Azerbaijan

AZERBAIJAN IS SITUATED on the western coast of the Caspian Sea and has boundaries with Iran, Armenia, Georgia, and Russia. The area of Azerbaijan is 53,813 sq. mi. (139,375 sq. km.), with a variety of geographic regions including mountains, steppe, desert, and subtropical rainforest. Pastureland, broad leaf forests, farms, and orchards lie in the fertile lower slopes. The range of climate zones include: dry subtropical regions with mild winters and hot dry summers; forest zones with more precipitation and a moderate climate, with cold winters and warm summers; and the city of Baku, with desert conditions, short, cold winters, long, sweltering summers, and little rainfall.

Natural resources include oil, natural gas, grain, cotton, rice, tobacco, fruit, vegetables, grapes, and livestock. Agriculture in arid and semiarid regions ...