Field Guide to Samos and the Menderes Massif

This field-trip guide explores the tectonics of Samos and the Menderes Massif, two fascinating areas within the eastern Mediterranean section of the Tethyan orogen. The guide includes detailed outcrop descriptions, maps, and diagrams to explore along-strike variations in the Hellenide-Anatolide orogen, including the architecture of the Early Tertiary Alpine nappe stack and its strong Miocene extensional overprint. The suggested itinerary is based on the 2010 Geological Society of America Field Forum: “Significance of Along-Strike Variations for the 3-D Architecture of Orogens: The Hellenides and Anatolides in the Eastern Mediterranean.” The outcrop descriptions begin with Day 1 in Samos, where, atypically for the N-S stretched Aegean region, Miocene extension is E-W. The focus of Day 2 is on high-pressure assemblages in northern Samos. The following three days explore the Anatolide Belt in western Turkey, where the Menderes nappes—also known as the Menderes Massif—form the tectonic footwall below the Cycladic Blueschist Unit.