Urmia is a city in and the capital of West Azerbaijan Province. Urmia is located along the Shahar Chay river on the Urmia Plain. Lake Urmia lies to the east of the city, with the mountainous Turkish border to the west. Urmia's climate is cold semi-arid with cold winters, mild springs, hot dry summers and warm autumns. Precipitation is heavily concentrated in late autumn, winter, and especially spring, while summer precipitation is very scarce.