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Sürmeli Çukuru and the Nature of the Iğdır Plain

What first surprises a visitor to Iğdır is a wide, flat plain with ranges of mountains rising right behind it.

Radar TürkiyeRadar Türkiye6 Kasım 2026
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Sürmeli Çukuru and the Nature of the Iğdır Plain

What first surprises a visitor to Iğdır is a wide, flat plain with ranges of mountains rising right behind it. This article explains the geography behind that view: the plain's name, its parts, the mountains around it, its climate and its soils. I used the geography page of the Iğdır Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism and two academic studies as sources. The Aras appears here only as a river and a plain. The aim is to help you know what you are looking at as you walk the plain or watch it from a distance.

The name of a depression

The directorate's geography page describes the region as one of the depressions that the Aras river links together through a series of narrow gorges. A depression is a wide basin lying lower than its surroundings. Locally, the part of this basin inside Türkiye is called Sürmeli Çukuru. According to the page, Sürmeli Çukuru begins at the place called Ergüder, where the Arpaçay joins the Aras, and extends eastward. The basin's elevation decreases from west to east and from south to north, and the city of Iğdır was founded at its center.

This information helps when you look at a map. The description is enough to understand why the city stands in the middle of the plain and why the plain drops in one direction. If you look at the plain from a hill or a high point on a trip, remember that the flat land you see is in fact a basin ringed by mountains.

Three parts of the plain

According to the directorate page, the Iğdır Plain, which runs east to west along the Aras, consists of three parts. These are West Iğdır, East Iğdır and the Dil plain. The Dil Plain is described as an extension of the Iğdır Plain toward the southeast. The same page writes that the Dil Plain also forms the easternmost point of the country. So one end of this plain reaches the last point of the Türkiye map in the east.

Dividing the plain into three is not merely naming. Although the western and eastern parts belong to the same basin, it is reasonable to think that their soils and farming patterns may differ. I do not elaborate on this, because my source gives only the names and locations of the sections. What matters is to look at the plain not as a single flat piece but as a whole with sections of its own.

The surrounding mountains

To the south of the plain lies a mountainous mass stretching from west to east. The directorate page lists the mountains on this mass from west to east. Durak Dağı is 2,811 metres, Zor Dağı 3,196 metres, Pamuk Dağı 2,639 metres and Küçük Ağrı 3,986 metres. Büyük Ağrı is given as 5,165 metres on the page. Because other sources record the height slightly differently, it is safer in this article to speak of Büyük Ağrı as roughly 5,100 metres.

The page estimates the circumference of the mountain at 128 kilometres and its area at 1,188 square kilometres. It is accepted that at about 5,000 metres the mountain carries a crater plateau covered in permanent snow and glaciers. The Serdarbulak Pass between Büyük and Küçük Ağrı lies at 2,687 metres. We cover Mount Ağrı in a separate piece. Here I mention it only as the backdrop of the plain. Seen from the plain, these mountains look like a wall closing off the horizon one layer after another.

Climate, from thirty years of data

Looking at a short period is not enough to talk about the climate of a place. The climate study in the Journal of the Institute of Science and Technology of Iğdır University reminds us that at least thirty years of regular and reliable data are needed to describe a region's climate. The study does just that and uses long-term data from 1976 to 2005. It determines climate characteristics, the frost calendar, climate diagrams and the water budget.

The result, in short, is this. The province of Iğdır has little humidity, precipitation and wind energy. Temperature, sunshine duration and evaporation are high. The study reports that, despite some problems, the province's climate features are suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry. The practical meaning for a traveler is that expecting sunny, open and dry weather is reasonable. Even so, check the current forecast from meteorological sources before you set out, because this study describes the long-term average, not a particular day.

Salt as a result of a dry climate

An article on the salinization of the soils of the Iğdır Plain notes that the plain lies in a semi-arid climate zone. According to the article, in arid and semi-arid regions, insufficient rainfall, high evaporation, inadequate drainage, farming practices and soil properties are among the main causes of salinity. You can think of the mechanism simply. If rainfall is low and evaporation is high, there may not be enough water to wash away the salt that builds up in the soil.

The figures in the article are striking. About one third of the total usable area of the plain has been affected by salinization. The area where farming is possible is written as only 24,194 hectares. The article says the limit of land that can be opened to agriculture has been reached. For this reason it finds it important to use existing land more productively and to reclaim and make use of saline land. These figures belong to the period when the study was written. For the present situation, look at the publications of the relevant institutions.

Reclamation and forage crops

The article writes that physical, chemical and biological treatments are used together to improve salinized soils. Alongside the methods, it stresses that the human factor, that is, the decisions of those who manage the soil, forms the core of the work. The use of forage crops in biological reclamation gives two benefits. It contributes to the improvement of salt-affected soils and it also allows the production of good quality roughage. I convey these as a scientific summary. For details of field practice, it is better to read the article itself.

How to look at the plain

Putting the information above together gives you a way of reading the plain as you travel. First think about the shape of the basin. The city stands at the center of a depression that drops from west to east and from south to north. Then keep the plain's three parts in mind. Then look at the mountains to the south and recite their names. Durak, Zor, Pamuk, Küçük Ağrı and Büyük Ağrı are masses that rise one after another on the horizon.

Another level of reading concerns climate. In a place with little humidity and rain, you can expect the colors of the plain to change quickly with the season. I say this as a suggestion for observation, since the sources give no detail on seasonal colors. I only think that these climate conditions suit open views and long sight lines.

Practical notes

It is not realistic to tour the whole plain in one day. I give no durations or distances, because I found no figures for them in the sources. Since the city of Iğdır lies at the center of the basin, starting from the city is a natural choice for day trips. For transport, season and entry conditions to areas, check the current announcements of the Iğdır Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism. For high and mountainous parts, learn the weather and road conditions beforehand.

For photography, on clear days the distant plane and the ranges of mountains make a good background. The snow cover of the mountains changes with the season. Depending on weather conditions, the light can also change quickly. When shooting with a camera or phone, photograph only from public and easily reached points and do not enter fields or private land. Fields are working areas shaped by irrigation and soil reclamation, so take care when you walk beside them.

Conclusion

Sürmeli Çukuru is a name that sums up Iğdır's geographical identity in three words. Depression, plain and mountain. The information in this article was put together to help you understand what lies behind a view. A sunny climate, a soil that struggles with salt and mountains that close the horizon make the plain both beautiful and demanding farmland. Looking with this balance in mind lets you see the same view more deeply.

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