87% of the land area is mountain, leading up to the rocky heights of the central Taurus Mountains, the highest peak is Medetsiz (3,584 m) in the Bolkar range, and there are a number of important passes over to central Anatolia. There are many high meadows and small plains between 700 and 1500m.

The coastal strip has many large areas of flatland, formed from soil brought down by rivers and streams running off the mountains. This is fertile land, the largest area being the plain of Tarsus. The largest rivers are the Göksu and the Tarsus but there are many small streams running into lakes, reservoirs or the Mediterranean sea. Mersin has 321km of coastline, much of it sandy beach. The climate is typical of the Mediterranean; very hot and very humid in summer, warm and wet in winter; the winter rains can be very heavy and flooding is a problem in many areas, but it never snows on the coast, although there is snow in the high mountain areas.

The city of Mersin is one of Turkey's busiest: due to the economic activity in this part of Turkey generated by the GAP Project Mersin is Turkey's biggest Mediterranean port, and now has an oil refinery and a free trade zone too; there are a number of factories along the road between Mersin and Adana, manufacturing glass, detergents, fertilisers and many more. With all this activity a modern city has grown with a university and other major amenities.