Location
The Iznik basin is unique because the North Anatolian Fault bisects it from east to west, where basement rocks to the north are dominated by Paleozoic rocks and to the south are dominated by Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks. Humans for millennia have continuously inhabited the Iznik Lake basin where it is historically the site of Nicaea, known for its ecumenical council meetings. The south flank of the basin has higher elevations, steeper topographic gradients, and a lower geothermal gradient than the north flank. Agricultural land use in the basin has changed from 32% of the basin area to 47% in the past 20 years. Beyond Iznik basin, Turkey has many other diversified landscapes, representing most terrestrial ecosystems on Earth. Turkey is unique because some regions have been subject to high-impact human influence for thousands of years. This millennial-scale anthropogenic affect on the Turkish CZ is an aspect that is not part of most other CZO’s.