JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 39 NUMBER 7
Metamorphism during Alpine Crustal
Thickening and Extension in Central
Anatolia, Turkey: the Niğde Metamorphic
Core Complex
D. L. WHITNEY1∗ AND Y. DILEK2
1
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55455, USA
2
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY, MIAMI UNIVERSITY, OXFORD, OH 45056, USA
RECEIVED DECEMBER 23, 1996; REVISED TYPESCRIPT ACCEPTED FEBRUARY 12, 1998
The Niğde massif, a metamorphic core complex in Central Anatolia
(Turkey), contains petrologic evidence for the transition from Alpine
crustal thickening to extension and exhumation of high-grade mid-
crustal rocks. Sillimanite–potassium feldspar gneiss formed and
partially melted during Barrovian metamorphism and records max-
imum conditions of 5–6 kbar, >700°C. The two-mica Üçkapılı
granite and a related dike suite intruded the migmatitic metapelitic
rocks, forming a contact aureole that contains andalusite and
cordierite. These low-pressure minerals indicate that crustal thick-
ening was followed by exhumation of mid-crustal rocks to relatively
shallow depths (<10 km) at lower temperatures before the em-
placement of granitic magma. Formation of andalusite was followed
by a second, prograde episode of sillimanite growth during low-
pressure—high-temperature metamorphism in the central part of the
massif, where magmatism was most extensive. A generalized P–T
path for the highest grade rocks therefore consists of an initial
clockwise path with a late thermal spike and characterizes burial
and subsequent exhumation accompanied by magmatism.
KEY WORDS: Barrovian; metamorphic core complex; metapelitic rocks;
P–T path; Turkey
INTRODUCTION
Pressure–temperature (P–T ) paths can be difficult to
determine for high-grade metamorphic rocks because
∗Corresponding author. Telephone: (612) 626-7582. Fax: (612) 625-
3819. e-mail: Donna.L.Whitney-1@umn.edu
PAGES 1385–1403 1998
high-temperature reactions can obliterate assemblages
formed during earlier, lower-temperature phases of meta-
morphism. This can hinder use of petrologic information
to interpret tectonic processes. If reaction textures are
preserved, however, rocks may record a range of pres-
sure–temperature conditions from their prograde and/
or retrograde paths and a more complete picture of the
tectonic evolution of a terrane can be reconstructed. Of
particular interest are the mechanisms and timing of
transition from contraction to extension and the ac-
companying exhumation of middle- to lower-crustal
rocks. The present study describes a medium-pressure,
high-temperature terrane (the Niğde massif; Fig. 1) in
central Anatolia, Turkey, that developed as a meta-
morphic core complex in response to Alpine crustal
thickening. Metamorphic rocks in the central, high-grade
part of the massif record in their mineral assemblages,
reaction textures, and structures the processes of burial,
exhumation, and accompanying magmatism.
REGIONAL GEOLOGY
Anatolia consists of fragments of oceanic and continental
crust exposed in east–west trending tectonic belts (Fig. 1)
that formed during closure of Tethyan seaways in the
Mesozoic and early Cenozoic (Şengör & Yılmaz, 1981;
Robertson & Dixon, 1984; Robertson & Grasso, 1995).
The Anatolide tectonic belt consists of several crystalline
 Oxford University Press 1998
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 39 NUMBER 7 JULY 1998

Fig. 1. Map of Turkey and the Aegean region showing major geologic and geographic features, including the Pontide, Anatolide, and Tauride
tectonic belts. The Kırşehir, Akdağ, and Niğde (NM) massifs together constitute the Central Anatolian crystalline complex (CACC; see Fig. 2).
The outline of the Kırşehir and Akdağ massifs is shown schematically to include the region of major exposure of metamorphic and plutonic
rocks. Much of this region is overlain by silicic volcanic rocks. DSF, Dead Sea fault; EAF, East Anatolian fault; EF, Ecemiş fault; ITS, Inner-
Tauride suture zone; NAF, North Anatolian fault.

massifs, including the Menderes and the Central An-
atolian crystalline complex (CACC) (Fig. 1). Both are
bounded to the north by oceanic rocks of the Izmir–
Ankara–Erzincan suture zone (Fig. 1), along which the
Neo-Tethys ocean was consumed in late Cretaceous to
early Tertiary time (Şengör & Yılmaz, 1981).
Although separated from each other by the Inner-
Tauride suture zone, the CACC and the Menderes massif
are both considered part of the Anatolide tectonic belt.
Both massifs contain metamorphosed Gondwanan plat-
form sediments which range in grade from greenschist
to upper amphibolite facies, both were intruded by syn-
to post-kinematic granodiorite plutons that have low-
pressure minerals in their contact aureoles, and both
have been interpreted as metamorphic core complexes
(Bozkurt & Park, 1994; Whitney & Dilek, 1997). Because
of these similarities, and because we use information for
the timing of petrologic and tectonic events in western
Turkey to interpret the geological evolution of the CACC,
we describe the Menderes massif in the following section,
highlighting its similarities to and differences from the
CACC.
Menderes massif
The Menderes massif is a large (200 km × 300 km)
structural dome that, despite some differences in timing
and style of tectonic events, has long been identified as
part of the Aegean (Attic Cycladic) domain (Dürr et al.,
1978) and has recently been characterized, in whole or
in part, as a metamorphic core complex (Verge, 1993;
Bozkurt & Park, 1994; Hetzel et al., 1995). The massif was
metamorphosed at upper amphibolite facies conditions
during the Paleozoic, then underwent Paleocene–Eocene
Barrovian metamorphism that has been attributed to
Alpine collisional events and burial of the massif beneath
the Lycian nappes (Akkök, 1983; Şengör et al., 1984;
Satır & Friedrichsen, 1986). A late metamorphic event
is attributed to Aegean extension and exhumation of the
massif (Şengör & Yılmaz, 1981; Şengör et al., 1984;
Hetzel et al., 1995).
Metamorphic grade decreases from upper amphibolite
facies in the core of the massif to greenschist facies at
higher structural levels. Metapelitic rocks from the upper
units contain garnet, staurolite, staurolite + kyanite, and
kyanite zones (Ashworth & Evirgen, 1985a, 1985b). Es-
timated conditions of 440–550°C, 4–7 kbar for
staurolite + kyanite and kyanite schist from the central
part of the massif are consistent with estimates for the
eastern part of the massif (Akkök, 1981).
The central part of the massif contains syntectonic
granodiorite intrusions that have andalusite and sil-
limanite in their contact aureoles. Similar Miocene grano-
diorite intrusions crop out in the Cycladic Islands and
the Niğde massif (see below).
Central Anatolian crystalline complex
(CACC)
The metamorphic and plutonic rocks east and southeast
of Ankara (Figs 1 and 2) have been called the Central

