The subject of this paper is the structural and lithologic evolution of the earth crust in the South Tien Shan region, especially during the post-collision, platform and orogenic periods of its geologic history. The author describes the Mz-Kz intraplate and orogenic basins, including the Karakul, Zidda, Ravat, Zeravshan, and other basins, in terms of their tectonic structure, evolution, their positions in the general morphostructure of the recent orogenic belt, and its relationship with the crustal structure of the region. Particular attention is given to the problem whether the evolution of this territory in the Alpine time was or was not controlled by the previous stages of its evolution. It is concluded that the formation of the Alpine morphostructure of the region was controlled by the voluminous rock flows at different depth levels of the crust and lithosphere. The mechanisms of the material and structural reconstruction of the Paleozoic basement rocks are ranked as the processes of melange formation, voluminous cataclasis, brittle-plastic flow, and dynamic recrystallization, which had operated during the Alpine tectogenesis. The rock masses of the basement were proved to have experienced significant 3D movements during the platform and orogenic periods of the geologic history of the region discussed.
geodynamics, orogeny, Tien Shan Region, tectonics.
1. Artyushkov, Geodynamics, 1978.
2. Bebeshev, Evolution of the Jurassic Sedimentary Basins in the East of Middle Asia, 1988.
3. Bekker, Earthquake Prediction, 1988.
4. Belousov, The Earth Crust and Upper Mantle of the Pamir, Himalaii, and South Tien Shan, 1984.
5. Beroush, Structural Geology and Plate Tectonics, vol. 3, 1991.
6. Bogdanova, Geomorphology, v. 1, 1972.
7. Bosov, Tertiary Continental Deposits of Tajikistan, 1972.
8. Chedia, Geodynamics of Intracontinental Mountain Regions, 1990.
9. Chekunov, Geotectonics, v. 24, no. 3, 1991.
10. Cherenkov, Gissar-Alai Late Paleozoic Flysch Formation, 1973.
11. Davidzon, The Stratigraphy of Paleogene Deposits in the Tajik Depression and Adjacent Areas, 1982.
12. Dzhalilov, Cretaceous Sedimentary Rocks in Central Tajikistan, 1971.
13. Guseva, Geotectonics, v. 26, no. 3, 1993.
14. Kazakov, The Geological Structure of the Zidda Basin, 1985.
15. King, The Morphology of the Earth, 1967.
16. Kopp, Lateral Squeezing Structures in the Altai-Himalayan Collision Belt, 1997.
17. Kostenko, Reactivated Zones of the Earth Crust: Recent Motions and Seismicity, 1964.
18. Krestnikov, Evolution History of Crustal Movements under the Pamir Mts. and in the Ajacent Regions of Asia, 1962.
19. Kuchai, Regular Tectonic Patterns in Central Asia, 1981.
20. Kukhtikov, The Tectonic Zoning and Most Significant Regularities of the Structure and Evolution of the Gissar-Alai Range in Paleozoic Time, 1968.
21. Leonov, Olistostromes in the Structure of Folded Regions, 1981.
22. Leonov, Geotectonics, v. 22, no. 4, 1989.
23. Leonov, Izv. Vuzov: Geology and Exploration, v. 4, 1991.
24. Leonov, Geotectonics, v. 26, no. 5, 1993.
25. Leonov, Geotectonics, v. 27, no. 5, 1994.
26. Leonov, MOIP Bull., v. 70, no. 6, 1995.
27. Leonov, Geotectonics, v. 29, no. 3, 1996.
28. Leonov, Geotectonics, v. 30, no. 3, 1997.
29. Leonov, Geotectonics, v. 5, no. 2, 1972.
30. Leonov, The Tectonic Origin of the Devonian Orogenic Activity, 1976.
31. Lobkovskii, The Geodynamics of Spreading and Subduction Zones and Double-Level Plate Tectonics, 1988.
32. Lukina, The Deformation of the Paleozoic Basement Surface in the Southwest Tien Shan Region, 1977.
33. Luk'yanov, Plastic Deformation and Tectonic Flow in the Lithosphere, 1991.
34. Makarov, Geodynamics of Intracontinental Mountain Regions, 1990.
35. Mikolaichuk, Geotectonics, v. 36, no. 1, 2003.
36. Miller, Geotectonics, v. 15, no. 6, 1982.
37. Mossakovskii, Geotectonics, v. 26, no. 6, 1993.
38. Nesmeyanov, The Recent Earthquake Generating Structural Features of the Western Gissar-Alai Region, 1978.
39. Nikolaev, Methods of Tectono-Dynamic Analysis, 1992.
40. Nikonov, Geodynamics of Intracontinental Mountain Regions, 1990.
41. Patalakha, Geotectonics, v. 1, no. 3, 1966.
42. Patalakha, Geotectonics, v. 4, no. 4, 1971.
43. Patalakha, Tectonuc Flow as Basis of Understanding Geological Structures, 1995.
44. Pushcharovskii, Geotectonics, v. 22, no. 5, 1989.
45. Ramberg, Crustal Gravity and Deformation, 1986.
46. Rezvoi, The inherited tectonic evolution of the South Tien Shan Mountain area in the Late Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic, 1956.
47. Rogozhin, The Paleozoic Tectonics of the Western Turkestan Range, 1977.
48. Sadybakasov, High Asia Neotectonics, 1990.
49. Saltovskaya, Tajikistan Geology Problems, 1964.
50. Shultz, Crustal Tectonics, 1979.
51. Shcherba, Geotectonics, v. 23, no. 2, 1990.
52. Tadzhibekov, The Gissar-Alai Intermontane Basins during the Recent Period of their Evolution, 1986.
53. Timofeev, Lithology and Mineral Deposits, v. 2, 1985.
54. Torshin, VSEGEI Proc., New Series, v. 168, 1970.
55. Yablonskaya, Geotectonics, v. 22, no. 1, 1989.
56. Zakharov, Evolution of Views on the Tajikistan Tectonics: A Hypothesis of Zonal Tectonics, 1970.
57. Zonenshain, Introduction to Geodynamics, 1979.
