New Geosite Candidates at the Western Termination of the Büyük Menderes Graben and their Importance on Science Education.

The Büyük Menderes Graben (BMG) is one of the best-known and the largest geological structure of the West Anatolian Extensional Province. It includes two nature conservation parks and twelve cultural heritage sites within and in its vicinity. Four geologically distinct features/locations within and in the vicinity of the BMG have been previously enlisted as geosite candidates in the provisional Geological Heritage Inventory of Turkey compiled in 2002 by the Turkish Association for the Conservation of the Geological Heritage (JEMİRKO): (1) the horst-graben structure of the Büyük Menderes region itself, (2) the tafoni from the augen-gneiss from the east of Bafa Lake, (3) the zultanite crystals from the northeast of İlbir Mountain, and (4) the tourmaline (dravite) crystals from the Camızağılı, Çine. In the current study, we are introducing additional three new geosite candidates at the western termination of the BMG with three different main geological subjects. The first one is the Yavansu Fault. Located 2 km south of the Kuşadası village, it has a clearly exposed unique fault surface which is one of the best examples of structural indicators for the WAEP with respect to the normal faulting events. The second one is located in the Hisartepe Volcanics exposed between Kuşadası and Söke, and consists of basaltic lava flows with remarkable prismatic cooling joints and a gorgeous feeder dome reaching up to 150 m height. Final suggestion is the Karina marine fan-delta complex located at the south-eastern border of the Dilek Peninsula National Park. This fan-delta complex is the largest one in the Western Anatolian scale and has remarkable paragon outcrops up to 20 m high between Doğanbey and Karina Lagoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]