Taurus Mountains (Turkish: Toros Dağları) are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east. It is a part of the Alpide belt in Eurasia.
It has many peaks rising above 3,000–3,700 m, (10,000–12,000 ft). The Taurus complex is divided into four ranges:
The highest point in the central Tauruses is the summit of Mt. Demirkazık (3,756m).
A Bronze Age archaeological site, where early evidence of tin mining was found, is at Kestel.[page needed] The pass known in antiquity as the Cilician Gates crosses the range north of Tarsus. During World War I, a German and Turkish railway system through the Taurus Mountains proved to be a major strategic objective of the Allies. This region was specifically mentioned as a strategically controlled objective slated for surrender to the Allies in the Armistice, which ended hostilities against the Ottoman Empire.