Most parts of Patara are included within the borders of Kaş-Antalya, while a little part of it is included within the borders of Muğla province. The region has been sentenced as "Patara Special Protection Area" by the Council of Ministries in 18.1.1990, sentence number: 90/77. With its historical and cultural beauties, untamed nature and sea as well as a 12km beach; the region is exposed to heavy tourism activities. Gelemiş Bay, which is about 15km far, is the closest population center to beach. Ancient cities in the region are Patara, Xanthos, Letoon and Pydnea.

Most of the population living in the coastal region migrate to high lands in summer. While citrus fruits and other fruit kinds are cultivated in the region, field farming has remained relatively unimportant. Primary economical activity in recent years has been green house farming. Tourism activities that acquire more importance gradually are mostly in the form of sea and archaeology tourism (Özer et al., 1993).

The beach is split up into two parts by Eşen Stream. The beach located on the northwest of Eşen Stream is about 6km. This part starts at the foot of the mountain in northwest and is a flat beach with a relatively low elevation. The beach is about 40-50 meters in width and has a very hard ground. Active dunes are present at the backside. Width of the beach extending between Özlen Island and Eşen Stream is about 5 meters. Length of this beach, which extends in the southeast direction from Eşen Stream, is 6,7km. The main research area consists of this part. In this part of the beach, there is a changeable wet area reaching up to 20m and active sand dunes with a width of 500-600 meters at the backside. The average distance between the shoreline and the sand dunes is 100 meters and has a slight slope with a soft elevation. Winds from the shore cause the movement of sand towards the lowland. A forestation project is carried out by Antalya Province Administration of Forestry to prevent the movement of sand dunes towards the inland since 1986.

The Sea Turtle Research Team (STRT) has carried out a research entitled "The Investigation of Sea Turtle Populations in Köyceğiz-Dalyan and Patara Specially Protected Areas" in Patara Beach sponsored by the Authority for Protecting Special Areas in 1999.

Patara Beach is the second most important sea turtle nesting beach in Turkey with an annual nesting density of 50-100.