Eurasian Plate
The country of Turkey is situated on a highly active section of the Eurasian Plate boundary. The country is mainly mountainous, approximately 85 percent of the country is at an elevation of or more. The entire country lies within a zone of active deformation known as the Alpide belt. This zone of continental collision reaches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Himalaya Mountains and beyond; dating back to the Paleogene period. It has formed due to convergent movement between the Arabian, African, and Indian continental plates and the Eurasian plate. The Anatolian Plate is currently being squeezed out to the west by the ongoing collision between the Arabian plate and the Eurasian Plate, bounded to the southeast by the East Anatolian Fault and to the north by the North Anatolian Fault. To the east of the junction of these two faults, the Arabian Plate is in direct collision with the Eurasian Plate. This area is characterised by thrust faulting and was the area in which the 1903 event occurred.