The uppermost Messinian–Quaternary evolution of the Anamur–Kormakiti zone: The transition between the Outer Cilicia and Antalya basins, northeastern Mediterranean

Abstract

Abstract A dense grid of high-resolution multichannel seismic reflection profiles are used to delineate the stratigraphic and structural architecture of the Anamur–Kormakiti zone which separates the Outer Cilicia Basin from the eastern Antalya Basin. The data showed that the uppermost Messinian–Quaternary structural framework of the region is characterized by two arcuate south-convex sinistral strike-slip fault zones in the northeast and east which converge to form a ∼70–80 km wide NW–SE trending zone, consisting of two internally-parallel dextral strike-slip fault zones in the northwest and west. A narrow NNW–SSE trending zone occupied by similarly trending positive flower structures across the Anamur–Kormakiti zone suggests that this region is probably a rotational stepover between two oppositely moving strike-slip fault zones. The regionally extensive strike-slip fault zones are largely developed during the Pliocene–Quaternary along the southern fringes of the Taurus Mountains in response to the westward escape of the Aegean–Anatolian Microplate following the collision and suturing of the Arabian Plate to the Eurasian Plate during the end of Miocene–Early Pliocene.