PDF COPY - Manuel berberian

TURAN
INDIAN
PLATE
AFRICAN
PLATE
ARABIAN
PLATE
Fig. 3. Simplified map of the Iranian-Himalayan tectonics.
Collision and convergence of African, Arabian and Indian plates with Eurasia (Turan plate in this
figure) has caused major crustal shortening and thickening along the Iranian-Himalayan active
fold-thrust mountain belt. Note that the Iranian plateau with an extensive area of deformation is
trapped between two rigid old cratons in the north and the south and the two impinging zones
(marked by thick small arrows) in the east and the west. There is an apparent widening of the
deformed zones towards east Iran and wedging out towards NW. Large wedges of continental material
in eastern Afghanistan and Asia-Minor, are being pushed away from the impinging zones. Whereas
active frontal reverse faulting is the dominant mode of deformation in the trapped continental
crust of Iran.
I. Collision zone of continental plates (a: Alpine, b: Triassic and Hercynlan, c: Caledonian).
Subductlon site. 3. Strlke-slip and transform faults. 4. Rift area. 5. Major fault (known
earthquake faults in Iran; triangle: thrust, bars: high-angle reverse). 6. Fold axes. 7. Edge of
the late-Alpine fold-thrust belts and the Neogene-Quaternary foredeeps. Arrows indicate vectors
of relative plate motion (in cmlyr) between Arabia, India and Eurasia across the assumed plate
boundaries. Areas with oceanic crust are indicated by vertical hatching.
Based on data from: Gzovsky et al. [1960], Abu-Bakr and Jackson [1964], Gansser [1964, 1966],
Matthews [1966], Laughton et al. [1970], CIGMEMR [1971], McKenzle and Sclater [1971], Brown
[1972], McKenzie [1972], Sborshchlkov et al. [1972], Minster et al. [1974], Molnar and Tapponnier
[1975], Schlich [1975], Owen [1976], Berberlan [1976a], Stocklin [1977], Biju-Duval et al. [1977],
Bergougnan et al. [1978], Ketin [1978], Huber [1978], Desio [1979], Kravchenko [1979], Jacob and
Quittmeyer [1979], Peive and Yanshin [1979b], and Shikallbeily and Grigorlants [1980] after
modification and correction.
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