Mylonitic volcanics near Puging,Upper Siang district,Arunachal Pradesh: Evidence of oblique-slip thrusting

The Abor volcanics of the continental flood basalt affinity are extensively exposed in different parts of the Siang valley. These are associated with Yinkiong Group of rocks of Paleocene–Eocene age and represent syn-sedimentary volcanism in a rift setting. Subsequent folding and thrusting of the Siyom and Rikor sequences above the Yinkiong Group of rocks represent changes from syn-to-post collisional brittle-ductile tectonic episodes. Mylonitic Abor volcanics in the thrust contacts are studied at several locations in the north and south of Puging in the Siang valley. Both the Abor volcanics and associated Rikor and Yinkiong Group of rocks preserve meso to micro-scale fabric asymmetries indicating that the thrust contacts are shear zones of brittle-ductile nature containing mylonitic textures of high shear strain. Two distinct hitherto unrecognised shear zones in the north and south of Puging are named as North Puging Shear Zone (NPSZ) and South Puging Shear Zone (SPSZ). The kinematic indicators along the thrust contact indicate oblique slip thrusting of the Rikor and Siyom thrust sheets above the Yinkiong Group of rocks. This paper provides field evidence proving that the compression due the Burmese plate made oblique slip thrusting and zones of mylonitised volcanics possible and associated metasediments were formed. The kinematic indicators in the NPSZ and SPSZ respectively indicate top-to-SSE and top-to-NNW sense of shears.