Slavin Yar: a new Upper Cenozoic reference section in the Tunka rift valley (Southwestern Baikal region)

The biostratigraphic study of a new Upper Cenozoic reference section in the Tunka rift valley (southwestern Baikal region) accompanied by radiocarbon measurements made it possible to date its lithological units. It is established that the section is largely composed of Upper Pleistocene fluvial sediments resting with distinct angular unconformity uapon Pliocene conglomerates. The revealed structural features of the section confirm the views that the directed development of the Tunka depressions was complicated by local inversions, when the sedimentation area became reduced. The main sedimentation features during the Late Cenozoic and its stages are reconstructed for the studied area.