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 WHITNEY AND DILEK
Fig. 2. Map of the Central Anatolian crystalline complex (CACC) showing major outcrops of granitic and metamorphic rocks [modified from
Akıman et al. (1993)].
Anatolian massif, Kırşehir massif, Kırşehir continent
(Şengör et al., 1984), and the Central Anatolian crystalline
complex (CACC) (e.g. Akıman et al., 1993). We adopt
the last terminology and use the term ‘Kırşehir massif’
to refer only to the NW part of the CACC. The Akdağ
and Niğde massifs occur in the east and the south,
respectively, of the CACC (Figs 1 and 2). The CACC is
bounded to the north by the Izmir–Ankara–Erzincan
suture, to the west by the dextral Tuz Gölü fault, and
to the east by the sinistral Ecemiş fault (Figs 1 and 2).
The Kırşehir massif is characterized by a sequence
of greenschist to granulite facies rocks. Seymen (1984)
estimated P–T conditions of 400–700°C at low pressure,
on the basis of index minerals in metapelitic and meta-
carbonate rocks located northwest of the city of Kırşehir
(Fig. 2). These rocks were intruded by Tertiary granitoids
that also intruded the Izmir–Ankara–Erzincan suture
zone.
Kocak & Leake (1994) studied the Ortaköy region of
the Kırşehir massif (Fig. 2) and described a sequence of
metasedimentary rocks including migmatitic gneiss that
contains potassium feldspar, sillimanite, unzoned garnet,
and texturally late andalusite and cordierite. Garnet–
biotite geothermometry yielded 680 ± 50°C at 4 kbar
for metapelitic schist. A pressure of 4 ± 1·5 kbar (at
600°C) was estimated for the assemblage
garnet + biotite + sillimanite + cordierite.
ALPINE METAMORPHISM IN TURKEY
The Akdağ massif (Figs 1 and 2) is regarded to be the
eastern extension of the Kırşehir massif. Garnet–staurolite
schist collected during reconnaissance field-work (this
study) in the Akdağ massif contains minor amounts of
fibrolite. Thermobarometric results from these schists
yielded T ~550–600°C, ~4 kbar (D. L. Whitney &
Y. Dilek, unpublished data, 1995).
Although petrologically similar, the Niğde massif dis-
plays a P–T–t history and tectonic style distinct from
these other regions of the CACC. It is an isolated dome
of crystalline rocks south of the main exposures of the
Kırşehir and Akdağ massifs (Fig. 1), adjacent to the Inner-
Tauride suture, and truncated on the east by the Tertiary
Ecemiş fault zone (Fig. 2). We recently identified the
Niğde massif as a metamorphic core complex that de-
veloped as a result of crustal thickening during Alpine
collision and subsequent extension in the hanging wall
of a north-dipping subduction zone (Whitney & Dilek,
1997). The massif has all the elements of a Cordilleran-
style metamorphic core complex: plastically deformed
metamorphic and plutonic basement (footwall), sedi-
mentary cover rocks (hanging wall), and a low-angle
normal fault zone separating the basement and cover
(Fig. 3). The more northern regions of the CACC
(Kırşehir and Akdağ massifs) do not appear to be core
complexes.
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Fig. 3. Geologic map of the Niğde massif, modified from Atabey (1989) and Atabey et al. (1990). Locations of samples used for thermobarometric
determinations are shown, as well as the location of the andalusite-bearing dike (A). Thick barbed line indicates where we have mapped the
detachment fault. [See Whitney & Dilek (1997) for structural data.]

PETROLOGY AND MINERAL quartzite contains Mn andalusite (Göncüoğlu, 1981). As

CHEMISTRY OF THE NIĞDE MASSIF
The petrology and stratigraphy of the Niğde massif have
been described by Göncüoğlu (1981, 1982, 1986). The
structurally lowest unit of the massif is the Gümüşler
Formation (Fig. 3), which consists primarily of pelitic or
psammitic schist and gneiss with interlayered calc-silicate,
amphibolite, quartzite, and marble. The Gümüşler For-
mation is overlain by thinly bedded metaclastic and
metacarbonate schist of the Kaleboynu Formation, and
finally by the Aşıgediği Formation, which is composed
dominantly of marble, with amphibolite, quartzite, fine-
grained schist, and meta-ultramafic rocks. Some of the
in the cover series of the Menderes massif, metapelitic
or semipelitic schist predominates in the structurally lower
parts of the Niğde massif, whereas marble is abundant
in the upper parts.
Gümüşler Formation
The most common assemblage in Gümüşler gneiss is
biotite + quartz + plagioclase ± fibrolite–sillimanite ±
garnet ± muscovite ± potassium feldspar. Accessory
minerals include tourmaline, apatite (up to a millimeter
in diameter), rutile, zircon, pyrite, ilmenite, magnetite,

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Table 1: Representative biotite analyses∗

ND94-11 ND94-11 ND95-11 ND95-11 ND95-22 ND95-22 ND95-32 ND95-32 ND95-66 ND95-66
matrix adj grt matrix adj grt matrix adj grt matrix adj grt matrix adj grt

SiO2 33·18 32·52 34·59 36·22 35·12 34·36 34·68 33·62 34·08 34·45
TiO2 2·67 2·58 2·20 2·75 1·93 1·30 2·00 1·93 3·41 3·05
Al2O3 19·71 19·51 20·33 19·74 21·13 20·92 20·59 20·51 19·21 19·69
FeO 25·72 26·40 21·59 21·14 20·92 22·00 19·54 19·43 23·60 23·49
MnO 0·12 0·12 0·27 0·22 0·18 0·17 0·27 0·25 0·31 0·28
MgO 4·12 4·50 7·90 7·79 7·78 8·29 10·06 9·92 6·42 6·57
CaO 0·02 0·06 <d.l. <d.l. <d.l. <d.l. 0·01 0·02 0·03 0·02
Na2O 0·16 0·17 0·18 0·20 0·18 0·12 0·17 0·16 0·14 0·16
K 2O 9·22 9·11 8·59 9·32 9·25 9·19 9·67 9·31 9·66 9·61
F 0·27 0·18 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d.
Total 95·19 95·15 95·65 97·37 96·49 96·35 96·99 95·16 96·86 97·31

Cations on basis of 22 oxygens

Si 5·22 5·15 5·28 5·42 5·30 5·23 5·20 5·15 5·24 5·25
AlIV 2·78 2·85 2·72 2·58 2·70 2·77 2·80 2·86 2·76 2·75
AlVI 0·87 0·79 0·94 0·90 1·06 0·98 0·84 0·84 0·72 0·79
Ti 0·32 0·31 0·25 0·31 0·22 0·15 0·23 0·22 0·39 0·35
Fe 3·38 3·50 2·76 2·64 2·64 2·80 2·45 2·49 3·03 3·00
Mn 0·01 0·02 0·04 0·03 0·02 0·02 0·04 0·03 0·04 0·04
Mg 0·97 1·06 1·80 1·74 1·75 1·88 2·25 2·26 1·47 1·49
Ca 0·00 0·01 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00
Na 0·05 0·05 0·05 0·06 0·05 0·04 0·05 0·05 0·04 0·05
K 1·85 1·84 1·67 1·78 1·78 1·78 1·85 1·82 1·89 1·87

XFe 0·61 0·62 0·48 0·47 0·46 0·48 0·42 0·43 0·54 0·53
XMn 0·00 0·00 0·01 0·01 0·00 0·00 0·01 0·01 0·01 0·01
XMg 0·17 0·19 0·31 0·31 0·31 0·32 0·39 0·39 0·26 0·26
XTi 0·06 0·05 0·04 0·06 0·04 0·03 0·04 0·04 0·07 0·06
XAlVI 0·16 0·14 0·16 0·16 0·19 0·17 0·15 0·14 0·13 0·14

