Pamukkale's calcium-rich hot springs have built white travertine terraces down a Turkish hillside for thousands of years. Toggle the pool water to see the shallow basins that pool at the front of each terrace, and the Hierapolis ruins marker to see where the ancient Greco-Roman city stood on the plateau above.
Published figures: the terrace field spans roughly 2.7 km along the slope with an overall drop on the order of 100-160 m, fed by spring water reaching the surface pools at roughly 35 C.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Everything renders on your device with WebGL.
Pamukkale 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows Pamukkale as a cascading staircase of white travertine terraces, stepping down a hillside in southwestern Turkey: each tread a scalloped basin that can pool shallow water, with the ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis marked on the plateau above.
Calcium-carbonate-rich thermal spring water has flowed down this slope for thousands of years, depositing the mineral travertine that gives the terraces their white, cotton-like appearance - "Pamukkale" means "cotton castle" in Turkish. The terrace field spans roughly 2.7 km along the hillside, with an overall elevation change on the order of 100-160 m from the plateau at the top down to the valley floor below. The spring water reaches the surface pools at roughly 35 C and cools further as it cascades from terrace to terrace. Since the 1990s, many terraces have been closed to bathing to curb erosion caused by decades of foot traffic; boardwalks now route visitors between the open zones, and bare feet are required wherever the terraces themselves are crossed. On the plateau above the terraces stand the ruins of Hierapolis, an ancient Greco-Roman city; together the terraces and the ruins form the combined Hierapolis-Pamukkale UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1988. Nearby, Cleopatra's Antique Pool is a thermal pool that still holds submerged ancient Roman columns.
- Toggle the pool water to see the shallow basins pool at the front lip of each terrace
- Toggle the Hierapolis ruins marker to see where the ancient city stood on the plateau above
- Read location, terrace, spring, and World Heritage figures in the panel
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Location | Denizli Province, southwestern Turkey (Anatolia) |
| Name | "Pamukkale" means "cotton castle" in Turkish |
| Terrace field | spans roughly 2.7 km along the slope, dropping on the order of 100-160 m overall |
| Spring water | reaches the surface pools at roughly 35 C, cooling further as it cascades |
| World Heritage | Hierapolis-Pamukkale, UNESCO site since 1988 - terraces plus the ancient Greco-Roman city ruins above |
| Protection | many terraces closed to bathing since the 1990s to curb erosion; boardwalks route visitors, bare feet required in open zones |
For other geothermal features on this site, open the Grand Prismatic Spring 3D Explorer or the Old Faithful 3D Explorer.
The whole Pamukkale scene - the stepped travertine terraces, the pooled basin water, and the Hierapolis ruins marker - is built and drawn on your own device with WebGL through the site-vendored three.js engine. Orbit the scene to swing along the cascading terraces, and zoom in to compare the scalloped basin edges against the plateau above. Nothing about your visit is uploaded to a server, and the engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is then cached.
This is an educational approximation - the stepped terraces, basin pools, and ruin markers are schematic teaching cues, not survey terrain.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Pamukkale terraces made of?
White travertine, a mineral deposited by calcium-carbonate-rich thermal spring water as it flows down the hillside. The buildup has been happening over thousands of years.
What does "Pamukkale" mean?
"Cotton castle" in Turkish, a reference to the white, cotton-like appearance of the travertine terraces.
Can visitors still bathe in the terraces?
Many terraces have been closed to bathing since the 1990s to curb erosion from foot traffic. Boardwalks route visitors between open zones, and bare feet are required wherever the terraces themselves are crossed.
What are the ruins near the terraces?
Hierapolis, an ancient Greco-Roman city, sits on the plateau above the terraces. Together the terraces and ruins form the combined Hierapolis-Pamukkale UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1988.
Where is Pamukkale located?
In Denizli Province, southwestern Turkey (Anatolia).
Is this a scientific terrain model?
No. It is an educational explorer using published figures - the stepped terraces, basin pools, and ruin markers are schematic teaching cues, not survey terrain.