Erzurum Province () is a province of Turkey in the Eastern Anatolia Region of the country. The capital of the province is the city of Erzurum. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the south, Erzincan and Bayburt to the west, Rize and Artvin to the north and Ardahan to the northeast. Okay Memiş was appointed as the governor of the province by a presidential decree on 27 October 2018. The province has an overall Turkish-majority. Geography The surface area of the province of Erzurum is the fourth biggest in Turkey. The majority of the province is elevated. Most plateaus are about above sea level, and the mountainous regions beyond the plateaus are and higher. Depression plains are located between the mountains and plateaus. The southern mountain ranges include the Palandöken Mountains (highest peak Büyük Ejder high) and the Şahveled Mountains (highest peak Çakmak Mountain high). The northern mountain ranges are the second row elevations of the North Anatolian Mountains, i.e. Mescit Mountains (highest peak high), Kargapazarı Mountains (highest peak high) and Allahuekber Mountains. The two depression plains between these mountainous areas are Erzurum Plains and Hasankale Plains.demog Continental climate rules in the province with long and harsh winters, and short and mild summers. Steppe formations are prevalent geographic features of this province, occupying about 60% of the surface area, much of it fertile. Forested areas are small, mainly consisting of scots pines and oaks. The eastern part of the province lies in the basin of the Aras river, the western part in the Karasu (Euphrates) basin, and the northern part in the Çoruh basin. There are few natural lakes in the province, the major one being Lake Tortum (approximately 8 km2) fed by the Tortum (Uzundere) Falls. The Tortum hydroelectric power plant built in 1963 is situated on the inlet of this lake. There are three artificial lakes in the province. Districts History Known as Karanitis (), Arzen, Erzen, and (Armenian:Էրզրում նահանգ, Կարին ) Karin or Garin, most of the province was incorporated into the Roman Empire in the 4th century (after the first split of Kingdom of Armenia in 387 between Romans and Iran), and a small mountain city called Karin or Carana () was fortified. It became an important border fortress. This city was later (A.D. 415) renamed to Theodosiopolis (), in honour of Emperor Theodosius I.