∗All analyses obtained using the Cameca Camebax electron microprobe at Duke University. The term ‘representative’
indicates that data are actual analyses (not averages) and are characteristic of the sample analyzed.
n.d., not determined; <d.l., below detection limit.

and calcite veinlets. Rutile and ilmenite do not coexist.
Andalusite-bearing quartz veins are present in highly
deformed and retrograded gneiss near the eastern margin
of the massif.
Metapelitic rocks display a foliation defined by biotite
and a lineation defined by sillimanite. Fibrolite is the
dominant textural variety of sillimanite (Fig. 4), but
coarse grains also occur. Biotite is dark red and contains
~1·3–3·5 wt % TiO2 (Table 1). In many rocks, muscovite
(Table 2) is randomly oriented and cuts the foliation
defined by biotite, perhaps indicating that it formed late
in the metamorphism and deformation of the rocks.
Rocks in the central part of the massif lack muscovite or
contain texturally late muscovite.
There are two main textural types of garnet (Table 3)
in the Gümüşler gneiss: (1) small (<1 mm) grains that
contain a few inclusions of plagioclase, biotite, and/or
quartz and which have been partially resorbed, as in-
dicated by rims of plagioclase ± quartz (Fig. 5), and (2)
larger, poikiloblastic grains, 1–3 mm in diameter, that
contain abundant inclusions of biotite, plagioclase, quartz,
fibrolite, apatite, Li–Al tourmaline, and potassium feld-
spar, as well as abundant, minute mineral and fluid(?)
inclusions (Fig. 6). No kyanite inclusions have been ob-
served in Gümüşler garnet. Large biotite grains as well
as composite inclusions of biotite + fibrolite, biotite +
quartz ± fibrolite, and biotite + fibrolite + quartz +
plagioclase + potassium feldspar ± apatite preferentially

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Table 2: Representative muscovite analyses quartz (Fig. 5c and d). The former presence of garnet is
inferred from the rounded shape and from the occurrence
ND95-11 ND95-22 ND95-66 ND95-35 of similar assemblages that have partially replaced garnet.
gneiss gneiss gneiss dike
Garnet grains are typically unzoned except at their
outer 10–200 lm (Fig. 7a) and next to biotite inclusions,
SiO2 44·80 47·61 47·31 47·34 where Mn increases and Mg decreases (Fig. 7b and c).
TiO2 <d.l. 0·69 0·28 <d.l. In grains with numerous biotite inclusions, a significant
Al2O3 35·79 37·16 36·89 39·11 volume of the garnet has been affected by chemical
FeO 1·88 1·04 1·46 0·47
exchange with biotite (Fig. 7c). Biotite inclusions in garnet
MnO 0·00 <d.l. <d.l. 0·21
are similar in composition to matrix biotite (Table 1).
MgO 0·96 0·40 0·55 0·12
Garnets of both textural types contain inclusions of
CaO <d.l. <d.l. <d.l. <d.l.
plagioclase with an average composition of An20–35
(Table 4), although some of these oligoclase–andesine
Na2O 0·31 0·51 0·58 0·62
inclusions contain albitic patches (An0–9). Most plagioclase
K2 O 10·25 9·31 9·74 9·85
inclusions in garnet are irregularly zoned and the host
F <d.l. <d.l. <d.l. <d.l.
garnet is slightly zoned (Ca in garnet decreases) next to
Total 94·01 96·72 96·81 97·52
some plagioclase inclusions (see Whitney, 1991).
Cations on basis of 22 oxygens In garnets that contain abundant inclusions, overall
Si 6·07 6·17 6·16 6·08 grossular content is extremely low except for local regions
AlIV 1·94 1·83 1·85 1·92 of slightly higher grossular content (Fig. 7d) that are
AlVI 1·94 3·84 3·81 4·00 similar to the overall composition of garnets that lack
Ti — 0·07 0·03 — mineral inclusions. The rest of the garnet has apparently
Fe 0·21 0·11 0·16 0·05 been compositionally modified by reaction with in-
Mg 0·19 0·08 0·11 0·02
clusions.
Na 0·08 0·13 0·15 0·15
Most matrix plagioclase is oligoclase–andesine (up to
K 1·77 1·54 1·62 1·61
An45) and grains are typically irregularly zoned. In mig-
matitic samples, small (Ζ10–15 lm) grains of albite
XK 0·96 0·92 0·92 0·91
(An0–1) occur in mesosomes and some leucosome pla-
gioclase grains (oligoclase–andesine) have albitic patches.
Centimeter- to millimeter-scale granitic leucosomes in
replace type 2 garnet cores (Fig. 6). Some samples of these rocks contain approximately equal proportions of
Gümüşler gneiss contain rounded clots of plagioclase + potassium feldspar (Table 5) + quartz. In
sillimanite + biotite ± muscovite ± plagioclase ± leucosomes, myrmekitic intergrowths of plagioclase and

Fig. 4. Tightly folded sillimanite and biotite in Gümüşler gneiss. Field of view is 2·5 mm.

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 WHITNEY AND DILEK ALPINE METAMORPHISM IN TURKEY

Table 3: Representative garnet analyses

ND95-11 ND95-11 ND95-11 ND95-22 ND95-22 ND95-22 ND95-32 ND95-32 ND95-66

rim outer core core rim core nr bt incl core rim core

SiO2 37·48 37·62 37·07 37·12 37·43 37·03 36·86 37·03 36·84
TiO2 0·02 <d.l. 0·01 0·03 0·02 0·06 <d.l. <d.l. <d.l.
Al2O3 21·65 21·34 21·22 21·29 21·13 21·32 20·63 20·74 21·00
FeO 29·57 31·78 31·02 30·51 32·04 30·59 29·17 28·77 33·24
MnO 7·67 5·86 6·25 7·77 5·10 8·04 7·91 9·09 5·34
MgO 2·40 2·87 2·98 2·05 3·05 1·78 3·10 2·66 2·64
CaO 0·82 0·83 0·87 1·11 1·19 1·10 2·11 1·75 0·65
Total 99·61 100·30 99·42 99·88 99·96 99·92 99·77 100·04 99·71

Cations on basis of 12 oxygens

Si 3·01 3·01 3·00 3·00 3·01 3·00 2·99 3·00 2·99
Ti 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00
Al 2·05 2·01 2·02 2·03 2·00 2·03 1·97 1·98 2·01
Fe 1·99 2·13 2·10 2·07 2·12 2·07 1·98 1·95 2·26
Mn 0·52 0·40 0·43 0·53 0·35 0·55 0·54 0·62 0·37
Mg 0·29 0·34 0·36 0·25 0·37 0·22 0·37 0·32 0·32
Ca 0·07 0·07 0·07 0·10 0·10 0·10 0·18 0·15 0·06

