Abstract
The Western Sichuan Foreland Basin is an elongate basin situated along the thrust northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, and is dominated by clastic sedimentary sequences ranging in age from the Late Triassic to Quaternary. As the neighbouring thrust sheets in the Longmen Mountains were propagated from northwest to southeast, the foreland basin fill was incorporated into the Thrust-Nappe Belt, and the depocentres migrated southeastwards. The tectono-depositional history of the foreland basin can be divided into three stages: (1) an initial stage in the Late Triassic (T 3x 1−T 3x 2) characterized by fine-grained clastic sediments deposited in a transitional marine-terrestrial environment, responding to southeast-directed rapid thrusting on the Yingxiu-Beichuan Fault; (2) a fault-dominated stage between the Late Triassic and Early Cretaceous (T 3x 3−K 1j) marked by rhythmic thrusting on the Guan Xian-An Xian Fault and deposition of terrestrial molasse-type sediments; and (3) a folding-dominated stage from the Late Cretaceous to Quaternary (K 2j−Q), characterized by decreases in basin extent and deposition rate.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
