A scar from a continental collision
The Göynük Canyon is a geological feature located in the Western Taurus Mountains, a range defined by one of the most significant tectonic events in recent geological history. The canyon walls are primarily composed of Mesozoic-era limestone and dolomite, part of a massive, stable carbonate platform known as the Beydağları autochthon. This entire region is a direct result of the slow-motion collision between the northward-moving Arabian and African plates and the Eurasian plate, a process that has been ongoing for millions of years.
The immense pressure from this continental convergence caused huge sheets of older rock, called the Lycian Nappes, to break and slide horizontally for over 100 kilometers. These sheets were pushed over the top of the younger Beydağları platform rocks in a process known as thrust faulting. The Göynük Stream has since eroded down through these layers, creating the canyon and exposing a near-perfect cross-section of this tectonic boundary. Within the canyon walls, geologists can directly observe the contact points and deformations where the allochthonous Lycian Nappes sit atop the autochthonous Beydağları rocks. This clear exposure is a valuable natural laboratory for studying the complex mechanics of mountain-building and large-scale thrust fault systems.