Plateaus in Turkey: Major Plateau and Upland Regions

Much of Turkey’s interior consists of raised land between the Pontic Mountains in the north and the Taurus Mountains in the south. This interior is not one level surface. It contains plateaus, basins, volcanic uplands, karst surfaces, steppe plains, river valleys, and mountain-rimmed highlands.

The main plateau regions include the Central Anatolian Plateau, the Eastern Anatolian Plateau, the Erzurum-Kars Plateau, the southeastern Anatolian plateaus, the Taurus karst plateaus, and the inner western Anatolian uplands. Smaller plateau surfaces also occur within the Pontic Mountains and other highland belts. These regions are best understood by comparing their position, elevation, surface form, and relationship with the larger Anatolian relief system.

Turkey’s Plateau Pattern

Turkey’s plateau geography reflects the country’s position within a broad zone of uplifted and deformed terrain. Much of Anatolia stands well above the surrounding seas, while mountain belts form prominent northern and southern margins.

The broad interior can be divided into several regional belts. Central Anatolia contains extensive plateau and basin surfaces. Eastern Anatolia rises higher and contains more rugged volcanic and mountain terrain. Southern and southeastern plateaus lie closer to the Taurus Mountains and the northern edge of the Arabian Platform. Western Anatolia becomes more fragmented as plateau surfaces merge with faulted basins and Aegean lowlands.

These differences mean that the term Anatolian Plateau should not be interpreted as one continuous flat tableland. It is a broad regional expression for elevated interior Anatolia, within which several named plateaus, basins, mountains, and volcanic areas occur.

Why Plateau Landscapes Differ Across Turkey

Several geological and geomorphic processes occur across Turkey’s plateau regions:

• Regional uplift raised much of Anatolia above surrounding coastal areas.
• Mountain building and faulting divided the interior into elevated blocks, basins, and mountain belts.
• Volcanism modified parts of central and eastern Anatolia.
• Karst processes shaped extensive limestone uplands in the south and southeast.
• River erosion cut valleys and gorges through raised surfaces.
• Basin development created enclosed and partly enclosed low areas between plateau and mountain terrain.

The relative importance of these processes changes from region to region. This is why central steppe plateaus, northeastern volcanic uplands, Taurus limestone surfaces, and southeastern plateaus have very different appearances despite sharing a broad plateau classification.

Central Anatolian Plateau

The Central Anatolian Plateau forms the broad interior highland of central Turkey between the Pontic and Taurus mountain belts. Its landscape combines open plateau surfaces with basins, volcanic areas, river valleys, and low mountain groups. Compared with eastern Anatolia, the regional relief is generally lower and more open. The Central Anatolian Plateau is the main geographic setting for much of Turkey’s interior steppe and several large enclosed or semi-enclosed depressions.

Eastern Anatolian Plateau

The Eastern Anatolian Plateau forms the high eastern part of the country and stands above the Central Anatolian interior. Broad high surfaces occur between volcanic mountains, ranges, basins, and river valleys. The plateau connects Anatolian relief with the Caucasus and Iranian highlands and contains several distinct regional uplands. Its greater elevation and more rugged relief make it visibly different from the central plateau on a physical map.

Erzurum-Kars Plateau

The Erzurum-Kars Plateau is a northeastern high plateau within the wider Eastern Anatolian upland system. Broad elevated surfaces occur around Erzurum, Kars, Ardahan, and adjoining areas, with mountain belts and valleys breaking the plateau into regional sections. Volcanic rocks occur widely across the landscape. At country scale, the Erzurum-Kars region is best treated as a high northeastern subdivision of Eastern Anatolia rather than as a separate plateau system equal in size to the whole Eastern Anatolian Plateau.

Southeastern Anatolian Plateaus

Southeastern Turkey contains a series of lower plateau surfaces extending across areas such as Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Mardin, and Diyarbakır. These uplands occupy the transition between higher Anatolian terrain and the lower Mesopotamian plains farther south. Limestone and basalt are widespread in parts of the region, while river valleys and local basins divide the plateau surface into several named areas.

