 Pollen in core samples from Lake Bafa in the Latmus region inland of Miletus suggests that a lightly grazed climax forest prevailed in the Maeander valley, otherwise untenanted.Sparse Neolithic settlements were made at springs, numerous and sometimes geothermal in this karst, rift valley topography.The islands offshore were settled perhaps for their strategic significance at the mouth of the Maeander, a route inland protected by escarpments.