Location of the Suture Zone between the South and North China Blocks in Eastern Dabie Orogen

INTRODUCTION TheDabieMountainsareacollisionalorogenbe tweentheSouthandNorthChinablocks.Theageof theultrahighpressuremetamorphism(Hackeretal., 1998;Rowleyetal.,1997;Amesetal.,1993;Liet al.,1993)andthelateststratainvolvedintheforeland fold thrustbelt(Xueta…

Location of the Suture Zone between the South and North China Blocks in Eastern Dabie Orogen

The Dabie Mountains are a collisional orogen between the South and North China blocks. The rock assemblages, isotopic dating and tectonic relationship of the tectonic-petrologic units in the eastern Dabie orogen indicate that the orogen is mainly composed of the different-grades metamorphic basement with minor low-grade metamorphic cover. No ophiolitic southern margin of the North China block were found there, suggesting that they belong to the northern margin of the South China block. The boundary between the tectonic-petrologic units is generally an extensional shear zone developed in the exhumation process of the ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks. In the northern part of the Dabie Mountains, the extensional-thrust and nappe structure represent the products of extensional tectonism. That is, there is no key tectonic boundary to indicate the occurrence of the suture zone there. Therefore, neither the Shuihou-Wuhe shear zone, nor the Mozitan-Xiaotian fault, is the suture zone between the South and North China blocks. The zone is believed to be at the front area of the Xinyang-Shucheng fault, covered by the Mesozoic-Cenozoic deposits within the Hefei basin.