Erdemli Pine Groove is a nature park in Turkey. It is also called "Talat Göktepe Groove" to commemorate Talat Göktepe a former director of Forestry in Çanakkale who died while fighting against forest fire in 1994.[1] It is located at 36°35′28″N 34°17′10″E / 36.59111°N 34.28611°E to the west of Erdemli ilçe (district) of Mersin Province.[2] It lies between the Turkish state highway D.400 and the Mediterranean Sea coast.
It was declared a picnic place in 1962 and a nature park in 2011.
The length of the grove is about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) in northeast to southwest direction. Its width is about 500 metres (1,600 ft). The total area is 26.14 hectares (64.6 acres). The coastal part is a sandy beach. There are some sand dunes on the beach. The back part is a groove. Most of the trees are Turkish pine (Pinus brutia), Umbrella pine (Sciadopitys) and myrtle (Myrtus).[3]
