Cretaceous volcanic belts and the evolution of the Black Sea Basin

Deposits in southwestern Crimea that contain Late Albian, Middle Senomanian, and Middle Campanian volcanic material are described and dated. Supposedly volcanic edifices are identified in the Black Sea (the Shatsky Swell) based on seismic data. The Albian, Senomanian, and Campanian volcanic belts are reconstructed for the entire Black Sea Region. The suggestion is made that the Black Sea Basin formed as a back-arc basin that started from rifting in the Albian and finished with spreading of the oceanic crust in the Senomanian-Early Santonian.