Tectonic Evolution of the Central Anatolian Basins

Abstract

The central Anatolian basins can be grouped into two basic types—arc-related (forearc and intra-arc) basins and collision-related (peripheral foreland) basins. The former began developing in the Late Cretaceous, whereas the latter started to form at the beginning of the Eocene. Both types of basins were filled until the Oligocene with turbidites overlain by shelf and nonmarine strata. During the Oligocene, all these basins were unified into a large epi-Anatolide molasse basin, in which widespread gypsiferous series were deposited together with abundant clastic deposits and volcanics. After the Oligocene, these basins evolved into an areally more extensive “intra-cratonic” basin that bears no relation to the earlier orogenic structures. This superposition of different types of basins makes the geology of central Anatolia extremely complicated. To date, no reliable evolutionary tectonic model for this region has been formulated. Considering that the hydrocarbon potential of these basins is largely unknown, this complication appears to have also frustrated exploration efforts.