Gangdese retroarc thrust belt and foreland basin deposits in the Damxung area,southern Tibet

Geologic mapping and U–Pb detrital zircon geochronologic studies of (meta)sedimentary rocks in the Damxung area (∼90 km north of Lhasa) of the southern Lhasa terrane in Tibet provide new insights into the history of deformation and clastic sedimentation prior to late Cenozoic extension. Cretaceous nonmarine clastic rocks ∼10 km southeast of Damxung are exposed as structural windows in the footwall of a thrust fault (the Damxung thrust) that carries Paleozoic strata in the hanging wall. To the north of Damxung in the southern part of the northern Nyainqentanglha Range (NNQTL), metaclastic rocks of previously inferred Paleozoic age are shown to range in depositional age from Late Cretaceous to Eocene. The metaclastic rocks regionally dip southward and are interpreted to have been structurally buried in the footwall of the Damxung thrust prior to being tectonized during late Cenozoic transtension. Along the northern flank of the NNQTL, Lower Eocene syncontractional redbeds were deposited in a triangle zone structural setting. All detrital zircon samples of Cretaceous–Eocene strata in the Damxung area include Early Cretaceous grains that were likely sourced from the Gangdese arc to the south. We suggest that the that newly recognized Late Cretaceous to Early Eocene (meta)clastic deposits and thrust faults represent the frontal and youngest part of a northward directed and propagating Gangdese retroarc thrust belt and foreland basin system that led to significant crustal thickening and elevation gain in southern Tibet prior to India-Asian collision.     

Geometry and origin of folding in the Neogene sediments of the Gediz Graben,western Anatolia,Turkey

Abstract

A close relationship between formation of approximately upright folds with axes normal to the extension direction and ramp/flat extensional geometries is established for well exposed Neogene syn-extensional rocks on the presently low-angle Gediz detachment fault, along the southern margin of the Gediz Graben region of western Anatolia, Turkey. Three unconformity-bounded sedimentary sequences and several metamorphic extensional allochthons were mapped in the upper-plate of the Gediz detachment. The oldest sedimentary sequence consists of deformed and folded strata of sandstones and conglomerates that are regarded as being deposited in a supra-detachment basin during the Miocene-Early Pliocene. This unit rests unconformably on the extensional allochthonous, but directly in fault contact with the lower-plate mylonitic rocks. The younger slightly tilted Late Pliocene-Pleistocene sedimentary sequences are post-detachment units that are controlled by EW-trending high-angle normal faults. The youngest alluvium comprises the undeformed present-day basin fill of the Gediz Graben. The supra-detachment sedimentary rocks contain a number of kilometric-scale longitudinal folds that are nearly parallel to the east-west-trending fault system of the Gediz Graben. The folds have a steeply inclined bisecting surface, an interlimb angle of 130–150°, and a plunge of <10°. These folds may be interpreted to form as a result of bending in the underlying Gediz detachment fault. The bending may have an alternation of ramp and flat geometries on which a hanging-wall syncline and rollover anticline formed, respectively. This study again shows the importance of local geology in understanding of some spectacular structures of the extensional basins. © 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.     

Geometry and origin of folding in the Neogene sediments of the Gediz Graben,western Anatolia,Turkey

A close relationship between formation of approximately upright folds with axes normal to the extension direction and ramp/flat extensional geometries is established for well exposed Neogene syn-extensional rocks on the presently low-angle Gediz detachment fault, along the southern margin of the Gediz Graben region of western Anatolia, Turkey. Three unconformity-bounded sedimentary sequences and several metamorphic extensional allochthons were mapped in the upper-plate of the Gediz detachment. The oldest sedimentary sequence consists of deformed and folded strata of sandstones and conglomerates that are regarded as being deposited in a supra-detachment basin during the Miocene–Early Pliocene. This unit rests unconformably on the extensional allochthonous, but directly in fault contact with the lower-plate mylonitic rocks. The younger slightly tilted Late Pliocene–Pleistocene sedimentary sequences are post-detachment units that are controlled by EW-trending high-angle normal faults. The youngest alluvium comprises the undeformed present-day basin fill of the Gediz Graben. The supra-detachment sedimentary rocks contain a number of kilometric-scale longitudinal folds that are nearly parallel to the east-west-trending fault system of the Gediz Graben. The folds have a steeply inclined bisecting surface, an interlimb angle of 130–150°, and a plunge of <10°. These folds may be interpreted to form as a result of bending in the underlying Gediz detachment fault. The bending may have an alternation of ramp and flat geometries on which a hanging-wall syncline and rollover anticline formed, respectively. This study again shows the importance of local geology in understanding of some spectacular structures of the extensional basins.     

