SHRIMP Geochronology of Volcanics of the Zhangjiakou and Yixian Formations, Northern Hebei Province, with a Discussion on the Age of the Xing'anling Group of the Great Hinggan Mountains and Volcanic Strata of the Southeastern Coastal Area of China

Abstract

Abstract A zircon U‐Pb geochronological study on the volcanic rocks reveals that both of the Zhangjiakou and Yixian Formations, northern Hebei Province, are of the Early Cretaceous, with ages of 135–130 Ma and 129–120 Ma, respectively. It is pointed out that the ages of sedimentary basins and volcanism in the northern Hebei ‐western Liaoning area become younger from west to east, i. e. the volcanism of the Luanping Basin commenced at c. 135 Ma, the Luotuo Mount area of the Chengde Basin c. 130 Ma, and western Liaoning c. 128 Ma. With a correlation of geochronological stratigraphy and biostratigraphy, we deduce that the Xing'anling Group, which comprises the Great Hinggan Mountains volcanic rock belt in eastern China, is predominantly of the early‐middle Early Cretaceous, while the Jiande and Shimaoshan Groups and their equivalents, which form the volcanic rock belt in the southeastern coast area of China, are of the mid‐late Early Cretaceous, and both the Jehol and Jiande Biotas are of the Early Cretaceous, not Late Jurassic or Late Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous. Combining the characteristics of the volcanic rocks and, in a large area, hiatus in the strata of the Late Jurassic or Late Jurassic‐early Early Cretaceous between the formations mentioned above and the underlying sequences, we can make the conclusion that, in the Late Jurassic‐early Early Cretaceous, the eastern China region was of high relief or plateau, where widespread post‐orogenic volcanic series of the Early Cretaceous obviously became younger from inland in the west to continental margin in the east. This is not the result of an oceanward accretion of the subduction belt between the Paleo‐Pacific ocean plate and the Asian continent, but rather reflects the extension feature, i.e. after the closure of the Paleo‐Pacific ocean, the Paleo‐Pacific ancient continent collided with the Asian continent and reached the peak of orogenesis, and then the compression waned and resulted in the retreating of the post‐orogenic extension from outer orogenic zone to inner part (or collision zone). The determination of the eruption age of the volcanics of the Zhangjiakou Formation definitely constrains the switch period, which began in the Indosinian and finished in the Yanshanian, that is, 140–135 Ma. The switch is concretely the change from the approximate E‐W Paleo‐Asian tectonic system to the NE to NNE Pacific system, and the period is also the apex of a continent‐continent collision and orogenesis of subduction, being consumed and eventually disappearing of the Paleo‐Pacific ancient continent, and all the processes commenced in the Indosinian. While the following post‐orogenic large‐scale eruption in the Early Cretaceous marks the final completeness of the Paleo‐Pacific structure dynamics system.