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The configuration of Asia prior to the collision

of India: Cretaceous paleomagnetic constraints

Article in Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · December 1993

DOI: 10.1029/93JB02075

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 JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 98, NO. B12, PAGES 21,927-21,941, DECEMBER 10, 1993

The Configuration of Asia Prior to the Collision of India'

CretaceousPaleomagneticConstraints
YANCItEN,1VINCENTCOURTn.!
OT,JEAN-PASCAL
COGNI•,
JEAN
BESSE,
ZHENYU
YANG,ANDRANDY
ENKIN
2
Laboratoirede Paldomagn•tisme
et Gdodynamique,Ddpartementde Gdomagn•tisme
et Paldomagn•tisme
(URA CNRS 729),
Institutde Physiquedu Globe,Paris

Palcomagneticdata from Central Asia show that 1700-!610 km of shorteningof southernAsia since
Cretaceoustime have been absorbedby distributeddeformationbetweensouthernTibet and the Siberia
craton.This resultis basedon a compilationof Cretaceous polesfrom the Junggar,Tarim, Tibet, Indochina,
South China, North China, and Mongolia blocks,complementingthe recentcompilationof Enkin et al.
(1992a).We proposea paleogeographic reconstmctionof Asia in the Cretaceous,
in whichthe positionof
Siberiais derivedfrom the syntheticapparentpolar wanderpathof BesseandCourtillot(1991). The resulting
map, which likely represents Asia as it remainedthroughoutthe Cretaceousuntil the collisionwith India
began,featuresan "unbent"Tibet,with an east-west trendingAndeanmarginat tropicallatitudesanda rather
continuous belt of continental
redbedbasinsextendingfromSichuanto TarimthroughTibet.The mapallows
oneto estimatecontinentalshortening and rotationsbetweenthe blocks,whichare attributedto the collision.
Despitelargeuncertainties,
thesehave amountsand senseswhichare in all casescompatiblewith some
recentkinematicmodelssuchas that of Avouac (1991).

INTRODUCTION The period for which the largest and best quality data are
available happens to be the Cretaceous, the period
For the last decade,Asia hasbeenthe targetof unprecedented immediatelyprecedingthe Indian collision.The presentpaper
activity by paleomagneticians.Cooperationbetween Chinese focuses on a synthesis of these data and proposes a
and principally French and U.S. laboratories has led to a Cretaceous,precollisionalreconstructionof Asia. This can be
remarkablegrowth of the corresponding database.The purpose used to infer the amounts and modes of deformation that have
of these studies has been to describe and quantify the led to the presentgeometry.Althoughthis paper concentrates
geographical and tectonic evolution of the lithospheric on blocks presently located to the west of, say, 100øE
blocksthat have accretedto form the Asian mosaic(Figure 1). longitude,referencewill be made to ongoingcompanionwork
As time has passed,the samplingin both spaceand time has by Yang [1992], includingnew data from Thailand [Yang and
increased,and resolution is now reaching a stage at which
Besse, 1993] and from the NCB [Yang et al., 1991, 1992; Ma
other geological and geophysicalfield observationscan be
et al., 1993] and SCB [Enkin et al., 1992b].
comparedto and incorporatedin the reconstructions proposed
by paleomagneticians.
GEO•ICAL BACKGROUND
Enkin et al. [1992a] have proposeda critical evaluationof
the availabledata and a set of palcogeographic reconstructions The detailedgeometryof the blocksthat comprisesome 10 x
goingback to the Permian.Emphasiswas placedon the major 106 km2 of Chinais still debatedbut the outlinesof the main
blocks, principally North and South China (NCB and SCB, blocksare now generallyagreedupon(Figure 1). The exact age
respectively)in their relationshipwith Siberia. Eurasianpolar and nature of the block boundaries, which have often had a
wanderwas assessed indirectlyby transferringdata from other long history and have sometimesbeen severelyaffectedas a
plates or by using data from remote areas of Eurasia itself consequenceof the India-Asia collision, are not always
[Besseand Courtillot, 1988, 1991]. Less emphasiswas placed established by field observations. To the southandwestof the
on central Asian blocks. Yet these smaller blocks have been
larger Siberia, NCB and SCB, we encounterthe following
particularly strongly affected by the Paleocenecollision of seriesof blocks,going roughly from north to south.
India and their mode of deformationhasbeen the subjectof an The Junggarblock (JUN) forms the southeastern triangular
ongoingcontroversyfor the last decade.End-membermodels termination of the larger Kazakhstan block (KAZ), but
involve crustalor lithosphericdoubling,homogeneous crustal Mesozoic or Cenozoic relative motion of the two is not
or lithospheric thickening [e.g., England and Houseman, excluded. Feng et al. [1989] believe that amalgamationof
1986], inhomogeneousstrain localized along a few major Siberia, Kazakhstan, and Tarim began in the middle
mountain ranges and sutures, major strike-slip faulting Carboniferous.Carboniferousto Tertiary sedimentscrop out
allowingfor lateralextrusion[Peltzerand Tapponnier,1988]. along the folded foothills of Tien Shan (Figure 1). The
New paleomagneticdata have been collectedand published Cretaceous rocks conformably overlie the Jurassic strata,
for these blocks, particularly the Junggarblock in Xinjiang starting with fine dark red sandstoneand conglomerates
Province [Chen et al., 1991], the Tarim block [Chen et al., grading upward to variegated and light green sandstones.
1992], and Tibet farther south[Chenet al., 1993]. A general Ostracods of probable Barremian age, a typical Asian
presentationof thesedata has been proposedby Chen [1992]. Psitaccosaurus of probableAlbo-Aptianage,andHadrosaurs of
Santonian to Maastrichtian age have been found in these
Cretaceous formations [Chen, 1983; Hao et al., 1986]. The
INowat D6partement desSciencesdela Terre,Universit6d'Orl6ans,
Orl6ans, France.
lower Tertiary is composedof brick-redgypsiferousmudstones
and sandstones with thin layers of bioclasticlimestones[Peng
2NowatPacificGeoscience Center,Sidney,
BritishColumbia, Canada.
and Zhang, 1989] and conformablyoverliesthe Cretaceous.
Copyright1993 by the AmericanGeophysicalUnion. The Tien Shanmarksthe boundarybetweenthe Tarim (TAR)
and Junggarblocks. This east-westtrending mountain belt
Paper number93JB02075. extendsover 2500 km in CentralAsia; it is a Paleozoicrange
0148-0227/93/93JB~02075 $05.00 that has been reactivatedduring the Cenozoic,probablyin the

21,927
21,928 • ETAL.:CONFIGURA•ON
OFASIAPRIOR
TOTIlECOLLISION
OFINDIA

60 ø 120 ø 140 ø

EUR I SIB
!

