Bozok Plateau

The geographic and historical region on which most of Yozgat province lies is known as the "Bozok Plateau" — indeed, before the Republic, Yozgat was known as the Sanjak of Bozok, a name still carried today by the province's university (Bozok University). Enclosed within the great bend of the Kızılırmak (Red River), the plateau consists of gently undulating plains cut here and there by valleys draining toward the Delice River and the Çorum stream. Bozok Plateau abuts the Akdağ mountains to the east; to the northeast, the westward-reaching spurs of Mount Deveci fade into the plains, while to the southwest low mountains reappear toward Kırşehir. Between these ranges the plateau's elevation varies between roughly 1200 and 1400 meters, dropping northwestward below 800 meters as it reaches the Kızılırmak floodplain. While Bozok Plateau is the broad upland region that gives the province its historical name rather than a single site, it encompasses many of Yozgat's best-known highland pastures, including Cehirlik Yayla, Kadıpınarı, Şebekpınarı, the Yahyasaray (Sırıklı) Yayla, and the Hisarbeyli Yayla, famous for its yogurt. As such, Bozok represents an entire landscape rather than one destination — a characteristic Central Anatolian steppe-highland region known for livestock herding, plateau tourism, and cool summer air.