Ayazpınar-Aşağıgülbahçe Fairy Chimneys: Geoheritage, Geosite and Geotourism Assets, Pertek (Tunceli), Eastern Türkiye

In and around Pertek (Tunceli), located in the Southeastern Anatolian Orogenic Belt (Eastern, Türkiye), a rich geodiversity comprising magmatic, volcanic, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks from the Palaeozoic to the Quaternary is observed. One of the rich geodiversity is the Upper Miocene-aged Karabakır Formation, consisting of andesitic, basaltic, dacitic, and rhyolitic rock fragments and tuffs. The Karabakır Formation is located northwest of the Pertek district. Different erosion patterns resembling fairy chimneys are observed in the Karabakır Formation around the villages of Ayazpınar and Aşağıgülbahçe. The body lengths of fairy chimneys vary between 1 and 12 m, and the body diameters vary between 1 and 3 m. The caps at the top have an average diameter of 1–1.5 m and a thickness of approximately 1 m. This study aims to create geotourism routes by creating geological heritage inventories of these fairy chimneys, which are important for geotourism, and to create a sustainable development model for the area.