中国西北部南北向伸展构造存在的新证据——酒泉早白垩世半地堑断陷成因初探

酒泉早白垩世半地堑断陷呈南北向或北东向展布，进一步分为多米诺骨牌式、对倾式和背倾式三种。其充填物明显地受近南北向或北东向正断裂控制，其中的火山岩均为碱性玄武岩，可能由地幔熔融形成。初步认为，酒泉半地堑断陷是早白垩世陆内地幔热隆诱发的近南北向伸展构造。在新生代，由于印度板块的挤压作用，北祁连山前展式北向推覆作用可能使早白垩世半地堑断陷的南部地区转换成山脉，现今的半地堑南部边界被掩伏于北祁连山之下；同时，印度板块的挤压作用使控制半地堑沉积体系的近南北向或北东向正断裂转换为逆冲断裂．发生反转。     

Primary curvature in the Mid-Continent Rift: Paleomagnetism of the Portage Lake Volcanics (northern Michigan, USA)

Rocks of the North American Mid-Continent Rift (MCR) in the Keweenaw Peninsula of northern Michigan display a change in structural trend from east to west, varying in strike from 100° in the east to 35° farther west, before returning to a more east–west trend of 80° near Wisconsin. In general, curvature can be described either as of primary origin, meaning that the arc developed in its present curved state, or as of secondary origin, when the arc formed from an initially straighter geometry. A powerful tool in evaluating the origin and degree of curvature in any deformed belt is paleomagnetism, where coincident change in declination and strike is evidence for secondary curvature. Several paleomagnetic studies have been completed on rift-related sedimentary rocks, as well as lava flows, from the MCR in the Lake Superior region. Paleomagnetic directions for the sedimentary rocks vary much more in declination than in inclination, possibly reflecting a vertical axis rotation. If secondary rotation has affected the sedimentary rocks, then underlying volcanic rocks should also demonstrate a similar rotation.Thirty-one sites were collected from the Portage Lake Volcanics in the most highly curved part of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Sites were chosen to maximize the variation in structural trend. Thermal demagnetization results showed two components in samples from most sites, a lower temperature A component (< 580 °C) as well as a higher temperature B component (> 580 °C). Both components were tested for primary remanence using a conglomerate test. The A component, carried by magnetite, passes the conglomerate test at a 95% confidence level, and is therefore considered a primary remanence. The B component, carried by hematite, fails at the 95% level and is considered a secondary magnetization. Most importantly, declination of the primary (A) magnetization between sites shows no correlation with strike, demonstrating that vertical axis rotations cannot explain the curvature of the Mid-Continent Rift. We conclude that curvature in the Lake Superior Region is a primary feature, likely reflecting a pre-existing zone of weakness that was exploited during rifting.     

Neoproterozoic diamictites from the Itombwe Synclinorium, Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo: Palaeoclimatic significance and regional correlations

The Itombwe Synclinorium in the Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo contains a Neoproterozoic succession of greenschist facies metasedimentary rocks defined as the Itombwe Supergroup, dated between 1020 ± 50 and 575 ± 83 Ma. The Itombwe Supergroup unconformably overlies the Mesoproterozoic Kibaran belt and is subdivided into the Upper and Lower Kadubu Groups which are separated by a faulted tectonic contact. Graded, rhythmically repeated sequences of sandstones, greywackes, phyllites and shales indicate deposition as turbiditic sediment-gravity flows. Periods of basin anoxia are indicated by the presence of graphitic black shales. The Lower and Upper Kadubu Groups contain three stratigraphic levels of diamictites and lonestone-bearing iron-rich sedimentary rocks interpreted as glaciogenic strata, which broadly correlate with other Neoproterozoic glacial sequences in the Central African region and elsewhere around the world. Current stratigraphic and geochronological knowledge of these beds is insufficient to provide more accurate correlations.     

Three-dimensional strain produced by >50 My of episodic extension, Horse Prairie basin area, SW Montana, U.S.A.

