Amasya is a mountainous province. Ranges running east to west, the narrow valleys cut by the Yeşilırmak and its tributaries, and high upland pastures fill most of its surface. Farming concentrates in the few flat basins scattered through this rugged terrain. Over the centuries the rivers have widened their beds, eroded the surrounding slopes and spread the material they carried across the valley floors, and these basins now form the ground that determines the province's population, the distribution of its village settlements and its way of making a living. Because each plain bears the mark of the river that created it, of the altitude at which it lies and of the rainfall it receives, each shows a different agricultural pattern. The general climate, the economy and apple production are treated in other articles; here the subject is the geography of the plains, their soils, the way they are irrigated and the crop pattern that has developed on them.
A Belt of Plains Among the Mountains
Amasya lies at the point where the main branches of the Yeşilırmak meet, and also where several mountain masses converge. The province's highest point is Akdağ Tepesi at 2,061 metres above sea level; its lowest is 160 metres, in the village of Umutlu in Taşova, where the catchment area of the Hasan Uğurlu Dam begins. Between these two extremes there is a difference in elevation of nearly two thousand metres. The Canik, Karaömer, Akdağ, Sakarat, Sarıtaş, Buzlu, Karadağ, Çakır, Eğerli, İnegöl and Tavşan ranges divide the surface of the province in an east-west direction, and the plains lie between them, most often around a river that runs through.
The Geldingen, Suluova, Merzifon and Gümüş plains are counted as the most important flatlands for the province's agriculture. Together the four cover about 24 percent of the province's area. When the Aydınca Plain is added, along with the narrow but very fertile floor of the Yeşilırmak Valley between Amasya and Taşova, the main outline of the province's agricultural geography emerges. The plains range in altitude from 450 to 750 metres. Geldingen is the lowest, at an average of 450 metres, and the Gümüş Plain the highest, at an average of 750; Suluova lies at about 550 metres, while Merzifon and Aydınca are both at about 700. A difference of a few hundred metres produces distinctions that run from summer heat to the amount of rainfall and the time at which crops ripen, and it is the main reason that a separate agricultural pattern has formed in each plain.
The Geldingen Plain
The largest flatland in the province is the Geldingen Plain, which lies south of the central district of Amasya, at the point where the Yeşilırmak Valley begins. With an area of about 48,400 hectares it covers roughly 8.8 percent of the province and lies at an average altitude of 450 metres. The plain was formed by the erosion of, and the material deposited by, the Çekerek River, the Çorum Stream and the Efennik Stream. Farther upstream the Yeşilırmak passes through the Kazova between Tokat and Turhal; it then reaches Geldingen and from there turns north and cuts through the Canik Mountains.
Geldingen is also the part of the province where annual rainfall is lowest. Precipitation averaging between 400 and 500 millimetres and a continental climate make farming on the plain largely dependent on irrigation. Because the flow of the rivers falls in summer and pollution of the irrigation sources increases, irrigation on this plain has long been among the problems most often mentioned in the province. The solution put forward was the Süreyyabey Dam, under construction on the Çekerek River within the boundaries of the Çekerek district of Yozgat. The dam was planned for flood protection, power generation and irrigation, and on completion it was expected to resolve the plain's irrigation problem to a large extent. The Gökhöyük Agricultural Enterprise has also been established on the plain.
The Suluova Plain
The Suluova Plain covers the area to the south and southeast of the district centre of Suluova. Its average altitude is around 550 metres, and the Tersakan Stream, one of the tributaries of the Yeşilırmak, runs through its middle. With an area of about 40,000 hectares, covering 7.3 percent of the province's land, it is the second largest flatland in the province. It takes its irrigation water from the Yedikır Dam, the Şeyhsuyu and the Değirmendere.
The district that bears the plain's name lies about 25 kilometres from the provincial centre, to the west. About two thirds of its villages are plain villages and one third are forest and mountain villages; settlement is compact. While the province as a whole has some sixty people per square kilometre, the densest settlement is in Suluova, where the figure rises to about a hundred. This figure shows how a flat, irrigable and easily worked floor gathers population. The history of the plain accords with the antiquity of its settlement: the inventory obtained from excavations at Kümbettepe in the Doğukent neighbourhood shows that settlement there reaches back to the Chalcolithic Age and the Hittite period.
