Tibetan Himalayas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The geology of Nepal is dominated by the
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, the highest, youngest and a very highly active mountain range. Himalaya is a type locality for the study of on-going continent-continent collision tectonics. The Himalayan arc extends about from
Nanga Parbat Nanga Parbat ( ur, ) (; ), known locally as Diamer () which means “king of the mountains”, is the ninth-highest mountain on Earth, its summit at above sea level. Lying immediately southeast of the northernmost bend of the Indus River in ...
() by the
Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
in northern
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
eastward to
Namche Barwa Namcha Barwa or Namchabarwa (; Chinese: 南迦巴瓦峰, Pinyin: ''Nánjiābāwǎ Fēng'') is a mountain peak lying in Tibet in the region of Pemako. The traditional definition of the Himalaya extending from the Indus River to the Brahmaputra ...
() by the
gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
of the Tsangpo-
Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
in eastern
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. About of this extent is in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
; the remainder includes
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
and parts of
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Since 55  Ma the Himalayan
orogeny Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...
beginning with the collision of
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
and
Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
at the
Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...
/
Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
epoch, has thickened the Indian crust to its present thickness of . The northwest tip of India after colliding with Asia seems to have met along the full length of the suture by about 40 Ma. Immediately prior to the onset of the Indo-Asian collision, the northern boundary of the Indian shield was likely a thinned
continental margin A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin ...
on which
Proterozoic The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided ...
clastic sediments and the
Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...
±
Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
Tethyan shelf sequence were deposited.


Morpho-tectonic division of Nepal Himalaya

Heim and Gansser divided the rocks of the Himalaya into four tectonostratigraphic zones that are characterised by distinctive
stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigrap ...
and physiography. From south to north, it can be divided into five latitudinal morpho-tectonic zones and these are : 1. The Gangatic Plain (Terai) 2. The Sub Himalayan (Chure or Siwalik) 3 Lesser Himalayan (Mahabharat Mountain Range), 4. Greater Himalayan, and 5. Tibetan Himalayan zones (Tethys Himalaya).


Gangetic plain

The gangetic plain is also called the
Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...
which is a rich, fertile and ancient land in the southern parts of Nepal. It represents Holocene/Recent sedimentation belt where fluvial sedimentation is still in progress. This plain is less than 200 m above sea level and has thick (about 1500 m) alluvial deposit. The alluvial deposits mainly consists of boulders, gravel, sand, silt and clay. It is a foreland basin which consists of the sediments brought down from the northern part of Nepal. It is the Nepalese extension of the
Indo-Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...
s, which covers most of northern and eastern India, the most populous parts of Pakistan, and virtually all of Bangladesh. The Plains get their names from the rivers Ganges and Indus. The vast
alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...
s of the Indo-Gangetic Basin evolved as a
foreland basin A foreland basin is a structural basin that develops adjacent and parallel to a mountain belt. Foreland basins form because the immense mass created by crustal thickening associated with the evolution of a mountain belt causes the lithospher ...
in the southern part of the rising Himalaya, before breaking up along a series of steep faults known as the Himalayan Frontal Fault or the
Main Frontal Thrust The Main Frontal Thrust (MFT), also known as the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) is a geological fault in the Himalayas that defines the boundary between the Himalayan foothills and Indo-Gangetic Plain. The fault is well expressed on the surfac ...
. It comprises several sub-basins and all of them are quite shallow towards the south, but rather deep in the northern sections.


Sub-Himalaya (Siwaliks)

The Sub-Himalayan Sequence borders the Indo-Gangetic Floodplain along the Himalayan Frontal Fault and is dominated by thick Late Tertiary mollassic deposits known as the Siwaliks that resulted from the accumulating
fluvial In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...
deposits on the southern front of the evolving Himalaya. In Nepal, it extends throughout the country from east to west in the southern part. It is delineated by the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) and Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) in south and north respectively. The youngest sediments on the top are the conglomerates, and the
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
s and
mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from '' shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology. ...
s are dominant in the lower portions. The upward coarsening sequence of the sediments obviously exhibit the time-history in the evolution and growth of the Himalaya during the early
Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
time. The Sub Himalayan zone is the 10 to 25 km wide belt of Neogene
Siwalik The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indi ...
s (or Churia) group rocks forming the topographic front of the Himalaya. It rises from the
fluvial In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...
plains of the active foreland basin, and this front generally mapped as the trace of the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT). The Siwaliks Group consists of upward-coarsening successions of fluvial mudstone,
siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, p ...
, sandstone, and conglomerate. The Siwaliks Group in Nepal is composed of three units that are known as lower, middle and upper members. These units can be correlated with the Sub Himalaya of Pakistan and of northern India. Palaeocurrent and
petrographic Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The class ...
data from the sandstone and conglomerate indicate that these rocks were derived from the fold-thrust belt, and deposited within the flexural foredeep of the Himalayan foreland basin.