X Alm 0·69 0·72 0·71 0·70 0·73 0·71 0·64 0·64 0·75
X Sps 0·18 0·14 0·15 0·18 0·12 0·19 0·18 0·21 0·12
X Prp 0·10 0·11 0·12 0·08 0·12 0·07 0·12 0·11 0·11
X Grs 0·03 0·02 0·03 0·03 0·04 0·03 0·06 0·05 0·02

quartz are common along potassium feldspar grain
boundaries. Less deformed leucosomes contain pla-
gioclase with euhedral cores.
Marble interlayered with metapelitic gneiss typically
contains >95–98% calcite with minor quartz and pla-
gioclase. Calc-silicate gneiss interlayered with metapelitic
rocks contains the assemblages calcite + plagioclase +
quartz + diopside ± grossular ± titanite and calcite
+ quartz + diopside. Some Si- and Al-rich calcareous
rocks contain skeletal, highly resorbed grossular-rich gar-
net (Grs component 28–34 mol %), clinopyroxene, horn-
blende, biotite, muscovite, plagioclase, potassium
feldspar, epidote, and titanite. Plagioclase is strongly
zoned, with calcic cores (up to An83) and sodic rims
(An25–29).
Amphibolite interlayered with metasedimentary rocks
contains hornblende + plagioclase ± clinopyroxene ±
texturally late calcite and zeolite minerals (Tables 6 and
7). Plagioclase is zoned, with calcic cores (An30–34) and
sodic rims (An21).
Antimony–mercury–tungsten deposits in the massif
consist of veins of stibnite, stibnite–cinnabar, stibnite–
cinnabar–scheelite ± barite ± gold and abundant tour-
maline (Akçay et al., 1995). Tourmaline compositions and
fluid inclusion data suggest a magmatic origin for the
tourmaline and possibly for the Sb–Hg–W mineralization
as well (Akçay et al., 1995).
Üçkapılı granite
The main body of the Üçkapılı granite crops out in the
central and NE part of the massif (Fig. 3), although there
are many smaller exposures of mineralogically similar
granite throughout the massif (Fig. 3). The granite is
peraluminous, ranges from monzonite to syenitic granite
(Akıman et al., 1993), and has an Sr initial ratio of 0·7104
(Göncüoğlu, 1986).
The most common assemblage in the Üçkapılı granite
is quartz, plagioclase (An8–40), potassium feldspar, biotite,
and muscovite, with accessory zircon, apatite, tourmaline,
and magnetite. Plagioclase is zoned from euhedral calcic
cores to sodic rims. A small intrusion near the southern
end of the main body contains abundant, coarse garnet
grains.
The Üçkapılı granite intruded all formations of the
Niğde Group. It contains metasedimentary xenoliths of
various sizes, including a large raft of gneiss near its
southern margin. The contact aureole is centimeters to
decimeters thick (Göncüoğlu, 1986) and contains cor-
dierite and andalusite in metapelitic Gümüşler rocks.

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Fig. 5. Garnet replacement textures in Gümüşler gneiss. (a) Garnet almost entirely replaced by quartz. Arrows point to a few small, relict garnet
islands. (b) Garnet almost entirely replaced by plagioclase + quartz + biotite. (c) (d) Inferred garnet pseudomorphs, replaced entirely by
fibrolite + biotite. Sillimanite replacing the garnet in (d) may preserve orientation of former inclusions in garnet. Fields of view are 2·5 mm.

Dike suites Unmetamorphosed to greenschist facies basalt dikes

The Gümüşler gneiss is cut by two suites of granitic
dikes. The first occurs near the margins of the Üçkapılı
two-mica granite, is mineralogically identical to the
pluton, and cuts the mineral foliation and migmatitic
layering of the host rocks at steep to moderate angles.
The second consists of centimeter- to meter-scale per-
aluminous dikes. Some of these are concordant to the
host gneiss foliation and others cross-cut foliation and
migmatitic layering. The most common assemblage in
the peraluminous dikes is potassium feldspar + pla-
gioclase + quartz + tourmaline ± garnet ± fibrolite–
sillimanite ± andalusite ± xenotime ± muscovite.
Similar peraluminous dikes intruded the Menderes massif
(Bozkurt et al., 1995).
Both dike suites contain centimeter-scale xenoliths of
the host metapelitic gneiss and most dikes produced a
1–3 cm thick contact zone in the host rock. Both xenoliths
and contact zones are depleted in biotite relative to
the rest of the country rock and consist of granular,
recrystallized plagioclase and quartz. The xenoliths and
some of the contact zones also contain abundant, coarse-
grained, texturally late muscovite.
intruded all formations of the massif, including the Üçk-
apılı granite. Some of these dikes contain angular frag-
ments of their host rocks.
Kaleboynu Formation
The Kaleboynu Formation (Fig. 3) consists of weathered,
thinly interbedded calc-silicate, marble, metasiltstone,
quartzite, and fine-grained schist that are cut by deformed
granitic dikes and sills.
Aşıgediği Formation
The stratigraphically youngest formation of the Niğde
Group is composed largely of monomineralic calcite
marble with interlayered quartzite and amphibolite.
Bedded marble and quartzite are deformed into folds of
tens to hundreds of meters in amplitude. Deformed,
meter-scale greenschist facies basaltic dikes and sills cut
marble and quartzite near the contact between these

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 WHITNEY AND DILEK
Fig. 6. Photomicrographs of garnets in Gümüşler gneiss. Large biotite and composite inclusions have formed at the expense of the garnet core.
Fields of view are 2·5 mm.
lithologies. Meta-ultramafic rocks are infolded with the
metasedimentary rocks.
Sineksizyayla Gabbro
This poorly outcropping mafic unit consists of variably
deformed and metamorphosed gabbro. Samples from
individual outcrops contain both apparently un-
metamorphosed hornblende gabbro with igneous-
appearing, randomly oriented, lath-shaped plagioclase
ALPINE METAMORPHISM IN TURKEY
grains and no metamorphic minerals, as well as highly
deformed metagabbro with greenschist facies as-
semblages. Some of the gabbro bodies are intruded by
fine-grained granitic dikes.
Because contacts between gabbro and country rock
are not exposed, it is unclear whether the gabbro intruded
the Niğde massif or was tectonically emplaced. Kocak &
Leake (1994) interpreted metagabbro in the Ortaköy
region (Fig. 2) of the CACC as tectonically emplaced
ophiolite fragments. The Sineksizyayla gabbro, however,
is not spatially associated with ultramafic rocks.
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 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 39 NUMBER 7 JULY 1998

Fig. 7. Garnet zoning patterns. (a) Microprobe traverse of a small, relatively inclusion-free garnet surrounded by a rim of quartz. (b) Microprobe
traverse of a large, inclusion-filled garnet with resorbed rims (Fig. 5a). (c) X-ray map of Mn in garnet (ND95-22). (Note large biotite inclusions
that have grown at the expense of garnet.) (d) Ca X-ray map of the same garnet as shown in (c) but at a larger scale; the field of view in (c) is
in the upper left and central regions of the garnet. (Note that grossular content is so low in most of the garnet that biotite inclusions cannot be
discerned on the X-ray map.) The X-ray maps were generated with the JEOL 733 electron microprobe at the University of Washington, and
intensities were digitized using the GATAN DigitalMicrograph system.

