The Absheron peninsula, (Azerbaijani: Abşeron yarımadası) is a region in Azerbaijan. It is host to Baku the biggest and the most populous city of the country and also Baku metropolitan area with its satellite cities Sumgayit and Khyrdalan.
There are three districts of which two are urban (Baku and Sumgayit) and one (Absheron Rayon) is suburban district in Absheron region.
It extends 37 miles (60 km) eastward into the Caspian Sea and reaches a maximum width of 19 miles (30 km). Though technically the easternmost extension of the Caucasus Mountains, the landscape is only mildly hilly, a gently undulating plain that ends in a long spit of sand dunes known as Shah Dili, and now declared the Absheron National Park. In this part the peninsula is dissected by ravines and characterized by frequent salt lakes. Absheron peninsula was the site of some of the world's earliest petroleum production, beginning in the 1870s. Much of the landscape remains scarred with rusting oil derricks. Despite serious problems with environmental damage and pollution, the Absheron is known for its flowers, horticulture, mulberries and figs. The northern coast has wide though less-than-pristine beaches which are popular local tourist attractions.
