Pliocene and Quaternary regional uplift in western Turkey: the Gediz River terrace staircase and the volcanism at Kula

Along the upper reaches of the Gediz River in western Turkey, in the eastern part of the Aegean extensional province, the land surface has uplifted by 400 m since the Middle Pliocene. This uplift is revealed by progressive gorge incision, and its rate can be established because river terraces are capped by basalt flows that have been K–Ar and Ar–Ar dated. At present, the local uplift rate is 0.2 mm a⁻¹. Uplift at this rate began around the start of the Middle Pleistocene, following a span of time when the uplift was much slower. This was itself preceded by an earlier uplift phase, apparently in the late Late Pliocene and early Early Pleistocene, when the uplift rate was comparable to the present. The resulting regional uplift history resembles what is observed in other regions and is analogously interpreted as the isostatic response to changing rates of surface processes linked to global environmental change. We suggest that this present phase of surface uplift, amounting so far to 150 m, is being caused by the nonsteady-state thermal and isostatic response of the crust to erosion, following an increase in erosion rates in the late Early Pleistocene, most likely as a result of the first large northern-hemisphere glaciation during oxygen isotope stage 22 at 870 ka. We suggest that the earlier uplift phase, responsible for the initial 250 m of uplift, resulted from a similar increase in erosion rates caused by the deterioration in local climate at 3.1 Ma. This uplift thus has no direct relationship to the crustal extension occurring in western Turkey, the rate and sense of which are thought not to have changed significantly on this time scale. Our results thus suggest that the present, often deeply incised, landscape of western Turkey has largely developed from the Middle Pleistocene onwards, for reasons not directly related to the active normal faulting that is also occurring. The local isostatic consequences of this active faulting are instead superimposed onto this “background” of regional surface uplift. Modelling of this surface uplift indicates that the effective viscosity of the lower continental crust beneath this part of Turkey is of the order of 10¹⁹ Pa s, similar to a recent estimate for beneath central Greece. The lower uplift rates observed in western Turkey, compared with central Greece, result from the longer typical distances of fluvial sediment transport, which cause weaker coupling by lower-crustal flow between offshore depocentres and eroding onshore regions that provide the sediment source.     

Rate of strike-slip motion on the Amanos Fault (Karasu Valley, southern Turkey) constrained by K–Ar dating and geochemical analysis of Quaternary basalts

The left-lateral Amanos Fault follows a 200-km-long and up to 2-km-high escarpment that bounds the eastern margin of the Amanos mountain range and the western margin of the Karasu Valley in southern Turkey, just east of the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. Regional kinematic models have reached diverse conclusions as to the role of this fault in accommodating relative motion between either the African and Arabian, Turkish and African, or Turkish and Arabian plates. Local studies have tried to estimate its slip rate by K–Ar dating Quaternary basalts that erupted within the Amanos Mountains, flowed across it into the Karasu Valley, and have since become offset. However, these studies have yielded a wide range of results, ranging from 0.3 to 15 mm a⁻¹, which do not allow the overall role and significance of this fault in accommodating crustal deformation to be determined. We have used the Cassignol K–Ar method to date nine Quaternary basalt samples from the vicinity of the southern part of the Amanos Fault. These basalts exhibit a diverse chemistry, which we interpret as a consequence varying degrees of partial melting of their source combined with variable crustal contamination. This dating allows us to constrain the Quaternary slip rate on the Amanos fault to 1.0 to 1.6 mm a⁻¹. The dramatic discrepancies between past estimates of this slip rate are partly due to technical difficulties in K–Ar dating of young basalts by isotope dilution. In addition, previous studies at the key locality of Hacılar have unwittingly dated different, chemically distinct, flow units of different ages that are juxtaposed. This low slip rate indicates that, at present, the Amanos Fault takes up a small proportion of the relative motion between the African and Arabian plates, which is transferred southward to the Dead Sea Fault Zone. It also provides strong evidence against the long-standing view that its slip continues offshore to the southwest along a hypothetical left-lateral fault zone located south of Cyprus.     

