Landscapes and Landforms of Turkey

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Frontmatter

2. Outlines

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 1. Introduction to Landscapes and Landforms of Turkey

      Catherine Kuzucuoğlu, Attila Çiner, Nizamettin Kazancı

      Abstract

      This chapter (Introduction) presents the content and organization of the information provided by the book “Landforms and landscapes of Turkey”. The book is divided in two groups of chapters. The first group assembles three chapters which have in common to present thematic data concerning the main types of processes that have been at work in shaping today’s landforms and landscapes of Turkey, and that have given each of the geomorphological regions of Turkey its specificity. Going back to Miocene is necessary for Turkey as the two main processes that led to today’s landscapes have been active since the late Miocene: tectonism and climate. Late Miocene period acted as a turning point both in terms of tectonism, with the start of the “neotectonic period”, and in terms of climate which changed diversely during Pliocene and Pleistocene, with processes affecting diversely the tectonically deformed reliefs, as well as the erosion and preservation of landforms in the country. Three chapters expose this history with: its impacts on today’s physical geography of Turkey (Chap. 2), the structural evolution and tectonic regions of Turkey (Chap. 3) and the geomorphological regions of Turkey (Chap. 4). The second group is composed of 31 chapters composed each with an example of well-known and less-known remarkable landscapes of Turkey, grouped into six themes. Each chapter presents the state of the art and knowledge about the formation of the landscapes and the evolution of the landforms composing them. The last Chap. 32 concerns the risks affecting the landscapes of Turkey today.

   3. Chapter 2. The Physical Geography of Turkey: An Outline

      Catherine Kuzucuoğlu

      Abstract

      The following outline of the physical geography of Turkey is a broad introduction about the four main factors that produce the present characteristics of the Turkish landscapes, i.e. relief, climate, vegetation and hydrography. The nationwide contrasts and spatial variability between the geomorphological regions of Turkey and their present landscapes are indeed rooted in the processes and evolution which have constructed them on the long timescale, within the Anatolian peninsula context. The chapter also discusses two important characteristics of these landscapes on the peninsula scale: the treeless landscapes of many areas from central to eastern Anatolia, and the exceptional richness of Anatolia in endemic flora and fauna species, which makes Turkey a hotspot of biodiversity within the Europe, Middle East and Turano-Iranian areas.

   4. Chapter 3. The Tectonic Control on the Geomorphological Landscapes of Turkey

      Catherine Kuzucuoğlu, A. M. Celâl Şengör, Attila Çiner

      Abstract

      The multifarious landforms making up the landscapes of Turkey are largely controlled by tectonic activity since the last 11 Ma, at most 23 Ma making surface correlation by elevation alone hazardous. This “neotectonic episode” is characterized by tectonic escape that created five neotectonic provinces in the country: (1) the shortening east Anatolian province corresponds to the eastern Anatolian highlands; (2) the gently E–W-shortening north Turkish province; (3) extensional west Anatolian province; (4) the gently NE–SW-shortening and NW–SE-extending Ova Province; and (5) the border folds (Assyrides) of the northernmost Arabian Plate. In each of these provinces, the rate and history of uplift, history of climate and rock types have dictated the details of land sculpture. Volcanic landforms dominate in the east, and karst dominates in the south. The other regions display more varied morphological types controlled mainly by rock type and climate. Although Turkey is moderately endowed in fossil glacial and periglacial forms, active glaciers are few and restricted to the high mountains in the extreme south-east of the country.