MON
40 ø
40'

TAR

KUN

SCB

20' 20 ø
IND

Suture o

Fault

80øE 100øE 120øE

Fig. 1. Schematic
blockmapof ChinaandSoutheastAsiashowingthemainsutures
andfaults(KF, KarakommFault;MBT,
Main BoundaryThmst).The majorblocksare AFG, Afghanistan;
EUR, Europe;INC, Indochina;
IND, India;JUN, Junggar,
KAZ, Kazakstan;KUN, Kunlun;MON, Mongolia;NCB, NorthChinaBlock;QA, Qaidam;QI, Qiangtang;SIR, Siberia;SCB,
SouthChinaBlock;ST, ShanThai;andTAR,Tarim.Alsoindicated
arethemainlocations
whereCretaceous
paleomagnetic
dataareavailable.Declinationis indicatedby arrows(a thinline indicatestruenorth;notethatdueto theprojecuonselected,
it
hasbeenpreferredto tracethesethin reference linesverdeaftratherthanactuallylocallyparallel•o the meridian).Open
arrowsare for areassuspected of majorlocalscaledeformation or unreliablepaleomagnetic
data(seetext). Solidarrowsare
thoughtto be representative
of theindividualblocksat a largerscale.

middle Miocene [Moltmr and Tapponnier,1975; Tapponnier successivelyaccreted onto Asia. Each one has its own,
and Moltmr, 1979; Avouac et al., 1993]. distinctive, sedimentaryand tectonic history.
Tarira is the largest basin in China. During the early The Kunlun block (KUN) is coveredwith a thick sequence
Cretaceous, a series of red clastic rocks of delta facies and going from Cambrian to Triassic in age. The strong
argillaceouslimestoneof lake facies was depositedin the deformation of Permo-Triassic formations is attributed to the
western part of the basin. During the late Cretaceous, upperTriassiccollisionof Kunlun with Qiangtang[Chang et
transgression of the Tethys Sea led to the depositionof a al., 1986; Bourjot, 1991].
series of littoral sediments. These sediments have been Outcroppingformationsin Qiangtang(QA) includebasalts
affected, with increasingintensity toward the periphery,by and Jurassiclimestones[Matte et al., 1990], unconformably
late Paleozoic to Present tectonics [e.g., Molnar and overlain by red Cretaceous sandstones.These Mesozoic
Tapponnier1975;Tapponnierand Moltmr, 1979;Huang et formationsare not affectedby either strongmetamorphismor
al., 1980; Tian et al., 1989; P. Tapponnieret al., manuscript deformation.
in preparation,1992]. The Qiangtangis separatedfrom the Lhasablock by the
Farther South, theTibetan plateauextendsfor1.5x 106km2 Bangong-Nujiangsuturezone [e.g., Girardeau et al., 1984;
with an averagealtitudeof 5000 m. It comprisesthreemajor All•gre et al., 1984;Changet al., 1986;Pan and Wang,1991;
tectonicsubdivisions:the Kunlun-Qaidam,the Qiangtang(or Bourjot, 1991]. Ophiolitic melanges have yielded upper
NorthTibet), andthe Lahasa (or SouthTibe0 blockswhichwere Jurassicradiolaria [Pan and Wang, 1991], compatiblewith
 CItEN LrrAL.: CONFIOI/RATIONOFASIA PRIORTO TIlE COLLISIONOFINDIA 21,929

