This case study focuses on the high topography of northern Anatolia, which is believed to have formed during the Early Miocene by significant uplift subsequent to the major phase of plate collision in this area. This paleo-topography was later cut and dissected after the initiation of a plate-bounding, continental strike-slip fault zone called the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ).
Results of our analysis reveal that the southern part of the studied portion of the NAFZ tilted westward with a maximum uplift of 290 m. Tilting-corrected offsets, measured along the NAFZ, show that the average dextral displacement is 72 km. However, measured offsets increase up to 100 km towards the westernmost portion of the fault zone (western part of the Almac谋k Block).
We discuss the possibility of analyzing large-scale morphotectonic structures to shed light on some debated points related to the NAFZ evolution. The methods described here can be applied to other post-collisional strike-slip faults worldwide and also to smaller scale morphological structures.