Publication Date:
2011-03-01
Description:
Insights about lateral variations in the age, composition, and structure of the central Tibetan crust are provided by geologic investigations of metamorphic rocks in the Qiangtang terrane. Previous studies have shown that a tectonic melange of Triassic age with blueschist- and eclogite-bearing blocks within a greenschist-facies matrix is exposed over an E-W distance of [~]600 km in the central Qiangtang terrane. New mapping shows that the melange extends over a N-S distance of [~]150 km, nearly to the trace of the early Mesozoic Jinsha suture in the north. The melange, exposed structurally beneath Upper Paleozoic to Mesozoic strata in the footwalls of early Mesozoic normal faults, is composed mostly of Paleozoic metasedimentary and crystalline rocks. These findings support the hypothesis that a large part of the central and northern Qiangtang terrane crust is composed of supracrustal rocks. The Duguer Range,
Print ISSN:
0016-7606
Electronic ISSN:
1943-2674
Topics:
Geosciences
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