130 M.y.ages obtained by Harris et al. [1988] for NCB and SCB [Peltzer et al., 1989]), and Three Rivers area
granodiorites anddioriticplutonsin the eastof the plateau. [Tapponnieret al., 1990]. A major, still debatedconsequence
Collisionis supposed
to haveoccurred in theu• Jurassic. of the collision is the southeastward extrusion of the
Cretaceous formations in the Lhasa block (LH) occur as Indochinapeninsularelative to Eurasia [e.g., Peltzer and
Albian-Apfianlimestones
in the northandwestof the block Tapponnier, 1988].
and as fluvial and deltaic red sandstones with some volcanic
intercalafions to the south and east. Most formations located
Northof theYarlung-Zangbo
suturearestrongly
deformed
with P•MAGNETIC COMPILATION
folds sometimesoverturned.The closerthe suture,the stronger
the deformation which is attributed to the collision of India Furtherpalcomagneticsamplinghas beenobtainedrecently
by our group,with an emphasison Cretaceoussites:(1) in the
[e.g.,Jaegeret al., 1989].
The Markam area is sandwiched between the Junggarblock to the north of the Tien Shan range west of
Urumqi [Chen et al., 1991], (2) in the Tarim block at its
Jinshajiangand the Bangong-Nujiangsutures(Figure 1). A westernterminationto the west and north of Kashgar[Chen et
thick red bed sequence of Jurassic to Cretaceous age al., 1992], (3) along a traversethroughwesternTibet, across
conformablyoverliesthe Triassicsequences and is in turn the Qiangtangand Lhasablocks [Chen et al., 1993]. (4) in the
disconformablyoverlainby Eocene-Oligocene red molassic Indochinablock on the Khoratplateau[Yangand Besse,1993;
depositsor Pliocenetrachytesand continentaldeposits.The Yang, 1992], (5) in the Sichuanbasin of the SCB [Enkin et
Jurassic-Cretaceous
red bed sequencehas both greatthickness
and wide areal distributionaroundthe Markam area [Ren et al.,
al., 1991a,b] and (6) in the Ordospart of the NSB [Ma et al.,
1993]. These new data have been compiled with all those
19801.
publishedearlierby our groupand by others.
Sundaland includes Indochina, the Sunda shelf, Peninsular
This compilation (available on microfiche) follows the
Malaysia and Sumatra,SW Borneo, part of Burma, part of criteria and format of that of Enkin et al. [1992a] which it
Yunnansouthof the Red River fault, and,possibly,partsof $E complements for the blocksunderconsideration. For a pole to
Tibet (Figure 1). Its presentlimits aremarkedby ancientsuture be selected,it must meet the following criteria: (1) the study
zonesof possibleupper Triassicage, the Nan-Uttaraditsuture
must be based on more than 10 specimens,(2) the 95%
to the northwestand the SongMa sutureto the northeast;the confidence circle about the mean must have a radius less than
wide rangein the ageof the associated granites(from Triassic 15ø, (3) resultsmust be basedon completedemagnetization,
to upper Jurassic)underlinesour poor understandingof the (4) there must be some evidence for the absence of
geologicconfigurationin the early/middleMesozoic.Tertiary remagnefizafion,(5) the formationage must be defmed at the
activefaults,the Red River fault to the northeastandthe Wang stagelevel and (6) sufficientinformationmust be availableto
Chao /Three Pagodasfault systemsto the southwest,mark its assessthe quality of the pole (field and stability tests).Chen
lateral limits. Throughoutthe Wang Chao and Three Pagodas [1992] compiles a complete list of poles, which includes
faults zones, a N-S trendingbelt of granitesrepresentsthe Carboniferous,Permian, and Jurassicpoles for Junggar,
probablecontinuationof the Uttaradit suturezone. Although Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic,Eocene,
the ages are not well constrained[Beckinsale et al., 1979; and Neogene poles for Tarim and Carboniferous,Permian,
Liew and Page, 1985], thesegranitesare easilyrecogn•edand Triassic, Jurassic, Eocene and Neogene poles for Tibet,
mark the limits of Indochinawith respectto the Shan-Thai- complementingthe China pole list of Enkin et al. [1992a].
Malay block. After a major pre-upperTriassic tectonicphase Altogether, 13, 49, and 59 poles, respectivelyare listed for
known as the Indosinianorogeny,the Khorat basin was filled each block. All resulting data are given in the appendix,
by a thick continental successionof molasses(mainly red
beds) ranging in age from upper Triassic (Norian) to upper
available
on microfiche
1,withthoserejected
marked
by an
asterisk.Altogether,out of 82 upper and lower Cretaceous
Cretaceous.In the region of the western Khorat basin, the
poleslisted in the compilation,only 16 passedthe selection
Indosinian orogeny is marked by the unconformityof the
process (two for Junggar, one for the Fergana part of
Mesozoic series over a strongly folded marine limestone
Kazakstan,five for Tarim, and eight for Tibet). They are
series of upper Permian age. The same Albo-Aptian discussed in more detail below.
Psittacosaurus faunafoundin Junggarandpartsof Tibet is also Junggar block. Three poles are available for this block
foundin the Khorat [Buffetautand $uteethorn,1991]. Large (Figure2a andTable 1). Two polesfrom ½henet al. [1991] for
continentalbasinsof the sameage can alsobe found in central
Yunnan and S ichuan. the lower and upperCretaceous westof Urumqipassfold and
reversal tests and are not significanfiy different from each
Although the amount, mode, and geometry of the other.A pole from Liet al. [1991] has only beenpublishedin
deformationare all subjectto large uncertainties,there is a meeting abstract and cannot be properly assessed.The
generalagreement thatby Cretaceous
time all of theseblocks selectedpoles are shownwith their uncertaintiesin Figure 2b
had become part of Asia with essentially
no major areaof (followingthe formatusedby Enkinet al. [1992a]), together
oceaniccrust interveningbetweenany two of them [e.g., with the apparentpolar wander path (APWP) for Eurasia
Besse and Courtillot, 1988; Enldn et al., 1992a]. A Cretaceous
derivedby Besseand Courtillot [1991]. The Cretaceousmean
map of theseblockswould thereforeprovidea view of the for Junggaris at 73.4øN,223.6øE(A95 = 4.3ø).
Asian continentas it probablyremainedfrom late Jurassicto
the end of the Cretaceous. Such a reconstruction is essential Fergana basin.Bazhetmv[1993] hassampled15 localitiesin
the lower Cretaceoussandstones of the Ferganabasin,at the
for the quantifyingand understanding of the intracontinental
deformation that occurred since the onset of collision. southernmostpart of the Kazakstan block. Seven of these
localitiesyield a primary magnetization.AlthoughBazhenov
This collisioninducedmajor new faults within the Asian
mentions the possibility that the data are not Fisher-
lithosphereand reactivatedolder tectonicfeatures(faults and distributed, which he attributes to indentation of the Pamir
sutures).After a first contact(estimatedto be as old as 60
belt, a Fisheraveragecan be calculatedleadingto an average
M.y.by Jaeger et al. [1989]), India continuedto progress
northwardat some5 cm/yr [Molnar and Tapponnier,1975;
Patriat and Achache, 1984]. The collision generatedthe
I Appendixisavailable
withentire
paperonmicrofiche.
Himalayan range but also reactivated and/or created American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue, N.W.,
Orderfrom
intracontinentalranges farther north and northeast,such as Washington,DC 20009. DocumentB93-007; $2.50. Paymentmust
the Tien Shan,Kunlun,Qinling Shan(i.e., suturebetweenthe accompanyorder.
 ,930 CHEN
ETAL.:CONFIOURATION
OFASIAPRIOR
TOTHECOLLISION
OFINDIA

180 ø

-i-

<K1.J.2> •

90 ø
270 ø + + + + +
<K1.F.I>
+

.i-

1•80
ø
+

<K1
.J.
1>Junggar_____j,
C.•
I <K2.J.I>
Junggar,
Ch• 90 ø
+ +

270ø•
++++-•
• <K1.F.1> Fergana,Bazhenov
• + + -t-
+

+ b

Fig.2.Equal-area
projection
ofCretaceous
poles
fromJunggar
andFergana.
(a)Allpoles
and(b)onlyreliable
ones
(see
text).
Thereliable
(unreliable)
polesaremarked
bycircles
(triangles).
Solid(open)symbols
represent
lower(upper)
Cretaceous
poles.
Sampling
sites
whichcontribute
data
tothepoles
areshown
onthemap.
Identification
ofeach
polestarts
withanindexin
brackets,
corresponding
totheChina
pole1List
(seeappendix
onmicrofiche),
followed
bytheblock
orlocation
name andthe
name
ofthefirstauthor
oftherelevant
publication.
Tl•ereference
APWPof Eurasia[Besse
andCourtiilot,
1991]isgiven
in
open
dotsevery10Ma,exceptforCretaceous
poles
which aremarked
withsoliddots(130to70m.y.)andforwhichthe
overallenvelope
of 95%confidence
intervals
is shown
in shaded
pattern.

poleat 77.3øN,276.0øE(dp=5.4ø, din=8.6ø;Figure2 andTable indicationthat the poles are streakedalong a small circle
1). Thereis no evidencefor significantinternaldeformationof centeredon Tarim, implyingthat someof the samplingsites
the basin. may have sufferedsomeamountof rotationaboutlocally
Tarim block. Thirteen poles of Cretaceousage are available verticalaxes.The qualityof thepublished
resultsis notalways
for this block (Figure 3a and Table 1). There is some easyto assess. For instance,Liet al. [1989] did perform
 CHF• ET AL.: CONFIGURATION
OFASIA PRIORTO THECOLLISIONOFINDIA 21,931