K‐Ar age determination,whole‐rock and oxygen isotope geochemistry of the post‐collisional Bizmişen and Çaltı plutons,SW Erzincan,eastern Central Anatolia,Turkey

Post‐collisional granitoid plutons intrude obducted Neo‐Tethyan ophiolitic rocks in central and eastern Central Anatolia. The Bizmişen and Çaltı plutons and the ophiolitic rocks that they intrude are overlain by fossiliferous and flyschoidal sedimentary rocks of the early Miocene Kemah Formation. These sedimentary rocks were deposited in basins that developed at the same time as tectonic unroofing of the plutons along E–W and NW–SE trending faults in Oligo‐Miocene time. Mineral separates from the Bizmişen and Çaltı plutons yield K‐Ar ages ranging from 42 to 46 Ma, and from 40 to 49 Ma, respectively. Major, trace, and rare‐earth element geochemistry as well as mineralogical and textural evidence reveals that the Bizmişen pluton crystallized first, followed at shallower depth by the Çaltı pluton from a medium‐K calcalkaline, I‐type hybrid magma which was generated by magma mixing of coeval mafic and felsic magmas. Delta ¹⁸O values of both plutons fall in the field of I‐type granitoids, although those of the Çaltı pluton are consistently higher than those of the Bizmişen pluton. This is in agreement with field observations, petrographic and whole‐rock geochemical data, which indicate that the Bizmişen pluton represents relatively uncontaminated mantle material, whereas the Çaltı pluton has a significant crustal component. Structural data indicating the middle Eocene emplacement age and intrusion into already obducted ophiolitic rocks, suggest a post‐collisional extensional origin. However, the pure geochemical discrimination diagrams indicate an arc origin which can be inherited either from the source material or from an upper mantle material modified by an early subduction process during the evolution of the Neo‐Tethyan ocean. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Insights into biaxial extensional tectonics: an examplefrom the Sandıklı Graben,West Anatolia,Turkey

West Anatolia, together with the Aegean Sea and the easternmost part of Europe, is one of the best examples of continental extensional tectonics. It is a complex area bounded by the Aegean–Cyprus Arc to the south and the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) to the north. Within this complex and enigmatic framework, the Sandıklı Graben (10 km wide, 30 km long) has formed at the eastern continuation of the Western Anatolian extensional province at the north‐northwestward edge of the Isparta Angle. Recent studies have suggested that the horst–graben structures in West Anatolia formed in two distinct extensional phases. According to this model the first phase of extension commenced in the Early–Middle Miocene and the last, which is accepted as the onset of neotectonic regime, in Early Pliocene. However, it is controversial whether two‐phase extension was separated by a short period of erosion or compression during Late Miocene–Early Pliocene. Both field observations and kinematic analysis imply that the Sandıklı Graben has existed since the Late Pliocene, with biaxial extension on its margins which does not necessarily indicate rotation of regional stress distribution in time. Although the graben formed later in the neotectonic period, the commencement of extension in the area could be Early Pliocene (c. 5 Ma) following a severe but short time of erosion at the end of Late Miocene. The onset of the extensional regime might be due to the initiation of westward motion of Anatolian Platelet along the NAFZ that could be triggered by the higher rate of subduction at the east Aegean–Cyprus Arc in the south of the Aegean Sea. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The genesis of the carbonatized and silicified ultramafics known as listvenites: a case study from the Mihalıççık region (Eskişehir), NW Turkey

