Foundation, development and functional properties of Doğanşehir (Malatya) district center

The district of Doğanşehir is located in the Upper Euphrates Part of Eastern Anatolia Region. It is in the south western of Malatya and 54kms to the city. Besni and Gölbaşı districts are in the south, Çelikhan is in the east, Elbistan is in the west, Akçadag and Yeşilyurt are in the North and northeast of Doğanşehir. There are high mountains on the east, west and south of the study area. The elevation of the town center is between 1077 and 1250mts. The altitude above sea level is 1252 mts. The surface area is 3610km2. Number of people per square kilometer of land area is 3126. The main economic activity of the town is service industry. However; agriculture is also an important source of income as it is a rural area. Doğanşehir is located on fertile alluvial lands, there are rivers flowing through the town center ,so it makes orcharding and the cultivation of tobacco possible in almost each neighbourhood. They haven't made enough investment on industrial areas or trade centers so far . so the population of the town has decreased. Another disadvantage of the town is, it is near to the city center,Malatya, so it has been hard to reduce its dependence on outer world. The study area is exposed to earthquakes as it is on the East Anatolian fault line. There has been population fluctuation because of the earthquakes occurred in 1948 and 1986. In the past people immigrated from the study area because of wars, drought, famine or earthquakes. Nowadays people immigrate to big cities because of limited job opportunities, to improve their life condition or to benefit from civil service. This study aims to present the historical development of the population and the reasons and results of the variations in the distribution of the population in Doğanşehir. Key Words: Doğanşehir, Functional Characteristics, Population