TABLE 1. SelectedCretaoeousPaleomagneticData of China

Locality Age Pole A95 N Test Reference Code

(øN/øE) latitude,øN longitude,øE dp/dm

North China Block

40.1/11Z9 Ku 79.6 170.1 5.8 4 R Zhenget al. [1991] <K2.N.2>
45.4/107.6 K1 82.9 221.7 4.9/6.4 3 R Pruner [1987] <K1.N.I>
42.0/119.2 K1 82.9 249.5 5.7 6 F Zhao et al. [1990] <K1.N.2>
35.0/118.0 K1 75.8 208.7 7.5 10 R Ma et al. [1993] <K1.N.6>
Average K 81.3 208.3 6.9 4
South China Block
3Z0/119.0 Ku 76.3 172.6 10.3 10 F Kent et al. [1987] <K2.S.2>
30.0/102.9 Ku 72.8 241.1 4.1fi.4 16 R Enkin et al. [1991b] <K2.S.6>
26.6/102.4 Ku 78.9 186.6 4.3/6.7 3 - Zhu et al. [1988] <K2.S.6>
26.5/102.4 Ku 81.5 220.9 7.1 18 F Huang and Opdyke[1992] <K2.S.4>
22.2/114.2 Ku 78.2 171.9 10.6 12 R Chan [1991] <K2.S.8>
25.0/116.4 Ku 67.9 186.2 9.2 20 R Hu et al. [1990] <K2.S.14>
27.9/102.3 K1 77.4 196.2 11.5/18.3 2 - Zhuetal. [1988] <K1.S.6>
29.7/120.3 K1 77.1 227.6 5.5 7 R? L/n [1984] <K1.S.3>
30.0/102.9 K1 74.5 229.0 Z7/4.7 23 R Enkin et al. [1991b] <K1.S.4>
26.8/102.5 K1 69.0 204.6 4.3 7 - Huang and Opdyke[1992] <K1.S.7>
Average Ku 77.3 195.9 6.9 6
Average K1 74.9 213.8 6.5 4
Average K 76.5 203.8 4.4 10
Tarim Block
41.6/83.5 Ku 66.2 223.3 6.1/10.3 4 R Li et al. [1988] <K2.T2.1>
38.5fi6.4 Ku 71.0 234.0 6.8/11.6 6 F Chen et al. [1992] <K2.T2.3>
39.5fi5.0 Ku 70.8 222.6 5.4/8.9 11 RF Chen et al. [1992] <K2.T2.4>
38.5fi6.4 K1 70.4 212.1 6.6/10.8 3 R Chen et al. [1992] <K1.T2.1>
39.5fi5.0 K1 66.3 226.6 9.0/15.9 7 R Chenet al. [1992] <K1.T2.2>
Average Ku 69.4 226.4 5.3 3
Average K1 68.5 220.0 - 2
Average K 69.1 223.8 3.5 5
Junggar Block
44.2/86.0 K/T 75. 225.3 6.1/8.9 9 FR Chen et al. [1991] <K2.J.I>
44.2/86.0 J/K 72.3 227.3 4.8fi.2 13 FR Chen et al. [1991] <K1.J.I>
Average K 73.4 223.6 4.3 22
Tibet Block
SouthernLhasa 30/91 K 71.2 288.4 7.9 8 F Achacheet al. [1984] <K1.Ti. 11>
SouthemLhasa 29.7/91.2 K 68 340 10 7 F Pozzi et al. [1982] <K1.Ti. 12>
SouthernLhasa 29.9/91.0 K 64 348 5.6/9.5 6 F Westphalet al. [1983] <K1.Ti. 13>
(same sites as above)
SouthernLhasa 29.9/91.2 K 68 297 3.5/6.9 8 F Lin and Watts[1988] <K2.Ti.4>
NorthernLhasa 31/92 K 63.5 325.4 6.5 6 F Achache
et al. [1984] <Ki.Ti. 10>
WesternPlateau 33.7/80.2 K 66.2 245.0 5.1 14 FR Chenet al. [1993] <K1.Ti. 14>
Markam 29.7/98.6 K 48.5 175.9 9.5 5 Otofujiet al. [1990] <K1.Ti. 16>
Markam 29.7/98.4 KI 40.6 170.5 13.0 12 F Huanget al. [1992] <K1.Ti. 15>
Markam 29.7/98.7 Km 58.7 173.2 11.1 10 F Huanget al. [1992] <K2.Ti. 12>
SouthernLhasa Average K 69.1 283.5 2.8/5.4 16 <K1.Ti. 11> and <K2.Ti.4>
N + S Lhasa Average K 69.6 307.5 3.0/5.6 30 <K1.Ti.11>,<K1.TL12>
and <K2.Ti.4>
Markam Average K 48.6 173.5 6.0 27 <K2.Ti.12>,<K1.Ti.15>
and <K1.Ti. 16>

FerganaBlock
40.5fi2.5 K 74.3 276.0 5.4/8.6 7 FR Bazhenov[1993] <K1.F.I>
Eurasia Block
92-65 Ma 76.8 199.7 2.7 19 Besseand Courtillot[1991]
130-98 Ma 75.2 207.5 4.0 10 Besseand Courtillot [1991]
130-65Ma 76.3 202.6 2.2 29 Be•seand Courtillot[1991]
Locality:geographic
coordinates
of sampling
sites;age(Ku, Km, K1, K), magnetization
agegivenby authors(upper
Cretaceous, middleCretaceous, lower Cretaceous,
andall Cretaceous); pole (latitude,longitude),A95, (dp/dm),coordinates of
paleomagnetic poleswith uncertaintyat the 95% probabilitylevel; N, numberof studies,sitesor polesfor the averages;test (R,
F), field tests(reversal,fold); andcode,indexof polescorresponding to the appendixon microfiche.

stepwisethermalor alternatingfield demagnetizationsbut did
not determinecharacteristicdirectionsby vector analysis.
Rather,theyuse a particularstepin the demagnetization.
Data
fromLi et al. [1988] andZhanget al. [1989] correspond
to the
samesamplingand sites.Resultsare similar but Zhang et al.
add one site with only two specimensand a rather outlier
direction. We therefore retain only the data from Li et al.
[1988]. Resultsfrom Uytak, close to the westernKunlun fault
21,932 CHF2q
ETAL.:CONFIGURATION
OFASIAPRIOR
TOTIlECOLLISION
OFINDIA

180 ø

-i- -i- 90 ø

<K2.Ta.I>
Tarim,
Li + Tarim,
Chen
.Ta.2>
Tarim,
Ch'ar,m, \t 90 ø
270 ø

+ + + +• + -,[...
<K2.Ta.4> Tarim, Chen
+ ++
+

Fig.3. Equal-area
projection
ofCretaceous
poles
fromTarira.
Seecaption
ofFigure
2.

to providea reliablepole. the Creta•ous

[Chenet al., 1992]aretoodispersed mean for five studies stands at 69.1øN, 223.8øE
criteria(Figure3b).Chen (A95 = 3.5ø).
Finally,sixpolesmeettheselection
et al. [1992]notethatthe lowerCretaceous poleof Liet al. Tibetan blocks.As could be expected,the situationis far
[1988] collectednear Kucheis somewhat remotefrom the morecomplex(andthe datamorenumerous) in Tibet thanin
otherpolesandpropose thatthismaybe dueto a majorfold the more stableJunggarand Tarira blocks.Thirty-onepoles
structurewith plungingfold axis, partly seenon satellite areavailable,but asmanyas23 endup beingrejectedfromthe
photographs. Includingthispoledoesnotchange theoverall final selection(Table1). Rejectedresultsincludethoseby Zhu
average butwe prefernotto useit. Finally, et al. [1977, 1981] which correspond
verysignificantly, to hematitebearingred
 • ET AL.: CONFICTION OF ASIA PRIORTO THE COLLISION OF INDIA

180

," + ß <K1.Ti.15>
" +ß <K1.Ti.16>

,' + O <K2.Ti.
12>
<KI
.Ti.,i7> '• <K2.Ti.2>
<K1.Ti. 14>
,

<KI.Ti.9> : a
90 ø
270 ø + +'----...• + + +
ß .

