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Rejuvenation of Fossil Sutures and Related Mesozoic Intracontinental Orogenies in South China
Author(s) -
Genyao WU
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
acta geologica sinica ‐ english edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.444
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1755-6724
pISSN - 1000-9515
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-6724.2000.tb00449.x
Subject(s) - molasse , geology , orogeny , mesozoic , paleontology , paleozoic , foreland basin , subduction , china , earth science , tectonics , geography , structural basin , archaeology
The Huanan (South China) subcontinent was created by amalgamation of the Yangtze, Xianggan, Cathaysia and Zhemin microcontinents by the Guangxi orogeny in the Early Palaeozoic. The closure of the Tethyan Ocean and subsequent collision event outside the amalgamated continent reactivated fossil sutures and resulted in intracontinental (ensialic) orogenies in the Mesozoic. Based on evidence from deformation, molasse and granitoids, the Sichuan‐Guizhou‐Hunan—southern Hubei and Hunan‐Jiangxi‐Fujian Yanshanian fold‐thrust systems and the Lower Yangtze‐northwestern Fujian Indosinian fold‐thrust system are thought to be intracontinental orogens. Their main features are as follows: intracontinental orogenies occurred areally, thrusting propagated towards the interior of the continental, they extend parallelly to the strikes of the fossil sutures, and the details of the temporal‐spatial evolution of the orogens depend on subduction‐collision events.