The Merzifon Plain
With an average altitude of 700 metres and an area of about 31,100 hectares, the Merzifon Plain is the third largest in the province and covers 5.6 percent of its area. The Gümüşsuyu and Salhan streams, tributaries of the Tersakan, water the plain. To these are added the Yüzüncüyıl and Alala ponds and the Yedikır Dam. Since the Yedikır Dam lies about ten kilometres from Suluova, it serves as a shared link in the irrigation systems of the two plains.
The suitability of the Merzifon area for farming is very old. The mounds of Onhoroz, Büyük and Küçük Küllük near the village of Ortaova, together with the mounds of the village of Hayrettin, are counted among the most important Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age settlements of the region. The fact that in the Hittite period the region bordered the capital Hattusa also shows that this area was an important settlement zone. The meeting of the roads to the Black Sea coast and to Central Anatolia at Merzifon led the geographer and historian Strabo to describe the place as the region of "a Thousand Villages." The lakes known locally as Yediler and the fertile soils made the plain suitable for both hunting and farming, and it provided a home to people about seven thousand years ago as well. Today, in keeping with its altitude, it is a flatland where crops that need wide areas, such as cereals and sugar beet, are grown.
The Gümüş and Aydınca Plains
The Gümüş Plain covers the south and southeast of the district of Gümüşhacıköy. Its average altitude is 750 metres, and with an area of 5,400 hectares it is the fourth most important plain in the province. The Gümüşsuyu, the Büyük Dere and the Kavşak Stream form its irrigation sources, and over most of the plain the need for irrigation continues. Because part of Gümüşhacıköy lies in the Kızılırmak basin rather than that of the Yeşilırmak, the district is the part of the province that stands apart as far as the river basin is concerned. In the surrounding area the Sarayözü Dam and the Ayvalı, İmirler and Çitli ponds provide irrigation.
The Aydınca Plain is smaller. It covers an area of about 4,000 hectares, lies at an average altitude of 700 metres, and the Deliçay runs through its middle. Showing microclimate characteristics, this plain is one of the province's small agricultural areas with climatic conditions of their own.
The Yeşilırmak Basin and the Role of the Rivers
The Yeşilırmak Basin lies just behind the Black Sea mountain ranges, and its southern part is a continuation of the Central Anatolian plateaus. The basins of the Yeşilırmak and its tributaries, the Çekerek, the Tersakan and the Kelkit, together cover a very large area of 36,144 square kilometres. The Yeşilırmak rises in the Köse Mountains southwest of the Suşehri district of Sivas and is 519 kilometres long. It enters the province from the south, joins at the locality of Kayabaşı the Çekerek, which comes from Yozgat, passes through the city centre of Amasya, receives the Tersakan Stream carrying the excess water of Lake Ladik, meets the Kelkit Stream on the border between Taşova and Erbaa, and flows into the Black Sea at Çarşamba Plain within the boundaries of Samsun. The part within the provincial boundaries of Amasya is 129 kilometres long. Its highest measured discharge is 1,914 cubic metres per second, its average discharge 121 cubic metres and its lowest 1.83 cubic metres; the total annual flow is given as about 5,707 million cubic metres. Floods generally occur in March, April and May.
The tributaries that feed the plains each have a character of their own. The Çekerek River rises in the Yıldız Mountains northwest of Sivas, merges with the Çorum Stream and joins the Yeşilırmak about fifteen kilometres south of Amasya. Its length is given as 200 kilometres in some sources and 256 in others; the part within the province is 45 kilometres. Its average discharge is 20 cubic metres per second, which can rise to 362 cubic metres in floods and fall to 0.09 in summer. The Tersakan Stream rises on the slopes of Akdağ, passes through Havza and joins the Yeşilırmak at Amasya; its length is about 100 kilometres. On this small river, with an average discharge of 3.96 cubic metres per second, summer cloudbursts are added to the floods of March to May. The Şeyhsuyu, Gümüşsuyu, Derinöz and Salhan streams are the main tributaries of the Tersakan; the Gümüşhacıköy, Merzifon and Suluova plains lie on these tributaries.
