Natural environment and human relations Fethiye plain and its vicinity

Fethiye Plain is located in the southwest corner of Turkey, in Teke area of Antalya Part of the Mediterranean Region. Fethiye Plain has a length of about 13 km throughout east-west direction and about 5-6 km throughout north-south direction. Fethiye town is located at the base of the plain. Fethiye is the most important and most extensive alluvial plain around the Gulf of Fethiye. In the formation of Fethiye plain, the faults in the west-east direction were effective. Fethiye Plain is bordered by the coast of the Gulf of Fethiye and the Mediterranean in the west, the threshold field that separates FethiyePlain from Eşen graben in the east and Babadağ (1968 m) and Mendos Mountain (1750 m) mass in the south. The plain is limited in the north by the mountainous and hilly areas, such as the Kızıldağ, Ahat mountain (Çal hill 1259 m), Haticeana mountain (1079 m), Geyran mountain (Geçmiş hill 1326 m) and Dolu Kızlan hill.Mesozoic, Tertiary and formation of the Quaternary units are seen in Fethiye Plain and its vicinity.Research area covers the Mediterranean climate zone. However, the Mediterranean climate changes when to go from the plain to the north and especially to the higher parts. Average temperature for January is 10 0C and for July is 27.5 0C in Fethiye. Summer drought is very obvious in the area. The most rainy month for Fethiye is December and approximately 23.2% of the annual precipitation falls in this month and also more than 57 % of rainfall precipitates in winter months.The main soils in the area are alluvial soil, red Mediterranean soil, lime free brown forest soil, brown forest soil, kollüvyal soil, red brown Mediterranean soil, organic soils and hidromorfik soil. The main rivers of the area are Kargı stream, (Çayboğazı stream), Susambeleni stream, Çerçi stream, Eldirek stream (Üzümlü stream), Mersin and Karapınar streams. Except Kargı stream,the streams mentioned have seasonal characteristic and do not flow continuously.The dominant flora of the research area consists of red pine (Pinus brutia) forests. In the places where the forest cover was destroyed are covered with small trees and shrub named maki. Also in the research field in the areas where ground water is high Sweetgum (Günlük) (Luqidiambar Orientalis) forests grows only in Fethiye and Köyceğiz.As a result of the characteristic of the natural environment, there are some problems such as various degrees of erosion, being stony, salinity, alkali, infertility, siltasyon, flooding, high ground water, drainage, landslides and mass movements in Fethiye Plain and its vicinity.Fethiye, called Telmessos in ancient times , is the most important city in Karia border of the west Lycia State which is one of the oldest civilizations in Anatolia. According to the written documents obtained in the area the city's history dates back to the 5th century BC.In the study area, there is a tight relationship between people with different economic activities and the natural environment . Agriculture, animal husbandry and tourism are the main economic activities in the area. With the gulf adorned bays, natural beauty, archaeological accumulations and cultural values of the ancient Lycian civilization, positive climate and fertile soil, Fethiye is one of the important tourism centers.In this study, the natural environment and human relations will be discussed in Fethiye Plain and its vicinity. Geomorphology and characteristic of climate and soil conduct the residential distribution, the population in the area and the economic activities and in some areas restrict economic activities. In short, human activities are conducted under the supervision of thecharacteristic of the natural environment in Fethiye Plain and its vicinity.KEYWORDS: Geography, Fethiye, Fethiye Plain, Natural Environment,Human