- The Menderes Massif, exposed in western Anatolia, is a metamorphic complex cropping out in the Alpine orogenic belt. The metamorphic rock succession of the Massif is made up of a Precambrian basement and overlying Paleozoic-early Tertiary cover series. The Pan-African basement is composed of late Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks consisting of partially migmatized paragneisses and conformably overlying medium- to high-grade mica schists, intruded by orthogneisses and metagabbros. Along the southern flank of the southern submassif, we recognized well-preserved primary contact relationship between biotite and leucocratic tourmaline orthogneisses and country rocks as the orthogneisses represent numerous large plutons, stocks and vein rocks intruded into a basement of garnet mica schists. Based on the radiometric data, the primary deposition age of the precursors of the country rocks, garnet mica schist, can be constrained between 600 and 550 Ma (latest Neoproterozoic). The North Africa-Arabian-Nubian Shield in the Mozambique Belt can beThe Menderes Massif, exposed in western Anatolia, is a metamorphic complex cropping out in the Alpine orogenic belt. The metamorphic rock succession of the Massif is made up of a Precambrian basement and overlying Paleozoic-early Tertiary cover series. The Pan-African basement is composed of late Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks consisting of partially migmatized paragneisses and conformably overlying medium- to high-grade mica schists, intruded by orthogneisses and metagabbros. Along the southern flank of the southern submassif, we recognized well-preserved primary contact relationship between biotite and leucocratic tourmaline orthogneisses and country rocks as the orthogneisses represent numerous large plutons, stocks and vein rocks intruded into a basement of garnet mica schists. Based on the radiometric data, the primary deposition age of the precursors of the country rocks, garnet mica schist, can be constrained between 600 and 550 Ma (latest Neoproterozoic). The North Africa-Arabian-Nubian Shield in the Mozambique Belt can be suggested as the possible provenance of these metaclastics. The intrusion ages of the leucocratic tourmaline orthogneisses and biotite orthogneisses were dated at 550-540 Ma (latest Neoproterozoic-earliest Cambrian) by zircon U/Pb and Pb/Pb geochronology. These granitoids represent the products of the widespread Pan-African acidic magmatic activity, which can be attributed to the closure of the Mozambique Ocean during the final collision of East and West Gondwana. Detrital zircon ages at about 550 Ma in the Paleozoic muscovite-quartz schists show that these Pan-African granitoids in the basement form the source rocks of the cover series of the Menderes Massif.…