PETROLOGY OF AN The dike contains plagioclase + potassium feldspar

ANDALUSITE + SILLIMANITE-
BEARING DIKE
An andalusite + sillimanite-bearing dike provides ad-
ditional information about the P–T path of the central
part of the massif. The 1·5 m thick dike cuts a large raft
of gneiss near the main body of the Üçkapılı granite
(Fig. 3), and also cuts layer-parallel leucosomes.
+ quartz + garnet + tourmaline + andalusite +
sillimanite + ilmenite + apatite + euhedral xenotime.
Coarse, prismatic sillimanite clearly replaces andalusite
(Fig. 8a, b). This assemblage differs from those of other
peraluminous granitic dikes and leucosomes in the Niğde
massif in that it contains Al2SiO5 phases and lacks primary
muscovite. The aluminosilicate phases are not evenly
distributed throughout the dike, but occur in clusters.

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 WHITNEY AND DILEK ALPINE METAMORPHISM IN TURKEY

Table 4: Representative plagioclase analyses from metapelitic rocks

ND95-11 ND95-22 ND95-32 ND95-32 ND95-32 ND95-33 ND95-33 ND95-60 ND95-60 ND95-66
matrix matrix matrix incl in grt incl in grt matrix-c matrix-r incl core incl rim matrix

SiO2 62·54 60·90 56·86 69·48 51·42 60·03 60·89 62·97 62·75 68·81
Al2O3 23·87 24·86 27·95 20·54 30·47 25·70 24·92 25·07 23·83 20·93
Fe2O3 0·15 0·09 0·01 0·33 0·54 0·08 0·10 0·24 0·15 0·05
CaO 4·47 5·81 9·02 0·19 12·08 6·87 5·72 1·67 4·62 0·73
Na2O 8·69 8·21 6·52 9·22 4·80 7·39 8·12 7·52 8·78 9·46
K 2O 0·24 0·13 0·06 0·11 0·03 0·20 0·24 2·38 0·16 0·03
Total 99·96 100·00 100·42 99·87 99·33 100·27 100·00 99·85 100·28 100·02

Cations on basis of 8 oxygens

Si 1·73 2·71 2·54 3·00 2·35 1·66 1·69 2·78 2·77 2·98
Al 0·78 1·30 1·47 1·05 1·64 0·84 0·81 1·31 1·24 1·07
Ca 0·13 0·28 0·43 0·01 0·59 0·20 0·17 0·08 0·22 0·03
Na 0·47 0·71 0·56 0·77 0·43 0·40 0·43 0·64 0·75 0·80
K 0·01 0·01 0·00 0·01 0·00 0·01 0·01 0·13 0·01 0·00

X An 0·22 0·28 0·43 0·01 0·58 0·33 0·28 0·09 0·22 0·04
X Ab 0·77 0·71 0·56 0·98 0·42 0·65 0·71 0·75 0·77 0·96
X Or 0·01 0·01 0·00 0·01 0·00 0·01 0·01 0·16 0·01 0·00

c, core; r, rim.

Table 5: Representative potassium feldspar

Table 6: Representative plagioclase analyses
analyses from metasedimentary rocks
from amphibolites
ND94-11 ND94-11 ND95-22 ND95-66
ND95-34 ND95-34
MS core MS rim LC core MS core
core Gümüşler rim Gümüşler

SiO2 65·55 65·18 64·28 65·69

SiO2 62·12 61·29
Al2O3 19·41 19·31 19·10 19·12
Al2O3 24·01 24·53
Fe2O3 0·02 <d.l. <d.l. 0·08
Fe2O3 0·04 0·18
CaO 0·01 <d.l. 0·02 <d.l.
CaO 4·98 5·15
Na2O 2·90 1·41 1·49 0·94
Na2O 8·59 8·60
K 2O 12·09 14·46 14·45 14·27
K2O 0·15 0·13
Total 99·98 100·37 99·34 100·10
Total 99·89 99·88
Cations on basis of 8 oxygens
Cations on basis of 8 oxygens
Si 2·98 2·98 2·97 3·00
Si 2·75 2·72
Al 1·04 1·04 1·04 1·02
Al 1·25 1·28
Ca — — — —
Fe 0·00 0·01
Na 0·26 0·12 0·13 0·08
Ca 0·24 0·24
K 0·71 0·84 0·85 0·83
Na 0·74 0·74
X An — — — — K 0·01 0·01
X Ab 0·27 0·13 0·14 0·09
X An 0·24 0·25
X Or 0·73 0·87 0·86 0·91
X Ab 0·75 0·75
X Or 0·01 0·01
MS, mesosome; LC, leucosome; <d.l., below detection limit.

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 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 39 NUMBER 7 JULY 1998

Table 7: Representative amphibole analyses surrounded by fibrolite–sillimanite (Fig. 8c and d). Matrix
plagioclase is in the range An11–20, but is typically An13–15.
ND95-34 ND95-34 The average composition of K-feldspar in the dike is
core Gümüşler rim Gümüşler
Or87–88Ab10–12An0–01 (Table 8).
Almandine–spessartine garnet (~1 mm diameter)
SiO2 44·59 45·12 occurs as euhedral to slightly rounded, largely inclusion-
TiO2 0·64 0·64 free grains (Fig. 9) that are essentially unzoned at XAlm =
Al2O3 8·89 8·66
0·70, XSps = 0·21, with minor amounts of pyrope and
FeO 16·85 16·45
grossular (Table 8). Some of these garnets contain in-
clusions of fibrolite that are typically aligned with matrix
MnO 0·31 0·33
fibrolite (Fig. 9).
MgO 12·62 12·86
CaO 11·36 11·38
Na2O 1·47 1·35
K 2O 0·53 0·46
THERMOBAROMETRY
Total 97·26 97·25
The Gümüşler Formation is the only unit of the massif
Cations on basis of 23 oxygens that contains assemblages suitable for both pressure and
Si 6·53 6·59 temperature determination. Metaclastic rocks in younger
AlIV 1·47 1·41 formations apparently equilibrated at lower temperatures
AlVI 0·07 0·14 and pressures than the Gümüşler Formation: the Kale-
Ti 0·07 0·07 boynu Formation contains very fine-grained rocks that
Fe3+ 1·17 1·16
lack high-grade mineral assemblages and the overlying
Fe2+ 0·89 0·85
Aşıgediği Formation contains Mn-andalusite (Göncüoğlu,
Mn 0·04 0·04
1981).
Metamorphic P–T conditions were calculated for Gu-
Mg 2·76 2·80
¨ müşler metapelitic rocks using garnet–biotite geo-
Ca 1·78 1·78
thermometry combined with the garnet–plagio-
Na 0·42 0·38
clase–aluminosilicate–quartz (GPAQ) geobarometer
K 0·10 0·09
(Table 9). For some rocks that contain muscovite, the
mg-no. 0·76 0·77 garnet–plagioclase–muscovite–biotite (GPMB) geo-
barometer was applied using garnet rim compositions
Fe2+/Fe3+ calculated assuming 13 cations. (Table 9). Temperatures were also determined by horn-
blende–plagioclase thermometry for an amphibolite
(Table 9).
Temperatures were estimated for nine garnet–
Sillimanite also occurs in the matrix of the dike, prim- sillimanite gneiss samples collected from a NNW–SSE
arily as fibrolite (Fig. 8c and d; Fig. 9). Andalusite and traverse across the massif (Fig. 3). ‘Peak’ conditions were
sillimanite–fibrolite define a strong lineation parallel to determined using near-rim compositions of garnet in
the trend of the dike, although some fibrolite occurs regions of the garnet not affected by reaction with mineral
as abundant, randomly oriented grains in quartz and inclusions (determined from X-ray maps and microprobe
feldspar. analyses). Neighboring matrix biotite was used for ther-
Some andalusite grains display patchy zoning. Pleo- mometric calculations. Oligoclase–andesine inclusions
chroic pink to colorless regions that contain up to 1 combined with adjacent garnet compositions yielded
wt % Fe2O3 (Table 8) generally occur as grain cores similar pressures to those determined with garnet outer
surrounded by colorless, Fe2O3-free rims. Andalusite core–matrix (adjacent garnet) plagioclase compositions.
grains are surrounded by An11–20 plagioclase (Fig. 8c and Estimated temperatures (730–780°C) and pressures
d; Table 8), similar in composition to matrix plagioclase (~5–6 kbar) are consistent with the mineral assemblages
grains. Plagioclase rimming andalusite typically occurs of the Gümüşler gneiss, but these temperatures may not
as blocky crystals that display grain boundaries per- correspond to the peak temperatures attained because
pendicular to the andalusite margins. Rounded, colorless minerals may continue to react with each other during
andalusite grains occur in the plagioclase coronas (Fig. 8c decompression and cooling. Pressure–temperature de-
and d). terminations for high-grade rocks are difficult because
In addition to plagioclase, the region around andalusite Fe–Mg exchange geothermometers tend to have different
also contains quartz, which is separated from andalusite closure temperatures from geobarometers based on net
by a plagioclase rim. The plagioclase ± quartz zone is transfer equilibria (e.g. Frost & Chacko, 1989). In

