MAIN CENTRAL THRUST ZONE IN THE KATHMANDU AREA, CENTRAL NEPAL, AND ITS TECTONIC SIGNIFICANCE

MAIN CENTRAL THRUST ZONE IN THE KATHMANDU AREA, CENTRAL NEPAL, AND ITS TECTONIC SIGNIFICANCE1　AritaK ,LallmeyerRD ,TakasuA .TectonothermalevolutionoftheLesserHimalaya ,Nepal:constraintsfrom 4 0 Ar/3 9AragesfromtheKathmandunappe[J].TheIslandArc ,1997,6 :372～ 384. 2　RaiSM ,GuillotS ,LeFortP ,etal.Pressure temperatureevolutionintheKathmanduandGosainkundregions ,CentralNepal[J].JourAsianEarthSci ,1998,16 :2 83～ 2 98. 3　SchellingD ,KArita .…     

METAMORPHISM IN THE LESSER HIMALAYAN CRYSTALLINES AND MAIN CENTRAL THRUST ZONE IN THE ARUN VALLEY AND AMA DRIME RANGE (EASTERN HIMALAYA)

METAMORPHISM IN THE LESSER HIMALAYAN CRYSTALLINES AND MAIN CENTRAL THRUST ZONE IN THE ARUN VALLEY AND AMA DRIME RANGE (EASTERN HIMALAYA)1　BrunelM ,KienastJR . tudep啨ｔｒｏ structuraledeschevauchementsductileshimalayenssurlatrans versaledel’Everest Makalu (N啨ｐａｌｏｒｉｅｎｔａｌ) [J].CanadianJ .EarthSciences,1986 ,2 3:1117～ 1137. 2　LombardoB ,RolfoF .TwocontrastingeclogitetypesintheHimalayas :implicationsfortheHimalayanorogeny…     

DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF MIOCENE LEUCOGRANITE IN THE ARUN VALLEY—EVEREST—MAKALU AREA:FIELD RELATIONS, PETROLOGY AND ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY

DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF MIOCENE LEUCOGRANITE IN THE ARUN VALLEY—EVEREST—MAKALU AREA:FIELD RELATIONS, PETROLOGY AND ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY1　AritaK .OriginoftheinvertedmetamorphismoftheLowerHimalayas,CentralNepal[J] .Tectonophysics,1983,93:4 3～6 0 . 　BarbarinB .Areviewoftherelationshipsbetweengranitoidtypes,theiroriginsandtheirgeodynamicenvironments[J] .Lithos,1999,4 6 :6 0 5～ 6 2 6 . 3　BurchfielBC ,ChenZ,HodgesKV ,etal.TheSou…     

Late Miocene movement within the Himalayan Main Central Thrust shear zone, Sikkim, north-east India

In the Sikkim region of north‐east India, the Main Central Thrust (MCT) juxtaposes high‐grade gneisses of the Greater Himalayan Crystallines over lower‐grade slates, phyllites and schists of the Lesser Himalaya Formation. Inverted metamorphism characterizes rocks that immediately underlie the thrust, and the large‐scale South Tibet Detachment System (STDS) bounds the northern side of the Greater Himalayan Crystallines. In situ Th–Pb monazite ages indicate that the MCT shear zone in the Sikkim region was active at c. 22, 14–15 and 12–10 Ma, whereas zircon and monazite ages from a slightly deformed horizon of a High Himalayan leucogranite within the STDS suggest normal slip activity at c. 17 and 14–15 Ma. Although average monazite ages decrease towards structurally lower levels of the MCT shear zone, individual results do not follow a progressive younging pattern. Lesser Himalaya sample KBP1062A records monazite crystallization from 11.5 ± 0.2 to 12.2 ± 0.1 Ma and peak conditions of 610 ± 25 °C and 7.5 ± 0.5 kbar, whereas, in the MCT shear zone rock CHG14103, monazite crystallized from 13.8 ± 0.5 to 11.9 ± 0.3 Ma at lower grade conditions of 525 ± 25 °C and 6 ± 1 kbar. The P–T–t results indicate that the shear zone experienced a complicated slip history, and have implications for the understanding of mid‐crustal extrusion and the role of out‐of‐sequence thrusts in convergent plate tectonic settings.     

GEOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN ARUN TECTONIC WINDOW

GEOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN ARUN TECTONIC WINDOW1　BordetP .Recherchesg啨ｏｌｏｇｉｑｕｅｓｄａｎｓｌ’ＨｉｍａｌａｙａｄｕＮ啨ｐａｌ,r啨ｇｉｏｎｄｕＭａｋａｌｕ[R].EditionsduCNRS ,Paris ,196 12 75 . 2　BordetP .G啨ｏｌｏｇｉｅｄｅｌａｄａｌｌｅｄｕＴｉｂｅｔ (Himalayacentral) [J].M啨ｍｏｉｒｅｓｈｏｒｓｓ啨ｒｉｅｄｅｌａＳｏｃｉｅｔ啨ｇ啨ｏｌｏｇｉｑｕｅｄｅＦｒａｎｃｅ,1977,8:2 35～ 2 5 0 . 3　BurcfielBC ,ChenZ ,HodgesKV ,etal.TheSouthTibetanDetachmentSystem ,Hima…     

Deformation mechanisms in the frontal Lesser Himalayan Duplex in Sikkim Himalaya,India

Understanding deformation mechanisms in Himalayan rocks is a challenging proposition due to the complex nature of the deformed rocks and their genesis. Crustal deformation in the Himalayan thrust belt typically occurs in elastico-frictional (EF) or quasi-plastic (QP) regimes at depths controlled mainly by regional strain-rate and geothermal gradient. However, material property, grain-size and their progressive changes during deformation are also important controlling factors. We present evidence of EF deformation from Gondwana rocks developed during the emplacement of one of the frontal horses (Jorthang horse) in the Lesser Himalayan Duplex (LHD) structure associated with Lesser Himalayan rocks in the footwall of the Ramgarh thrust in the Rangit window near Jorthang in the Sikkim Himalaya. The rocks in the horse exhibit systematic changes in microand meso-structures from an undeformed protolith to cataclasite suggesting that it was emplaced under elastico-frictional conditions. Meso- to micro-scale shear fractures are seen developed in Gondwana sandstone and slate while intercalated fine-grained shale-coal-carbonates are deformed by cataclastic flow suggesting that material property and grain-size have played an important role in the deformation of the Jorthang horse. In contrast, the hanging wall schists and quartzites of the Ramgarh thrust exhibit quasi-plastic deformation structures. This suggests that the Jorthang horse was emplaced under shallower crustal conditions than the antiformally folded Ramgarh thrust sheet even though the Ramgarh sheet presently overlies the Jorthang horse.     

The two intracrustal boundary thrusts of the Himalaya

The series of four different, steeply inclined thrusts which sharply sever the youthful autochthonous Cenozoic sedimentary zone, including the Siwalik, from the mature old Lesser Himalayan subprovince is collectively known as the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). In the proximity of this trust in northwestern and eastern sectors, the parautochtonous Lesser Himalayan sedimentary formations are pushed up and their narrow frontal parts split into imbricate sheets with attendant repetition and inversion of lithostratigraphic units. The superficially steeper thrust plane seems to flatten out at depth. The MBT is tectonically and seismically very active at the present time.The Main Central Thrust (MCT), inclined 30° to 45° northwards, constitutes the real boundary between the Lesser and Great Himalaya. Marking an abrubt change in the style and orientation of structures and in the grade of metamorphism from lower amphibolitefacies of the Lesser Himalayan to higher metamorphic facies of the Great Himalayan, the redefined Main Central Thrust lies at a higher level as that originally recognized by A. Heim and A. Gansser. They had recognized this thrust as the contact of the mesozonal metamorphics against the underlying sedimentaries or epimetamorphics. It has now been redesignated as the Munsiari Thrust in Kumaun. It extends northwest in Himachal as the Jutogh Thrust and farther in Kashmir as the Panjal Thrust. In the eastern Himalaya the equivalents of the Munsiari Thrust are known as the Paro Thrust and the Bomdila Thrust. The upper thrust surface in Nepal is recognized as the Main Central Thrust by French and Japanese workers. The easterly extension of the MCT is known as the Khumbu Thrust in eastern Nepal, the Darjeeling Thrust in the Darjeeling-Sikkim region, the Thimpu Thrust in Bhutan and the Sela Thrust in western Arunachal. Significantly, hot springs occur in close proximity to this thrust in Kumaun, Nepal and Bhutan. There are reasons to believe that movement is taking place along the MCT, although seismically it is less active than the MBT.     

