Between the
Taurus Mountains to the north, and the sandy beaches of the
Mediterranean coast, much of the district is surrounded by a flat plain. This is mostly fertile farmland and agriculture is well-developed in Manavgat, keeping livestock and growing crops including grains, sesame and many fruits and vegetables; in recent years olives have also been planted. There is no industry except for food-processing, so apart from agriculture the local economy depends on tourism. The mountains are covered with forests and typical Mediterranean shrubs, there are small plains higher in the mountains too, traditionally used for summer grazing by the
yörük nomads. Manavgat has a Mediterranean climate of hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters; the temperature rarely drops to freezing. The district is irrigated by the Manavgat River, and has two dams for hydro-electric power. In 2001 plans began to export water from these reservoirs to
Israel and other Mediterranean countries including
Malta and
Cyprus; as of 2006 these plans are on hold.
Climate Manavgat has a
hot-summer Mediterranean climate (
Köppen:
Csa), with very hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. {{Weather box | width = auto | collapsed = yes | metric first = yes | single line = yes | location = Manavgat (1991–2020) | Jan high C = 15.4 | Feb high C = 16.3 | Mar high C = 19.0 | Apr high C = 22.3 | May high C = 26.5 | Jun high C = 31.2 | Jul high C = 34.4 | Aug high C = 34.8 | Sep high C = 32.1 | Oct high C = 27.7 | Nov high C = 21.9 | Dec high C = 17.1 | year high C = 24.9 | Jan mean C = 10.8 | Feb mean C = 11.4 | Mar mean C = 13.7 | Apr mean C = 16.7 | May mean C = 20.9 | Jun mean C = 25.4 | Jul mean C = 28.6 | Aug mean C = 29.0 | Sep mean C = 25.9 | Oct mean C = 21.6 | Nov mean C = 16.2 | Dec mean C = 12.4 | year mean C = 19.4 | Jan low C = 7.3 | Feb low C = 7.5 | Mar low C = 9.0 | Apr low C = 11.6 | May low C = 15.5 | Jun low C = 19.6 | Jul low C = 22.8 | Aug low C = 23.3 | Sep low C = 20.1 | Oct low C = 16.3 | Nov low C = 11.9 | Dec low C = 8.9 | year low C = 14.5 | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 252.44 | Feb precipitation mm = 147.81 | Mar precipitation mm = 92.98 | Apr precipitation mm = 47.18 | May precipitation mm = 23.16 | Jun precipitation mm = 6.9 | Jul precipitation mm = 1.86 | Aug precipitation mm = 1.75 | Sep precipitation mm = 15.11 | Oct precipitation mm = 117.43 | Nov precipitation mm = 154.31 | Dec precipitation mm = 254.77 | year precipitation mm = 1115.7 | unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 11.8 | Feb precipitation days = 8.9 | Mar precipitation days = 6.3 | Apr precipitation days = 5.1 | May precipitation days = 3.1 | Jun precipitation days = 1.7 | Jul precipitation days = 1.2 | Aug precipitation days = 1.1 | Sep precipitation days = 2.1 | Oct precipitation days = 5.0 | Nov precipitation days = 6.6 | Dec precipitation days = 10.3 | year precipitation days = 63.2 | Jan humidity = 63.2 | Feb humidity = 61.8 | Mar humidity = 62.5 | Apr humidity = 65.8 | May humidity = 65.3 | Jun humidity = 60.4 | Jul humidity = 59.6 | Aug humidity = 60.8 | Sep humidity = 58.8 | Oct humidity = 57.0 | Nov humidity = 60.0 | Dec humidity = 64.1 | year humidity = 61.6 | source =
NOAA ==History==