Azerbaijan is a country in the Caucasus region, situated at the juncture of Europe and Western Asia. Three physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the Caspian Sea, whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north; and the extensive flatlands at the country's center. About the size of Portugal or the US state of Maine, Azerbaijan has a total land area of approximately 86,600 square kilometers, less than 1% of the land area of the former Soviet Union. Of the three Transcaucasian states, Azerbaijan has the greatest land area. Special administrative subdivisions are the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by a strip of Armenian territory, and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, entirely within Azerbaijan. The status of Nagorno-Karabakh is disputed by Armenia.
Skarns or tactites are hard, coarse-grained metamorphic rocks that form by a process called metasomatism. Skarns tend to be rich in calcium-magnesium-iron-manganese-aluminium silicate minerals, which are also referred to as calc-silicate minerals. These minerals form as a result of alteration which occurs when hydrothermal fluids interact with a protolith of either igneous or sedimentary origin. In many cases, skarns are associated with the intrusion of a granitic pluton found in and around faults or shear zones that intrude into a carbonate layer composed of either dolomite or limestone. Skarns can form by regional, or contact metamorphism and therefore form in relatively high temperature environments. The hydrothermal fluids associated with the metasomatic processes can originate from either magmatic, metamorphic, meteoric, marine, or even a mix of these. The resulting skarn may consist of a variety of different minerals which are highly dependent on both the original composition of the hydrothermal fluid and the original composition of the protolith.
Absheron District is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the east of the country and belongs to the Absheron Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khizi, Gobustan, Baku, Hajigabul, Salyan, and the city of Sumgait. Its capital and largest city is Khirdalan. As of 2020, the district had a population of 214,100. Although the district shares the same name as the Absheron Peninsula, the area covered by the district is not conterminous, being further west and mostly inland.
Hajigabul District is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the east of the country and belongs to the Aran Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Kurdamir, Agsu, Shamakhi, Gobustan, Absheron, Baku, Salyan, Sabirabad and the city of Shirvan. Its capital and largest city is Hajigabul. As of 2020, the district had a population of 76,600.
The 2000 Baku earthquake occurred on November 25 at 22:09 local time with an epicenter just offshore Baku, Azerbaijan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale and the maximum felt intensity was VI on the Mercalli intensity scale. It was followed three minutes later by a quake measuring 5.9. It was the strongest for almost 160 years, since 1842 in the Baku suburbs and in addition to the capital affected Sumgayit, Shamakhi and neighboring cities. According to the United States Geological Survey, the epicentre was in the Caspian Sea, 25 km to the south-southeast of Baku. The earthquake was felt as far away as e.g. Tbilisi, 600 km northwest of the epicentre, Makhachkala and the Karabudakh and Isberbas settlements in Dagestan.
Yanar Dag is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Flames jet into the air 3 metres (9.8 ft) from a thin, porous sandstone layer. Administratively, Yanar Dag belongs to Absheron District of Azerbaijan.
The environment of Azerbaijan, includes a wide diversity of climates, animals, plants, and habitats.
Orography of Azerbaijan refers to the rocky, mountainous and elevated terrains in Azerbaijan. The tectonic structure is typical for the orography of the country. The main morphostructural units are the Greater Caucasus, the Lesser Caucasus, the Gusar plane, the Samur-Devechi lowland, the Kur intermountain trough, the Karabagh volcanic highland, the near and middle Araz Ridges and Talysh Mountains.
Absheron National Park is a national park of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests' ecoregion. It was established on the 8th of February 2005, on an area of 783 hectares (7.83 km2) in the administrative territory of the District of Azizbeyov in the City of Baku, on the base of Absheron State Nature Preserve.
The Absheron Peninsula is a peninsula in Azerbaijan. It is the location of Baku, the biggest and the most populous city of the country, and also the Baku metropolitan area, with its satellite cities Sumqayit and Khyrdalan.
Mining has been conducted in Georgia for centuries. Today, Georgia's mineral industry produces manganese, copper and various types of quarried stone. Although the Georgian economy has experienced significant economic growth in recent years, growth in the mining and metallurgical sector has lagged behind that of the overall economy.
Tourism in Azerbaijan has been an important sector of the Azerbaijani economy since the 1990s. According to Azerbaijan's Center for Economic and Social Development, the country is in 39th place among 148 countries in tourism competitiveness indicators. The World Travel and Tourism Council reported that Azerbaijan is among the top ten countries with the greatest increase in visitor exports from 2010 to 2016. The country had the world's fastest-developing travel and tourism economy in 2017. To promote tourism, Azerbaijan sponsored Atlético Madrid jerseys reading "Azerbaijan – Land of Fire". In 2018, a new tourism brand and a slogan "take another look" were introduced.
Mirali Seyidali oglu Qashqai, was an eminent Azerbaijani and Soviet geologist, author of multitude works in the sphere of geomorphology and stratigraphy. He was an honorary member of Mineralogical Society, former chairman of Azerbaijani department of the Society, and full member of the National Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR. He was one of the founders of scientific school in the sphere geologo-mineralogical sciences and he was the supervisor of geochemistry and mineralogy of ore departments of Geology Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.
The Absheron gas field is an offshore natural gas field in the Caspian Sea. The field is located 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of Baku and 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of the Shah Deniz gas field. It covers approximately 270 square kilometres (100 sq mi).
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic entered World War II with the Soviet Union after the German declaration of war on June 22, 1941. Azerbaijan's oilfields were enticing to the Germans due to the USSR's heavy dependency on Caucasus oil – setting the scene for German campaigns attempting to capture and seize the oilfields in Baku during the Battle of the Caucasus. Azerbaijan’s oil was very decisive for Soviet victory. More than 600,000 people from Azerbaijan were conscripted to the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army during World War II from 1941 to 1945.
The Absheron Economic Region is located in the eastern part of the Republic of Azerbaijan and comprises Baku and Sumgait cities and the Absheron and Khizi districts. The eastern part of the economic region is located on the shores of the Caspian Sea, which has positive effects on the economy of the region. It borders Shaki-Zaqatala economic region to the north, Mountainous Shirvan to the west and Aran to the south.
Azerbaijan has the most mud volcanoes of any country, spread broadly across the country. 350 of the 700 volcanoes of the world are in the Azerbaijani Republic. Local people call them “yanardagh”, “pilpila” (terrace), “gaynacha” and “bozdag” alongside its geographical name – mud volcanoes.
The Azerbaijan is a country with very favorable natural conditions and rich natural resources. Snowy peaks, high mountains, foothill fertile soils, wide plains, Lowest Land Points Below Ocean Level are the main landscape forms of republic. This complex landscape structure has caused the variety in natural conditions - climate, soil-vegetation, and water resources. This, in turn, led to the uneven distribution of population and farms on the territory, and the specialization of production on different types.
The Azerbaijan Museum of Geology is located in Azerbaijan. The main activity of the museum is the presentation of rocks, minerals and ore samples, which characterize the country's mineral and raw material base.
