Abstract
The Belt of Schuppen is an important tectonic element of the Assam-Arakan basin. It is a narrow belt of thrust slices in southeastern boundary of the Assam valley. The Naga Schuppen Belt, consisting of eight or more imbricated thrusts, occurs between the Naga and Disang thrusts. This present study encompasses an area of 4,720 sq km along the Assam-Nagaland border. The Dikhow River, which is a seventh order basin, originates from Naga Hills flowing through a total length of 240 km in the Assam valley and reaches the Brahmaputra. In this study, the morphotectonic analysis of the Dikhow River was carried out to understand the role of active tectonics of the Naga Hills in Nazira-Naginimora areas of Assam and Nagaland respectively. The parameters such as asymmetric factor (AF), transverse topographic symmetric factor (T), and stream length gradient index (SL) were computed. Absolute AF values shows asymmetric to highly asymmetrical shape of the basins (range III-IV) which is also supported by T values. Anomalous SL values were obtained wherein major lineament and tectonic features are present. This indicates that the study area is tectonically active. Further, in the Assam valley it has been observed in the bank stratigraphy of Dikhow River that the Quaternary sediments are deformed. This deformation of the soft older alluvium indicates that the area is undergoing deformation during post Pliocene time. This evidence demands the morphotectonic evaluation of the aforesaid area to demarcate the tectonic activeness of the region in post Pliocene times.
Highlights
The Belt of Schuppen (BoS) in the western part of Nagaland forms the most prominent morphotectonic unit of the Naga Hills covering an area of 4,500 sq km
This paper aims to evaluate the neotectonic evidences and morphotectonic analysis in and around the Nazira-Naginimora region by tracing the changes in the course of Dikhow River supplemented by major surface anomalies (Figure 1)
Morphotectonic evaluation of the present study area involves the study of the basins of the Dikhow River with respect to its tilting pattern, tilting direction, gradient change and presence of linear features
Summary
The Belt of Schuppen (BoS) in the western part of Nagaland forms the most prominent morphotectonic unit of the Naga Hills covering an area of 4,500 sq km. It constitutes the outermost morpho-tectonic unit of the Assam-Arakan fold belt which formed as a result of subduction of the Indian plate beneath the Burmese plate.[1,2] Mathur and Evans opined that the Tertiary sediments of this belt were deformed by eight or possibly more thrust slices.[3] They are overriding each other which is evidenced by Naga Hills as it thrusted northwestward relative to the Precambrian crystalline Foreland Spur. To carry out this study, morphotectonic parameters were used to understand the presence of active tectonics for the area
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