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Aladağlar Mountain Range: A Landscape-Shaped by the Interplay of Glacial, Karstic, and Fluvial Erosion

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Part of the book series: World Geomorphological Landscapes ((WGLC))

Abstract

The Aladağlar Mountain Range (AMR) is a large massif mainly composed of carbonate rocks hosting beautiful examples of glacial, karstic, and fluvial erosion. Extreme variations in climate and topography as well as the multitude of diverse geochemical conditions since the early Paleocene allowed development of huge hypogenic and epigenic karst systems. The interplay between the surface and karst drainage systems resulted in an attractive fluvial morphology with large karst springs, travertine bridges, gorges, and valleys. All of the karst valleys spreading from the heights of the AMR-hosted valley glaciers that once flowed down to 1100 m elevation. With its diverse landscape, the AMR is a promising land for tourists, backpackers, trekkers, and mountaineers. Large hanging karst springs, long rafting routes along gorges, travertine bridges, U-shaped glacial valleys and lakes, and challenging peaks are the major landscape attractions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the following institutions for their support/funding through various projects: General Directorate of Mineral Resources of Turkey (MTA), Hacettepe University Research Fund, The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK project 112Y087), National Science Foundation (USA) and Ukrainian Speleological Association.

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Correspondence to C. Serdar Bayarı .

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Bayarı, C.S., Klimchouk, A., Sarıkaya, M.A., Nazik, L. (2019). Aladağlar Mountain Range: A Landscape-Shaped by the Interplay of Glacial, Karstic, and Fluvial Erosion. In: Kuzucuoğlu, C., Çiner, A., Kazancı, N. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of Turkey. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03515-0_22

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