Geology, structural and exhumation history of the Higher Himalayan Crystallines in Kumaon Himalaya, India

Abstract

The crystallines in the Kumaon Himalaya, India are studied along Goriganga, Darma and Kaliganga valleys and found to be composed of two high-grade metamorphic gneiss sheets i.e. the Higher Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) and Lesser Himalayan Crystalline (LHC) zones. These were tectonically extruded as a consequence of the southward directed propagation of crustal deformation in the Indian plate margin. The HHC and its cover rocks i.e. the Tethyan Sedimentary Zone (TSZ) are exposed through tectonic zones within the hinterland of Kumaon Himalaya. The HHC records history of at least one episode of pre-Himalayan deformation (D1), three episodes of Himalayan deformation (D2, D3, D4). The rocks of the HHC in Kumaon Himalaya are thoroughly transposed by D2 deformation into NW-SE trending Sm (S1+S2). The extent of transposition and a well-developed NE-plunging L2 lineation indicate intense strain during D2 throughout the studied portion of the HHC. Ductile flow continued, resulting in rotation of F1 and F2 folds due NE-direction and NW-SE plunging F3 folds within the HHC. The over thickened crystalline was finally, superimposed by late-to-post collisional brittle-ductile deformation (D4) and exposed the rocks to rapid erosion.