Allochthonous Terranes in the Tethyan Middle East: Anatolia and the Surrounding Regions [and Discussion]

Turkey consists of a number of tectono-stratigraphic entities corresponding with specific former plate tectonic environments such as island arcs, submarine continental platforms with Atlantic-type and Pacific-type margins. These were successively accreted to Eurasia since the late Palaeozoic resulting in N to S development of the Turkish orogen. Tethyan evolution of the Anatolia and surrounding regions is the result of demise of the oceanic environments that correspond to the Palaeo-Tethys and Neo-Tethys oceans. The former was totally consumed by Dogger while the latter opened during the Trias-Lias interval and survived into the Cenozoic.