Deformation at the Easternmost Altyn Tagh Fault: Constraints on the Growth of the Northern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

AbstractHow the Altyn Tagh fault (ATF) extends eastwards is one of the key questions in the study of the growth of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Detailed fieldwork at the easternmost part of the ATF shows that the ATF extends eastward and bypasses the Kuantan Mountain; it does not stop at the Kuantan Mountain, but connects with the northern Heishan fault in the east. The ATF does not enter the Alxa Block but extends eastward along the southern Alxa Block to the Jintanan Mountain. The Heishan fault is not a thrust fault but a sinistral strike‐slip fault with a component of thrusting and is a part of the ATF. Further to the east, the Heishan fault may connect with the Jintananshan fault. A typical strike‐slip duplex develops in the easternmost part of the ATF. The cut and deformed Quaternary sediments and displaced present gullies along the easternmost ATF indicate that it is an active fault. The local highest Mountain (i.e., the Kuantan Mountain) in the region forms in a restraining bend of the ATF due to the thrusting and uplifting. The northward growth of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and the active deformation in South Mongolia are realized by sinistral strike‐slipping on a series of NE–SW‐trending faults and thrusting in restraining bends along the strike‐slip faults with the northeastward motion of blocks between these faults.