The SW segment of the Antalya Complex is an assemblage of Mesozoic carbonate platform, margin and ophiolitic rocks which record the formation and tectonic emplacement of a small Mesozoic ocean basin.
The pros and cons of three alternative models in the literature are outlined. The original model was of a linear continental margin of a southerly Mesozoic ocean basin (Dumont et al. 1972), emplaced in latest Cretaceous and Miocene time as three major nappes. Ricou et al. (1975) reinterpreted these nappes as being rooted in a unique northerly Tethys. In the light of knowledge of modern ocean basins, Robertson and Woodcock then developed the concept of a palaeogeographically complex small southern ocean basin in which strike-slip faulting played an important role in both formation (Reuber, this volume) and emplacement (Woodcock & Robertson 1977).
We discuss here a number of important and controversial topics, including the timing of volcanism and ocean crust genesis, the origin of mountain-sized shallow water limestone masses in the allochthon, and the role of strike-slip versus nappe tectonics in the Antalya Complex. An updated version of our palaeogeographical model views the Antalya Complex as an early Mesozoic (Triassic-Jurassic) rift expanded in the Cretaceous by formation of a small ocean basin strongly influenced by strike-slip faulting during both the opening and closing stages.