The Horse Prairie basin of southwestern Montana is a complex, east-dipping half-graben that contains three angular unconformity-bounded sequences of Tertiary sedimentary rocks overlying middle Eocene volcanic rocks. New mapping of the basin and its hanging wall indicate that five temporally and geometrically distinct phases of normal faulting and at least three generations of fault-related extensional folding affected the area during the late Mesozoic (?) to Cenozoic. All of these phases of extension are evident over regional or cordilleran-scale domains. The extension direction has rotated 90° four times in the Horse Prairie area resulting in a complex three-dimensional strain field with 60% east–west and >25% north–south bulk extension. Extensional folds with axes at high angles to the associated normal fault record most of the three-dimensional strain during individual phases of extension (phases 3a, 3b, and 4). Cross-cutting relationships between normal faults and Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary rocks constrain the ages of each distinct phase of deformation and show that extension continued episodically for more than 50 My. Gravitational collapse of the Sevier fold and thrust belt was the ultimate cause of most of the extension.     

Gangdese retroarc thrust belt and foreland basin deposits in the Damxung area, southern Tibet

Geologic mapping and U–Pb detrital zircon geochronologic studies of (meta)sedimentary rocks in the Damxung area (90 km north of Lhasa) of the southern Lhasa terrane in Tibet provide new insights into the history of deformation and clastic sedimentation prior to late Cenozoic extension. Cretaceous nonmarine clastic rocks 10 km southeast of Damxung are exposed as structural windows in the footwall of a thrust fault (the Damxung thrust) that carries Paleozoic strata in the hanging wall. To the north of Damxung in the southern part of the northern Nyainqentanglha Range (NNQTL), metaclastic rocks of previously inferred Paleozoic age are shown to range in depositional age from Late Cretaceous to Eocene. The metaclastic rocks regionally dip southward and are interpreted to have been structurally buried in the footwall of the Damxung thrust prior to being tectonized during late Cenozoic transtension. Along the northern flank of the NNQTL, Lower Eocene syncontractional redbeds were deposited in a triangle zone structural setting. All detrital zircon samples of Cretaceous–Eocene strata in the Damxung area include Early Cretaceous grains that were likely sourced from the Gangdese arc to the south. We suggest that the that newly recognized Late Cretaceous to Early Eocene (meta)clastic deposits and thrust faults represent the frontal and youngest part of a northward directed and propagating Gangdese retroarc thrust belt and foreland basin system that led to significant crustal thickening and elevation gain in southern Tibet prior to India-Asian collision.     

Geochronology of metarhyolites from the Kangbutiebao Formation in the Kelang basin, Altay Mountains, Xinjiang: Implications for the tectonic evolution and metallogeny

The Altay orogenic belt (AOB), situated in the middle part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), is one of the most important metallogenic belts in China. The Kangbutiebao Formation is a Late Paleozoic stratigraphic unit that hosts many important iron and Pb–Zn deposits. The Kangbutiebao Formation consists of intercalated volcanic and sedimentary rocks that have undergone regional greenschist to lower amphibolite facies metamorphism, and mainly outcrops in three NW-trending fault-bounded volcano–sedimentary basins, including the Maizi, Kelang, and Chonghuer basins. SHRIMP analyses of zircons from three metarhyolites of the Kangbutiebao Fm. in the Kelang Basin yield weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 412.6 ± 3.5 Ma, 408.7 ± 5.3 Ma and 406.7 ± 4.3 Ma, respectively, which can be interpreted as the eruption age of the Kangbutiebao silicic volcanic rocks in the Kelang Basin. These ages indicate that the Kangbutiebao Formation was formed during the Late Silurian to Early Devonian. They also demonstrate that the deposits hosted in the Kangbutiebao Formation were formed after 412–407 Ma. They play a key role in understanding the Paleozoic tectonic evolution and metallogenesis of the southern margin of the Chinese AOB.     

The northern Upper Rhine Graben: basin geometry and early syn-rift tectono-sedimentary evolution

A large-scale transfer zone subdivides the northern parts of the Upper Rhine Graben into a northern and a southern sub-basin. These sub-basins display the geometry of asymmetric half-grabens with opposing tilt directions. The transfer zone connects the western master fault of the northern half-graben with the eastern master fault of the southern half-graben. In the northern Upper Rhine Graben early syn-rift sedimentation (Late Priabonian to Late Rupelian) was controlled by the tectonically induced subsidence of these half-grabens (autogenetic), as well as by regional third-order sea level variations (allogenetic). Within the graben, lateral changes in subsidence rates (in dip and strike direction of fault blocks) controlled the development of accommodation space and thus, sediment thickness and facies. Furthermore, a low-displacement segment along the western border fault acted as a sediment entry point. Tectonics controlled the distribution of early syn-rift deposits and the palaeogeography of the northern Upper Rhine Graben.     

