The Gangdese thrust: a phantom structure that did not raise Tibet

ABSTRACT Detailed field investigations do not support the existence of a ‘Gangdese thrust’ along the Yarlung Tsangpo suture zone in southern Tibet. A relationship where Lhasa terrane rocks are thrust southwards over components of this zone was not observed over 2000 km of the suture. On the contrary, at the type locality of this ‘Gangdese thrust’, Miocene conglomerates unconformably overlie an eroded surface of Lhasa terrane rocks. Interpretations that invoke Late Oligocene – Early Miocene south‐directed thrusting on a ‘Gangdese thrust’ as a mechanism for uplift of the Tibetan Plateau must therefore be reassessed.