Lesser Himalaya

The Lesser Himalayas lies in between the Sub-Himalayas and Higher Himalayas separated by the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and the
Main Central Thrust The Main Central Thrust is a major geological fault where the Indian Plate has pushed under the Eurasian Plate along the Himalaya. The fault slopes down to the north and is exposed on the surface in a NW-SE direction (strike). It is a thrust fault ...
(MCT) respectively. The total width ranges from 60 to 80 km. The Lesser Himalayas is made up mostly of the unfossiliferous sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks; such as
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
, sandstone, conglomerate,
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
,
phyllite Phyllite ( ) is a type of foliated metamorphic rock created from slate that is further metamorphosed so that very fine grained white mica achieves a preferred orientation.Stephen Marshak ''Essentials of Geology'', 3rd ed. It is primarily compo ...
,
schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...
,
quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
,
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and
dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
. The rocks range in age from
Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...
to
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
. The geology is complicated due to
folding Fold, folding or foldable may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Fold'' (album), the debut release by Australian rock band Epicure * Fold (poker), in the game of poker, to discard one's hand and forfeit interest in the current pot *Abov ...
,
faulting In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
and
thrusting Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that sys ...
and are largely unfossiliferous.
Tectonically Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...
, the entire Lesser Himalayas consists of two sequences of rocks:
allochthon upright=1.6, Schematic overview of a thrust system. The hanging wall block is (when it has reasonable proportions) called a nappe. If an erosional hole is created in the nappe that is called a window (geology)">window. A klippe is a solitary out ...
ous, and
autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Fiction * Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis * Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick * Autochthon, a Primordial in the ...
-paraautochthonous units; with various
nappe In geology, a nappe or thrust sheet is a large sheetlike body of rock (geology), rock that has been moved more than or above a thrust fault from its original position. Nappes form in compressional tectonic settings like continental collision z ...
s,
klippe 350px, Schematic overview of a thrust system. The shaded material is called a window_(geology).html"_;"title="nappe._The_erosional_hole_is_called_a__window_(geology)">window_or_fenster._The_klippe_is_the_isolated_block_of_the_nappe_overlying_aut ...
s and tectonic windows. The northernmost boundary of the Siwaliks Group is marked by the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), over which the low-grade metasedimentary rocks of the Lesser Himalaya overlie. The Lesser Himalaya, also called the Lower Himalaya, or the Midlands, is a thick (about 7 km) section of para-autochthonous crystalline rocks made up of low- to medium grade rocks. These lower
Proterozoic The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided ...
clastic rocks are subdivided into two groups. Argillo-arenaceous rocks dominate the lower half of the succession, whereas the upper half consists of both
carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate g ...
and siliciclastic rocks. The Lesser Himalaya thrust over the Siwaliks along the MBT to the south, and is overlained by the allochthonous thrust sheets of Kathmandu and HHC along the MCT. The Lesser Himalaya is folded into a vast post-metamorphic anticlinal structure known as the Kunchha-Gorkha
anticlinorium In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...
. The southern flank of the anticlinorium is weakly metamorphosed, whereas the northern flank is highly metamorphosed.


Main Central Thrust Zone

Heim and Gansser defined the MCT in Kumaon based on the difference in
metamorphic grade Metamorphism is the transformation of existing rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated pressure or in the presence of che ...
between low to medium-grade rocks of the Lesser Himalaya and higher-grade rocks of the Greater Himalaya. However, the fault originally defined by Heim and Gansser is not the MCT, but a fault within Lesser Himalaya rocks; This misidentification symbolizes the challenge that workers have faced in locating the MCT. The metamorphic grade within the Lesser Himalaya increases towards the MCT and at higher structural levels. In central Nepal, the metamorphic grade increases from low (chlorite + biotite) to medium (biotite + garnet + kyanite + staurolite) towards the MCT over a north–south distance. The highest-grade rocks (kyanite and sillimanite gneisses) are found within the MCT
shear zone In geology, a shear zone is a thin zone within the Earth's crust or upper mantle that has been strongly deformed, due to the walls of rock on either side of the zone slipping past each other. In the upper crust, where rock is brittle, the shear ...
, i.e. upper Lesser Himalaya. Arita places two thrusts (MCT I and MCT II) on each side of the MCT shear zone.


