f Cretaceous Tectonic Evolution of the Western and Central Black Sea Region

There are different views on the tectonic evolution of the Pontides, one of the main tectonic units of Turkey. Şengör and Yılmaz (1981) divided the Pontides (sensu Ketin, 1966) into Rhodope-Pontide and Sakarya continental fragments separated by an Intra-Pontide Suture. The Pontides were subdivided into Istanbul, Istranca and Sakarya zones by Okay et al. (1994). The most controversial issue on these different tectonic models is the relationships between Istanbul and the Sakarya zones (Western and Central Pontides) and oceanic realms (Palaeotethys, Neotethys and Black Sea) separating these continental fragments. Data from the Daday-Azdavay-İnebolu region and from the Kargı Massif shed light onto this discussion. Our data indicate that the Western and Central Pontides juxtaposed along the Intra-Pontide Suture at the beginning of Late Cretaceous. The ophiolites in the Kargı Massif and around the Çankırı Basin represent the İzmir-Ankara-Erzincan Ocean, which was consumed by northward subduction during the Triassic-Late Cretaceous interval. In this presentation I will describe tectonic units of the Cide-Sinop-Tosya area and discuss their Cretaceous evolution.