It lies on the Northern Anatolian Fault, where it is often the location for earthquakes such as on 27 December 1939[4] and 13 March 1992.

[5] In September 1935 the third Inspectorate General (Umumi Müfettişlik, UM) was created,[6] into which the Erzincan province was included.

Its creation was based on the Law 1164 from June 1927,[6] which was passed in order to Turkefy the population.

The third UM span over the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Rize, Trabzon, Kars, Gümüşhane, Erzincan and Ağrı.

Most of the employees in the municipalities were to be from the military and the Governor Commander had the authority to evacuate whole villages and resettle them in other areas.