Fault analysis and paleostress evolution in large strain regions: methodological and geological discussion of the southeastern Himalayan fold-and-thrust belt in Pakistan

Abstract

We document the structure and kinematics of the southeastern part of the fold-and-thrust belt of the Pakistani Himalaya. Field analysis documents the importance of strike–slip faulting associated with folding. Accordingly, a transpression regime is inferred to be responsible for variable amounts of shortening, from fault block to fault block. The analysis of fault populations that affect the Mesozoic to early Miocene sediments allows distinguishing two paleostress tensor directions: a dominant NW–SE compression and a minor E–W compression are compatible with buckling around the N–S axis of the near-by Hazara-Kashmir syntaxis. From the lack of both systematic overprinting-relationships and spatial trend (the two tensors were obtained at different locations) we conclude that in each location any of these two shortening directions can dominate. The distribution of the paleostress tensors substantiates a transpressional regime due to far-field Himalayan compression and a lateral escape component of the allochthonous fold-and-thrust belt away from the growing Hazara-Kashmir anticline.