The Tectonic Uplift and Its Environmental Effects of the Qinling Mountains During the Cenozoic Era: Progress and Problems

The Qinling Orogen, a majestic high mountain, is located in the center of China mainland. Qinling Mountains is nearly 2 500 km from the west to the east. It holds a very prominent role not only in the geological but also in the geographical study. In geology, it was built through collision between the North China and South China Blocks. It became the backbone of the tectonic framework of China mainland. In the other way, Qinling is the geographical boundaries in ecological and cultural environment between the northern and the southern China. Many previous studies have dealt with the tectonic system dynamics and structural evolution of Qinling, but most work has focused on the tectonic evolution of the Qinling from the Paleozoic to the Mesozoic. However, the Cenozoic tectonic uplift evolution of Qinling has caused less attention, and little research has been done on the environmental effect of Qinling. And there are still debates about these two questions. The purpose of this paper was to provide an overview of the current studies about the Cenozoic tectonic uplift and its environmental effects of the Qinling Mountains. Finally, this paper pointed out the existing research achievements and the problems to be solved in future research.