Abstract
The Zagros Orogenic Belt includes the Fold and Thrust Belt, the High Zagros Belt, the Outer Zagros Ophiolitic Belt, the Sanandaj–Sirjan Metamorphic Belt, the Inner Zagros Ophiolitic Belt, and the Urumieh–Dokhtar Magmatic Belt. We divide the High Zagros evolutionary history into five stages: (1) triple junction formation, (2) continental lithosphere rifting, (3) generation, spreading, and maturation of the Neotethys Ocean, (4) subduction of the oceanic lithosphere, and (5) collision. The Neotethys triple junction, located at the southeastern corner of the Arabian Plate, formed during the Late Silurian–Early Carboniferous. Subsequently, this triple junction became a rift basin due to normal faulting and basalt eruption. The rifting stage occurred during the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian. Thereafter, extension of the basin continued, leading to spreading and maturation of the Neotethys oceanic basin during the Late Permian–Late Triassic. Probably at the end of the Late Triassic, closure of the Paleotethys...
Highlights
The Alpine–Himalayan Orogenic Belt consists of two branches in Iran, the Alborz Mountains with an E–W trend and the Zagros Orogen with an NW–SE trend (Alavi 1994; Agard et al 2005)
On the basis of tectonomagmatic and structural features, the Zagros Orogen is subdivided into nine subzones (Falcon 1969; Berberian 1995; Emami et al 2010; Homke et al 2010), which are the Mesopotamian–Persian Gulf Foreland, the Dezful Embayment, the Fold and Thrust Belt, the Crush Zone (High Zagros or Imbricated Zone), the Outer Zagros Ophiolite Belt, the Sanandaj–Sirjan First Metamorphic Belt, the Mesozoic Magmatic Belt, the Sanandaj–Sirjan Second Metamorphic Belt, and the Urumieh–Dokhtar Magmatic Belt (UDMB) (Fig. 1)
Using the spatial distribution of the major ophiolitic complexes of the Zagros Orogen and other features, we describe the tectonomagmatic and tectonostratigraphic evolution of this Orogen in five stages: (1) triple junction formation, (2) continental lithosphere rifting, (3) generation, spreading, and maturation of the Neotethys Ocean, (4) subduction of the oceanic lithosphere, and (5) collision
Summary
The Alpine–Himalayan Orogenic Belt consists of two branches in Iran, the Alborz Mountains with an E–W trend and the Zagros Orogen with an NW–SE trend (Alavi 1994; Agard et al 2005). Because of the key situation of the Zagros Orogen within the Alpine–Himalayan Orogenic Belt and its importance in revealing the nature of Neotethys Ocean evolution and closure, numerous studies have been carried out on its magmatic, sedimentary, metamorphic, and structural characteristics (e.g., Takin 1972; Stöcklin 1977; Berberian and King 1981; Sengör 1984; Dercourt et al 1986; Sengör et al 1988; Glennie 1992; Alavi 1994; Stampfli and Borel 2002; Mohajjel et al 2003; Golonka 2004; Shahabpour 2005; Agard et al 2005; Kazmin and Tikhonova 2006; Robertson 2007; Sheikholeslami et al 2008; De Vera et al 2009; Allahyari et al 2010; Homke et al 2010; Saura et al 2011; Ghazi et al 2012; Saccani et al 2013; Chiu et al 2013; McQuarrie and van Hinsbergen 2013, among many others). We try to present a comprehensive reconstruction model for the Zagros Orogen to better explain its characteristics, by reviewing and discussing all hypotheses
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