The role of thrust ramp reactivation in pull-apart mechanism of the Erzincan basin, North Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey

Abstract

The new field data obtained from the southwestern margin of the Erzincan pull-apart basin located on the eastern segment of North Anatolian Fault Zone indicate that the opening of the basin is not only controlled by pull-apart mechanism but also by a lateral ramp structure associated with SSE-NNW Late Miocene thrusting along the Sivas Basin. The fault bordering the southwestern margin of the basin is the lateral part of the Karada thrust that is the roof thrust of the Sivas fold-thrust system, rather than a segment of the North Anatolian Fault Zone. The Erzincan basin was nucleated as a lateral ramp basin during the Pliocene on the lateral ramp-related folds and expanded by the pull-apart opening mechanism between two segments of the North Anatolian Fault Zone. The WSW-ENE pull-apart opening of the basin was recorded by the Pliocene lacustrine-fluvial sediments and Quaternary volcanics as listric normal faulting.