Prof. Dr. Sırrı Erinç is a Turkish geographer known for his contributions to physical geography, climatology, and regional geography. He served for many years on the faculty of Istanbul University and held various administrative positions. Erinç is recognized for methodological contributions such as the Erinç Index and has produced numerous scientific publications on Turkey’s glacial history, climatic characteristics, and morphological structures, receiving awards from various national and international institutions.

Sırrı Erinç was born on 24 January 1918 in İzmit. He completed his secondary education at Istanbul Boys’ High School. During this period he learned German, French, and Russian. He developed an interest in earth sciences during his high school years. In 1936 he enrolled at the Institute of Geography within the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University and simultaneously at the Higher Teachers’ School. With special permission from the then Minister of National Education Hasan Âli Yücel, he took geology courses instead of history as his minor subject. He graduated in 1940 and began working as an assistant at the Institute of Geography the same year.

In 1944 he completed his doctoral thesis titled “Glacial Morphology Studies in the Eastern Black Sea Mountains.” Through this work he demonstrated that tectonic uplifts played a decisive role in lowering the permanent snow line during the Pleistocene epoch. This thesis was the first to establish scientifically that the Eastern Black Sea Mountains are undergoing tectonic uplift.

In 1948 he attained the rank of associate professor. His associate professorship thesis focused on Lake Van and its surroundings. He is also recognized as the first researcher to measure the depth of Lake Van. Between 1951 and 1952 he conducted research in climatology and geomorphology at Louisiana State University and Johns Hopkins University in the United States under a Fulbright scholarship. During this period he carried out experimental studies on evaporation, transpiration, and water balance.

In 1957 he was promoted to full professor and became head of the Physical Geography Chair at the Institute of Geography, Istanbul University. During this tenure he introduced climatology courses into the curriculum and deepened his research in this field. His work Climatology and Its Methods became one of the foundational texts in Turkey on air masses, climate types, and dynamic climatology.

In 1965 the “Erinç Index,” which he developed, was accepted as a practical drought index for measuring precipitation effectiveness and was also applied in other fields such as geomorphology. Moreover, he published numerous studies on Turkey’s glacial history, climatic changes, and morphological evolution. Between 1982 and 1985 he served as director of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Geography at Istanbul University, which he had founded.

Sırrı Erinç is a key scholar who established the methodological foundations of regional geography in Turkey. In his 1945 article titled “Landform Belts in the Northern Anatolian Fringe Mountains between Ordu and Giresun,” he introduced a landscape-based approach to regional analysis.

His 1953 publication Geography of Eastern Anatolia is among the earliest examples of a holistic approach in regional geography. In this work he examined the region’s physical structure, climate, soil composition, and population characteristics in an integrated manner.

His studies “Principles of Regional Boundary Delimitation” (1958) and “How to Prepare a Regional Plan?” (1959) argued that regional boundaries should be determined according to geographic criteria. Additionally, his reports on the Istanbul Strait and its surroundings, Trabzon Province, and Antalya Province demonstrated how regional geography could be applied to smaller-scale areas.

Sırrı Erinç served three terms as director of the Institute of Geography at Istanbul University, as dean of the Faculty of Letters, and for many years as a senator. Between 1979 and 1987 he represented Türkiye on the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names. He also represented Türkiye at international congresses.

Sırrı Erinç’s scientific contributions have been recognized with numerous national and international awards:

• 1995 – Honorary Member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences
• 1997 – INQUA Eastern Mediterranean Quaternary Research Contribution Award
• 1998 – TÜBİTAK Service Award

His articles published in Turkey and abroad have been used as reference sources by researchers for many years.

Prof. Dr. Sırrı Erinç passed away in Istanbul on 6 February 2002. He played a foundational role in the development of geography in Türkiye and has served as a lasting source of inspiration for generations of researchers through his methods that integrated physical geography with regional synthesis.