Gobustan District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the east of the country, in the Mountainous Shirvan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Shamakhi, Khizi, Absheron, and Hajigabul. The district's administrative centre, Gobustan was known as Maraza until 2009.

The territory of the district belonged to the neighboring Shamakhi District from 1930 until 1943 and later again from 1960 until 1990, when it was re-established.

The ancient dwellings used to be in the area of present-day Gobustan, which dates back to the Stone Age.

Population

According to official statistics, the district of Gobustan had a population of 46,100 inhabitants at the beginning of 2018, 36,700 of whom were living in rural areas.

{| class="wikitable"

! Population

! 2010

! 2011

! 2012

! 2013

! 2014

! 2015

! 2016

! 2017

! 2018

! 2019

! 2020

! 2021

|-

!scope=row|Gobustan region

|40.5

|41.1

|41.8

|42.5

|43.2

|44.0

|44.8

|45.4

|46.1

|46.7

|47.4

|47.9

|-

!scope=row|urban areas

|8.2

|8.3

|8.5

|8.6

|8.8

|9.0

|9.1

|9.3

|9.4

|9.5

|9.7

|9.8

|-

!scope=row|rural areas

|32.3

|32.8

|33.3

|33.9

|34.4

|35.0

|35.7

|36.1

|36.7

|37.2

|37.7

|38.1

|}

Geography

Landscape

The territory of Gobustan ranges from the shores of the Caspian Sea to Mount Gijaki, the highest point in the eastern part of the Greater Caucasus. Peculiarities of the Gobustan landscape are the rocks of lime and sandstone in the middle territory of the district and mud volcanoes, which are located in the east part of Gobustan.

Climate

Gobustan has a semi-arid climate, with mild winters and hot summers. There are rainy seasons in early spring and late autumn. The annual precipitation is 250 mm. The western part of Gobustan is more precipitated in autumn and spring than the eastern part of Gobustan since Kura lowlands cover the western part. The highest mean temperature is observed in July (32°C), and the lowest mean temperature occurs in January (-1.6°C).

Fauna

There are approximately 110 wild bird species in the Gobustan region. 53 of them are included in special European conservation concerns, 9 of them are included in the Azerbaijan Red Data Book, and 9 of them are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUNC). Other major agricultural products are potato, cabbage, tomato, grape, pea, sunflower, and melon.

References

  • Official District Website