Taurus Mountains

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For the Taurus Mountains on the moon, see Montes Taurus. For Mount Taurus outside Cold Spring, New York, see Bull Hill.

The Taurus Mountains (Turkish: Toros Dağları) are a mountain range in the southern and eastern Anatolian plateau, from which the Euphrates (Turkish: Fırat) and Tigris (Turkish: Dicle) descend into Syria and Iraq. The Manavgat River originates on its southern slopes.

The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris in the east. It has many peaks rising above 10,000–12,000 ft (3,000–3,700 m), with the highest point being the Demirkazık summit in the region known as Aladağlar, at 3,756 meters high. Another notable peak is the Medetsiz (about 3,524) in the Bolkar Dağları section.

It divides the Mediterranean region of southern Turkey from the central plateau.

The pass known in antiquity as the Cilician Gates crosses the range north of Tarsus.

Limestone has eroded to form karstic landscapes of waterfalls, underground rivers, and the largest caves of Asia.

At Kestel is a Bronze Age archaeological site where early evidence of tin mining was found.

There is a ski resort at Davras about 25 km from the nearest towns of both Egirdir and Isparta.

References

External links

• NASA satellite view of the Taurus Mountains
• Information about Taurus Mountains in English

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Last updated on Sunday February 24, 2008 at 15:48:02 PST (GMT -0800)
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