Among the other rivers, the Kelkit Stream, with a length of about 400 kilometres and an annual flow of 2,526 million cubic metres, is the largest tributary. The Destek, Deliçay, Kuruçay and Gökdere streams are smaller streams that join the Yeşilırmak. The Yeşilırmak's own valley is the most important and longest valley in Amasya; it consists of very fertile alluvial soils and shows microclimate characteristics. Fruit growing and vegetable growing stand out here. The valley is named in sections: Ferhatarası is about 10 kilometres long, Beşgöz 8.5, Onlukköprü 20 and Durucasu 18. The Amasya apple grows in the Onlukköprü Valley. The Göynücek Valley, opened by the Çekerek, is 37 kilometres long; the Karaçavuş, Ezine and Destek valleys are also among the depressions that determine the province's agricultural and transport lines.
Valley-Floor and Slope Soils
In Amasya soils differ from one another according to topography, climatic differences, geological structure and diversity of vegetation. The soils of the province are generally divided into two groups: valley-floor soils and slope soils. Most of the floor soils are alluvial soils, that is, river sediments deposited by the Yeşilırmak and its tributaries and by side streams. The shared fertility of the plains comes from this material. On the slopes, by contrast, soil texture varies across a wide range from light to heavy.
The total area of the province is given in sources as between 5,701 and 5,628 square kilometres. According to 2009 figures, 44.4 percent of the area, that is 253,029 hectares, is agricultural land. Of this, 174,366 hectares is dry-farmed and 78,663 hectares is irrigated farmland. In other words, about one third of the farmland can be irrigated, and the centre of gravity of this area is the floors of the plains. In the same year 179,988 people from 35,998 farming families made their living from agriculture. The monetary value of agricultural production was over 1 billion 98 million liras, of which 73.17 percent was crop production and 26.83 percent livestock production.
Irrigation Water, Dams and Ponds
The basic source of irrigation water in Amasya is the Yeşilırmak and its tributaries such as the Çekerek, the Deliçay and the Tersakan. In addition, ponds and wells fed by the smaller tributaries of the Yeşilırmak and by various springs also supply water. The quality of the irrigation water is generally regarded as good, although pollution problems have also come onto the agenda in recent years. Average annual rainfall is 436.7 millimetres in the provincial centre, 458.3 in Gümüşhacıköy, 427.6 in Göynücek, 436.9 in Merzifon and 400 in Taşova. Considering that rain falls most in spring, while summers are hot and dry, the role of irrigation on the plains is easy to understand.
Among the structures opened for service by the State Hydraulic Works, the one with the largest irrigation area is the Derinöz Dam in Suluova. Completed in 2003 on the Derinöz Stream, the dam was built to irrigate an area of about 6,500 hectares. The Sarayözü Dam in Gümüşhacıköy was put into operation in 1991 and irrigates 3,500 hectares. The Gediksaray Dam in Göynücek opened in 1994 and has an irrigation area of 1,200 hectares. In Taşova the Uluköy Dam entered service in 1984 and irrigates 1,000 hectares, while the Destek Dam opened in 2001 and supplies water to a small area of 130 hectares. Construction of the Yedikır Dam near Suluova began in 1979, and it opened for operation in 1986. It has an irrigation area of 1,400 hectares and, since it lies on a bird migration route, it is a natural protected site that gives winter habitat to birds, with 34 bird species recorded.
Smaller ponds serve the province's scattered villages. The main ones are the Çitli Pond in Gümüşhacıköy (1992, 710 hectares), the İmirler Pond (1996, 300 hectares) and the Ayvalı Pond (1994, 90 hectares); in the Merzifon area the Paşa Pond (1994, 350 hectares), the Yakacık Pond (2001, 240 hectares) and the Sarıbuğday Pond (1994, 90 hectares); the Bayırlı Pond in Suluova (1994, 85 hectares); in the central district the Doğantepe (1990, 400 hectares), Ortaköy (1976, 200 hectares) and İbecik (2002, 108 hectares) ponds; the Yeniköy Pond in Hamamözü (1986, 350 hectares) and the Kızgüldüren Pond in Taşova (1967, 25 hectares). Kızgüldüren is the oldest example on the list. Though each is small, these structures have made it possible to irrigate gardens and fields in slope villages and high-plateau villages.