Pre-Tertiary felsic magmatism of the Nepal Himalaya: recycling of continental crust

At least seven different groups of felsic magmatic rocks have been observed in the Lesser and Higher Himalayan units of Nepal. Six of them are pre-Himalayan. The Ulleri Lower Proterozoic augen gneiss extends along most of the length of the Lesser Himalaya of Nepal and represents a Precambrian felsic volcanism or plutono-volcanism, mainly recycling continental crustal material; this volcanism has contributed sediment to the lower group of formations of the Lesser Himalaya. The Ampipal alkaline gneiss is a small elongated body appearing as a window at the base of the Lesser Himalayan formations of central Nepal; it originated as a Precambrian nepheline syenite pluton, contaminated by lower continental crust. The “Lesser Himalayan” granitic belt is well represented in Nepal by nine large granitic plutons; these Cambro-Ordovician peraluminous, generally porphyritic, granites, only occur in the crystaline nappes; they were probably produced by large-scale melting of the continental crust at the northern tip of the Indian craton, during a general episode of thinning of Gondwana continent with heating and mantle injection of the crust. The Formation III augen gneisses of the Higher Himalaya, such as the augen gneiss of the Higher Himalayan crystalline nappes (Gosainkund) are coeval to the “Lesser Himalayan” granites, and their more metamorphic (lower amphibolite grade) equivalents. Limited outcrops of Cretaceous trachytic volcanism lie along the southern limb of the Lesser Himalaya and are coeval with spilitic volcanism in the Higher Himalayan sedimentary series. This volcanism foreshadows the general uplift of the Indian margin before the Himalayan collision. The predominance of felsic over basic magmatism in the 2.5 Ga-long evolution of the Himalayan domain constitutes an unique example of recycling of continental material with very limited addition of juvenile mantle products.     

STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION OF THE KULU-RAMPUR AND LARJI WINDOW ZONES, WESTERN HIMALAYA, INDIA

STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION OF THE KULU-RAMPUR AND LARJI WINDOW ZONES, WESTERN HIMALAYA, INDIA     

River profiles along the Himalayan arc as indicators of active tectonics

Longitudinal profiles along sixteen major transverse Himalayan rivers add important constraints to models of active continental subduction and its evolution. These profiles are characterized by a zone of relatively high gradient that cannot be associated with differential resistence to erosion in all cases. The base of the zone of increased gradients correlates with (1) the topographic front between the Lesser and High Himalayas, (2) the narrow belt of intermediate-magnitude thrust earthquakes, (3) the Main Central Thrust zone (MCT). These features define a small circle in the central portion of the Himalayan arc. These correlations suggest that the discontinuity in the river profiles and the other features are controlled by a major tectonic boundary between the rising High Himalayas and the Lesser Himalayas. No sharp increases in gradient are observed near the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), except on a few rivers, such as the Jhelum or Kundar, where the MBT lies close to both the MCT and the seismic belt. Thus, it is unlikely that the MBT is a major tectonic boundary. The diversion of river courses along the MBT and around anticlines in the Sub Himalayas has probably been caused by aggradation near the rosion-deposition boundary, upstream of uplifts in the Mahabharat range and Sub Himalayas.A parallel is drawn between the Himalayas and New Guinea based on the hypothesis that continent-arc collision, of the type occurring in northern Australia, preceded continent-continent collision in the Himalayas. The present sedimentary/tectonic phase in New Guinea resembles the Subathu (Paleocene-Eocene) phase in the Himalayas. Incipient counterparts of the major Himalayan structures, including the MCT and the MBT, are recognized in New Guinea. The drainage patterns in the Himalayas and in New Guinea bear a similar relation to major structures. This suggests that (1) the tectonic evolution of the Himalayas has been rather uniform since early stages of collision, and (2) the Himalayan drainage was also formed at these early stages and is therefore antecedent to the rise of the High Himalayas.     

A new kinematic evolutionary model for the growth of a duplex — an example from the Rangit duplex, Sikkim Himalaya, India

The Lesser Himalayan duplex (LHD) is a prominent structure through much of the Lesser Himalayan fold–thrust belt. In the Darjeeling - Sikkim Himalaya a component of the LHD is exposed in the Rangit window as the Rangit duplex (RD). The RD consists of ten horses of the upper Lesser Himalayan Sequence (Gondwana, Buxa, Upper Daling). The duplex varies from hinterland-dipping in the north, through an antiformal stack in the middle to foreland-dipping in the south. The Ramgarh thrust (RT) is the roof thrust and, based on a balanced cross-section, the Main Himalayan Sole thrust is the floor thrust at a depth of ~ 10 km and with a dip of ~ 3.5° N.Retrodeformation suggests that the RD initiated as a foreland-dipping duplex with the Early Ramgarh thrust as the roof thrust and the RT as the floor thrust. The RT became the roof thrust during continued duplexing by a combination of footwall imbrication and concurrent RT reactivation. This kinematic history best explains the large translation of the overlying MCT sheets. The restoration suggests that RD shortening is ~ 125 km, and the original Gondwana basin extended ~ 142 km northward of its present northernmost exposures within the window.     

