Impact of Siliciclastic Input on Travertine Precipitation: A Case Study From the Denizli Extensional Basin, SW Turkey

The Denizli Extensional Basin in SW Turkey is a world famous location for Quaternary to Recent travertine deposits. The objective of this work was to study the impact of siliciclastics on travertine precipitation at the... [ view full abstract ]

The Denizli Extensional Basin in SW Turkey is a world famous location for Quaternary to Recent travertine deposits. The objective of this work was to study the impact of siliciclastics on travertine precipitation at the Ballık and Kocabaş localities. The northern sequence in the Ballık area consists mostly of subhorizontally laminated travertines with several domal geobodies that are represented by cascade and waterfall facies. Here, the travertine sequence is continuous and up to more than 120 m in thickness with few siliciclastic intercalations and dominated by conglomerate, sandstone, mudstone and claystone.

Towards the south, around Kocabaş, the ratio of the siliciclastic facies to travertine facies increases. The siliciclastics are mainly formed of red mudstone, green-gray claystone, sandstone and conglomerate with the travertine facies mostly being reed travertine, charophyte travertine, and micrite travertine. The travertines are observed in packages of 2 to 3 m thick with lenticular geometry displaying a sharp contact at the base. The sequences that are made up of alternating siliciclastic and travertine facies are presently tilted in different directions as the result of recent tectonic activity.

Consequently, the travertine deposition considerably varies from north to the south between the two localities (i.e. Ballık and Kocabaş). The siliciclastic material has been transported by mudflow and water flow from the uplifted source areas at the north and reflect alluvial and ephemeral stream depositional settings. The travertines were precipitated intermittently from hydrothermal fluids rich in bicarbonate, sourced from fratures & faults, and were deposited in shallow, pond like depressions, which range laterally up to a few hundred metres in dimension.