Crop Pattern
Amasya's ecology is variable and diverse, and this diversity opens up many options in farming. A wide range of species is seen both among cultivated plants and in the natural flora. The main field crops grown in the province are wheat, sugar beet, dry onion, sunflower and opium poppy. Among fruits, apple, cherry and peach are important; vegetables are consumed mainly on the domestic market. In the mild parts of the valley floors the misket apple, the çiçek okra and various vegetables are grown. On the higher flatlands such as Suluova and Merzifon, sugar beet, cereals and fodder crops come to the fore. On irrigable land, industrial crops and vegetables make an important contribution to the regional economy.
The pattern is roughly layered by altitude and water supply. The lowest and most sheltered place, the Yeşilırmak Valley, is given over to fruit and vegetables; the mild conditions produced by the microclimate support apple orchards and vegetable fields. The broad plains at middle altitude, Geldingen and Suluova, offer level land suited to crops that need wide areas, such as cereals and beet. On the higher Merzifon and Gümüş plains, cereals and fodder crops carry more weight. In recent years vegetable growing has been shifting from open fields to under cover, and plastic-covered greenhouses are becoming widespread.
Livestock
The fodder crops and meadows of the plains also feed livestock; part of the plains provides ground for developed cattle-fattening operations. At the end of 2009 the province had 136,851 head of large livestock, 106,626 of small livestock, 3,119 equines, 1,162,215 poultry and 14,850 beehives. Livestock keeping is mostly in the form of family enterprises. As a result of the work of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and the support provided, significant progress has been made in improved-breed livestock, and this progress has taken the form of breed improvement and an increase in the yield obtained per animal.
The upland pastures are also part of this system. The Kabaoğuz, Tavşandağı, Akdağ, Sarıçiçek, Destek, Boğalı, Çatalçam and İnegöl pastures are high flatlands lying between 1,200 and 1,850 metres. Because they lie in the transition zone from the Black Sea climate to the Central Anatolian climate, they harbour the plant species of both climates together. In recent years, however, excessive use of agricultural chemicals and fertilizer, overgrazing and the opening of fields have damaged the pastures, bare bedrock has been exposed in the upper parts, and the tree line has been descending steadily. In the forests at the edges of the pastures, old trees are not being replaced by new ones.
Settlement and the Future of Farming
The plains also determine the distribution of villages. Villages concentrate for the most part on the edges of the fertile flatlands and in areas where irrigation is available. Amasya's agricultural potential is high in terms of land and variety of crops; whether that potential lasts depends on the wise management of water and on not sacrificing the fertile plain soils to construction.
Irrigation facilities, dams and modern farming techniques allow the potential of the flatlands to be realised more effectively. On plains such as Geldingen, where water shortage and pollution are experienced, the function of new dams is, besides increasing production, to secure farming against the declining river discharge of summer. As cities grow on the edges of the plains, these lands also face building pressure; once alluvial soil is covered with structures, the loss is irreversible. Since these lands are the livelihood of the plain villages, the social balance of the province also rests largely on their protection.
Sources
Official sources
- T.C. Amasya Valiliği, "Yeryüzü Şekilleri" (mountains, pastures, valleys, plains, rivers, lakes, dams and ponds). amasya.gov.tr
Other sources
- "Amasya İlinin Tarımsal Yapısı", Şehzadeler Şehri Amasya (2009 figures).
- Karadeniz Info, "Amasya Coğrafya". karadenizinfo.com
- Wikipedia (Turkish), articles "Suluova", "Merzifon" and "Amasya (il)" (supporting source for settlement, altitude, area and population data). tr.wikipedia.org
Online sources
