Gediz River

Gediz River
Gediz River
	Gediz River in its downstream section crossing İzmir Province
Location
Country	Turkey
Physical characteristics
Source	Mount Murat
• location	Kütahya Province
Mouth	Gediz River Delta
• location	Foça, İzmir Province
• coordinates	38°35′18″N 26°48′57″E / 38.58833°N 26.81583°E
Length	401 km (249 mi)

The Gediz River (Turkish: Gediz Nehri, Turkish pronunciation: [ˈɡediz]), anciently known as the Hermus River (Ancient Greek: Έρμος), is the second-longest river in Anatolia flowing into the Aegean Sea. From its source of Mount Murat in Kütahya Province, it flows generally west for 401 km (249 mi) to the Gediz River Delta in the Gulf of İzmir.

Name

The ancient Greek name of the river was Hermos (Ἕρμος), Latinized as Hermus.

The name of the river Gediz may be related to the Lydian proper name Cadys; Gediz is also the name of a town near the river's sources.^[1] The name "Gediz" may also be encountered as a male given name in Turkey.

Ancient geography

The Gediz is one of the two candidates for the Hittite placename Seha River, the other being the Bakırçay.^[2]

The Hermos separated Aeolia from Ionia, except for Ionic Phocaea, which was north of the Hermos. The valley of the Hermos was the heartland of the ancient Lydian Empire and overlooking the valley was the Lydian capital Sardis.

Location

In Turkey's Aegean Region, Gediz River's length is second only to Büyük Menderes River whose flow is roughly parallel at a distance of slightly more than a hundred kilometers to the south.

Gediz River rises from Murat Mountain and Şaphane Mountain in Kütahya Province and flows through Uşak, Manisa and İzmir Provinces. It joins the sea in the northern section of the Gulf of İzmir, close to the gulf's mouth, near the village of Yenibağarası in Foça district, south of the center of the district.

The Gediz Basin lies between northern latitudes of 38°04’–39°13’ and southern longitudes of 26°42’–29°45’. It covers 2.2% of the total area of Turkey. Larger part of the alluvial plain called under the same name as the river (Gediz Plain) is within the area of Manisa Province and a smaller downstream section within İzmir Province.

Environmental issues

The Gediz Delta is important as a nature reserve and is home to rare bird species.^[3] However, the reserve suffers from water shortages due to heavy demands from irrigation projects, connected to the Demirköprü Dam.^[4]

High level of urbanization and industrialization along its basin have caused the Gediz River to suffer severe pollution, particularly by sand and gravel quarries and leather industry. These factors contributed to the river's formerly rich fish reserves to become a thing of the past in recent years.

References

^ The association with the nearly fully historical 8th century BC Lydian Cadys is made primarily in a number of Turkish sources
^ Bryce, Trevor (2005). The Trojans and their Neighbours. Taylor & Francis. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-415-34959-8.
^ "Gediz Delta". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
^ "Case study: Gediz River, Turkey". OPTIMA (Optimisation for Sustainable Water Resources Management).