Tectonics of the Longmen Shan and Adjacent Regions, Central China

TLDR: The Longmen Shan region can be divided into two major tectonic elements: (1) an autochthon/parautochthons which underlies the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau, the Sichuan Basin, and the eastern SICHuan fold-and-thrust belt as discussed by the authors.

Abstract: The Longmen Shan region includes, from west to east, the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, the Sichuan Basin, and the eastern part of the eastern Sichuan fold-and-thrust belt. In the northeast, it merges with the Micang Shan, a part of the Qinling Mountains. The Longmen Shan region can be divided into two major tectonic elements: (1) an autochthon/parautochthon, which underlies the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau, the Sichuan Basin, and the eastern Sichuan fold-and-thrust belt; and (2) a complex allochthon, which underlies the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. The allochthon was emplaced toward the southeast during Late Triassic time, and it and the western part of the autochthon/parautochthon were modified by Cenozoic deformation. The autochthon/parautochthon was formed from the western part of the Yangtze platform and consists of a Proterozoic basement covered by a thin, incomplete succession of Late Proterozoic to Middle Triassic shallow-marine and nonmarine sedimentary rocks interru...