   5. Chapter 4. The Geomorphological Regions of Turkey

      Catherine Kuzucuoğlu, Attila Çiner, Nizamettin Kazancı

      Abstract

      The core of Turkey’s land is the Anatolian Peninsula, which is surrounded by several seas (Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara and Black Sea). Offering a high variety of morphological landscapes, Anatolia is an orogenic plateau bordered to the north by one of the world’s most seismically active strike-slip faults, the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), to the south by the Cyprus and Hellenic subduction margins, to the west by the Aegean extensional zone, and to the east by the East Anatolia Fault Zone (EAFZ) and Bitlis–Zagros collision zone. In this context, first-order morphotectonic features are primary contributors to complex and unique landscapes both in and around the peninsula. This role appears first in the citadel-like relief of Anatolia, whose hill and mountain slopes steepen quickly from the coastal zones in direction of the plateau. From the west–eastward, the relief rises also steadily but less abruptly. Anatolian highlands thus form a barrier capturing the humidity generated by the seas. In return, its springs and rivers deliver abundant water to the lowlands around. Interacting with the relief organization, river paths and networks are thus impacted, not only by tectonic movements but also by several other geomorphological processes which are at work in shaping of the Anatolian landscapes. While relief generates hydrography and landscape contrasts, climate and lithology control hydrology and vegetation as well as weathering processes. In the meantime, volcanic activity and karst development produce some of the most outstanding landscapes in the country. This chapter aims to present the richness of these landforms, as well as to explain how and when they were formed. To that end, six regions are identified, each of them corresponding to a specific mix of landscapes and land-forming factors. These six regions are: Northern Anatolia (Black Sea), Western Anatolia (Aegean), Mediterranean Anatolia, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia and South-eastern Anatolia. We define each region on the basis of first, physiographic description (relief, climate, phytogeography, hydrography), allowing the identification of (i) subregions corresponding to a certain group of landforms and (ii) the spatial distribution of these landforms within the region. This first task is followed by the presentation of the structural background, insisting on tectonics and dominant lithologies as well as the stratigraphic data pointing to the differential erosional context inscribed in ancient morphologies. Based on this geologic information, the third part exposes landforms resulting from morphological processes acting through time. This task groups the regional landforms according to the main geomorphological agents and processes that produced them. It underlines the importance, in the formation of the present landscapes, of the interplay between different factors, whether tectonic or climatic, karstic or volcanic, hydrographic or hydrologic… and the importance of time in the preservation and transformation of landscapes. The human action is evoked when its influence has been important in today’s landscapes, either because of duration, or because of specific cultural or historic contribution. This evocation is especially critical for areas where human’s action has transformed landscapes throughout the Holocene period, or where it has been studied thoroughly.

3. Karst

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 5. Karstic Landscapes and Landforms in Turkey

      Lütfi Nazik, Murat Poyraz, Mustafa Karabıyıkoğlu

      Abstract

      Approximately, 40% of Turkey’s landmass consists of soluble rocks (limestone, dolomite, and gypsum) highly suitable for karstification. While presenting different lithological composition, lithostratigraphic and structural characteristics, these rocks reach in some places up to 4000 m in elevation. Tectonic movements since the middle Miocene have played, together with climate, a major role in the processes of karst development. Several factors intervene in the formation processes and history of the karstic landscapes of Turkey: structural dynamics (mainly extensional tectonics and block faulting) and its spatial distribution, relief rejuvenation responding to the combination of uplift intensity and sea-level changes and the stratigraphic/lithologic context. Resulting from the various combinations possible, there are large-scale differences in the evolution of the karstic landscape within short distances. Consequently, six karstic regions and eleven distinct sub-karstic areas can be identified on the basis of their different morphogenetic and morphometric characteristics.

   3. Chapter 6. Gypsum Karst Landscape in the Sivas Basin

      Uğur Doğan, Serdar Yeşilyurt

      Abstract

      The Tertiary Sivas Basin, Central Anatolia, includes one of the most outstanding gypsum karst terrains in the world, covering an area of 2140 km². This gypsum karst significantly contributes to enrich the diversity of karst landscapes in Turkey and constitutes an excellent natural laboratory for understanding their evolution because it develops and degrades much faster than carbonate karst landscapes. The ENE–WSW trending Sivas gypsum karst terrain is 280 km long and 55 km wide. The karst landscapes are mainly developed on Oligocene gypsum deposits. Sivas gypsum karst terrain has a wide variety of well-developed karst features such as karren, different types of dolines (solution, collapse and suffosion), blind valleys, karst springs, swallow holes (ponors), karstified paleo-valleys, caves, unroofed caves, natural bridges, gorges, uvalas and poljes. Solution dolines, which riddle a large part of the area, are the most common landform. The Kızılırmak River and its tributaries drain the Sivas Basin. Therefore, Quaternary evolution of the Kızılırmak River has played an important role in the long-term evolution of the karst landscape in the basin. Karst development in some parts of the basin has also been affected by halokinetic structures.

