The Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains, a range in southern Turkey between the Anatolian Plateau and the Mediterranean coast. It is some 250 miles (400 km) long and forms part of the great Alpine mountain system, which stretches eastward from the Alps through Eurasia. Much of the land is rugged and relatively inaccessible. The range's maximum height, in the east, is 12,828 feet (3,910 m) above sea level. The best-known pass is the Cilician Gates, used since ancient times.