Journal of

GEOsciences

  (Formerly Journal of the Czech Geological Society)

Original paper

Berkant Coşkuner , Yaşar Eren

Structural evidence of pre-Alpine orogeny in the northwestern part of the Central Taurides (Konya, Turkey)

Journal of Geosciences, volume 69 (2024), issue 4, 199 - 212

DOI: http://doi.org/10.3190/jgeosci.397

Turkey, mostly composed of continental fragments from Gondwana, contains important clues about the evolution of the Palaeotethys and Neotethys oceans. Different tectonic models have been produced by various researchers for Palaeotethys and Neotethys evolution. An issue of debate is whether the region was affected by pre-Alpine orogenic events, including the Taurides of Turkey. To address this controversy, structural features were investigated within Palaeozoic-Mesozoic units in the northwestern part of the Central Taurides to identify pre-Alpine orogenic structures. Detailed structural analyses have shown that the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic rocks in the study area experienced together at least three phases of deformation during the Alpine Orogeny, resulting in predominantly NW-SE oriented folding, regional-scale cleavage development, folded cleavage, nappe-thrust structures and low-grade metamorphism. In addition, mesoscopic structural analyses indicate that Lower Palaeozoic rocks in the northwest of the Central Taurides were deformed, folded, and cleaved before Alpine Orogenic events. Based on deformation and metamorphism differences between Palaeozoic and Mesozoic units, we suggest that pre-Triassic deformation was associated with the Variscan or Eo-Cimmerian Orogeny.