Quaternary Monogenetic Volcanoes Scattered on a Horst: The Bountiful Landscape of Kula

Abstract

Kula Volcanic Field hosts unique structures of basaltic volcanism, such as lava flows, scoria cones, maars and pyroclastics. The volcanism took place during the Quaternary, in three stages, where the latest one coincides with human occupation, extending from Late Glacial Maximum towards the Bronze Ages. The fresh looking appearance of the products of this last stage has had direct influence on the cultural development of the ancient societies. Kula stands on an actively tilting plateau in a horst-graben system, in the western Aegean region of Turkey, which is one of the most rapid crustal extensional areas of the Earth. The continuous tectonic activity and erosion processes that affect the region lead to the formation of an inverted topography and many geomorphological monuments in addition to the volcanism. All these geosites have been mapped, identified and organized within the scope of a Geopark, and Kula Geopark is today a certified member of the European and Global Geopark Network of UNESCO. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.