Human and economical geography of Arıcak (Elazığ)

Arıcak is a district located in the Upper Euphrates section of the Eastern Anatolia Region in Turkey under the administration of the province of Elazığ. It is surrounded by Elazığ Palu district in the north, Bingöl province Genç district in the east, Diyarbakır province Dicle and Hani districts in the south, and Elazığ Alacakaya district in the south. Arıcak is situated on a mountainous and rugged regionon the southern slopes of the Akdağ Mountains, which are a section of the eastern end of the southeastern Taurus Mountains. Itsalititude is 1100 m. The total surface area of Arıcak district is 374 km². The study area that included the Arıcak center is 24.4 km². As of 2018, the population of Arıcak was 4312 and the district included 8 neighborhoods. Review of the population increase revealed fluctuations between various census reports. The rapid decline of the increasing population the following year demonstrated that there were intentional displacements during the election years. This fact negatively affected the determination of the actual population. The initial settlements in Arıcak date back to the 16th century. The first place of settlement was located between Mirvan (Ru) and La (Kaynak) streams. The settlement known as Mirvan that period constitutes the core of the current settlement and tcorresponds to Mustafa Kelby, Governor Göktayoğlu, Serinevler and Hürriyet neighborhoods. Arıcak, which was part of Palu district, became an autonomous district in 1987. The present study was conducted since Arıcak was chosen as a settlement, despitethe presence of transportation facilities, and lack of previous studies in this scale. Common economic activities include cattle husbandry due to favorable topographic conditions. Agricultural activities are conducted for subsistence. The service sector is more developed when compared to the industry. Keywords: Human Geography, Economic Geography, Arıcak, Akdağ, Settlement, Population, Animal Husbandry, Transportation.