularly wet. The natural vegetation of the Absheron Peninsula is dry steppe and semi-desert. Due to the semi-arid climate, local agriculture requires irrigation.
Economy
Beginning in the 1870s, the Absheron Peninsula was the site of some of the world's earliest petroleum production. Much of the landscape remains scarred with rusting oil derricks. Despite serious problems with environmental damage and pollution, the Absheron is known for its flowers, horticulture, mulberries and figs. The northern coast has wide though less-than-pristine beaches which are popular local tourist attractions.
Wealthy people have settled in the Absheron Peninsula, including Robert Nobel and Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.