Contribution of dam lakes to recreation; palandöken CAT DAM

As it is generally accepted, recreation is one of the most important needs of people today. Especially, people living in big cities feel this requirement much more. Dams built around urban area for the purpose of providing drinking water, irrigation and flood control become prominent in this process as the source of recreation and for the satisfaction of this requirements with their natural and cultural properties. In this study, it is aimed to determine the potential of recreation for PalandökenÇat dam and its environment which are planned to meet drinking water need of the city of Erzurum. In the process of the determination of recreational areas fitting the aim of this study, natural dates and cultural land uses were analyzed through the inventory studies and observation made in the field. Evaluated data are interpreted in GIS (geographic information systems) environment and recreational suitability maps were produced. In the light of produced land use suitability maps, recreational land use recommendations were presented.