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title of the thesis - Department of Geology - Queen's University

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from <strong>the</strong> Leo Pargil dome also reveal <strong>the</strong> exhumation and juxtaposition <strong>of</strong> mid-crustal rocks<br />

against <strong>the</strong> TSS via sustained normal displacement along <strong>the</strong> west-dipping western flank <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

dome (Thiede et al., 2006). Chronological constraints suggest dome exhumation initiated in a<br />

setting linked to orogen-parallel extension by 16 Ma (Thiede et al., 2006), and potentially post 19<br />

Ma (Leech, 2008).<br />

1.4 This study<br />

The purpose <strong>of</strong> this study is to characterize <strong>the</strong> cessation <strong>of</strong> south-directed mid-crust<br />

extrusion and <strong>the</strong> onset <strong>of</strong> orogen-parallel deformation. The area selected to perform this study is<br />

located within <strong>the</strong> upper Karnali valley <strong>of</strong> northwestern Nepal (Figs. 1.2b, 2.2b), where a<br />

northwest-striking, strike-slip-dominated shear zone defines <strong>the</strong> upper contact and cuts obliquely<br />

across <strong>the</strong> GHS (Murphy and Copeland, 2005).<br />

1.4.1 <strong>Geology</strong> <strong>of</strong> northwestern Nepal and <strong>the</strong> upper Karnali valley<br />

The upper Karnali valley lies to <strong>the</strong> northwest <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> village <strong>of</strong> Simikot, located in farnorthwestern<br />

Nepal (Fig. 1.2b). The regional geological framework <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> area was pioneered by<br />

Fuchs (1977) and Shrestha (1987), and subsequently refined by Murphy and Copeland (2005),<br />

Robinson et al. (2006), and Yakymchuk and Godin (2012).<br />

A compilation <strong>of</strong> data reveal a high-strain south-dipping contact, which juxtaposes<br />

weakly deformed and metamorphosed TSS over strongly deformed, high-metamorphic grade<br />

GHS (Fig. 1.2b; Murphy and Copeland, 2005). This lithotectonic relationship is consistent with<br />

<strong>the</strong> STDS, however <strong>the</strong> kinematics along <strong>the</strong> high-strain zone are not. Well-developed down-dip<br />

mineral elongation lineations indicating a significant dip-slip component are expected along <strong>the</strong><br />

STDS in order to juxtapose units <strong>of</strong> contrasting metamorphic grades. Contrastingly, shallow ESE-<br />

WNW lineations are observed along <strong>the</strong> high-strain zone, indicating a dominant strike-slip sense<br />

9

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