Tectono-stratigraphy of Levent (Akçadağ-west of Malatya) region

The study area is located to the Northwest of Malatya city and covers an area of about 120 square km. Upper Jurassic?Tertiary aged formations are exposed in the region. This study aims to determine lithostratigraphic and tectonostratigraphic features of the units in the Levent and its near surrounding area where six lithostratigraphic units have been distinguised.The basement is represented by Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous age Horasançal Formation which consists of fractured, partly bedded, grey to beige coloured limestone. The Hocalıkova ophiolites, which tectonically overlies the Horasançal Formation, probably thrusted into the area from north to the south during and/or after late Campanian. The Ulupınar Formation transgresivelly deposited to the edge of the basin (shallow marine-shore line sediments) during late Campanian-early Maastrichtian around the tectonically controlled basin. Upper Cretaceous Ulupınar formation consisting of conglomerate, sandstone, marl and limestone was deposited partly in a fluvial-delta and partly in very shallow marine environments.Middle-Upper Eocene age Tohma formation that generally deposited in lagoon, beach and shelf environments comprising mainly pebblestone, sandstone, limestone-marl rests on the Ulupınar Formation with an angular unconformity. Middle-Upper Miocene age Yamadağ volcanics comprising mainly basalts unconformably rests on the Tohma Formation. Quaternary age alluvial fan and alluviums are the youngest sediments of the area and unconformably rest on all the older units.