The South Azerbaijan is a 107.000 km square-region in the northwestern Iran, where majority of the Azerbaijani Turks live. This region is surrounded with the Caspian Sea in the east, Turkey in the West and the Transcaucasia in the north.

The South Azerbaijan is a half mountainous region. So, various brooks and rivers enrich the area. We can mention the followings as the major mountains: Sahand, Shahdag, Qaradag, Bozkush, Pekechin Kaflandag, Salanadag, Horuzlu, Sindandag, Demirli, Giydar and Herkandag. The highest mountain Salavan in the Southern Azerbaijan is 4811 m. The Southern Azerbaijan is considered to be the one of the richest areas in water and underground resources. The mountainous structure of this region brings more rain there. As a matter of fact, due to the effect of the humid climate of the Caspian Sea, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, it has always been rainy and wet. Therefore, it has plenty of water resources. The temperature is low in the South Azerbaijan because of the altitude. The agricultural crops ripen later than normal due the low temperature. They are fewer in kind. The portion of the arable lands has decreased because of the land reform and the rise in the population after the Islamic revolution. Since the industry is not much developed, the people, especially in the West Azerbaijan, Ardabil and Hamedan regions, mostly work in agricultural sector. Consequently, it is the region where the agricultural population density is the highest in Iran. The rivers with the highest hydroelectric potential are in the South Azerbaijan. Generally the primary economic activity is agriculture and stockbreeding.