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 WHITNEY AND DILEK ALPINE METAMORPHISM IN TURKEY

Fig. 8. Photomicrographs of minerals and textures in the andalusite + sillimanite-bearing dike. (a) Prismatic sillimanite after andalusite. Field
of view is 1·75 mm. (b) Crossed polars view of (a). (c) Andalusite with rim of plagioclase and outer rim of fibrolite (Fi). Field of view is 1·75 mm.
(d) Close-up of region in (c), showing islands of andalusite in the plagioclase rim. Field of view is 0·75 mm.

Fig. 9. Garnet + fibrolite (Fi) in the andalusite + sillimanite-bearing dike. (Note that some fibrolite, oriented parallel to matrix fibrolite, is
included near the garnet rim.) Field of view is 2·5 mm.

addition, the presence of garnet pseudomorphs and re- TIMING OF EVENTS

sorbed garnet rims suggests that garnets may not record
maximum P–T conditions. Garnets are slightly zoned at
their rims (Fig. 7). Increase of spessartine contents at
garnet rims is probably a retrograde feature, and tem-
perature estimates based on garnet rim + adjacent biotite
(550–580°C) are reported as retrograde temperatures in
Table 9.
The closure of Tethyan seaways between the Pontide
and Anatolide tectonic belts in the north and between
the Tauride and Anatolide belts in the south caused
Alpine orogenesis in Turkey. Crustal thickening, meta-
morphism, and magmatism in the Anatolide tectonic belt
(Menderes massif and CACC) followed collision in the

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 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 39 NUMBER 7 JULY 1998

Table 8: Representative mineral analyses from the Al2SiO5-bearing dike

Garnet Pl core Pl rim Pl rim Kfs Kfs Tur Tur And And
matrix matrix on And matrix in Pl core rim

SiO2 36·54 65·55 67·72 64·31 65·23 66·37 34·89 34·87 36·49 36·11
TiO2 0·06 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0·36 0·78 <d.l. <d.l.
Al2O3 20·68 21·66 19·83 23·02 18·96 18·85 35·32 34·79 63·85 63·01
FeO∗ 30·85 0·04 <d.l. <d.l. 0·03 0·02 9·03 7·95 <d.l. 1·04
MnO 9·02 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 0·02 <d.l. <d.l. <d.l.
MgO 1·85 n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. 4·29 5·58 <d.l. <d.l.
CaO 0·43 2·81 0·63 2·78 0·01 0·25 0·21 0·52 <d.l. <d.l.
Na2O n.d. 9·85 11·07 9·40 1·34 3·17 n.d. n.d. <d.l. <d.l.
K 2O n.d. 0·17 0·14 0·46 14·72 11·57 n.d. n.d. <d.l. <d.l.
Total 99·43 100·08 99·37 99·97 100·29 100·23 84·12 84·48 100·35 100·16

Cations
Si 3·00 2·88 2·98 2·83 2·99 3·00 6·89† 6·84† 0·98 0·98
Ti 0·00 0·05 0·12
Al 2·00 1·12 1·03 1·19 1·02 1·00 8·22 8·04 2·02 2·01
Fe 2·12 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 1·49 1·30 0·01
Mn 0·63 0·00 0·00
Mg 0·27 1·26 1·63
Ca 0·04 0·13 0·03 0·13 0·00 0·01 0·04 0·11
Na 0·84 0·94 0·80 0·12 0·28 0·01 0·01
K 0·01 0·01 0·07 0·86 0·67

X Alm 0·70 0·54 0·45

X Sps 0·21
X Prp 0·08
X Grs 0·01
X An 0·13 0·03 0·13 0·00 0·01
X Ab 0·86 0·96 0·84 0·12 0·29
X Or 0·01 0·01 0·03 0·88 0·70

∗FeO for garnet and tourmaline; Fe2O3 for feldspars and andalusite.
†Tur cations calculated on 29 oxygen basis.
n.d., not determined; <d.l., less than detection limit.

Early Eocene (Şengör & Yılmaz, 1981; Dewey et al.,
1986).
Metamorphic rocks in the Aegean region (Cycladic
Islands) record an Eocene high-pressure–low-tem-
perature metamorphism at 40–50 Ma (Altherr et al.,
1979) and a Barrovian overprint at 25 Ma (Andriessen
et al., 1979). In Turkey, Cretaceous high-pressure–low-
temperature metamorphism has been recognized in
suture zones (Okay, 1984, 1986) and a Tertiary high-
pressure event has recently been documented in the
Menderes massif (Oberhänsli, 1997; Oberhänsli et al.,
1997). High-pressure metamorphism has not been iden-
tified in the CACC.
In the Menderes massif, north–south contraction prob-
ably ended by late Oligocene, and major north–south
extension accompanied by unroofing of the massif and
widespread basin formation occurred in the early Mio-
cene (Seyitoğlu & Scott, 1996). These events are con-
strained by K–Ar ages from volcanic and volcaniclastic
rocks and biostratigraphic data (Şengör et al., 1984;
Seyitoğlu & Scott, 1991, 1996; Seyitoğlu et al., 1992) and
by the early Miocene 40Ar–39Ar (biotite, hornblende) age
of a syntectonic granodiorite (Hetzel et al., 1995) emplaced
during plastic deformation of the core of the massif.
Similarly, the Attic Cycladic complex was exhumed be-
tween the late Oligocene and Miocene–Pliocene time
(e.g. Lee & Lister, 1992; Gautier & Brun, 1994).
The timing of regional metamorphism of the Niğde
massif is broadly constrained by biostratigraphic in-
formation from overlying sedimentary rocks and the age