Structural set up in northern part of Kumaun Himalaya

The Main Central Thrust (MCT) and the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) are the two major thrusts in Kumaun, the MCT forming the boundary between highly sheared, deformed and mylonitized rocks of the Great Himalayan Central Crystallines and the Lesser Himalayan metasedimentaries. While in the Central Crystallines four-folding episodes are observed of which two are of the Precambrian age, the Lesser Himalayan rocks show only two phases of folding. MCT has its own distinctive structural history and the crystalline mass comprises an integral part of peninsular India.     

A structural transect in the Lower Dolpo: Insights on the tectonic evolution of Western Nepal

We present the results of a structural transect in Lower Dolpo, cross-cutting the upper part of the Lesser Himalaya (LH), the Higher Himalayan Crystallines (HHC) and the lower part of the Tibetan Sedimentary Sequence (TSS). The MCT zone affects the upper part of the LH as well as the lower part of the HHC and shows a later brittle reactivation. Mean vorticity in the MCT points to non-coaxial deformation. These data, together with available kinematic data along the belt, on the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS) and in the core of the HHC, point to increasing simple shear toward the tectonic boundaries. A top-to-the-SW high-temperature shear zone (Toijem Shear Zone) is recognized in the middle part of the HHC at the boundary between Units 1 and 2. It developed during the earlier stages of exhumation of the HHC, enhancing the decompression of the hanging wall and the emplacement of leucogranite dykes and sills. Its development could be explained by a change in the velocity profile during the extrusion of the HHC, triggered by first order changes in rock types of the tectonic unit. The STDS is marked by a wide zone of high strain and by a metamorphic jump from amphibolite facies in the carbonate rocks of the upper part of the HHC to greenschist facies marbles in the lower part of the TSS. The development of a pervasive foliation towards the bottom of the TSS indicates increasing strain, related to top down-to-the-NE tectonic transport. A Low P metamorphic event, marked by the growth of post-D1 biotite porphyroblasts at the base of the TSS, is related to the conductive heating from the underlying HHC.     

An overview of the metamorphic evolution in Central Nepal

This paper summarizes the studies of the metamorphic evolution of Central Nepal carried out by Nepali and international teams in the last 25 years. In Central Nepal, three metamorphic units are recognized. (1) The southernmost zone is the Lesser Himalaya, which is characterised by an inverted mineral zoning towards the Main Central Thrust (MCT) zone; (2) the Kathmandu nappe corresponds to an early (<22 Ma) out-of-sequence thrusting zone over the Lesser Himalaya along the Mahabharat thrust (MT) and is characterised by a Barrovian metamorphic evolution; (3) the Higher Himalayan Crystalline unit (HHC) is bounded at its base by the MCT and at its top by the South Tibetan Detachment system (STDS). It is characterised by successive tectonometamorphic episodes during the period spanning from 35–36 Ma to 2–3 Ma. Recent investigations suggest that the apparent metamorphic inversion througout the MCT zone does not reflect geothermal inversion. Instead, these investigations suggest successive cooling of the HHC along the MCT and the local preservation, above the MCT, of high-grade metamorphic rocks. The overall metamorphic history in Central Nepal from Oligocene to Pliocene, reflects the thermal reequilibration of rocks after thickening by conductive and advective heating and partial melting of the middle crust.     

A new kinematic evolutionary model for the growth of a duplex — an example from the Rangit duplex,Sikkim Himalaya,India

The Lesser Himalayan duplex (LHD) is a prominent structure through much of the Lesser Himalayan fold–thrust belt. In the Darjeeling - Sikkim Himalaya a component of the LHD is exposed in the Rangit window as the Rangit duplex (RD). The RD consists of ten horses of the upper Lesser Himalayan Sequence (Gondwana, Buxa, Upper Daling). The duplex varies from hinterland-dipping in the north, through an antiformal stack in the middle to foreland-dipping in the south. The Ramgarh thrust (RT) is the roof thrust and, based on a balanced cross-section, the Main Himalayan Sole thrust is the floor thrust at a depth of ~ 10 km and with a dip of ~ 3.5° N.Retrodeformation suggests that the RD initiated as a foreland-dipping duplex with the Early Ramgarh thrust as the roof thrust and the RT as the floor thrust. The RT became the roof thrust during continued duplexing by a combination of footwall imbrication and concurrent RT reactivation. This kinematic history best explains the large translation of the overlying MCT sheets. The restoration suggests that RD shortening is ~ 125 km, and the original Gondwana basin extended ~ 142 km northward of its present northernmost exposures within the window.     

