The Pelagonian Zone in Greece: A Polyphase-Deformed Fragment of the Cimmerian Continent and Its Role in the Geotectonic Evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

Data from Macedonia (Greece), correlated with those reported from the Pontides (Turkey), indicate that the Pelagonian zone of the Hellenides represents a fragment of the Cimmerian continent which separated the Paleo-Tethys and Neo-Tethys Oceans. A Permo-Triassic age is suggested for separation of the Paleozoic continent and initial rifting in the two oceanic basins. As the Pelagonian zone represented the northwestern (European) end of the Cimmerian continent, the Paleo-Tethys and the northern branch of Neo-Tethys would have been very close to each other on either side of this zone. Thus both oceans at their European end closed within a short time of each other in the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. The sequential development of the two oceans outlines a model for the geotectonic evolution of the Internal Hellenides in which a correlation of thrusting and folding phases is also given.