   4. Chapter 7. The Antalya Tufas: Landscapes, Morphologies, Age, Formation Processes and Early Human Activities

      Erdal Koşun, Baki Varol, Harun Taşkıran

      Abstract

      Tufa formation is a very common feature in the geological record of the Antalya region where it covers an area of 630 km² and is up to 280 m thick. The oldest date obtained from this tufa deposit is >600 ka, and the youngest one is modern. Characteristic water landscapes are falls/cascades, fluvial channels and local pools. This tufa forms three major plateau systems that developed during the Quaternary. The upper plateau and the middle plateau are exposed above the sea, and the lowermost plateau is below sea level. Stable isotopic data (δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C) of Antalya Tufa indicate a formation under cold water conditions which were evidently affected by plant-induced CaCO₃ precipitation and seasonal temperature changes. The isotopic ages and flora contents of Antalya Tufa clearly indicate that the middle and lower plateaus were formed during the Würmian regression period. Most geochemical and geomorphological data suggest that the deposition processes and morphologic features of the Antalya Tufa are related to sea level changes and climatic forcing rather than to tectonics. In addition to the geological settings of Antalya Tufa, caves and rock shelters located at the base of the southern and eastern limestone slopes of the Katran Mountains above the Döşemealtı tufa surface forming the upper plateau have been intensely occupied by humans intensively during the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic.

   5. Chapter 8. Pamukkale Travertines: A Natural and Cultural Monument in the World Heritage List

      Erhan Altunel, Francesco D’Andria

      Abstract

      The actively accumulating Pamukkale travertines and the ancient city of Hierapolis are located along the northern margin of the Denizli Basin in Western Turkey and are both included as a mixed natural and cultural property in the World Heritage List. Travertine terraces and pools (terraced-mound travertines) attract visitors to Pamukkale, but fissure-ridge travertines and self-built channel travertines are as attractive as terraced-mound travertines and they should be considered as natural monuments. In addition to major ancient buildings in the city centre of Hierapolis, there are other ancient structures such as quarries, water channels and aqueducts in the Pamukkale area. In order to save these natural monuments and cultural heritages for future generations, boundaries of the existing preservation plan should be enlarged immediately to cover all travertine bodies and cultural structures in the Pamukkale region.

4. Coastal Landforms

   1. Frontmatter

   2. Chapter 9. Coastal Landforms and Landscapes of Turkey

      Attila Çiner

      Abstract

      The Turkish Peninsula is delimited by three surrounding seas (Mediterranean, Aegean and Black seas) and one inland sea (Sea of Marmara). Each of them has its own typical coastal geomorphology in terms of variation of the oceanographic, geological and atmospheric conditions. The Black Sea coast is a typical Pacific-type coast in terms of mountain ranges that run parallel to shorelines, which result in the formation of linear and high cliffs only cut by Sakarya, Kızılırmak and Yeşilırmak deltas. The Mediterranean coast also exhibits shoreline-parallel mountain ranges. However, contrary to the Black Sea coastline, the basement rocks are limestone-dominated and therefore karstic processes are decisive in the shaping of coastal morphology. The best example is the Antalya coast where underground rivers fed by the Taurides Mountains, formed travertine terraces. Several erosional and depositional coastal landscapes are represented by steep cliffs, marine terraces, beachrocks, wave-cut platforms and notches. Marine terraces uplifted to several 10s of metres also record relative sea-level changes that occurred since the mid-late Pleistocene. The pattern of the Aegean coast of Turkey is mainly defined by E–W-oriented horsts and grabens as a result of ongoing extension in the region. This tectonic setting facilitated the formation of deltas along the Aegean coastline, where ancient cities and harbours were mainly built during Hellenistic and Roman times. As an inland sea, the Sea of Marmara is developed along the middle and northern strands of the North Anatolian Fault Zone, where uplifted marine terraces are observed.

   3. Chapter 10. The Geology and Geomorphology of İstanbul

      A. M. Celâl Şengör, Tayfun Kındap

      Abstract

      The city of İstanbul is one of the most ancient sites of human dwelling in the world that has been continuously inhabited until today. It may indeed be the oldest. It enjoys a temperate climate characterised by wet winters and dry summers, although summer showers are not necessarily absent. Its geomorphology has been shaped by the movements of the level of the sea around it and the surface waters sculpting its multifarious rock types creating dominantly fluvial and karstic forms with a rich assortment of drowned coastal features. The Strait of İstanbul, the Bosphorus thracicus of antiquity, formed as a result of the marine invasion during the Flandrian transgression. The sea invaded through a structurally low-positioned watershed located between the oppositely tilted peninsulas of Thrace and Kocaeli (Bithynia). The seawater may have invaded the watershed of the Bosphorus some 8000 years ago, although whether the sea overtopped the Bosphorian watershed 8500 years ago or 7150 years ago is immaterial for the success of the model here proposed. The tilting of the two peninsulas created a fracture network that has controlled ever since the pattern of the fluvial drainage.

