Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a landlocked country in the Eastern Transcaucasia. It lies in the area bordering the southern side of the Caucasus Mountains. Azerbaijan's capital is ancient Baku, which has the best harbor on the Caspian Sea. With its varied and often beautiful landscape, Azerbaijan is a blend of tradition and modern development. The inhabitants of its outlying areas retain many distinctive folk traditions, but their lives have been greatly influenced by accelerating modernization, characterized by industrialization, the development of energy resources and the growth of cities, where more than half of the population now live. The economy is dominated by industry, and oil production, for which Azerbaijan was the world's leading producer in the early 20th century, has been supplemented by more diversified activities. Fine horses and caviar remain some of the republic's distinctive traditional exports. The vegetation zones vary depending on the altitude. The plains and foothills are dominated by steppes and semi-deserts. Beech, oak and pine forests grow on the slopes of the mountains. At higher altitudes there is a zone of alpine meadows. The Länkäran region in southern Azerbaijan is evergreen with dense beech and oak forests. The lowland fauna is dominated by gazelles, jackals and hyenas, as well as reptile and rodent species. In the mountain areas there are Caucasian Deer, Roe Deer, Wild Boar, Brown Bear, lynx, European Bison, Chamois and leopard, although the latter is rare. The mild winters attract many birds to the Caspian coast, and the nature reserves are a resting place for flamingos, swans, pelicans, egrets, herons, sandpipers and partridges.