Investigation of economic activities of Tunceli province from the point of cultural geography

Geography, in the simplest term is a science that studies the relationship between people and places. Culture encompasses everything that human being produced in order to survive with nature. Spatial differences of cultures and communities are examined by the cultural geography. Tunceli Province is located in the Upper Euphrates of Eastern Anatolia Region. It is bordered by Bingöl and Elaziğ in the east, Erzincan in the North and west, Elazığ in the south. Tunceli covers 1% of the Turkey's territory with 7,774 km2 area. Tunceli province was established between Karasu and Murat rivers which are two main tributaries of the Euphrates, in the slope of Munzur and Mercan mountainous mass which surround it as a wall, and its surface area comprise 70% of mountains, 25% of plateaus and 5% of lowland areas. Continental climate is dominant in the Tunceli province. Its total annual rainfall varies between the range of 550-1080 mm. Economic structure based on living area affected predominantly by natural conditions is shaped over intensive stock farming and less agricultural activities. Commerce and industry sector is underdeveloped, almost nonexistent. Traditional manufacturing tools, professions and life pursuits emerged by the means of environmental conditions and cultural consciousness have been either abandoned or tend to disappear or even disappeared by virtue of urbanization, migration, technological innovation and etc. The study area has been detected in 40 career shaped by the influence of traditional folk culture. Keywords: Cultural Geography, Tunceli, Munzur Mountains, Tunceli Garlic (Allium Tuncelianum), Migration