   4. Chapter 11. The Sinop Peninsula: The Northernmost Part of Asia Minor

      Cengiz Yıldırım, Okan Tüysüz, Tolga Görüm

      Abstract

      The Sinop Peninsula is located at the northernmost part of the Asia Minor (Anatolia). Its geographic position between the Central Pontide Mountains and the Black Sea together with the presence of young geological units and landforms provides favorable conditions for understanding onshore and offshore geological and geomorphic processes acting along the northern Anatolian coasts. Here, we focus on some landscapes that constitute one of the best examples along the Turkish Black Sea coast. These are inundated fluvial valleys, uplifted isthmus and marine terraces, and paleo- and active dunes.

   5. Chapter 12. Landscape Development and Changing Environment of Troia (North-western Anatolia)

      İlhan Kayan

      Abstract

      Troia, the epic city of ancient times, has a unique geographical position at the entry of the Çanakkale Strait. This area consists of Upper Miocene shallow marine sediments, which constitute a low horst–graben system. Between plateau ridges about 50–100 m high, the lower course of the Karamenderes (ancient Scamander) River flows in an alluvial plain. During the Holocene sea-level rise, marine intrusion transformed this part of the valley into a marine embayment. In this area, the relative sea level reached its present position ca. 7000–6000 years ago, and the coastline arrived close to the southern end of the embayment. Then, deltaic progradation processes of the Karamenderes River dominated the embayment filling, leading the coastline to reach the west of Troia ca. 4000 years ago. A 2–3 m sea level fall during the Late Bronze Age (LBA) was probably caused by the acceleration of the deltaic progradation. Later, slightly rising sea reached to the present level again around the time of the Emperor Augustus (27 BC to 14 AD). However, alluviation compensated this small sea-level rise, and deltaic progradation continued slowly to reach the coastline to the Çanakkale Strait.

   6. Chapter 13. Rapid Delta Growth in Historical Times at Ephesus and Miletus—The Examples of the Küçük and the Büyük Menderes Rivers

      Helmut Brückner

      Abstract

      Postglacial sea-level rise led to the development of extended marine gulfs in the grabens of the western margin of the Anatolian Plate. During the last seven millennia, these marine indentations have silted up due to the continued progradation of the deltas of major rivers. Good examples of this geomorphological metamorphosis from ria coasts to delta–floodplains are the Küçük Menderes (Cayster, Kaystros) and the Büyük Menderes (Maiandros, Maeander) valleys, with Ephesos and Miletos, respectively, as the most prominent ancient cities. This article outlines the spatio-temporal scenarios of these fundamental landscape changes. They are based on geoarchaeological criteria, archaeological evidence and information from literary sources.

   7. Chapter 14. Landscape Development of the Eşen Valley and Delta Plain (Letoôn and Patara Sites)

      Ertuğ Öner

      Abstract

      The Eşen valley lies in a graben extending north–south in the south-west of Anatolia. Ca. 50 km long, it opens south to the Mediterranean Sea. Surrounding mountain slopes consist generally of carbonate rocks. They produce a large amount of coarse alluvium deposited in the main valleys by braided channels. During the Neogene, a lake occupied the graben. In the late Pliocene and the Pleistocene, the uplift of the region resulted in the river meanders incising a low plateau. In south of a narrow gorge (Kınık gorge), the Eşen River discharges to the Mediterranean Sea through a wide delta plain. Core studies revealed that the rapidly rising sea covered most of the present delta area during the middle Holocene. After the sea level maximum reached during the middle Holocene (ca. 7–6 ka BC), prograding dynamics led to the formation of the present delta plain which reached its final morphological configuration during the recent millennia. Since the ancient times, the Eşen delta has been an important settlement area, with the Xanthos, Letoôn and antic harbour city Patara being the best-known ancient settlements in the delta. These and other ancient sites have been influenced by environmental changes during the late Holocene.