Research Information System
European Union of Geosciences, Strasbourg, France, 28 March - 01 April 1997, vol.4, no.1, pp.409
Northwestern edge of the Arabian platform (i.e. Amanos Mountains - Turkey) consists mainly of thick autochthonous sedimentary succession. Onto the platform, ophiolites were obducted during the late Mesozoic and Tertiary periods. Therefore within the platform sequence are ordered and dismembered ophiolite slices. In the northern and central Amanos Mountain, which is situated to the northwestern edge of the Arabian platform, the ophiolites outcrop extensively. In the region thirteen different ophiolite slices have been differentiated according to the internal ordering, lithological and structural characteristics, and timing of generation and emplacement. They were emplaced onto the Arabian platform in three main stages: These are a) Late Cretaceous, b) Eocene, and c) Miocene. The ordered ophiolites and the associated mélanges were emplaced first during the late Cretaceous. The ophiolite stack formed a structural high, lying sub-parallel to the continental margin, separating internally located sea realm (The Kastel basin) from the oceanic realm, locating northwest. The Eocene ophiolite obduction caused thin - skin deformation in the Arabian platform. In the Miocene stage, a huge nappe package consisting mainly of ophiolitic and metamorphic nappes emplaced on top of the Arabian platform.
In this talk, the ophiolitic associations of the Amanos Mountain will be detailed, and their tectonic significance will be discussed.