The Mihalıççık region (Eskişehir) in NW Turkey includes an ophiolitic assemblage with a serpentinite‐matrix mélange. The serpentinites of this mélange host silica‐carbonate metasomatites which were previously named as listvenites. Our mineralogical and geochemical studies revealed that these alteration assemblages represent members of the listvenitic series, mainly the carbonate rocks, silica‐carbonate rocks and birbirites, rather than true listvenites (sensu stricto). Tectonic activity and lithology are principal factors that control the formation of these assemblages. Carbonatization and silicification of the serpentinite host‐rock is generated by CO₂, SiO₂‐rich H₂O hydrothermal fluid which includes As, Ba, Sb and Sr. Low precious metal (Au, Ag) contents of the alteration assemblages indicate lack of these metals in the fluid. Primary assemblages of the alteration are carbonate rocks that are followed by silica‐carbonate rocks and birbirites, respectively. Petrographic studies and chemical analyses suggested an alkaline and moderate to high temperature (350–400°C) fluid with low oxygen and sulphur fugacity for the carbonatization of the serpentinites. The low temperature phases observed in the subsequent silicification indicated that the fluid cooled during progressive alteration. The increasing Fe‐oxide content and sulphur phases also suggested increasing oxygen and sulphur fugacity during this secondary process and silica‐carbonate rock formation. The occurrence of birbirites is considered as a result of reactivation of tectonic features. These rocks are classified in two sub‐groups; the Group 1 birbirites show analogous rare earth element (REE) trends with the serpentinite host‐rock, and the Group 2 birbirites simulate the REE trends of the nearby tectonic granitoid slices. The unorthodox REE trend of Group 2 birbirites is interpreted to have resulted from a mobilization process triggered by the weathering solutions rather than being products of enrichment by the higher temperature hydrothermal activity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Major neotectonic features of eastern Marmara region,Turkey: development of the Adapazarı–Karasu corridor and its tectonic significance

Eastern Marmara region consists of three different morphotectonic units: Thrace–Kocaeli Peneplain (TKP) and Çamdağ–Akçakoca Highland (ÇAH) in the north, and Armutlu–Almacık Highland in the south of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ). The geologic‐morphologic data and seismic profiles from the Sakarya River offshore indicate that the boundary between the TKP in the west and ÇAH in the east is a previously unrecognized major NNE–SSW‐trending strike‐slip fault zone with reverse component. The fault zone is a distinct morphotectonic corridor herein named the Adapazarı–Karasu corridor (AKC) that runs along the Sakarya River Valley and extends to its submarine canyon along the southern margin of the Black Sea in the north. It formed as a transfer fault zone between the TKP and ÇAH during the Late Miocene; the former has been experiencing extensional forces and the latter compressional forces since then. East–West‐trending segments of the NAFZ cuts the NE–SW‐trending AKC and their activity has resulted in the formation of a distinct fault‐bounded morphology, which is characterized by alternating E–W highlands and lowlands in the AKC. Furthermore, this activity has resulted in the downward motion of an ancient delta and submarine canyon of the Sakarya River in the northern block of the NAFZ below sea level so that the waters of the Black Sea invaded them. The NE–SW‐trending faults in the AKC were reactivated with the development of the NAFZ in the Late Pliocene, which then caused block motions and microseismic activities throughout the AKC. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Petrographic and Geochemicial Characteristics of the K?z?loren Formation (Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic) in the Akp?nar (Konya, Turkey) Area

