Geology of the Yozgat Region and Evolution of the Collisional Cankiri Basin

Abstract

The Cankiri Basin evolved as a detrital basin during the Late Tertiary in Central Anatolia between the Pontides (Sakarya continent) and the Kirsehir block. It is E-W trending, and along its southern border it overlies the Kirsehir block unconformably. The Kirsehir block consists of two tectonic belts. Structurally, the lower unit is the Kirsehir Massif, consisting of a platform sequence and a marble association; the upper unit is the Cicekdag belt. The Cicekdag belt consists of thick mafic volcaniclastic rocks and interbedded sediments and rare gabbro masses. This belt probably was developed as a primitive island-arc in the Neotethys ocean. During the Late Cretaceous period, the Cicekdag belt was thrust southward onto the Kirsehir platform. Consequently, the overburden of the nappes caused metamorphism of the Kirsehir platform and the lower parts of the Cicekdag belt. The Yozgat magmatics, consisting of granitic plutons and dacitic rhyolitic lavas, intruded into the Kirsehir block, which was formed by the...