<K2.Vi.4>
'••/•', /X/X<K2.Ti.10>
<K1.Ti.I
1> 'A-'•_
•
<K2.ti.9>
•i• ß /X• <K2.Ti.3>
a, <Kt.Ti.10>
,,,/X
'25 <K1.Ti.12>
<K1.Ti.4> ,,7//•',,/• +•'<Kl.Vi.2>

<K2.Ti.
1>
<KI.Ti.I>
' <K1.Ti.13>
',,
, +

ß <K1.Ti.18> 0o
180

ß 5>
Huang,

/'<K1.Ti.
14>
Chen,
W.Tibet
...••.12>
}•;•
270 ø 90 ø

... .,. '."

•' •::7 J • '• <K1.Ti.12>
Pozzi,
S.Lhasa

Kl.Wi.
10>
Achache,
N.Lh•
...............
'•

0o

Fig. 4. Eq•-am projection

• Cmm• •les fromTi•t. • •on of Figure2.

sandstones which were demagnetizedonly by the alternating [1989];seeChenet al. 1993,Figure11b])wlfichareclearly

field (a0 technique,whichis knownto be inefficientin this
case.The databaseis discussed in detailby Chenet al. [1993].
Note that the poles tend to be streakedalong a small circle
centeredon Tibet, although some poles are quite clearly
remotefrom this circle (Figure4a). This includesa groupof
four poles selected from easternmostTibet, near Markam,
located about 40 to 65øN, 170 to 180øE, and some poles
obtainedclose to the Zangbo suture(mostly by Otofuji et al.
affectedby strongshearparallel to the suture.Chen et al. also
discussin detailthe large amountof datafrom the Lhasaareain
centraleasternTibet, particularlyon the Takenared sandstone
formation (Albian-Aptian) and the andesitic Lingzizong
formation (60-50 Ma). Data from Achacheet al. [1984] and
Lin and Watts [1988] reveal that the block has undergone
internal local deformation in the Lhasa area with relative
rotations between a South Lhasa and a North Lhasa block.
21,934 CHF.•ETAL.:CONFIGURATION
OFASIAPRIOR
Eightpolesthatpassthe selectioncriteria(Figure4b) are still
quitedispersed.The datafrom centralandwesternTibet yield
compatiblepaleolatitudesbut imply deformationat all scales
(from a few tensof kilometers(e.g., North LhasaversusSouth
Lhasa) to hundredsof kilometers (e.g., LhasaversusWest
Tibet)). On the other hand, the data from easternTibet near
Markam [Otofujiet al., 1989, 1990;Huanget al., 1992], some
of which passthe fold and reversaltests,imply both a very
large clockwiserotationwith respectto the rest and a much
higher paleolatitude,implying an origin from a different
block. This is discussed further below.
Pamir-Punjab.Bazhenovand Burtman[1986] havepublished
Cretaceous data for the Pamir-P•jab. However,mostsamples
were not demagnetizedabove400øC, and fold testsare not
documented.Also means are calculatedfrom samplesrather
thansites.As a consequence, theseresultscannotbe usedwith
confidence.They displaya large scatterin declinationwhich
is likely due to the proximityof thrustsand shearzones,as
was noted above to be the case for the data of Otofufi et al.
[1989] takencloseto the Zangbosuture(seeopenarrowson
Figure 1).
Indochinablock.¾angandBesse[1993]havesampledsome
20 localities in and around the Khorat plateau with well-
constrained
upperJurassic
andlowerCretaceous
age.Despite
a Fig. 5. Equal-area projection
lack of fold test, due to the flat lying strata,the sediments blocks.The formatis asm Figures2 to 4. Polesfor Eurasia,NCB, SCB,
overlieupperTriassic
andlowerJurassic
formations
for which Junggar,Tarim,WestTibet (andIndia)lie roughlyon a (dashed)great
both fold and reversal tests are available. Yang and Besse
derivea meanpoleat 63.8øN,175.6øE(A95=1.7ø).
DISCUSSION
A remarkable feature of the Cretaceous data from the Asian
blocksis the consistency betweenupperandlower Cretaceous
results(Table 1). It seemsthat in this areathe Cretaceouswas a
time of little relative motion or displacementwith respectto
thepole, asnotedby Chenet al. [1991] for the Junggarblock
andby Chen et al. [1992] for the Tarim. The sameappearsto
hold for the NCB and SCB (see Enkin et al. [1992a], updated
by Yang [1992]) andfor the EurasianAPWP as a wholethis is
the "hairpin loop" or standstill of Besse and Courtillot,
[1991]. It is thereforepossibleto averagethe lower and upper
Cretaceousresults, leading to Cretaceouspoles shown in
Figure5 andlistedin Table 2.
Despitestill ratherlargeuncertainties, thepolesof NCB and
SCB are compatiblewith those from Eurasia, implying that
within paleomagneticuncertainties,the main Chineseblocks
and Siberia had come to occupy their present respective
positionsby the late Jurassic[Enkin et al., 1992a; Yang,
1992]. It is found that the Cretaceouspoles for Eurasia,
Junggar,Tarim, WesternTibet, andIndia whichhasbeenadded
from Besseand Courtillot [1991] for completenessare roughly
aligned along a great circle that intersectscentral Asia in a
NNE direction(dashedcircle on Figure 5). This meansthat, to
first order, these blocks have moved towards each other in that
direction with litfie rotation.
More precisely, going from north to south, the angular
distancebetweenthe EurasianandJunggarpoles(6.2o+4.8ø) is
statisticallysignificant and correspondsto 650 km_-k530 km
of shorteningin a N-S direction(i.e., a paleolatitudedifference
of 5.9o+4.8ø) and an insignificant counterclockwiserotation
of 2.4ø:k5.8ø of Junggarwith respectto Siberia,for a reference
point at 44øN/86øE.
The angulardifferencebetweenthe Junggarand Fergana
polesleadsto a negligiblelatitudinaldifferenceof 0.3o+6.9ø
and a significantrotationof 15.7ø+10.0 ø at a referencesite
locatednear Fergana(40.5øN,72.5øE).This is consistent with
the idea that thesetwo formedpartsof Kazakstanbut that the
Fergana basin has undergonesignificant counterclockwise
rotationrelated to right-lateralmotion on the Talasso-Fergana
TOTHECOLLISION
OFINDIA
180 ø
El
90 ø
ß
of Cretaceous meanpolesfor Asian
circle(paleomeridian)
demonstrating
therelativequasi-N-S
shortenings
betweentheseblocks,withlitfie rotation.PolesfromTibet,to thewestof
95øElongitude,lie on a (dotted)smallcirclecenteredon the plateau,
indicatingrotationswithoutlatitudinalchange.Polesfrom Tibet (and
Indochina),to theeastof 95øElongitude,lie on a different(dotted)small
circleindicatingmajorrotationsandlatitudinalshiftwith respectto the
restof Tibet (seetext for furtherexplanations).
fault [Bazhenov, 1993]. Bazhenov arguesthat this motion
occurredin the Neogenepossiblyas recentlyas the last 10
m.y.
The distance between the Junggar and Tarim poles
(4.3ø:t:5.5
ø) is not significantat the 95% confidencelevel, but
individual Tarim poles are systematicallyfarther from the
Eurasian pole than the individual Junggar poles.
Corresponding shorteningof 420 km_q:605 km (paleolatitude ß
differenceof 3.8ø:k5.5
ø) and rotationof 2.1ø+6.3ø are obtained
for a reference site at 40øN/77øE.
As noted above, the Tibetan data cannot be reduced to a
singlepole. The data from westernandcentralTibet lie on a
small circle implying a similar paleolatitudebut someamount
of relative rotation,whereasthe data from easternTibet imply
both significantrotationsand paleolatitudedifferences.The
Tarim and WesternTibet poles differ by 8.5o+6.4ø, but the
paleolatitudedifferenceis not significant(5.7ø+6.2ø);thus
these data would imply a (statistically insignificant) N-S
shorteningof 630 km_-k680 km (i.e., a paleolatitudedifference
of 5.7o+6.2ø) and a significantrelativerotationof 7.1ø+6.4ø,
for a referencepointat 34øN/80øE.
Paleomagnefic work southof the Yarlung-Zangbosuture,
henceon the Indian plate, near Dingri has led Besseet al.
[1984] and Besse[1986] to proposethat some450 km.q:500
km of intracontinental shorteningoccurredsincethe onsetof
the India-Asia collision acrossthe Main Boundaryand Main
CentralThrusts,southof Dingri, and that 550 kin:k650km of
shorteningtookplacebetweenDingri and the Lhasablock.
Becauseno other major tectonicevent occurredsincethe
time of depositionand magnetizationof the sediments,it is
believed that all values of shorteningand rotation deduced
frompaleomagnetic datareflecttheintegralof deformation due
to the collision. Shortening values are indicated on a
paleogeographicreconstructionof Asia in the Cretaceous
basedon thesepaleomagneticdata (Figure 8), which updates
Enkin et al.'s [1992a] Figure 27.
C-'lIENET AL.: CONFIGURATIONOF ASIA PRIORTO THE COLLISION OF INDIA 21,935

