Intracrustal detachment within zones of continental deformation

Research Article| August 01, 1989 Intracrustal detachment within zones of continental deformation B. C. Burchfiel; B. C. Burchfiel 1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Deng Quidong; Deng Quidong 2State Seismology Bureau, Beijing, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Peter Molnar; Peter Molnar 1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Leigh Royden; Leigh Royden 1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Wang Yipeng; Wang Yipeng 2State Seismology Bureau, Beijing, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhang Peizhen; Zhang Peizhen 1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Zhang Weiqi Zhang Weiqi 3Ningxia Seismological Bureau, Ningxia-Hui Autonomous Region, Yinchuan, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (1989) 17 (8): 748–752. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017<0448:IDWZOC>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation B. C. Burchfiel, Deng Quidong, Peter Molnar, Leigh Royden, Wang Yipeng, Zhang Peizhen, Zhang Weiqi; Intracrustal detachment within zones of continental deformation. Geology 1989;; 17 (8): 748–752. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017<0448:IDWZOC>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Geologic mapping of active to recently active geologic structures in Panamint Valley (western United States) and in the Haiyuan region and northern Tibetan plateau (China) suggests detachment in the middle and lower crust on a scale of tens of kilometres to at least several hundred kilometres. Detachment occurs similarly in predominantly extensional (Panamint Valley) and in predominantly compressional (China) environments. It involves structures with displacements of more than 10 km and displacement rates of more than 3 mm/yr, perhaps more than 10 mm/yr. The steeply dipping strike-slip faults present in all three areas (Hunter Mountain fault, Haiyuan fault, and Altyn Tagh fault zone) terminate in zones of extension or compression, and geometric relations indicate that all structures (including strike-slip faults) are thin-skinned and restricted to the upper crust. In Panamint Valley and in the Haiyuan region deformation within these systems can be reconstructed in three dimensions. Displacement on the strike-slip faults is absorbed by extension or compression occurring at the termination of the faults, so strike-slip displacement is roughly equal to and in the same direction as shortening or extension. We propose that left slip on the Altyn Tagh fault zone in northern Tibet is similarly absorbed by shortening southeast of the fault zone within the Qaidam basin and the Nan Shan. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.