Azerbaijan learning maps — source review 17 October 2026

REPRODUCE
Run `node scripts/build-azerbaijan-maps.mjs` from the repository root. The builder reads scripts/azerbaijan-map-source.geojson and public/data/azerbaijan-map-places.json without network access. It writes the three public GeoJSON files, atlas pack and place-name lookup. City-centre coordinates, clues and explanations are curated.

ECONOMIC REGIONS
These fourteen planning regions follow the 7 July 2021 presidential decree:
https://president.az/az/articles/view/52389/print
They are economic regions, not fourteen provinces. Baku is separate from Absheron–Khizi; Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic forms one region. Karabakh economic region is not the boundary of the former Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous area. East Zangezur is the official name for five districts within Azerbaijan and implies no claim to Armenian territory.

Geometry: geoBoundaries gbOpen AZE ADM2, boundaryID AZE-ADM2-54616110, 2020 reference. Source: Wikipedia. Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).
Metadata: https://www.geoboundaries.org/api/current/gbOpen/AZE/ADM2/
Pinned snapshot: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/wmgeolab/geoBoundaries/9469f09/releaseData/gbOpen/AZE/ADM2/geoBoundaries-AZE-ADM2.geojson
Upstream attribution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Azerbaijan
All 79 source features, including multipart districts and separate city areas, are assigned exactly once and dissolved into the economic regions. Shared source coordinates are retained without independent simplification. The restoration of Aghdara district in 2023 does not change the economic-region outline: its source territory remains within Karabakh. These are generalised learning outlines, not cadastral boundaries or current border demarcation. Small enclaves and islands may be generalised or omitted by the source.

TERRITORIAL SCOPE AND ACCESS
The maps cover internationally recognised Azerbaijani territory, including Nakhchivan and Karabakh. They do not represent historical lines of control, mine clearance or safe routes. Azerbaijan took control of the remaining Armenian-controlled part of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023. More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled to Armenia; earlier wars also displaced Azerbaijani communities. Border and southwestern areas have restrictions and mine risks requiring current official checks.
https://www.unhcr.org/am/en/refugee-response-and-coordination-0
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/azerbaijan

WATERS
Natural Earth 1:10m rivers and lake centre lines, and lakes, public domain. Pinned source revision ca96624:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/ca96624/geojson/ne_10m_rivers_lake_centerlines.geojson
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/ca96624/geojson/ne_10m_lakes.geojson
https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/
The snapshot extracts Kura (two source features), Aras and Mingevir Reservoir. Rivers are clipped to an 800-metre national buffer to retain border reaches despite generalised outlines. Segments inside Mingachevir Reservoir are removed so they do not compete with the reservoir answer. Both rivers keep substantial Azerbaijani and border reaches; they do not represent the complete international courses. The reservoir retains its source outline and does not show current water levels.

Caspian Sea: curated offshore learning rectangle [50.8,39.1,51.2,40.9], checked for separation from mapped land. It does not represent maritime boundaries or claims. The Caspian is an inland water body, despite its name. Context land uses the site's existing world basemap.

The economic-region geometry and its source snapshot are available under CC BY-SA 3.0 with the attribution above. Natural Earth waters remain public domain. Representative sights coordinates are recorded in scripts/azerbaijan-sight-coordinates-source.json; large sites use a point, not a boundary or an entrance.