Neotectonics of Turkey - a synthesis

Turkey forms one of the most actively deforming regions in the world and ha s a long history of devastating earthquakes. The better understanding of it s neotectonic features and active tectonics would provide insight, not only for the country but also for the entire Eastern Mediterranean region. Acti ve tectonics of Turkey is the manifestation of collisional intracontinental convergence- and tectonic escape-related deformation since the Early Plioc ene (similar to5 Ma). Three major structures govern the neotectonics of Tur key; they are dextral North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), sinistral East Ana tolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) and the Aegean-Cyprean Are. Also, sinistral Dead S ea Fault Zone has an important role. The Anatolian wedge between the NAM, a nd EAFZ moves westward away from the eastern Anatolia, the collision zone b etween the Arabian and the Eurasian plates. Ongoing deformation along, and mutual interaction among them has resulted in four distinct neotectonic pro vinces, namely the East Anatolian contractional, the North Anatolian, the C entral Anatolian 'Ova' and the West Anatolian extensional provinces. Each p rovince is characterized by its unique structural elements, and forms an ex cellent laboratory to study active strike-slip, normal and reverse faulting and the associated basin formation. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et med icales Elsevier SAS.