Aquifer heterogeneity: Hydrogeological and hydrochemical properties of the Botany Sands aquifer and their impact on contaminant transport

Detailed geological mapping and drilling has shown that the contact between the Cambrian volcano‐sedimentary sequence at Rosebery and the Mt Read Volcanics is formed by a major thrust fault dipping east at 40° and having a displacement of at least 1.5 km. The sedimentary sequence is part of the Dundas Group, a Middle to Late Cambrian forearc‐like sequence which unconformably overlaps the volcanics south of Rosebery. The Rosebery Thrust Fault marks the eastern boundary of a zone of folding, faulting and disruption which affects the Dundas Group and the tectonically interfingered and underlying basaltic greywacke‐mudstone sequence of the Crimson Creek Formation. At least some of this deformation occurred prior to deposition of the Ordovician Limestone, as evidenced by marked angular discordances. The complex area can be interpreted as a Cambrian accretionary prism‐forearc‐arc sequence developed above an east‐dipping subduction zone.

The Henty Fault System, which cuts obliquely through the Mt Read belt and encloses a misfit wedge of sediments, pillow lavas, gabbros and ultramafic rocks, is interpreted as a remnant of an inter‐arc basin. The fault system separates a dacitic‐andesitic arc segment to the northwest from a more rhyolitic segment to the southeast. The latter is overlain by a younger arc sequence, the Tyndall Group, which may have been the source for the Dundas Group volcanic detritus.     

吐哈盆地及邻区早二叠世沉积特征与构造发育的耦合关系

通过对不同露头剖面和探井资料的分析,在吐哈盆地及邻区区分出三种不同类型沉积相：（1）裂谷型海相火山喷发沉积相;（2）裂谷型陆相火山喷发沉积相;（3）造山带磨拉石相;不同沉积相特征并结合构造分析认为,早二叠世在吐哈及邻区存在二种不同类型的盆地,即前陆盆地和裂谷盆地,同时,还探讨了大陆一大陆碰撞带上两种不同类型盆地的形成机理。     

A tertiary fold and thrust belt in the Valle del Cauca Basin, Colombian Andes

Surface geology and heophysical data, supplemented by regional structural interpretations, indicate that the Valle del Cauca basin and adjacent areas in west-central Colombia form a west-vergent, basement-involved fold and thrust belt. This belt is part of a Cenozoic orogen developed along the west side of the Romeral fault system. Structural analysis and geometrical constraints show that the Mesozoic ophiolitic basement and its Cenozoic sedimentary cover are involved in a “thick-skinned” west-vergent foreland style deformation. The rocks are transported and shortened by deeply rooted thrust faults and stacked in imbricate fashion. The faults have a NE---SW regional trend, are listric in shape, developed as splay faults which are interpreted as joining a common detachment at over 10 km depth. The faults carry Paleogene sedimentary strata and Cretaceous basement rocks westward over Miocene strata of the Valle del Cauca Basin. Fold axes trend parallel or sub parallel to the thrust faults. The folds are westwardly asymmetrical with parallel to kink geometry, and are interpreted to be fault-propagation folds stacked in an imbricate thrust system. Stratigraphic evidence suggests that the Valle del Cauca basin was deformed between Oligocene and upper Miocene time. The kinematic history outlined above is consistent with an oblique convergence between the Panama and South American plates during the Cenozoic.A negative residual Bouguer anomaly of 20–70 mgls in the central part of the Valle del Cauca basin indicates that a substantial volume of low density sedimentary rocks is concealed beneath the thrust sheets exposed at the land surface. The hydrocarbon potential of the Valle del Cauca should be reevaluated in light of the structural interpretations presented in this paper.     

