Neotectonic evolution of the northwestward arched segment of the Central Anatolian Fault Zone, Central Anatolia

Abstract – Central Anatolia has undergone complex Neotectonic deformation since Late Miocene–Pliocene times. Many faults and intracontinental basins in this region were either formed, or have been reactivated, during this period. The eastern part of central Ana-tolia is dominated by a NE–SW-trending, left lateral transcurrent structure named the Central Anatolian fault zone located between Sivas in the northeast and west of Mersin in the southwest. Around the central part, it is characterized by transtensional depressions formed by left stepping and southward bending of the fault zone. Pre-Upper Miocene basement rocks of the region consist of the central Anatolian crystalline complex and a sedimentary cover of Tertiary age. These rock units were strongly deformed by N–S con-vergence. The entire area emerged to become the site of erosion and formed a vast plateau before the Late Miocene. A NE–SW-trending extensional basin developed on this plateau in Lat