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waterfalls - Turkey being in the form of a peninsula consisting of a plateau rising an average height of 1000-1500 m. and surrounded by sea on three sides a very considerable amount of water flows down from the centre of this plateau into the seas surrounding it.
The most important of these rivers are the Sakarya, the Kizilirmak, the Yesilirmak the Harsit Çayi and Çoruh in the north, all of which flow into the Black Sea: the Bakirçay the Gediz, the Greater and Lesser Menderes and the Dalaman in the west, all flowing into the Aegean: in the south the Düdençay, the Aksu, the Göksu, the Seyhan and Ceyhan, which all flow into the Mediterranean and finally the Tigris and the Euphrates in the south-east, both of which flow into the Gulf of Basra.
The amount of water in these rivers varies very markedly between the summer and winter months. The water in most of the waterfalls is so reduced in the summer that some of them practically dry up altogether while in others one only finds a meagre trickle of water. When we add to natural causes the water required of agricultural irrigation and the effect of the great dams and hydroelectric plants that supply the country's energy needs it is not surprising to find that in summer most waterfalls are completely dry. It is therefore advisable to visit the Turkish waterfalls in the rainy seasons when there is an abundance or even superfluity of water.
The Dumanli underground river mingles with the Manavgat river. This is subject of a separate article.
The Tortum waterfall and Tortum Lake are dealt with elsewhere as are the Konya and Yerköprü waterfalls.
Duden river. Düdenbasi and the Düden waterfalls are the subject of the section "A Natural Wonder in Antalya".
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