Late Cenozoic structural and stratigraphic evolution of the northern Chinese Tian Shan foreland

Three successive zones of fault‐related folds disrupt the proximal part of the northern Tian Shan foreland in NW China. A new magnetostratigraphy of the Taxi He section on the north limb of the Tugulu anticline in the middle deformed zone clarifies the chronology of both tectonic deformation and depositional evolution of this collisional mountain belt. Our ～1200‐m‐thick section encompasses the upper Cenozoic terrigenous sequence within which ～300 sampling horizons yield an age span of ～8–2 Ma. Although the basal age in the Taxi He section of the Xiyu conglomerate (often cited as an indicator of initial deformation) is ～2.1 Ma, much earlier growth of the Tugulu anticline is inferred from growth strata dated at ～6.0 Ma. Folding of Neogene strata and angular unconformities in anticlines in the more proximal and distal deformed zones indicate deformation during Miocene and Early Pleistocene times, respectively. In the Taxi He area, sediment‐accumulation rates significantly accelerate at ～4 Ma, apparently in response to encroaching thrust loads. Together, growth strata, angular unconformities, and sediment‐accumulation rates document the northward migration of tectonic deformation into the northern Tian Shan foreland basin during the late Cenozoic. A progradational alluvial–lacustrine system associated with this northward progression is subdivided into two facies associations at Tugulu: a shallow lacustrine environment before ～5.9 Ma and an alluvial fan environment subsequently. The lithofacies progradation encompasses the time‐transgressive Xiyu conglomerate deposits, which should only be recognized as a lithostratigraphic unit. Along the length of the foreland, the locus of maximum shortening shifts between the medial and proximal zones of folding, whereas the total shortening across the foreland remains quite homogeneous along strike, suggesting spatially steady tectonic forcing since late Miocene times.