Oceanic plate kinematics allow estimation of the total

convergence betweenIndia andEurasiaat 2600 kin__+900 km in
the last 50 m.y. [Patriat and Achache, 1984; Besse and
Courtillot, 1988], i.e., roughly since the onset of the
collision, although original contact may be some 10 m.y.
earlier [see Jaeger et al., 1989]. We note that the individual
(block to block) shorteningsobtained from paleomagnetic
data, calculatedneax 80øE longitude,axe 650 km (between
Siberia and lunggax,mostly in the Altai), 420 km (between
lunggax and Taxim, mostly in the Tien Shah), 630 km
(betweenTaxim and Tibet, mostly in the Kunlun and Altyn
Tagh), and 1000 km in the Himalayas.This addsup to 2700
km, in very good agreement with the ocean kinematic
predictions.However, the uncertaintyon this figure is not
computable in a straightforward fashion: total shortening
calculatedfrom the EurasianandWesternTibet polesmounts
to an angulardifferenceof 16.4ø:1:5.5ø (i.e., 17005:610km in a
N-S direction),but as far as shorteningacrossthe Himalayasis
concerned,the Indian pole at 60 m.y.[Be$$e and Courtillot,
1991] is not independentfrom the Eurasianone, sincethe two
axe synthetic poles combining paleomagnetic data from
severalplates and oceankinematicmodelsfor severaloceans,
and the uncertaintyis not easilyderived.Note that shortening
beteweenEurasiaand Central Tibet was estimatedby Achache
et al. [1984] to be 1900•850 km, based on their Lhasa block
poles and a pole for Eurasia determinedby Achache et al.
[1983].
Individual shorteningvaluescan be comparedto geological
estimatesbasedon field work or topographicand geographical
data that constraincrustalstructure.This comparisonis based
on the work of Avouac [1991]. Assumingan initial thickness
of 30 km for the crust in the Altai and SayanTuva, with a
presentaveragealtitudeof 2000 m, a width of 700 km, and a
crustalthicknessof 50 km [Patton, 1980] would imply some
300km of crustal shortening. This is most likely
underestimatedbecause(1) initial crustal thicknesscould have
been thinner(someauthors,for instance,Feng et al. [1989],
arguefor an oceaniccrust),(2) a largefractionof materialhas
certainlybeen removedby erosion,as evidencedby Tertiary
and Quaternarysedimentsin the basin, and (3) displacement
on NW trending dextral strike slip faults in the Altai was
neglected.Therefore, shorteningbasedon this reasoningis
likely to have exceeded400 km, to be comparedwith the
paleomagnetic value of 650•30 kin.
Chen et al. [1991] and Avouac et al. [1993] have discussed
the compatibilityof tectonicandpaleomagnetic datarelatedto
shortening in the Tien Shah. Reconsideration of earlier
paleomagnetic data from the Taxim (the Kuchepole discussed
above)by Chen et al. [1992] has led to somerevisions.The
estimatedshorteningproposedby Avouac et al. for the Tien
Shan (at the longitudeof Kashgar)is 180 km. Again, this
assumes constant crustal volume and is likely an
underestimate. Another estimate can be derived from a
kinematicmodel of active deformationin Asia proposedby
Avouac[1991] andAvouacet al. [1993] (seeFigure6). Avouac
and Tapponnier [1993] have selecteda systemof four rigid
rotatingblocks (India, Tibet, T a
rim and Junggar,which they
assumeto be connectedto Siberia for lack of quantitativedata
in the Altai). Constraintsare the NUVEL-1 angulaxvelocity
describingthe movementof India with respectto Eurasiaand
the positionof the Tarira versus.lunggaxrotationpole. Input
data axeestimatedratesof shorteningacrossthe Tien Shanand
Himalayasand slip ratesalongthe Altyn Tagh and Karakorum
faults. Inversion yields the amounts and sensesof motion
shown in Figure 6. Comparisonwith finite deformationand
age determinationssuggestthat the currentkinematicshave
remainedaboutthe samesince about 15 m.y. (i.e., less than
one third of the time since the onset of the collision).
Although the rigid block hypothesiscannothold for such a
21,936 C-'liENETAL.: CONFIOURATION
OFASIAPRIORTOTI• COLLISIONOFINDIA