An overview of the stratigraphy and tectonics of the Nepal Himalaya

Nepal can be divided into the following five east–west trending major tectonic zones. (i) The Terai Tectonic Zone which consists of over one km of Recent alluvium concealing the Churia Group (Siwalik equivalents) and underlying rocks of northern Peninsular India. Recently active southward-propagating thrusts and folds beneath the Terai have affected both the underlying Churia and the younger sediments. (ii) The Churia Zone, which consists of Neogene to Quaternary foreland basin deposits and forms the Himalayan mountain front. The Churia Zone represents the most tectonically active part of the Himalaya. Recent sedimentologic, geochronologic and paleomagnetic studies have yielded a much better understanding of the provenance, paleoenvironment of deposition and the ages of these sediments. The Churia Group was deposited between ∼14 Ma and ∼1 Ma. Sedimentary rocks of the Churia Group form an archive of the final drama of Himalayan uplift. Involvement of the underlying northern Peninsular Indian rocks in the active tectonics of the Churia Zone has also been recognised. Unmetamorphosed Phanerozoic rocks of Peninsular India underlying the Churia Zone that are involved in the Himalayan orogeny may represent a transitional environment between the Peninsula and the Tethyan margin of the continent. (iii) The Lesser Himalayan Zone, in which mainly Precambrian rocks are involved, consists of sedimentary rocks that were deposited on the Indian continental margin and represent the southernmost facies of the Tethyan sea. Panafrican diastrophism interrupted the sedimentation in the Lesser Himalayan Zone during terminal Precambrian time causing a widespread unconformity. That unconformity separates over 12 km of unfossiliferous sedimentary rocks in the Lesser Himalaya from overlying fossiliferous rocks which are >3 km thick and range in age from Permo-Carboniferous to Lower to Middle Eocene. The deposition of the Upper Oligocene–Lower Miocene fluvial Dumri Formation records the emergence of the Himalayan mountains from under the sea. The Dumri represents the earliest foreland basin deposit of the Himalayan orogen in Nepal. Lesser Himalayan rocks are less metamorphosed than the rocks of the overlying Bhimphedis nappes and the crystalline rocks of the Higher Himalayan Zone. A broad anticline in the north and a corresponding syncline in the south along the Mahabharat range, as well as a number of thrusts and faults are the major structures of the Lesser Himalayan Zone which is thrust over the Churia Group along the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). (iv) The crystalline high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Higher Himalayan Zone form the backbone of the Himalaya and give rise to its formidable high ranges. The Main Central Thrust (MCT) marks the base of this zone. Understanding the origin, timing of movement and associated metamorphism along the MCT holds the key to many questions about the evolution of the Himalaya. For example: the question of whether there is only one or whether there are two MCTs has been a subject of prolonged discussion without any conclusion having been reached. The well-known inverted metamorphism of the Himalaya and the late orogenic magmatism are generally attributed to movement along the MCT that brought a hot slab of High Himalayan Zone rocks over the cold Lesser Himalayan sequence. Harrison and his co-workers, as described in a paper in this volume, have lately proposed a detailed model of how this process operated. The rocks of the Higher Himalayan Zone are generally considered to be Middle Cambrian to Late Proterozoic in age. (v) The Tibetan Tethys Zone is represented by Cambrian to Cretaceous-Eocene fossiliferous sedimentary rocks overlying the crystalline rocks of the Higher Himalaya along the Southern Tibetan Detachment Fault System (STDFS) which is a north dipping normal fault system. The fault has dragged down to the north a huge pile of the Tethyan sedimentary rocks forming some of the largest folds on the Earth. Those sediments are generally considered to have been deposited in a more distal part of the Tethys than were the Lesser Himalayan sediments.The present tectonic architecture of the Himalaya is dominated by three master thrusts: the Main Central Thrust (MCT), the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT). The age of initiation of these thrusts becomes younger from north to south, with the MCT as the oldest and the MFT as the youngest. All these thrusts are considered to come together at depth in a flat-lying decollement called the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT). The Mahabharat Thrust (MT), an intermediate thrust between the MCT and the MBT is interpreted as having brought the Bhimphedi Group out over the Lesser Himalayan rocks giving rise to Lesser Himalayan nappes containing crystalline rocks. The position of roots of these nappes is still debated. The Southern Tibetan Detachment Fault System (STDFS) has played an important role in unroofing the higher Himalayan crystalline rocks.     

