page_title: Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Panoramic view of Nakhichevan Mountains
context_page_description: The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a landlocked exclave of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,500 km² with a population of 414,900, bordering Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest.
  The area that is now Nakhchivan became part of the Safavid dynasty of Iran in the 16th century. In 1828, after the last Russo-Persian War and the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the Nakhchivan Khanate passed from Iranian into Imperial Russian possession. After the 1917 February Revolution, Nakhchivan and its surrounding region were under the authority of the Special Transcaucasian Committee of the Russian Provisional Government and subsequently of the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. When the TDFR was dissolved in May 1918, Nakhchivan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Zangezur, and Qazakh were heavily contested between the newly formed and short-lived states of the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. In June 1918, the region came under Ottoman occupation.
context_section_description: Nakhchivan is a semi-desert region that is separated from the main portion of Azerbaijan by Armenia. The Zangezur Mountains make up its border with Armenia while the Aras River defines its border with Iran. The Araz reservoir located on that river supplies water for agricultural needs and the hydroelectric dam generates power for both Azerbaijan and Iran.
  Nakhchivan is extremely arid and mountainous. Its highest peak is Mount Kapudzhukh 3,904 m (12,808 ft) and its most distinctive is Ilandag (Snake Mountain) 2,415 m (7,923 ft), which is visible from Nakhchivan City. According to legend, the cleft in its summit was formed by the keel of Noah's Ark as the floodwaters abated. Qazangödağ 3,829 m (12,562 ft) is another major peak.
caption: Nakchivan landscape
exif: {}