Mount Ahır

Mount Ahır (Ahır Dağı) is a mountain located in Kahramanmaraş Province, southern Turkey, rising up to 2344 m.

Geography
Mount Ahir is a flat-shaped mountain mass extending in the east-west direction on the Southeastern Taurus Mountains. It is named after an ancient ahir king. It surrounds Kahramanmaraş in the north and northwest directions. It is bordered in the west by Ceyhan River.

Geology and hydrology
It was formed by bending as a result of tectonic movemnets. It rises up to 2344 m from a plateau of about 450 m high. The mountain consists of largely limestone. Rain and melting snow waters penetrating into the porous structure of the limestone emerge as springs at the mountain foot, which are used as drinking water resource for the city of Kahramanmaraş. Shallow lakes are found at the plains in the high parts of the mountain. The "Karagöl" at 1600 m elevation is the largest of them.

Flora and fauna
Although deteriorated by human, the mountain's nature has still a rich vegetation. The richness in plant species diversity as a result of being a transition area of the Mediterranean Region to the Irano-Turanian Region flora and changing altitude and climate values. On mountain slopes, red pine forests grew up to 1000 m, cedar forests between 1200 - 2000 m, juniper species between 1000 - 1400 m, broad-leaved tree communities between 1000 - 1300 m in the northwest. The flora is also composed of degraded oak, high mountain steppes and seasonal vegetation. The red pine forests are situated on the northern side of the mountain. On the southern mountain slopes, there are vineyards and orchards. The mountain contains 36 plant species endemic to the country. Three of them are found only at Mount Ahır.

The mountain area is habitat for 13 butterfly species, including Polyommatus theresiae, a species found in the Mediterranean region.