Located in the southwest of Turkey, Pamukkale is a site so magical that it looks like something out of a fairy tale. Its name perfectly reflects the beauty of the site, because translated into English, it means ‘cotton castle’ and has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Pamukkale, the Turkish ‘Cotton Castle’
Pamukkale is a dreamlike paradise hidden in the southwest of Turkey in the Denizli province. It is made up of a large number of natural turquoise-colored pools that are home to hot springs. For thousands of years, local people have traveled to this region to bathe in the mineral waters of the place, which reach temperatures ranging from 35ºC up to 100ºC. However, because the beauty of the site has now earned it World Heritage Site status, it is no longer possible to dive into the dozens of whitish pools of turquoise water.
The landscape is composed of a total of 17 natural pools that are distributed throughout the landscape, but the warmth of its waters is not the only thing that enchants visitors. It is actually the extraordinary pristine whitish color they are made of that elevates the experience of visiting Pamukkale. The striking contrast between the composition of the pools and the water inside them is the real reason why visitors continue to visit Cotton Castle, even though they are no longer allowed to enter the natural pools.
The whitish color confuses the mind into thinking it is an icy site, but in fact, it is a temperate region located on the Menderes River. The natural pools rise 160 meters above sea level and extend for 2,700 meters in length, which is why they can be admired from a distance.
How was Pamukkale formed?
In the past, the region where the Menderes River is located today was subject to numerous tectonic movements that not only caused earthquakes but also led to the release of mineral water from the subsoil to the outside. It was precisely this mechanism that generated the appearance of numerous thermal water pools.
The whitish color, in turn, is due to a large number of minerals in the water, especially calcite. The result is a huge paradise of sedimentary rock called chalk, which is characterized by being highly porous and soft. The composition of the water also contains bicarbonates and calcium, which in turn form calcium bicarbonates. But the most surprising thing is that being thermal waters, water is constantly emerging from the subsoil, geologists believe that Pamukkale releases about 250 liters of water every second, resulting in the precipitation of 2.2 grams of chalk per liter.
It is, for this reason, that over time limestone and travertine waterfalls were formed that appear to run down the hillside, although in reality, they are solid walls that gave life to the natural pools of turquoise water. The peculiar combination of minerals from the internal waters has given way to a composition of diverse rocks on the walls of the pools that date back to ancient times. It is possible to find crystalline marbles, as well as quartzite and schist dating from the Pliocene, a period that spans from 5.33 million years ago to 2.59 million years ago.
The ‘Cotton Castle’ formed in Pamukkale, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988 for its natural beauty, so today it can only be visited and is not allowed to enter the pools of turquoise water, thus ensuring that the paradise is not damaged by the hand of man.
Story originally published in Spanish in Ecoosfera