This paper describes the occurrence of dolomite and the mechanism of dolomitization of the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic K?z?loren Formation in the autochthonous Bolkardag? unit of the middle Taurus Mountains in south western Turkey. Dolomites were analyzed for geochemical, isotopic and crystallographic variation. Dolomites occur as a replacement of precursor carbonate and cement. The dolomite crystals range from <10 to ~1000 μm existing as both replacements and cements. Sr concentrations range between 84 and 156 ppm, and the molar Sr/Ca ratios of dolomitizing fluids are estimated to range between 0.0066 to 0.013 ratios. Dolomites are Ca-rich (with average CaCO3 and MgCO3 equal to 56.43 and 43.57 mol%, respectively) and they are non-stoichiometric, with an average Sr=116 ppm, Na=286 ppm, Mn=81 ppm, Fe=1329 ppm, and δ18O and δ13C ranges from –0.6‰ to –6.1‰ Pee Dee Belemnite [PDB], and +1.2 to +3.9‰ PDB. The North American Shale Composition [NASC]-normalized rare earth element (REE) values of the both limestone and dolomite sample groups show very similar REE patterns characterized by small positive Eu (mean=1.32 and mean=1.42, respectively) and slightly or considerably negative Ce (mean=0.61 and mean=0.72, respectively) anomalies and a clear depletion in all REE species. The K?z?loren Formation dolomites have been formed as early diagenetic from mixing zone fluids at the tidal-subtidal environment and at the late diagenetic from basinal brines at the shallow-deep burial depths.     

Metamorphic evolution of blueschists of the Altınekin Complex,Konya area,south central Turkey

The Altınekin Complex in south central Turkey forms part of the south‐easterly extension of the Tavşanlı Zone, a Cretaceous subduction complex formed during the closure of the Neo‐Tethys ocean. The protoliths of metamorphic rocks within the Altınekin Complex include peridotites, chromitites, basalts, ferruginous cherts and flysch‐facies impure carbonate sediments. Structurally, the complex consists of a stack of thrust slices, with massive ophiolite tectonically overlying a Cretaceous sediment‐hosted ophiolitic mélange, in turn overlying a sequence of Mesozoic sediments. Rocks within the two lower structural units have undergone blueschist–facies metamorphism. Petrographic, mineral–chemical and thermobarometric studies were undertaken on selected samples of metasedimentary and metabasic rock in order to establish the time relations of deformation and metamorphism and to constrain metamorphic conditions. Microstructures record two phases of plastic deformation, one predating the metamorphic peak, and one postdating it. Estimated peak metamorphic pressures mostly fall in the range 9–11 kbar, corresponding to burial depths of 31–38 km, equivalent to the base of a continental crust of normal thickness. Best‐fit peak metamorphic temperatures range from 375 to 450°C. Metamorphic fluids had high H₂O:CO₂ ratios. Peak metamorphic temperature/depth ratios (T/d values) were low (c. 10–14°C/km), consistent with metamorphism in a subduction zone. Lawsonite‐bearing rocks in the southern part of the ophiolitic mélange record lower peak temperatures and T/d values than epidote blueschists elsewhere in the unit, hinting that the latter may consist of two or more thrust slices with different metamorphic histories. Differences in peak metamorphic conditions also exist between the ophiolitic mélange and the underlying metasediments. Rocks of the Altınekin Complex were subducted to much shallower depths, and experienced higher geothermal gradients, than those of the NW Tavşanlı Zone, possibly indicating dramatic lateral variation in subduction style. Retrograde P–T paths in the Altınekin Complex were strongly decompressive, resulting in localized overprinting of epidote blueschists by greenschist–facies assemblages, and of lawsonite blueschists by pumpellyite–facies assemblages. The observation that the second deformation was associated with decompression is consistent with, but not proof of, exhumation by a process that involved deformation of the hanging‐wall wedge, such as gravitational spreading, corner flow or buoyancy‐driven shallowing of the subduction zone. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pre-eruptive conditions revealed by mega- and pheno-cryst compositions from the Quaternary Erzincan Volcanics, Eastern Turkey: Insights into the magma processes

