Location
TRNC is located on the northern part of Cyprus which is the third largest island
in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia. It is situated at the crosspoint
of 35 degree north latitude and 33 degree east longitude, at a distance 75km
south of Turkey. Total area of Cyprus is 9251 square kilometers. The area of
the TRNC is 3,355 kilometers square.
Physical Features of Cyprus
Physical features of Cyprus consists of four regions.
The Besparmak (Kyrenia) Mountains and Karpaz Peninsula
This northern mountain range, is situated between Korucam Cape in the west and
Zafer Cape in the east. Its length is approximately 160 km. And its width varies
between 8 to 12 km. Besparmak mountains stretch from Kayalar village in the
west to Yedikonuk in the east. The highest peak of these mountains is Selvili
Tepe which is mainly of limestone and rises up to 1,024 metres. It is in this
beautiful mountain range that the three famous castles of St. Hilarion, Buffavento
and Kantara are found. A number of crevices have helped the development of a
network of communications with the northern coastal valleys. Karpassia, the
northeastern part of the range, is a continuation of Besparmak consisting of
hills, slopes and valleys free of foldings and other tectonic features. The
Besparmak Range is made of a succession of mostly allochthonous sedimentary
formations ranging from the Permian to the Middle Miocene in age. The oldest
rocks consist of a series of allochthonous recrystallized limestones and dolomites
(Taskent, Güngör and St. Hilarion Formations) the age of which range
from the Permian to the Middle Cretaceous. They are included in an allochthonous
sequence of tightly folded pelagic calcareous and marly sediments, with minor
pillow lavas and cherts, of the Maestrichtian to Middle Eocene age (Lapta Formation).
The latter are overlaid in places by the Kalogrea-Ardhana flysch, part of which
is an allochthonous sedimentary succession of coarsebreccia and flysch deposits
that are Middle to Upper Eocene in age. It is succeeded, where present, by an
autochthonous Lower Miocene turbiditic flysch deposit with a conglomerate at
its base (Kythrea Formation).
Karpaz Peninsula
It is like a finger pointing to the Iskenderun Bay of Turkey. It extends from
Iskele to Zafer Cape. In Iskele the peninsula is 18 km wide. At Mehmetcik it
is 11 km, and at Dipkarpaz 7.5 km. It narrows down gradually and ends at Cape
Zafer. Karpaz peninsula is about 80 km. long.
The Messarya Plain
The central plain is situated between the Troodos and Besparmak (Girne) mountain
ranges and has a low relief, not exceeding 180 meters near Lefkosa. It stretches
from Güzelyurt Bay to Magusa and is about 96 km. Long. It covers an area
of 1884 sq. km and the mean altitude of the plain is 70. This plain is composed
of flyschtype rocks carried by rivers from the Troodos and Besparmak ranges
and was formed during a very recent chronological period (holocene).The Messarya
plain is formed of a succession of Upper Cretaceous to Pleistocene sedimentary
rocks. Its northern half is under-laid by highly folded Kythrea flysch and has
a characteristic hummocky topography, while the southern part consists of a
sequence of generally under-formed gently inclined sedimentary rocks.
The Coastlands
There are several plains on the coasts of the Island. These are divided into
two groups.1. Alluvial coastal plains, 2. Eroded coastal Plains. The TRNC has
396 km of it. In the north is the Girne valley with its narrow dentelated coasts,
in the west is the Güzelyurt valley; in the east is the Magusa valley.
Coasts of Cyprus are 783 km. long. The most important gulf of the island are
Hacisofu, Güzelyurt, Gazimagusa, Iskele, Limasol and Yalova. The capes
are as follows: zafer, Poyraz, Pile, Dogan, Ikizler, Arnavut and Koruçam. |
North Cyprus
