Georgia - Geography
Georgia is situated at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, in the Western part of the Transcaucasia on the southern slopes of the Caucasian mountains, between the 40' and 47' latitude east and 42' and 44 longitude north, covering the area of 69.700 sq. km. It shares borders with the Russian Federation in the north, the Republic of Azerbaijan in the south-east, the Republic of Armenia in the south, and the Republic of Turkey in the south-west. Western Georgia is bounded by the Black Sea.
The surface of Georgia ranges in altitude from 0 meters on the Black Sea level up to 5.184 meters. The northern, central and southern parts are dominated by mountains (with Caucasus mountains in the north, Likhi range in the central part and lesser Caucasus mountains in the south). Kolkhida Lowland opens to the Black Sea in the west, while in eastern Georgia all rivers join the Mtkvari (Kura) river, forming the Caspian basin.
2/3 of the territory is mountainous, the average height being 1200 meters. The main peaks are : Shkhara (5184), Kazbegi (5033), Rustaveli (4960), Tetnuldi (4852), Ushba (4710), and Shkhelda (4322). The main rivers are: Mtkvari (384 km), Alazani (390 km), Iori (375 km), Rioni (327 km), Enguri (221 km), and Khrami (220 km).
Caucasian mountain barrier protects Georgia against the waves of cold air from the north, allowing Black Sea to warm the region. The climatic zones range from moderately humid Mediterranean in the west, complemented by both dry and temperate damp climates in the east. The average air temperature in the coastal areas of Georgia is 15oC and 11-13oC in the eastern part. An annual average rainfall ranges between 400 and 3000 mm from east to west.
There are about 300 deposits of mineral resources in Georgia, commercially most important being the deposits of manganese, non-ferrous and rare metals, raw construction, and facing materials. Minor coal and oil deposits are also present.
Georgia is rich in water resources. There are some 25.000 rivers and 850 lakes that constitute 66.3 cubic km. The commercially allocable water-power capacity of the rivers is evaluated at 60 million kWh. There are also numerous curative mineral springs, such as "Borjomi", "Sairme", "Tskaltubo" "Nabeglavi".
The total land area constitutes 7.3 mln. hectares. Arable land composes 11%, permanent crops - 4%; meadows and pastures - 29%; forest and woodland - 38%; other - 18%. Irrigated land equals to 4.660 sq. km. Coastal climate and soils allow important tea and citrus growth in the western part of the country.