缅甸钦敦-睡宝盆地火山岛弧带沉积环境分析

缅甸钦敦-睡宝盆地在上新世之前的沉积相主体由东北部的海岸平原向西南逐渐过渡到滨浅海,三角洲相对不发育,火山岩呈南北向断续分布在盆地的中部。构造运动、火山活动和海平面升降决定了火山岛弧带的沉积环境。宽缓的构造背景是形成海岸平原．滨浅海沉积环境的决定因素;岛弧带的火山活动自白垩纪至中新世整体表现出较持续的喷发,形成的火山碎屑不仅参与了正常的地层沉积,还对古生物的繁殖和化石的保存起到破坏作用。海平面升降也是控制沉积体系展布的重要因素。     

Age of the Corsica–Sardinia rotation and Liguro–Provençal Basin spreading: new paleomagnetic and Ar/Ar evidence

The age of spreading of the Liguro–Provençal Basin is still poorly constrained due to the lack of boreholes penetrating the whole sedimentary sequence above the oceanic crust and the lack of a clear magnetic anomaly pattern. In the past, a consensus developed over a fast (20.5–19 Ma) spreading event, relying on old paleomagnetic data from Oligo–Miocene Sardinian volcanics showing a drift-related 30° counterclockwise (CCW) rotation. Here we report new paleomagnetic data from a 10-m-thick lower–middle Miocene marine sedimentary sequence from southwestern Sardinia. Ar/Ar dating of two volcanoclastic levels in the lower part of the sequence yields ages of 18.94±0.13 and 19.20±0.12 Ma (lower–mid Burdigalian). Sedimentary strata below the upper volcanic level document a 23.3±4.6° CCW rotation with respect to Europe, while younger strata rapidly evolve to null rotation values. A recent magnetic overprint can be excluded by several lines of evidence, particularly by the significant difference between the in situ paleomagnetic and geocentric axial dipole (GAD) field directions. In both the rotated and unrotated part of the section, only normal polarity directions were obtained. As the global magnetic polarity time scale (MPTS) documents several geomagnetic reversals in the Burdigalian, a continuous sedimentary record would imply that (unrealistically) the whole documented rotation occurred in few thousands years only. We conclude that the section contains one (or more) hiatus(es), and that the minimum age of the unrotated sediments above the volcanic levels is unconstrained. Typical back-arc basin spreading rates translate to a duration ≥3 Ma for the opening of the Liguro–Provençal Basin. Thus, spreading and rotation of Corsica–Sardinia ended no earlier than 16 Ma (early Langhian). A 16–19 Ma, spreading is corroborated by other evidences, such as the age of the breakup unconformity in Sardinia, the age of igneous rocks dredged west of Corsica, the heat flow in the Liguro–Provençal Basin, and recent paleomagnetic data from Sardinian sediments and volcanics. Since Corsica was still rotating/drifting eastward at 16 Ma, it presumably induced significant shortening to the east, in the Apennine belt. Therefore, the lower Miocene extensional basins in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea and margins can be interpreted as synorogenic “intra-wedge” basins due to the thickening and collapse of the northern Apennine wedge.     

Ancient Martian aeolian processes and palaeomorphology reconstructed from the Stimson formation on the lower slope of Aeolis Mons,Gale crater,Mars

Reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental context of Martian sedimentary rocks is central to studies of ancient Martian habitability and regional palaeoclimate history. This paper reports the analysis of a distinct aeolian deposit preserved in Gale crater, Mars, and evaluates its palaeomorphology, the processes responsible for its deposition, and its implications for Gale crater geological history and regional palaeoclimate. Whilst exploring the sedimentary succession cropping out on the northern flank of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity encountered a decametre‐thick sandstone succession, named the Stimson formation, unconformably overlying lacustrine deposits of the Murray formation. The sandstone contains sand grains characterized by high roundness and sphericity, and cross‐bedding on the order of 1 m in thickness, separated by sub‐horizontal bounding surfaces traceable for tens of metres across outcrops. The cross‐beds are composed of uniform thickness cross‐laminations interpreted as wind‐ripple strata. Cross‐sets are separated by sub‐horizontal bounding surfaces traceable for tens of metres across outcrops that are interpreted as dune migration surfaces. Grain characteristics and presence of wind‐ripple strata indicate deposition of the Stimson formation by aeolian processes. The absence of features characteristic of damp or wet aeolian sediment accumulation indicate deposition in a dry aeolian system. Reconstruction of the palaeogeomorphology suggests that the Stimson dune field was composed largely of simple sinuous crescentic dunes with a height of ca 10 m, and wavelengths of ca 150 m, with local development of complex dunes. Analysis of cross‐strata dip azimuths indicates that the general dune migration direction and hence net sediment transport was towards the north‐east. The juxtaposition of a dry aeolian system unconformably above the lacustrine Murray formation represents starkly contrasting palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic conditions. Stratigraphic relationships indicate that this transition records a significant break in time, with the Stimson formation being deposited after the Murray formation and stratigraphically higher Mount Sharp group rocks had been buried, lithified and subsequently eroded.     