The southeastern plateaus are therefore a regional group rather than one single continuous plateau. Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Mardin-Midyat, and neighboring uplands belong to related terrain but differ in elevation, rock type, and local relief.

Taurus Karst Plateaus

Broad limestone surfaces occur within and behind parts of the Taurus Mountains. Taşeli, Teke, and other southern uplands are commonly grouped among Turkey’s karst plateau regions. Their landscape reflects the dissolution of limestone, so closed depressions, caves, sinkholes, dry valleys, and underground drainage occur widely.

These southern plateaus differ from the broad steppe surfaces of Central Anatolia because much of their relief is organized by limestone structure and karst drainage rather than by large open interior plains.

Inner Western Anatolian Uplands

Inner western Anatolia forms a transition between the faulted Aegean region and the higher interior. Around Afyonkarahisar, Kütahya, Uşak, Eskişehir, and nearby areas, plateau remnants occur beside basins, ridges, volcanic hills, and river valleys.

The region does not form one sharply bounded plateau. Its geography is better described as a mixed upland belt in which raised surfaces become progressively more fragmented toward western Turkey.

Pontic Highland Surfaces and Yayla Areas

The Pontic Mountains along the Black Sea coast contain high benches, small plateau surfaces, and extensive yayla areas. These are usually narrower and more closely tied to mountain relief than the major plateaus of central and eastern Anatolia.

Some are geomorphic plateau surfaces, while others are identified mainly through traditional seasonal land use. For this reason, the terms plateau and yayla should not be treated as exact equivalents.

How Turkey’s Main Plateau Regions Compare

Plateaus and Basins in Anatolia

Plateaus and basins occur together across much of Turkey. A plateau is broad raised terrain, while a basin is a relatively lower area surrounded or partly enclosed by higher land. The two landforms can therefore exist within the same regional system.

Central and eastern Anatolia contain many basins surrounded by plateau surfaces and mountain groups. Some basins have external river outlets, while others retain water internally. Their presence breaks the Anatolian interior into a series of raised and lowered surfaces rather than one continuous plateau.

This relationship is especially important when interpreting names. A basin located within a plateau region is not itself another plateau, and a plateau region may contain several separate basins.

Volcanic Terrain Within Turkey’s Plateaus

Volcanic landforms are widespread in parts of central and eastern Anatolia, but Turkey’s plateaus are not all volcanic. Lava flows, volcanic cones, ash deposits, and other volcanic rocks occur within several plateau regions, especially across the central and eastern interior.

In other areas, limestone, sedimentary rock, tectonic uplift, faulting, or river erosion has a stronger influence on the surface. Volcanic terrain should therefore be treated as one component of Turkey’s plateau geography rather than as a single origin for the entire Anatolian upland.

Broad Climate Pattern of Turkey’s Plateau Regions

Turkey’s plateau climates change with elevation, distance from the sea, mountain barriers, and regional position. Interior plateaus are generally more continental than coastal lowlands because the Pontic and Taurus mountain belts limit direct maritime influence across much of Anatolia.

These are regional patterns rather than fixed climate zones. Elevation and exposure can produce large differences within the same plateau system.

Broad Drainage Pattern Across the Plateau Regions

Turkey’s elevated interior forms drainage divides between the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf basin, Caspian basin, and inland depressions. Plateau surfaces therefore influence the direction in which major river systems leave Anatolia.

The country-level pattern is one of multiple drainage directions from a high interior. Individual river courses, basin histories, and plateau-river relationships vary at regional scale.

Plateau, Plain, Highland, Basin, and Yayla

Several geographic terms overlap in descriptions of Turkish terrain, but they refer to different forms or uses of land.

Turkey’s Plateau Regions by Broad Geographic Belt

Regional Scale Matters in Turkish Plateau Names

Turkey’s plateau terminology mixes landforms of very different sizes. The broad Anatolian interior is much larger than a local plateau such as Taşeli, while the Erzurum-Kars Plateau is itself part of the wider Eastern Anatolian highland system.

This hierarchy explains why lists of Turkish plateaus can vary. Some sources emphasize the largest physiographic regions, while others include their local subdivisions, named tablelands, karst surfaces, and highland pastures.