80øE 100øE
i t
Tibet/Siberia!
Tibet/Tarim .................
• O•=.86ø/Ma \ 60=1.48ø/Ma
•x• .........................
KAZAK
HTAN\\•k•_a4L
•- xx NG
© --r.-:..
-:•%DZU
..•.•.• ARIA .......
%--....
.....
x.-":....
':':'::':' .:.:.••/T;
r•m
•.;•b•r
i5 ,,,&, '-- ...:.:.:.:.. /

40øN
•/e
"'•/ /'//,,;40ON
! !
ß TARIM + • -,.-•',•- 2..- (/ ORDOS
/

• •. "::•:.:.•,:..::'-::::::i.:,:.:.'.':"'.:,:.:.;.:.;::::!:..:...'
• '" •,•

T I I11I= T \ 4- • •..• - ..::i:ii:i::"/

Iyr . • xI • ' ß'• ..::i•!•i•:'

/
30øN
' ,•.
•smm-.
/yr
• x -- -••,
. •.
..'..•..•....'•iiiii!:•?,i
t/ S0 UTH
:"::::.--":....-".....:•
:.....:•:i!i::!i•ii:/
•/
30ON
!

:'::'"""::::'i:i
x /k :
Normal faults
•.•i •:.."• \ I .\ ->15mmlyr
Thrust fault

Strike-slip
faults INDIA ' 18mr /yr -:- \/ •• '"'
Active folds

Zones
of)ression
active • 500km I
80DE 100øE
Fig. 6. Kinematicmodelof deformation
in TibetandCentralAsia.Strike-slipfaultingandblockrotationin eastemTibet
transform northward
compressionof Indi• intosoutheastward
extrusionof SouthChina.Dashed linesaretheboundariesof
deformingeastemTibet.Eulerpolesdescribing
themotionof TibetandTarimwithrespect to Siberiaandof Tibetwithrespect
to Tarimarealsoshown.Themodelis thoughtto applybackto 15m.y. [fromAvouac,1991;Avouacet al., 1993].

long time and geometricaladjustmentsmusthave taken representsmotion over the last 15 m.y. leads to another
fromFigure6 (rates estimate of shortening of 315 km. Convergencein the
place,firstordervaluescanbe obtained
multipliedby 15 m.y.). For JunggarversusTarim motion Himalayasover the sametime intervalis 270 kin.
acrossthe Tien Shan, this would imply some 200 km of Altogether,localizedstrain in a few well-identifiedranges
shorteningand10ø of rotation.Theseareon thelow andhigh accountsfor 1200 lcm of intracontinentalshorteningbetween
sides,respectively,
comparedto the palcomagnetic estimates, India and Siberiasince 15 m.y. This is 1500 km lessthan the
but with the same senses. total palcomagneticestimateof convergencesincethe onset
The Tibetan data demonstrate internal deformation at scales of the collision (and 500 km less than the minimum value at
rangingfrom1 to 1000km [Chenet al., 1993],correspondingthe 95% confidencelevel). This missing amount is either
to superimposed
blockrotations
andoroclinal bending.Figure related to further internal deformation of the blocks since 15
5 shows the well-known rotation between the southern and m.y., or morelikely to tectoniceventsprior to 15 Ma. Avouac
northernpartsof theLhasablock[e.g.,Achache et al., 1984], [1991] arguesthat most of the deformationin the Kunlun,
amounting to 17.7ø+8.2ø. Palcolatitudes
betweencentralTibet Altyn Tagh, and Ticn Shanoccurredsince 20 m.y. Therefore
(North Lhasa)and westernTibet (Domar) are similar (the previous deformationmight have occurredeither within the
differenceis an unsignificant1.0ø:1:5.8ø),
but the declination blocks themselves, between the blocks as oceanic or
difference
is large,reaching28.50+8.0ø. Thisis thesameorder continental subduction,for instance, in the Himalayas or
of magnitudeas the azimuthaldifferencebetweenthe eastern Tarim, andpossiblythroughlateralexumsionof oneor several
and western terminationsof the Bangong-NujiangJurassic blocks.
suturezone(about25ø).This may be consistent
with the fact The data from Markam stand at odds from the rest of Tibet.
that both the suture and the southernEurasianmargin were Concurringresultsfrom distinctstudies[Huang et al., 1992;
roughlylinearprior to collisionandthat theywerethenbent Otofuji et al., 1990] and a positive fold test leave no doubt
(see the similaroroclinalbendingproposedby Klootwijk et that a characteristic prefolding magnetization has been
al. [ 1985]for thesuturebetweenthe LhasablockandIndia). recovered. There is no reason to suspect the age of the
Bourjotand Avouac[1990] estimatethat shortening across formations,which has been establishedby correlationwith
the Kunlun amountedto 1{)0-t:15km. But a more significant South Yunnan stratigraphy.Although, as can be feared in
partcouldhavebeenabsorbed alongtheleft lateralAltynTagh other cases, particularly with red beds, a prefolding
fault. Offsetsby 500 and up to 700 km are advocatedby remagnetization alwaysremainsa possibility[e.g.,Achache
Tapponrder et al. [1986]andPeltzerandTapponnier [1988], et al., 1984], we believethat the magnetization
is indeeda true
implyinga N-S component of convergence between200 and Cretaceous, primaryone, implyingthat the Markamareawas
300 km. This is to be comparedto the unfortunatelyill- not a part of the Tibetan blocks, or at least was in a very
defined)palcomagnetic estimateof 570-t:680kin. Using the different relative position with respect to them prior to
model of Avouac [1991] under the assumption that it collision.
 CttENETAL.: CONFIGURATION
OFASIAPRIORTO THECOLLISIONOFIND• 21,937