Late Triassic fluvial and marine shelf succession, Quebrada Doña Inés Chica, Atacama region, northern Chile

A 400-meter-thick volcanic and fine-grained clastic sedimentary succession in Quebrada Doña Ines Chica (26°07′S latitude; 69°20'W longitude) provides a record of Late Triassic deposition in the Atacama region of northern Chile. The strata are conformably overlain by fossiliferous marine limestones and sandstones of Late Triassic to Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) age which contain the oldest ichthyosaur remains known from Central and South America. The clastic succession is interpreted as coastal fluvial deposits, with the overlying limestones representing shelf deposits.     

广东梅县地区晚中生代伸展构造特征

广东梅县地区位于政和—大埔断裂南段之莲花山断裂带中。通过开展1:5万野外地质调查及室内研究表明,广东梅县地区存在晚中生代伸展构造体系,该体系主要由剥离断层和2个不同层次的剥离层组成,结合火山岩、侵入岩、沉积地层接触关系及高精度测年数据,讨论了该体系的形成时限,认为其形成和主导作用时期在晚侏罗世—早白垩世早期(160 ~135 Ma),最大伸展期在145 Ma左右; 前人认为莲花山断裂为早古生代俯冲带,但研究表明,其构造属性为晚侏罗世形成的剥离断层。因此,政和—大埔断裂一带很可能也存在晚中生代的伸展构造体系,说明华南主要构造形迹奠定于中生代,这为华南主要热液金属矿床区域成矿规律研究提供了新的参考模型。     

Palaeomagnetism of the central Cuban Cretaceous Arc sequences and geodynamic implications

A detailed palaeomagnetic study of Cretaceous age volcanic and sedimentary arc rocks from central Cuba has been carried out. Samples from 32 sites (12 localities) were subjected to detailed demagnetisation experiments. Nineteen sites from the Los Paso, Mataguá, Provincial and Cabaiguán Formations yielded high unblocking temperature, dual polarity directions of magnetisation which pass the fold tests with confidence levels of 95% or more and are considered to be primary in origin. The palaeomagnetic inclinations are equivalent to palaeolatitudes of 9°N for the Aptian, 18°N for the Albian. A synfolding remanence identified in 5 sites from the younger Hilario Formation indicates a late Cretaceous remagnetisation at a palaeolatitude of 16°N. Our results are in good agreement with previous palaeogeographic models and provide the first high quality palaeomagnetic data demonstrating the gradual northward movement of the Cretaceous Volcanic Arc throughout the Cretaceous. The declination values obtained all indicate significant and similar amounts of anticlockwise rotation from the oldest sequences studied through to the late Cretaceous remagnetisation. This rotation is most likely related to collision of the arc with the North American plate and transpressional strike slip movement along the northern margin of the Caribbean plate as it progressed eastwards into the large Proto-Caribbean basin.     

Facies and provenance analysis of Paleogene‐age alluvial conglomerates from the northern part of the Mesta Basin,SW Bulgaria

The Mesta Basin in southwest Bulgaria is a graben that contains a Paleogene‐age siliciclastic and volcaniclastic succession deposited in alluvial and fluvial settings. A sedimentological analysis has shed light on conglomerate provenance, and the links between deposition and tectonic setting. Petrographical and chemical analysis of conglomerate clasts and matrix from the Dobrinishka, Gradinishka, Osikovo (or Osenovo) and Zlataritsa formations reveal both local, and more distal source provenance ages. The basal conglomerates are subdivided into three types, a lower and upper polymictic and a middle granitic conglomerate type. Petrographical and chemical analysis reveals granite, gneiss and amphibolite clasts that were sourced from the Sidironero–Mesta Unit of the Middle Allochthon of the Rhodope Metamorphic Complex, and the Rila–Rhodope Batholith to the east of the basin. Cathodoluminescence analysis of quartz sand grains reveals an increased input of red‐ and violet‐luminescent volcanic grains. Volcanic quartz in the oldest conglomerates indicates a hitherto unknown early (pre‐Oligocene) phase of volcanic activity in the vicinity of the Mesta Basin. The conglomerates were deposited in association with movement on the Ribnovo low‐angle normal fault during the Late Eocene, creating subsidence and the development of considerable accommodation space. The establishment of a fluvial environment followed subsequent Oligocene‐age volcanic activity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.