GEOGRAPHY
Iraq is
bordered by Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
The country slopes from mountains over 3,000 meters (10,000 ft.)
above sea level along the border with Iran and Turkey to the remnants
of sea-level, reedy marshes in the southeast. Much of the land
is desert or wasteland.
The mountains
in the northeast are an extension of the alpine system that runs
eastward from the Balkans into southern Turkey, northern Iraq,
Iran, and Afghanistan, terminating in the Himalayas.
Average
temperatures range from higher than 48 degrees C (120 degrees
F) in July and August to below freezing in January. Most of the
rainfall occurs from December through April and averages between
10 and 18 centimeters (4-7 in.) annually. The mountainous region
of northern Iraq receives appreciably more precipitation than
the central or southern desert region.
Area: 437,072 sq. km.; about the size of California.
Cities: Capital--Baghdad (pop. 3.8 million 1986
est.). Other cities--Basrah, Mosul, Karkuk, As Sulaymaniyah, Irbil.
Terrain: Alluvial plains, mountains, and desert.
Climate: Mostly hot and dry.
