Seas and Coastal forms of Turkey
   Turkey is surrounded by the sea on three sides. Its coasts on four seas measure more than 8000 km.
Main Coasts                        Length                                  Salinity
Black Sea                           1,695 km.                              15-20 %0
Marmara                             927 km.                                 22 %0
Aegean                               2,805 km.                              37-39 %0
Mediterranean                     1,577 km.                              36-39 %0

   The Anatolian coast along the Black Sea is of high elevation in most areas. In such areas, mountain ranges lie directly parallel to the coast. No harbours were formed during the period of mountain building.
   Situated between the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean Sea are Boğaziçi (Bosphorus Strait), the Sea of Marmara and Çanakkale (Dardanelles Strait). The coast along Boğaziçi are mostly in the form of cliffs. Haliç (the ancient Golden Horn), is an inlet 7 km., long between Kağıthane, Alibey Brook and Sarayburnu, deepest part being 30-40 metres.

   The Sea of Marmara is a small inland sea (11,350 km2), between two straits, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. The Island of the Sea of Marmara are located in the shallow parts. The largest island in the Marmara group are the Marmara Islands. The group of islands near Istanbul are Büyükada, Heybeliada Burgaz and Kınaliada.
   The Dardanelles Strait extends between Gelibolu (the ancient Gallipoli) and the Biga Peninsulas. ıt is 61 km. long , with a width varying from 1200 metres to 7 km.
   The continental shelf of the Mediterranean coast of Turkey is narrow. It is formed by steep and high cliffs along its full length .Two main inlets are the Gulfs of Antalya and Iskenderun.

Lakes and Dams
   Lakes are part of Turkey's natural wealth that enriches the variety of land forms. The largest lakes in

Turkey are:
Lakes                   Surface (km2)                 Location
Van                        3,173                              Eastern Anatolia
Tuz (Salt Lake)      1,500                               Central Anatolia
Beyşehir                656                                  Southern Anatolia
Eğridir                  468                                  Southern Anatolia
Iznik                     298                                  Marmara
   Many artificial lakes can be added to this breakdown because of the building of dams. Keban Dam
Lake: 675 km2 (Eastern Anatolia) and Hirfanlı Dam Lake: 263 km2 (Central Anatolia).

The source of some of Turkey's rivers are the peaks of mountains lying parallel to the coast within a very short course they reach the sea. On the other hand, the larger rivers cut through the mountainranges transversally and flow through their deep and broad valleys.

Largest Rivers                    Length (kms)                   Flows into
Kızılırmak                              1,355                                  Black Sea
Sakarya                                824                                    Black Sea
Seyhan                                 560                                         Mediterranean
Yeşilırmak                             519                                     Black Sea
Ceyhan                                509                                         Mediterranean
Gediz                                    401                                    Aegean Sea
Also ;
Çoruh                                  442 (till the Turco-USSR border)
Dicle (the ancient Tigres        523 (till the Turco-Iraqi border)
Fırat (the ancient Euphrates) 971 (till the Turco-Syrian border)

Animals :
   There are deer , beer,wolf, fox, and fowl. birds of various species are also seen and specially in the
"Bird Sanctuary" of the national park on Lake Manyas near Balıkesir province.