MORPHOTECTONIC DEVELOPMENT OF ANATOLIA AND THE SURROUNDING REGIONS

Anatolia, being an essential part of the eastern Mediterranean region is one of the tectonically most active part of the world; it is moving westward with an annual rate of about 20 mm/y and thus generating a number of big earthquakes at some intervals.

Anatolia is deformed under the tectonic control of the two major parameters;

1- The Arabian plate, being a part of the African plate, has been advancing northward and squeezing the East Anatolian region.

2- The Hellenic Trench along which the eastern Mediterranean ocean floor has been progressively consumed by northward subduction.

Eastern Anatolia began to be progressively elevated to form the East-Anatolian-Iranian high plateau under the N-S Compression which has been effective since the complete elimination of the Neo-Tethyan ocean floor along the Bitlis-Zagros suture. The peripheral belts of the Eastern Anatolia, the Pontides in the north and the Bitlis Mountains in the south have risen with a higher rate than that of the central part, and consequently reached to an elevation over 3500m.

The N-S compression caused to have formed two transform faults, the North Anatolian fault and the East Anatolian fault. The region bounded by these faults forms a discreet tectonic entity known as the Anatolian Plate. Since its development the Anatolian Plate began to escape westward from the point of intersection of the two faults in the Karlıova region of the Eastern Anatolia. Such a westward motion of the Anatolian Plate has been transferring the energy stored in the overthickened (>45)cm) east Anatolian crust. The westward escape has generated contrasting tectonic regime; N-S extension in the western Anatolian and Aegean regions. The N-S extension has produced a number of E-W trending horsts and grabens.

In this paper progressive development of the major morphotectonic entities of the Anatolia and surrounding regions will be discussed.