Higher Himalaya

This zone extends from the MCT to the Tibetan-Tethys Zone and runs throughout the country. This zone consists of almost 10 km thick succession of the
crystalline rock A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
s, commonly called the Himal Group. This sequence can be divided into four main units, as Kyanite-Sillimanite
gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
, pyroxenic
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
and gneiss, banded gneiss, and
augen gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
in the ascending order. The Higher Himalayan sequence has been variously named. French workers used the term Dalle du Tibet (Tibetan Slab) for this unit. Hagen called them Khumbu Nappes, and Lumbasumba Nappes. Arita calls it the Himalayan Gneiss Group, and it lies above the MCT II, or the upper MCT. The High Himalayan Crystalline units (HHC) are mainly composed of kyanite- to sillimanite-grade gneisses intruded by High Himalayan
leucogranite Leucogranite is a light-colored, granitic, igneous rock containing almost no dark minerals. Alaskite is a synonym.metapelites, gneisses, and metagreywacke with abundant
quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
. The gneiss of the Higher Himalayan zone (HHZ) is a thick continuous sequence of about 5 to 15 km. The northern part is marked by the North Himalayan Normal Fault (NHNF), which is also known as the South Tibetan Detachment system (STDS). At its base, it is bounded by the MCT. The
protolith A protolith () is the original, unmetamorphosed rock from which a given metamorphic rock is formed. For example, the protolith of a slate is a shale or mudstone. Metamorphic rocks can be derived from any other kind of non-metamorphic rock and thu ...
of the HHC is interpreted to be Late Proterozoic clastic sedimentary rocks deposited on the northern Indian margin.


Tibetan-Tethys

The Tibetan-Tethys Himalayas generally begins from the top of the Higher Himalayan Zone and extends to the north in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. In Nepal these fossiliferous rocks are well developed in
Thak Khola The Kali Gandaki Gorge or Andha Galchi is the gorge of the Kali Gandaki (or Gandaki River) in the Himalayas in Nepal. By some sources, it may be one of the deepest gorges in the world. The upper part of the gorge is also called Thak Khola after ...
(
Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...
),
Manang Manang ( ne, मनाङ) is a town in the Manang District of Nepal. It is located at 28°40'0N 84°1'0E with an elevation of . According to the preliminary result of the 2011 Nepal census it has a population of 6,527 people living in 1,495 ind ...
and
Dolpa Dolpa District ( ne, :ne:डोल्पा जिल्ला, डोल्पा जिल्ला), is a district, located in Karnali Province of Nepal, It is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and one of ten district of Karnali. Th ...
area. This zone is about 40 km wide and composed of fossiliferous
sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
s such as shale,
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
and
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
etc. The area north of the
Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...
and
Manaslu Manaslu ( ne, मनास्लु, also known as Kutang; muh-NAA-slu) is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. The name Mana ...
ranges in central Nepal consists of metasediments that overlie the Higher Himalayan zone along the
South Tibetan Detachment The South Tibetan Detachment is one of the major faults in the Himalaya Mountains. Background Understanding the formation of the Himalayan mountains has been a goal of structural geologists for a long time. Many of the problems and disagreements ...
system. It has undergone very little metamorphism except at its base where it is close to the Higher Himalayan crystalline rocks. The thickness is currently presumed to be 7,400 m. The rocks of the Tibetan Tethys Series (TSS) consist of a thick and nearly continuous lower Paleozoic to lower Tertiary marine sedimentary succession. The rocks are considered to be deposited in a part of the Indian
passive continental margin A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin ...
.


See also

*
1934 Nepal–India earthquake The 1934 Nepal–India earthquake or 1934 Bihar–Nepal earthquake was one of the worst earthquakes in India's history. The towns of Munger and Muzaffarpur were completely destroyed. This 8.0 magnitude earthquake occurred on 15 January 1934 at ...
*
April 2015 Nepal earthquake The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the Gorkha earthquake) killed 8,964 people and injured 21,952 more. It occurred at on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8 Mw or 8.1 Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (''Extreme ...
*
Geography of Nepal Nepal measures about along its Himalayan axis by across. It has an area of . Nepal is landlocked by China's Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and India on other three sides. West Bengal's narrow ''Siliguri Corridor'' separate Nepal and ...
*
Geology of the Himalaya The geology of the Himalayas is a record of the most dramatic and visible creations of the immense mountain range formed by plate tectonic forces and sculpted by weathering and erosion. The Himalayas, which stretch over 2400 km between t ...
*
List of earthquakes in Nepal Lying in one of the most seismically active regions of the world, Nepal has a long history of earthquakes. The first documented earthquake event in the country dates back to 7 June 1255, during the reign of King Abhaya Malla. The quake, measuring 7 ...
*
May 2015 Nepal earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Nepal on 12 May 2015 at 12:50 pm local time (07:05 UTC) with a moment magnitude of 7.3, southeast of Kodari. The epicenter was on the border of Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk, two districts of Nepal. This earth ...
*
Main Himalayan Thrust The Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) is a décollement under the Himalaya Range. This thrust fault follows a NW-SE strike, reminiscent of an arc, and gently dip towards the north, beneath the region. It is the largest active continental megathrust f ...


References

* * * * * * * * Edmundson, Henry, ''Tales from the Himalaya'', Vajra Books, Kathmandu, 2019. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Footnotes


Further reading

* * * **


External links


"Geology of Nepal for Engineer"
{{Asia topic, Geology of Physiographic provinces