Quaternary Erzincan Volcanics (QEVs) from the Erzincan Basin consist of mega- and pheno-cryst-bearing high-K calc-alkaline dome lavas. Fourteen nearly phenocrystic domes, with a range of basaltic-andesite, andesite, dacite and rhyolite compositions, were emplaced in the North Anatolian Fault Zone. The emplacement ages yielded by the unspiked K–Ar technique range from 102 to 140 ka. The andesitic domes (each less than 3 km in diameter) contain amphibole megacrysts. Amphibole compositions show a linear variation from ferro-edenite, edenite to pargasite from rhyolite to andesite. Pargasitic amphibole megacrysts scattered into the groundmass are very similar in composition to the microlites. All plagioclases are 53 mol%. Oscillation types are An₃₂₋₅₀ whose variations range from 10 to 16 mol% An and have 10–150 μm in thickness. Pre-eruptive conditions, calculated from mega- and pheno-cryst composition, using pyroxene and two oxide thermometers and the Al-in-hornblende barometer, ranged from 918 to 837 °C and 6.6 to 4.3 kbar for andesitic magma, 824–755 °C and 4.6–4.2 kbar for dacitic magma to 803–692 °C and 4.3–3.9 kbar for rhyolitic magma, which correspond to a depth of >10 km for storage region of the crust. The fO₂ values vary from −14.25 to −15.35 log units which are plotted just below nickel–nickel oxide (NNO) buffers. The systematic decrease in thermobarometric results from andesite to rhyolite is consistent with a single magma reservoir moving upward through the crust followed by fractional crystallization. Textural and compositional relationships of mega- and pheno-crystic phases suggest that magma mixing, fluid input to the reservoir and fractional crystallization processes, with a small amount crustal contamination play key role in evolution of the QEVs.     

Stable isotope geochemistry of Quaternary calcretes in the Mersin area, southern Turkey – A comparison and implications for their origin

In the Mersin area, Quaternary calcretes are widespread, and occurred in a variety of forms, as namely powdery, nodular, tubular, fracture-infill, laminar crust, hard laminated crust (hardpan), pisolithic crust. They are predominantly calcite, and small amount of palygorskite associated with them as a minor component. Calcite δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values of the calcretes vary from −4.31 to −6.82 and from −6.03 to −9.65‰ PDB, respectively. These values are consistent with values of pedogenic calcretes reported in literature from worldwide sites. The oxygen isotope values indicate formation under the influence of meteoric water at estimated temperatures from 25 to 32 °C. The carbon isotope values are typical for pedogenic calcretes, reflecting development under the C3-dominated vegetation cover and semiarid or seasonally arid climatic conditions.     

Textural and mineralogical evidence for a Cadomian tectonothermal event in the eastern Mediterranean (Sandıklı-Afyon area, western Taurides, Turkey)

In the Sandıklı-Afyon area, the very low-grade metamorphic Sandıklı Basement Complex with clastic sediments and Late Neoproterozoic felsic igneous rocks are unconformably overlain by a cover succession with red continental clastic rocks, tholeiitic basalts and siliciclastic rocks with Early Cambrian trace fossils. Illite crystallinity studies reveal that both the basement and cover units were metamorphosed at high anchizonal to epizonal conditions ( 300 °C). Textural data together with the detailed evaluation of the P–T–b₀ grid, however, indicate that this thermal event has multiple phases. The first tectonothermal event was realized at pressures of  4.2 kb on the basis of b₀-data and resulted in development of blastomylonites. This is supported by the presence of dynamo-metamorphosed pebbles within the basal conglomerates of the Lower Paleozoic cover series. The second event is post-Ordovician–pre-Jurassic in age, occurred at lower pressures  3.2 kb and produced a weakly developed cleavage in the siliciclastic rocks of the cover. The mineralogical/textural data across the basement-cover boundary therefore indicate the removal of an entire metamorphic zone and thus a metamorphic hiatus.

These data suggest that the Taurides were affected by a Late Neoproterozoic event as part of the peri-Gondwana during the Cadomian orogeny.     

