Samos is not one of the typical Aegean “turtle-back shaped core-complex type” islands as Ios or Mykonos for example. The general structure of Samos is dominated by steep faults and the overall architecture of the islands is best described as a horst. Samos is very rugged and dominated by the sheer cliffs of the 1433 m high Kerkis Mountain in the west (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. The Kerketas Massif viewed from the SW
Kerkis Mountain is at 1433 m one of the highest peaks in the central Aegean. The grey coloured marbles in the upper parts of the photographs belong to the Kerketas nappe, which is part of the Basal unit of the Cycladic nappe stack and interpreted to be correlative to the Tripolitza unit of the External Hellenides. The photograph also shows the presently very rugged topography of Samos Island and Dilek Peninsula on the adjacent western Turkish mainland.
The geology of Samos consists of a number of metamorphosed nappes, one non-metamorphosed nappe and Miocene graben. Because of the quite complicated geology, the island offers a look on an exceptionally complete nappe stack of the Central Hellenides ranging from the high-pressure metamorphosed Basal Unit (as part of the External Hellenides) all the way up to the ophiolitic Sélcuk nappe and the non-metamorphosed Cycladic ophiolite nappe.
However, scientifically Samos became famous for another reason: the island is widely regarded as one of the best localities in the world for Neogene mammalian palaeontology. Up to now about 50,000 specimens have been collected and they are distributed in more than 30 museums and universities in Europe and the USA.