Recent resultsfrom Indochina [Yang and Besse, 1993] more than 1000 km to the North without much rotation
indicate that as is the case for Markam, this block stood (exceptin the Lhasaarea).Indochinaand Markam have been
significantlynorthof Tibet ratherthan southas is the caseat rotated respectivelysome 15ø and 35ø clockwise,Indochina
present and that it has been rotated clockwise in very beingpushedsome1000 km southwith respectto Eurasiaand
significantamountssincecollisiontime. China and more than 2000 km with respectto central Asian
We have plottedon Figure 7 inclinationand declination blocks.
"anomalies", defined as the differences between observed In Figure8 we proposea paleogeographic reconstruction of
Cretaceousvalues and thosethat would have been expectedat Asia in the Cretaceous.Each block has beenplacedin latitude
the samesitesif thesehad been rigidly attachedto Eurasia,as and orientationin agreementwith the paleomagneticdata of
a functionof presentlongitude(whichis not toodifferentfrom Table 2 and adjusted,well within the 95% uncertainties,to
a plot as a functionof Cretaceouspaleolongitude, in relative ensure closest packing. Mongolia, NCB, and SCB are
terms).This plot (to be comparedwith the paleodeclination supposedto have been essentiallyassembledin their present
map of Figure 1 and the reconstruction of Figure 8) clearly configuration,althoughsomeconvergencein the Qinling and
outlinesthat with referenceto the easternmost part of Asia minor extrusionof SCB after the collision are likely (but both
(NCB, SCB) which itself is compatible with Eurasian well below paleomagneticuncertainty).Indochinamust then
(Siberian)values,Tibet, Tarim and Junggarhave beenpushed have lied immediately to the west of the SCB. We have

10 North China

Indochina

Markam

South China
-10
Fergana Junggar

-2o Tibet (Lhasa)

'/0 80 90 100 110 120

Longitude (øE)

4O

• 20
North China
Tarira
Junggar • Indochina

• 0

South China

• -20

-
• W.
Tibet
Fergana
c• -40 b
Tibet (Lhasa)
I

70 80 90 100 110 120

Longitude (øE)
Fig.7. (a) Latitude
anomalies(differences
between theCretaceous paleolatitudes
andthosepredicted at thesamelocations
by
theEurasian poles)andCo)declinationanomalies (differencesbetween
Cretaceous paleodeclinations
andthosepredictedat
thesamelocations by theEurasianpoles)for themainAsianblocksdiscussed in thispaper,shownasa functionof theaverage
longitudes of sampling
sitesontheseblocks:(1) thestability
of NCBandSCBrelativeto Eurasia, (2) thenorthwardmovement,
withoutsignificant
rotation,
of Junggar
andTarim,andwithdifferential
rotation
of western
andcentralTibetandFergana,
and
(3). the southward
movementof IndochinaandMarkam(easternTibet) withlargeclockwiserotations.
 21,938 CttEN ET AL.: CONFIGURATIONOF ASIA PRIORTO THE COLLISIONOF INDIA

650=530km

1700=610km

420=600km

Asia+Himalayas
~ 2700km

630=680km

Himalayas
1000km

Fig. 8: SchematicCretaceous palcogeographicreconstruction

of Asiawith indications
of crustalshoretingbetweenthe blocks.
Cretaceous basinsfilled with continentalsedimentsthatprovidedmanyof the palcomagnetic dataare shownin darkershaded
pattern.Themainpaleornagnetic sampling locations
areshownasblackdots(seeFigureI for blocknames).

assumed in this reconstruction that Markam was nested Kunlun blocks,will furtherconstrainthe part of continental
between Indochina and the SCB. The first effect of the shorteningnorth of Tibet that must be attributedto extrusion.
collision must therefore have been the southeastward In conclusion,despitestill rather large uncertainties,
extrusion of Indochina, with the Markam area squeezed Cretaceouspaleomagneticdata of Asian blocks are now
between some of the major NNW trending strike slip faults sufficientto restorea picturethat is almosteverywherein
that congregatein the Three Riversarea. qualitativeandevenquantitativeagreementwith the amountof
The reconstructionoutlinesa broadWNW-ESE trendingzone shorteningand rotationpredictedby the tectonicmodelsof
of crustaldeformationbetweenthe Mongolia and North China extrusion [e.g., Tapponnier et al., 1986] and deformation
blocks to the north and Junggar, Tarim, Qaidam, and withinTibet andTarim [Arrnijoet al., 1986;Avouac,1991].It
Indochinato the south.This broad zone comprisesto the east is noteworthythat the agreementwith meanpalcomagnetic
the thick sedimentsthat have subsequently
been deformedand valuesappearsto be betterthan couldbe expectedfrom the
extrudedto yield the presentSongpan-Ganze triangle.We have calculated
uncertainties.
It remainsto be understood
why these
assumed that Markam was one of several slivers that have been uncertaintiesmight be overestimated.
severedfrom this zone.The westernpart of the zonemusthave
beendeformedto yield the Sayan-Tuva-Altairanges. Noteaddedinprooff.We referthereaderto therecentpaperby
The Tibetanblockshavebeenunbentin Figure8 andrestored Huang and Opdyke [1993] on rotationsin southeastern
Asia
to their original tropicallatitudes,with Tarim and the Qaidam whichalso summarizes
availableCretaceous
palcomagnetic
on one hand and Junggaron the other hand placed farther data from East Asia and overlapswith and to some extent
north. Stippling underlines areas of continental crust that complements thepresentpaper,whichit quotesin preprintas
have been destroyed(for instance,by continentalsubduction), reference51 (with a misprintrepeatingreference50).
shortened,or displaced. Of course, shortening within the
blocks (assumedto be rigid) has not been taken into account Acknowledgments.
We are particularlygratefulto J.P. Avouacfor
(if for only one reason, because this allows better numerousdiscussions,
for comments ona firstdraftof thispaper,and
identification of the blocks in the reconstruction)and is in for makinga paperavailablepriorto publication.
We alsothankP.
fact includedin the stippledareas. Tapponnier,
M. Mattauer,M. Bazhenov, R. Coe,andN. Opdykefor
comnentsand/orfor makingpapersavailablepriorto publication
andP.
The reconstructionemphasizesthe rather simple, E-W Molnar,M. McWilliams,andG. Schubertforthoughtful reviews.Thisis
trendingshapeof the southernmarginof the Eurasiaplate near IPGP contribution 1268 and CNRS-INSU-DBT contribution 616
10øN latitude. It also restores a fairly continuousseries of (dynamiqueglobale).
continentalbasins largely filled by red sandstonesfrom the
Sichuanbasin, throughMarkam, to the Khorat plateau and REFERENCES
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continuation. of southerneasternAsia, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 63, 123-
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the Tibetan blocks or possibly between the Qaidam and and tectonic evolution of South Tibet since Middle
 CHEN ET AL.: CONFIGURATIONOF ASIA PRIORTO THE COLLISION OF INDIA 21,939

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