Folia Historico-Naturalia Musei Matraensis - A Mátra Múzeum Természetrajzi Közleményei 19. (1994)

János Hír–Onur Özbek: Review Of Karst Research In Western Taurus (Turkey)

JENNINGS (1971) explains Kirkgözler as an upwelling through gravels and in swamps. The water rise on the edge of an erosion surface against the Cretaceous limestone (AYGEN,* 1984). According to Yevjevich (1979), Kirkgözler springs have a total flow rate of about 1—15 m3/sec. and the springs have a highly regulated flow. As the same researcher indicates that "the residence time of infiltrated water (rain, snowmelt), measured by changes in natural isotopes, coming out to be very long (40-100 years or even more)". It is obvious that like the other subterranean water systems in the regioné, these systems may have capacious reservoirs. The water of the Pinarbasi springs accumulated in Biyikh sinkhole before. But now, a notable amount of water os only found during the periods of owerflowing. About a kilometer to the East of Kirkgöz springs the Biyikli's failed water rises again in the Varsák doline after flowing 14 kilometers underground in the Upper Triassic -Upper Cretaceous Ispartacay Formation (YEVJEVICH, 1979). This collapsed doline has a length of 180 meters and a width of 44 meters while its depth reaches to 20 meters. Water coming out of from a wide orifice at the Northern part, travels a distance of about 180 meters at the surface and' falls down in a cascading slope of the sinkhole at the Southern end. After flowing 3 kilometers underground, it comes to surface again in the Dudenba^i (or Diidencay) which is a vauclusean type syphoned fountain. The water coming from the power station flows again to Diidenbasi through a canal and forms a waterfall. The falling distance of Diidenbasi is 50 meters. Other springs discharge at the lower level of the waterfall with the discharge rate of about 13 m /sec. The water flowing out from the fall forms a second cascade on the travertines as it reaches the sea. The karst system of the Antalya travertine region was first investigated by AYGEN (1969) in the early I960' ies and then by French and English speleologists. The Köprücay -Olukköprü springs are located 7 kilometers North of Be^konak village. The rate of discharge of the springs is over 30 m / sec. even in the most arid periods. Many of the springs are situated in 1 km long part of a narrow canyon and discharge from the intensively karstified Köprücay conglomerates of limestone components, cemented with a carbonate material. Like the other springs in the vicinity, this spring has a residence time about 10-50 years according to the natural isotope composition and content researchers (YEVJEVICH, 1979). According to DEGIRMENCI and GÜNAY (1989), in Köprücay basin groundwater circulation has formed three basic types of caves: spring, sinkhole and passage types. Among these springs, in other saying resurgence type of caves are usually at the groundwater discharge points. Sometimes sinkhole and resurgence type caves are usually at the groundwater discharge points. Sometimes sinkhole and resurgence type caves are connected by means of passage type caves and there are sumps at the end and at the beginning of these passage type caves. The outlets of the springs within the Köprücay Canyon are generally karstic cavities, developed along nearly horizontal strata. It is possible to observe also previous outlets on the walls of the canyon. The outlets of the right side are observed to be larger than those on the opposite side. The caverns facing each other on both sides give the impression of a siphoning action. The reasons forcing the springs to discharge at this zone are the contact between the conglomerates and impervious Köprücay Formation, and the presence of a fault, trending SE - NW at 2 kilometers South of Olukköprü Springs acting as impermeable barrier for the ground water. No springs can be seen at the South of the Canyon, While towards North a series of springs occur as large discharges until the Kirkgecit Creek. AYGEN (1968) declared the Dumanh springs as the largest karst spring all over the world due to its average discharge of 50 m / sec. with its annual outflow of about 1 600 000 000.0 cubic meters (KARANJAC and GÜNAY, 1979). Recently the orifice of it is below the maximal lake level of the Oymapinar Dam. Before the dam construction, it was evident that Manavgat River supplied more than one third of its water from the Dumanh, in dry periods. 14