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 WHITNEY AND DILEK ALPINE METAMORPHISM IN TURKEY

Table 9: Thermobarometric results∗ with regional age constraints and because Rb–Sr whole-
rock isochrons may not represent crystallization ages.
Sample number T (°C) P (kbar) P (kbar) Regional metamorphism of the massif is therefore broadly
Grt–Bt GPAQ GPMB
constrained to be Eocene–Early Miocene, similar to the
timing of Barrovian metamorphism in the Menderes
Gümüşler metapelitic gneiss massif and Attic Cycladic complexes.
ND94-11 630 rim†
680 core†
ND95-11 650 rim 5 rim 4 rim
680 core 6 core PRESSURE–TEMPERATURE
ND95-22 575 rim 3–4 rim 3 rim HISTORY
780 core 5–6 core Although the prograde history of the metasedimentary
ND95-32 580 rim 3 rim rocks is unconstrained, the near-peak and post-peak
630 core 4 core path can be inferred from mineral assemblages, reaction
ND95-44 570 rim textures, and results of thermobarometry. Several lines
730 core of evidence (discussed in more detail in the following
ND95-47 680 rim paragraphs) indicate that Gümüşler gneiss in the central
740 core part of the massif experienced high temperatures during
ND95-60 650 rim 3–4 rim 4–5 rim regional metamorphism. These include: (1) the presence
760 core 4–5 core of migmatites interpreted to be anatectic; (2) the co-
ND95-66 680 rim 5 rim 4–5 rim existence of potassium feldspar and sillimanite in rocks
780 core 6 core that lack primary muscovite; (3) the absence of zoning
Gümüşler amphibolite in garnet; and (4) the results of garnet–biotite geo-
ND95-34 625–650
thermometry.
(Hbl–Plag)
Abundant migmatite is present in the central part of
the massif. Granitic leucosomes and relict igneous textures
(e.g. euhedral plagioclase cores) in peraluminous leuco-
∗Grt–Bt calibration, Berman (1990) garnet + ideal biotite;
GPAQ, Koziol & Newton (1988); GPMB, Hoisch (1990); Hbl– somes suggest that migmatization occurred by partial
Plag, Holland & Blundy (1994). No pressure calculated for melting of the metapelitic gneiss, although some leuco-
samples lacking sillimanite or plagioclase in equilibrium with somes may be injection features related to intrusion of
garnet (see text).
†rim, Grt rim + adjacent minerals; core, Grt outer core +
the Üçkapılı granite. If the migmatites formed by anatexis
matrix minerals (see text). at moderate pressure (~6 kbar; Fig. 10), the assemblage
potassium feldspar + sillimanite indicates that mig-
matites probably formed by dehydration melting during
of the late-metamorphic Üçkapılı granite. The minimum decompression at T > ~650–720°C (Fig. 10). At pressures
depositional age of the inferred sedimentary protoliths below 6 kbar, the presence of potassium feldspar and the
is early Late Cretaceous, based on foraminifera from absence of texturally early muscovite in the matrix of
unmetamorphosed to slightly metamorphosed rocks in sillimanite-bearing Gümüşler gneiss implies the equi-
the Bolkar Mountains that are correlated with the Niğde librium
Group rocks (Göncüoğlu, 1986). The Üçkapılı granite muscovite + quartz =
has been determined by a four-point Rb–Sr whole-rock potassium feldspar + sillimanite + H2O (1)
isochron to have intruded at 95 ± 11 Ma (Göncüoğlu,
1986). A U–Pb monazite date for crystallization of the which signifies relatively high-temperature conditions in
pluton, however, indicates that the granitoid intruded in metapelitic rocks (>600°C; Fig. 10).
the Miocene (13·7–20 Ma; Whitney & Dilek, 1997). We High temperatures are also consistent with the absence
attempted to determine the age of the granite by analyzing of zoning in garnet. Lack of zoning is probably due to
zircon from the pluton and xenotime from a per- homogenization of pre-existing growth zoning at high
aluminous dike, but the apparently young age of the temperature. The temperature at which garnet growth
intrusion (i.e. Miocene rather than Cretaceous), combined zoning homogenizes depends on various factors such as
with small sample size, precluded obtaining a date from the size of the garnet and duration of heating, but is
either mineral. It is difficult to reconcile these very likely to be >600–650°C. Because growth zoning is
different ages for the Üçkapılı granite, both of which are not preserved, lower-grade equivalents of the Gümüşler
interpreted to represent the crystallization age of the gneiss are not exposed, and garnet does not contain relict
pluton. We adopt the Miocene date because it is consistent inclusions that are useful for reconstructing prograde

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 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY VOLUME 39 NUMBER 7 JULY 1998

Fig. 10. Pressure–temperature diagram showing reactions used to constrain magmatic and metamorphic events. Cordierite-bearing reaction
calculated with GE0CALC software (Berman et al., 1987) using analyzed garnet (rim) composition and (anhydrous) cordierite composition
calculated using Grt–Crd KD data of Holdaway & Lee (1977). Other subsolidus reactions plotted with GE0CALC and Niğde mineral compositions
(sample ND95-22). The Ms + Qtz = Sil + Kfs + H2O equilibrium is not stable above the intersection with the water-saturated metapelite
solidus. GPAQ is the garnet + aluminosilicate + quartz = plagioclase equilibrium. Water-saturated metapelite solidus from Thompson (1982).
Biotite dehydration melting [reaction (2)] from Vielzeuf & Holloway (1988) and Le Breton & Thompson (1989). Boxes represent results of
thermobarometry for garnet + sillimanite-bearing rocks. The maximum temperature of the late thermal spike is not constrained and so this
part of the path is schematic.

reactions, the early history of garnet growth is not re-
corded. It is therefore not possible to determine if garnet
experienced any episodes of partial consumption during
prograde metamorphism.
Evidence for the high-grade history of garnet growth
and partial consumption can, however, be inferred from
reactions that occurred between garnet and mineral
inclusions in garnet. For example, garnets contain isol-
ated, apparently primary inclusions of potassium feldspar,
indicating that garnet growth continued to high tem-
peratures; i.e. beyond the second sillimanite isograd [re-
action (1)] or during migmatization. In the latter case,
growth of garnet + potassium feldspar may have oc-
curred by means of a partial melting reaction such as
biotite + sillimanite + plagioclase + quartz =
garnet + potassium feldspar + liquid (2)
at high temperature (>750°C; Spear & Parrish, 1996;
Fig. 10).
Additional information can be obtained from the com-
positions of plagioclase inclusions in garnet. Albite and
oligoclase–andesine inclusions in the same garnet (and,
in some cases, together in a composite inclusion) may
represent a relict greenschist-facies assemblage if the lack
of compositions between Ab0–1 and An22 indicates the
peristerite gap. Ashworth & Evirgen (1985a) reported
the preservation of plagioclase from either side of the
peristerite gap in kyanite-bearing rocks from the Mend-
eres massif. This explanation seems implausible for the
Gümüşler rocks, however, because peak temperatures
were very high and because garnets are highly fractured
and their interiors have therefore not remained armored,
isolated systems (Whitney, 1996). Migmatitic Gümüşler
gneiss contains albite, however, so alternatively, the albite
inclusions in garnet may represent the products of partial
melting of the gneiss before or during garnet growth.
This indicates that garnet growth continued at relatively
high temperatures, consistent with the interpretation of
the primary potassium feldspar inclusions discussed
above.
As noted above, many Gümüşler garnets contain
abundant inclusions of biotite that in some cases are
accompanied by other phases such as sillimanite (fibro-
lite), quartz, plagioclase, potassium feldspar, and apatite
(Fig. 5). Although some biotite inclusions may represent
former matrix phases entrapped during garnet growth,
textural evidence (including the inferred complete
pseudomorphing of garnet by the above-listed phases;

