Home – Home – Jornals – Russian Geology and Geophysics 2001 number 10

New data on stratigraphy , tectonics, and magmatism of the Tien Shan ancient rocks suggest the plate-tectonic interpretation of the structure and evolution of the Tien Shan nappe-folded orogen. A new scheme of tectonic regionalization has been proposed for the Kyrgyz Tien Shan. Emphasis is placed on recognition of geodynamic complexes (continents, microcontinents, passive and active margins, open ocean basins, and marginal seas) and structural elements (autochthons, para-autochthons, allochthons, and neoautochthons), governing the spatial arrangement of their units with specific texture and composition. Over the long geologic history of the territory, the continental blocks changed their outlines, and ocean basins appeared and disappeared. The Caledonian and Hercynian orogenies in the Tien Shan underwent a complete Wilson cycle. The Mesozoic history was controlled by within-plate processes of sedimentation and magmatism. Since the Oligocene, the Tien Shan territory has been involved in the recent orogeny.