Late Quaternary fluvial aggradation and incision in the monsoon‐dominated Alaknanda valley,Central Himalaya,Uttrakhand, India

The present study aims to explain the spatial and temporal variability in phases of aggradation/incision in response to changes in climate and seismicity during the late Quaternary in the Alaknanda River valley (a major tributary of the river Ganges or Ganga). Geomorphology, stratigraphy and optical dating of the fluvial sediment reveal that the oldest fluvial landforms preserved in the south of the Main Central Thrust are debris flow terraces developed during the early part of pluvial Marine Isotopic Stage 3. Following this, a period of accelerated incision/erosion owing to an increase in uplift rate and more intense rainfall occurred. In the Lesser Himalaya, three phases of valley fill aggradation around 26 ± 3 ka, 18 ± 2 ka and 15 ± 1 ka and 8 ± 1 ka occurred in response to changes in monsoon intensity and sediment flux. The last phase was regionally extensive and corresponds to a strengthening of the early Holocene Indian Summer Monsoon. A gradual decline in the monsoon strength after 8 ± 1 ka resulted in reduced fluvial discharge and lower sediment transport capacity of the Alaknanda River, leading to valley fill incision and the development of terraces. The study suggests that fluvial dynamics in the Alaknanda valley were modulated by monsoon variability and the role of tectonics was subordinate, limited to providing accommodation space and post‐deposition modification of the fluvial landforms. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ar/Ar age and geochemistry of the post-collisional Miocene Yamadağ volcanics in the Arapkir area (Malatya Province), eastern Anatolia, Turkey

The Neogene Yamadağ volcanics occupy a vast area between Sivas and Malatya in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. These volcanic rocks are characterized by pyroclastics comprising agglomerates, tuffs and some small outcrops of basaltic–andesitic–dacitic rocks, overlain upward by basaltic and dacitic rocks, and finally by basaltic lava flows in the Arapkir area, northern Malatya Province. The basaltic lava flows in the Arapkir area yield a ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 15.8 ± 0.2 Ma, whereas the dacitic lava flows give ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages ranging from 17.6 through 14.7 ± 0.1 to 12.2 ± 0.2 Ma, corresponding to the Middle Miocene. These volcanic rocks have subalkaline basaltic, basaltic andesitic; alkaline basaltic trachyandesitic and dacitic chemical compositions. Some special textures, such as spongy-cellular, sieve and embayed textures; oscillatory zoning and glass inclusions in plagioclase phenocrysts; ghost amphiboles and fresh biotite flakes are attributable to disequilibrium crystallization related to magma mixing between coeval magmas. The main solidification processes consist of fractional crystallization and magma mixing which were operative during the soldification of these volcanic rocks. The dacitic rocks are enriched in LILE, LREE and Th, U type HFSE relative to the basaltic rocks. The basaltic rocks also show some marked differences in terms of trace-element and REE geochemistry; namely, the alkaline basaltic trachyandesites have pronounced higher HFSE, MREE and HREE contents relative to the subalkaline basalts. Trace and REE geochemical data reveal the existence of three distinct magma sources – one subalkaline basaltic trachyandesitic, one alkaline basaltic and one dacitic – in the genesis of the Yamadağ volcanics in the Arapkir region. The subalkaline basaltic and alkaline basaltic trachyandesitic magmas were derived from an E-MORB type enriched mantle source with a relatively high- and low-degree partial melting, respectively. The magmatic melt of dacitic rocks seem to be derived from an OIB-type enriched lithospheric mantle with a low proportion of partial melting. The enriched lithospheric mantle source reflect the metasomatism induced by earlier subduction-derived fluids. All these coeval magmas were generated in a post-collisional extensional geodynamic setting in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey.     