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 WHITNEY AND DILEK ALPINE METAMORPHISM IN TURKEY
Fig. 5c and d) suggests that most of the large biotite
inclusions and all of the composite inclusions have grown
at the expense of the host garnet (Figs 5 and 7). Re-
placement of garnet by K- and Na-bearing phases sug-
gests either dissolution and reprecipitation of pre-existing
inclusions (micas, feldspars) or introduction of com-
ponents from the matrix via fluids that enter the garnet
along fractures. Back-reaction of the partial melting re-
action (2) could account for growth of biotite and sil-
limanite at the expense of garnet during decompression
and cooling (Fig. 10; see also Spear & Parrish, 1996), or
a subsolidus equilibrium such as
garnet + potassium feldspar + H2O =
biotite + sillimanite + quartz (3)
(Fig. 10) could also account for the replacement of garnet
by biotite and sillimanite. Reaction (3), a hydration
reaction, would be encountered during decompression
after a substantial amount of cooling (Fig. 10). Preserved
textural and compositional features therefore indicate
that garnet growth continued to high temperatures and
that partial consumption occurred at selected sites in
garnet interiors, probably during decompression.
Late heating event
The andalusite + sillimanite-bearing dike provides in-
formation about the metamorphic history of the high-
grade central part of the Niğde massif. The field relations
of the dike indicate that it intruded late in the meta-
morphic history of the Niğde rocks, consistent with its
low-pressure mineral assemblage. Texturally early an-
dalusite in the dike either crystallized from the magma
or represents the incorporation of pre-existing grains.
The highly resorbed texture of the andalusite and the
presence of plagioclase + quartz coronas suggest that the
grains are xenocrysts.
The proximity of the dike to the Üçkapılı granite may
be significant. The presence of cordierite in the contact
aureole (Göncüoğlu, 1986) indicates that the pluton was
intruded at shallow crustal levels. Andalusite and fibrolite
may have also formed during contact metamorphism
and become entrained in the magma. Plagioclase-rich
coronas around andalusite may have formed during
partial melting during or after incorporation of andalusite
in the magma.
Growth of sillimanite after andalusite requires an in-
crease in temperature and/or pressure. The absence of
cordierite and the stable presence of almandine-rich
garnet, sillimanite, and quartz in the dike may indicate
pressures of 2·8–3·0 kbar (Fig. 10). The maximum tem-
perature is less well constrained but must have been
>550°C based on the mineralogy of the dike (Fig. 10).
1401
The late thermal spike was clearly associated with
magmatism, but because magmatism was voluminous
during the late stages of core complex development, the
thermal effects were regional in extent. Simple one-
dimensional modeling of the thermal effects of a granitic
pluton the size of the main body of the Üçkapılı granite,
assuming a country rock temperature in the andalusite
stability field (Fig. 10), indicates that most of the high-
grade core of the Niğde massif would have experienced
temperatures >550°C on a time scale of several million
years.
Summary of P–T path
Barrovian metamorphism occurred at mid-crustal pres-
sures of 5–6 kbar but at high temperatures (>700°C),
implying a geothermal gradient of 36–50°C/km. De-
compression to low pressures (3–4 kbar) at temperatures
of >550°C is recorded in the vicinity of the Üçkapılı
granite. The peraluminous dike lacks cordierite but con-
tains almandine in apparent equilibrium with sillimanite,
which suggests that the dP/dT slope of the late thermal
spike may have been slightly positive (Fig. 10), perhaps
owing to small amounts of crustal thickening related to
magmatism. A P–T–t path for the Gümüşler gneiss that
integrates pressure–temperature conditions with in-
ferences about the age of the Barrovian metamorphism
(Eocene–Oligocene) and the Miocene crystallization age
of the Üçkapılı granite (Whitney & Dilek, 1997) has a
clockwise trajectory with a Miocene high-temperature
excursion following several kilometers of decompression
of the high-grade core.
REGIONAL SYNTHESIS
The history of the Niğde massif more closely resembles
that of the Menderes massif than it does the rest of
the CACC in estimated P–T–t paths, the timing and
composition of magmatism, and tectonic history. Because
the entire CACC consists of similar protoliths, the differ-
ence between the Niğde massif and the more northern
regions of the CACC is probably related to tectonic
position (Whitney & Dilek, 1997). We conclude that
both the Niğde and Menderes massifs developed as core
complexes in the vicinity of a southern subduction zone,
the Inner-Tauride suture. In contrast, the more northern
parts of the CACC underwent lesser amounts of crustal
thickening and did not undergo major extension following
Alpine contraction.
The Niğde metasedimentary protoliths were buried
and exhumed during a single orogenic episode, but the
rocks in the high-grade core of the massif did not follow
a simple continuous P–T path. Multi-peak P–T paths are
 JOURNAL OF PETROLOGY
expected in polymetamorphic terranes, but few multi-
peak paths have been proposed for single orogenic events
(Whitney & Dilek, 1998). P–T paths with multiple thermal
peaks might be expected in metamorphic terranes in
which late magmatism followed crustal thickening. They
may, however, only be preserved in rapidly exhumed
terranes such as metamorphic core complexes.
Post-thickening extension in orogens has been in-
creasingly recognized as a major geodynamic process
affecting the evolution of continental lithosphere. The
eastern Mediterranean region, including central Anatolia,
experienced Alpine crustal thickening and meta-
morphism, closely followed by extension and magmatism.
The Niğde massif provides useful information about the
P–T–t history of the crust during compressional and
extensional phases of orogenesis, and the timing and
thermal effects of magmatism during core complex de-
velopment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to acknowledge the logistical support
provided by Dr Evren Yazgan, Head of the Geological
Research Department at the General Directorate of
Mineral Research & Exploration of Turkey (MTA), the
Adana Regional Office of MTA, and Professor Cavit
Demirkol of the Çukurova University (Adana) during our
field-work in Niğde. S. M. Kuehner provided invaluable
assistance with X-ray maps. Reviews by D. Pattison,
M. Kohn, and R. Oberhänsli improved the paper. This
work was supported by NSF Grant EAR-9317100 to
D.L.W. and EAR-9219064 to Y.D.
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