The lesser Himalayan Duplex in Sikkim: Implications for variations in Himalayan shortening

Thrust duplexes account for large fractions of the total shortening in most fold-thrust belts (FTBs). They also provide an efficient mechanism for transferring slip upward from the basal decollement and for transporting roof thrust sheets over long distances. The Lesser Himalayan duplex (LHD) plays a prominent role in the overall evolution of the Himalayan FTB and has been described from Garhwal-Kumaon to Bhutan. In Sikkim the LHD shows unique structural geometry and has been responsible for transporting crystalline thrust sheets (MCT 1 and MCT 2) farther southward than other parts of the Himalaya. Such lateral variations in LHD geometry imply variations in the kinematic history of the Lesser Himalaya and variations in shortening and shortening history along the length of the Himalayan arc, and these are reflected in observable large scale structural patterns.     

Evidence for structural discordance in the inverted metamorphic sequence of Sikkim Himalaya: Towards resolving the Main Central Thrust controversy

Inverted metamorphism in the Himalayas is closely associated with the Main Central Thrust (MCT). In the western Himalayas, the Main Central Thrust conventionally separates high grade metamorphic rocks of the Higher Himalayan Crystalline Sequence (HHCS) from unmetamorphosed rocks of the Inner sedimentary Belt. In the eastern Himalayas, the Inner sedimentary Belt is absent, and the HHCS and meta-sedimentary Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS) apparently form a continuous Barrovian metamorphic sequence, leading to confusion about the precise location of the MCT. In this study, it is demonstrated that migmatitic gneisses of the sillimanite zone in the higher structural levels of the HHCS are multiply deformed, with two phases of penetrative fabric formation (S_1HHCS and S_2HHCS) followed by third folding event associated with a spaced, NW-SE trending, north-east dipping foliation (S_3HHCS). The underlying LHS schists (kyanite zone and lower) are also multiply deformed, with the bedding S₀ being isoclinally folded (F_1LHS), and subsequently refolded (F_2LHS and F_3LHS). The contact zone between the HHCS and LHS is characterized by ductile, top-to-the southwest shearing and stabilization of a pervasive foliation that is consistently oriented NW-SE and dips northeast. This foliation is parallel to the S_3HHCS foliation in the HHCS, and the S_2LHS in the LHS. Early lineations in the HHCS and LHS also show different dispersions across the contact shear zone, implying that pre-thrusting orientations of the two units were distinct. The contact shear zone is therefore interpreted to be a plane of structural discordance, shows a shear sense consistent with thrust movement and is associated with mineral growth during Barrovian metamorphism. It may well be considered to represent the MCT in this region.     

Post-emplacement kinematics and exhumation history of the Almora klippe of the Kumaun–Garhwal Himalaya,NW India: revealed by fission track thermochronology

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Tectonically transported crystalline thrust sheet over the Lesser Himalayan meta-sedimentary zone along the Main Central Thrust (MCT) is represented by...     

Evidence for the thrust emplacement of the ‘Lesser Himalaya’ Chur granite,Himachal Pradesh

Numerous peraluminous and porphyritic granitic bodies and augen gneisses of granitic compositions occur in the nappe sequences of the Lower Himalaya. They are Proterozoic-to-lower Paleozoic in age and have been grouped into the ‘Lesser Himalaya granite belt’. The mode of emplacement and tectonic significance of these granites are as yet uncertain but they are generally considered to be sheet-like intrusions into the surrounding rocks. The small and isolated granite body (the Chur granite) that crops out around the Chur peak in the Himachal Himalaya is one of the more famous of these granites. Several lines of evidence have been adduced to show that the Chur granite has a thrust (the Chur thrust) contact with the underlying metasedimentary sequence (locally called the Jutogh Group). The Chur granite with restricted occurrence at the highest topographic and structural levels represents an erosional remnant of a much larger sub-horizontal thrust sheet. The contact relations between the country rocks and many of the other granite and granitic augen gneisses in the Lesser Himalaya belt are apparently similar to that of the Chur granite suggesting that at least some of them may also represent thrust sheets.