Constraints on the timing and regional conditions at the start of the present phase of crustal extension in western Turkey,from observations in and around the Denizli region

The chronology of extension of the continental crust in western Turkey has been the subject of major controversies. We suggest that these difficulties have arisen in part because of past misuse of dating evidence; and in part because the assumption often made, that deposition of major terrestrial sedimentary sequences implies crustal extension to create the necessary accommodation space, is incorrect. We report evidence that the present phase of extension began in the Denizli region at ~ 7 Ma, around the start of the Messinian stage of the Late Miocene. This timing matches the estimated start of right-lateral slip on the North Anatolian Fault Zone, and corresponds to a substantial increase in the dimensions of the Aegean extensional province to roughly its present size: beforehand, between ~ 12 Ma and ~ 7 Ma, extension seems to have only occurred in the central part of this modern province. In some localities, terrestrial sedimentation that began before this start of extension continued into this extensional phase, both within and outside normal fault zones. However, in other localities within the hanging-walls of normal faults, the start of extension marked the end of sedimentation. Relationships between sedimentation and crustal extension in this region are thus not straightforward, and a simple correlation should therefore not be assumed in structural interpretations. During the time-scale of this phase of extension, the Denizli region has also experienced major vertical crustal motions that are unrelated to this extension. The northern part of this region, in the relatively arid interior of western Turkey, has uplifted by ~ 400 m since the Middle Pliocene, whereas its southern part, closer to the Mediterranean Sea and with a much wetter climate, has uplifted by ~ 1,200 m since the Early Miocene, by up to ~ 900 m since the Middle Pliocene, and by an estimated ~ 300 m since the Early Pleistocene. This regional uplift, superimposed on the local effects of active normal faulting, is interpreted as a consequence of lateral variations in rates of erosion. A reliable chronology for this phase of extension in western Turkey, in relation to changes in the geometry of motions of adjoining plates and Late Cenozoic environmental change, is now in place.     

Hydrothermal alteration and K–Ar ages of Neogene‐Quaternary magmatic‐hydrothermal systems at Toyoha‐Muine area in southwest Hokkaido,Japan

This paper presents a review of hydrothermal alteration and K–Ar age data from the Toyoha‐Muine area (TMA), where the Toyoha polymetallic (Ag–Pb–Zn–Cu–In) deposit is located near the Pliocene andesitic volcano that formed Mt Muine. Systematic prospect‐scale mapping, sampling, X‐ray analysis and microscopic observation show that hydrothermal alteration is divided into two groups: acid‐pH and neutral‐pH alteration types. The former is further divided into mineral assemblages I, II and III, while the latter into mineral assemblages IV and V. Different mineralogical features in five mineral assemblages are summarized as follows: (I) Quartz (silicified rock); (II) Pyrophyllite or dickite; (III) Kaolinite or halloysite ± alunite; (IV) Sericite or K‐feldspar; and (V) Interstratified minerals (illite/smectite and chlorite/smectite) and/or smectite. K–Ar radiometric ages determined on twenty‐eight K‐bearing samples (whole volcanic rocks and separated hydrothermal minerals) mainly fall into one of three periods: Early Miocene (24.6–21.4 Ma), Middle–Late Miocene (12.5–8.4 Ma) and Pliocene–Pleistocene (3.2–0 Ma). These three periods are characterized as follows. Early Miocene: A minor hydrothermal activity, which might be genetically related to the intermediate or felsic magmatic activities, formed mineral assemblage IV at 24.6 Ma in the northern part of the TMA. Middle to Late Miocene: The basaltic intrusion, andesitic eruption, and granodiorite intrusions induced hydrothermal activities between 12.5 and 8.4 Ma, resulting in the formation of a mineral assemblage IV with some base metal mineralization. Pliocene–Pleistocene: An andesitic eruption formed Mt Muine between 3.2 and 2.9 Ma. The andesitic activity was associated with acid‐pH mineral assemblages I, II and III locally around the volcano. Latent magmatic intrusions subsequent to the andesitic eruption generated hydrothermal activities that formed mineral assemblages IV and V between 1.9 and 0 Ma in the southern and southeastern parts of Toyoha deposit at depth, overprinting the Middle to Late Miocene alteration. The hydrothermal activities also formed mineral assemblages I, II and III along the Yunosawa fault (east of the Toyoha deposit) and assemblage III in the south and southeast of the Toyoha deposit near the surface.