Manavgat River originates on the eastern slopes of Western

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. In ancient times it was called Melas ( grc, Μέλας). At an elevation of 1,350 m, the outflow of several small springs joins together to become the headwaters of the Manavgat. The largest of these springs is called Dumanli, whose name means "place where there is fog", because of the dense mist that forms above the spring. In addition to the springs from the Taurus Mountains, the Manavgat is also fed underground from large lakes to the north of the mountains, on the

Anatolian Plateau The Anatolian Plateau () is a plateau that occupies most of Turkey's surface area. The elevation of the plateau ranges from 600 to 1,200 meters (2,000 to 4,000 ft). Mount Erciyes near Kayseri is the peak at 3,917 m (12,851 ft) ...

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

considered that the river was the boundary between

ancient Pamphylia Pamphylia (; grc, Παμφυλία, ''Pamphylía'') was a region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the nort ...

and

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern co ...

. From there, the river flows south over conglomerated

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

for about 90 km, descending through a series of canyons. Finally, it washes over the

Manavgat Waterfall Manavgat Waterfall on the Manavgat River is near the city of Side, north of Manavgat, Turkey. Its high flow over a wide area as it falls from a low height is best viewed from a high altitude. The white, foaming water of the Manavgat Waterfalls ...

and through the

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...

and into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. There are many caves in the river watershed area, the most interesting being the Altınbeşik cave. The maximum flow of the Manavgat River is 500 m³/second, with an average of 147 m³/second. Using the average flow as a measure, the Manavgat River accounts for a very small amount of the water flowing into the Mediterranean. There are two dams over the river: Oymapınar Dam and the

Manavgat Dam Manavgat Dam is a dam in Turkey. The development was backed by the Turkish State Hydraulic Works. See also *List of dams and reservoirs in Turkey ReferencesDSI directory State Hydraulic Works (Turkey) The State Hydraulic Works ( tr, Devlet ...

. Studies have shown that water drains into the Manavgat River basin from its surface

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

and also from

endorheic basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

s, especially those to the east of the river. In 1992, the Turkish State Hydraulics Work (DSI) was given the job of developing a

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

project for domestic use from the Manavgat river. File:Oymapinar_reservoir_7.JPG, Oymapinar reservoir File:Oymapinar_reservoir_15.JPG, Oymapinar reservoir of Manavgat File:Cruise_ship_in_Turkish_Riviera.jpg, Traditional cruise ships for Manavgat File:Manavgat_River_%26_Mediterranean_Sea_With_Boat.jpg, Cruise ships for Manavgat File:Oymapinar_reservoir_3.JPG

Footnotes

External links

Rivers of Turkey Landforms of Antalya Province {{Turkey-river-stub