The sedimentology of the deep marine sediments of the Kirkgeçit formation (middle eocene-oligocene), southwest Baskil (Elaziğ)

The Elazığ Basin that started to develop in the Eastern Taurus Orogenic Belt in the begining of the Late Paleocene, is one of the sedimentary basins that play an important role for revealing the geology and paleography of the Eastern Anatolian Region. While the regional spread of the marine basin extend over from Van in the east to Kahramanmaraş in the west, the section called as the Elazığ Basin continued its existence until the end of the Early Miocene around Elazığ Province. The study area includes the southern section of the western part of the Elazığ Basin. The transportation mechanism of the Middle Eocene – Oligocene aged Kırkgeçit Formation clastics, which are deposited in the basin and constitute the subject of the study, was revealed by facies analysis related to its clastic deposystems. As a result of revealing the sedimentological features of the southern part of the Western Elazığ Basin, the northern section of which was studied earlier, the paleogeography and sedimentological features of the basin were understood as a whole. Because of Kırkgeçit Formation has different lithofacies features, it is divided into five members as Gemici Member, Kıran Member, Gökbel Member, Bağırsakdere Member and Akçalar Member from bottom to top. According to some planktonic fossils, age of the formation was determined as Lutetian-Bartonian. In order to reveal the sediment relations of the formation and to determination stratigraphic changes in the lateral direction, 21 stratigraphic sections were measured. As a result of evaluating the sedimentological features in the sections, 31 facies and 2 facies communites were identified. The most of sandstones of the Kırkgeçit Formation are defined as litharenite, rest of them feldspatic lithrenite, sublitharenite and lithic arkose. The main components of the clastic rocks of the Kırkgeçit Formation are represented these: minerals derived from volcanic and plutonic rocks of the Elazığ Magmatites, rock fragments of recrystallized limestones of Keban Metamorphite and Seske Formation which are exposed in the north of the basin, and the fossils / fossil fragments derived from the formation under investigation. 173 paleocurrent directions were measured to determine source area of the components. According to measurements, paleocurrent direction is from northeast to southwest. The channel element system belonging to the south sector of the Western Elazığ Basin and the facies characteristics of the elements are defined with paleogeographic models supported by the measured sections and provenance studies. The sedimentary evolution of the basin was revealed by using the sedimentological features of the turbiditic sediments in the basin.