Pamukkale center lies at a distance of 23 km from Denizli center, with which it shares the same plain. One township with its own municipality (Gölemezli) and six villages depend Pamukkale.
Pamukkale is notable for its thermal springs located in the nearby depending township of Gölemezli. These actually consist of four different springs close to each other in the same locality and one of the springs is used as a mud bath.
They are reputed to be particularly beneficial for dermatological complaints. Pamukkale is within the usual touristic circuits covering Denizli center, the baths and the historic site of Pamukkale and the further baths of Karahayıt.
Pamukkale Travertines
Pamukkale, meaning “cotton castle” in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey.
The area is famous for a carbonate mineral left by the flowing of thermal spring water. It is located in Turkey’s Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which has a temperate climate for most of the year.
The ancient Greek city of Hierapolis was built on top of the travertine formation which is in total about 2,700 metres long, 600 m wide and 160 m high. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.
This area has been drawing visitors to its thermal springs since the time of classical antiquity. The Turkish name refers to the surface of the shimmering, snow-white limestone, shaped over millennia by calcite-rich springs. Dripping slowly down the mountainside, mineral-rich waters collect in and cascade down the mineral terraces, into pools below.
It was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 along with Hierapolis.
Pamukkale’s terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by mineral water from the hot springs.
In this area, there are 17 hot springs with temperatures ranging from 35 °C (95 °F) to 100 °C (212 °F). The water that emerges from the spring is transported 320 metres to the head of the travertine terraces and deposits calcium carbonate on a section 60 to 70 metres long covering an expanse of 24 metres to 30 metres.
When the water, supersaturated with calcium carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide de-gasses from it, and calcium carbonate is deposited. Calcium carbonate is deposited by the water as a soft gel which eventually crystallizes into travertine.
