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Paleozoic plate-tectonic evolution of the Tarim and western Tianshan Regions, western China

November 1, 1994

The plate-tectonic evolution of the Tarim basin and nearby western Tianshan region during Paleozoic time is reconstructed in an effort to further constrain the tectonic evolution of Central Asia, providing insights into the formation and distribution of oil and gas resources. The Tarim plate developed from continental rifting that progressed during early Paleozoic time into a passive continental margin. The Yili terrane (central Tianshan) broke away from the present eastern part of Tarim and became a microcontinent located somewhere between the Junggar ocean and the southern Tianshan ocean. The southern Tianshan ocean, between the Tarim craton and the Yili terrane, was subducting beneath the Yili terrane from Silurian to Devonian time. During the Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous, the Tarim plate collided with the Yili terrane by sinistral accretional docking that resulted in a late Paleozoic deformational episode. Intracontinental shortening (A-type subduction) continued through the Permian with the creation of a magmatic belt.

Publication Year 1994
Title Paleozoic plate-tectonic evolution of the Tarim and western Tianshan Regions, western China
DOI 10.1080/00206819409465504
Authors Yangshen Shi, Huafu Lu, Dong Jia, Dongsheng Cai, Shimin Wu, Chuming Chen, David G. Howell, Zenon C. Valin
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title International Geology Review
Index ID 70243819
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse