Manavgat River originates on the eastern slopes of Western
Taurus Mountains
The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolia# ...
in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. 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 and
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian language, Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from th ...
.
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 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 the ...
. 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.
[
] Studies have shown that water drains into the Manavgat River basin from its surface
watershed 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 la ...
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. T ...
project for domestic use from the Manavgat river.
Footnotes
See also
*
Manavgat Waterfall
External links
Rivers of Turkey
Landforms of Antalya Province
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