Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences
Abstract
Travertine deposits that crop out in the Yenicekent travertine field within the Denizli graben in western Türkiye are described and illustrated. Three morphologies of travertine are identified in this field, comprising fissure-ridge type, range-front, and eroded-sheet type, with each type resulting from deposition by geothermal waters driven by ongoing tectonism. The fissures in the Yenicekent travertine field extend parallel to active normal faults bounding the Denizli basin from the NE-directed Tripolis and Pamukkale faults, and were formed by waters released under tensile stress in the footwall blocks of normal faults. This study aimed to link the chronological development of travertine growth with regional tectonics and to determine the opening rates in fissure-ridge travertines using U/Th MC-ICP-MS dating. The oldest age determined by the uranium/thorium (U/Th) method in the Yenicekent travertines is 359 ka, while the youngest age is 417 years. Estimated opening rates of fissure travertine growth range from 0.042 to 1.98 mm/year, with a mean rate in NE–SW fissures of 0.610 mm/year over this 359 ka span. The layering within travertine deposits provides a fine monitor of earthquake events and potentially provides a long-term chronology of this activity using applications such as appropriate age dating and paleomagnetism.
DOI
10.55730/1300-0985.1980
Keywords
Active tectonics, Denizli, Quaternary environments, travitonics, Tripolis, U/Th age dating
First Page
630
Last Page
649
Publisher
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
EKİZOĞLU, Ö, & MESCİ, B (2025). Morphotectonic and active tectonic properties of the Yenicekent travertines with Chibanian–Meghalayan ages in the Denizli graben (Türkiye). Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences 34 (5): 630-649. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-0985.1980
