The Yanshanian movement were first recognized by Weng WH (1927,1929) in the Yansan area of China (116°-119.5°N, 40°-42°E). Since then, the Yanshanian has been used as a local term in China for

tectonic 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 ...

events which occurred mainly during the

Jurassic Period The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

. Later, Ding WJ (1929), Huang JQ (1945,1960) and Zhao ZF (1959) extended the term to cover tectonic events which occurred throughout China during the Jurassic and

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

tectonic periods. However, it was soon realized that tectonic and magmatic events in the Jurassic and Cretaceous were very different. In the Jurassic there are NNE-NE trending folds and thrusts related to transpressional tectonics, and WNW trending normal faults with some strike-slip movement and widespread

calc-alkaline The calc-alkaline magma series is one of two main subdivisions of the subalkaline magma series, the other subalkaline magma series being the tholeiitic series. A magma series is a series of compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic mag ...

magmatism Magmatism is the emplacement of magma within and at the surface of the outer layers of a terrestrial planet, which solidifies as igneous rocks. It does so through magmatic activity or igneous activity, the production, intrusion and extrusion of ...

, while the Cretaceous is characterized predominantly by extensional tectonics with NE-NNE trending normal faults, WNW trending folds and thrusts and highly alkaline acid magmatism located along faults, or at fault intersection.

Influences on China

*Counterclockwise rotation of Chinese continent, westwards subduction and compression of Okhotsk and Izanagi Plate. *Formation of Neocathaysian Tectonic System and the Wandashan Collision Zone. *Violent detachments and tectono-magmatism In the crust of Eastern China.

References

#{{cite book , author = Tianfeng Wan (万天丰) , title = The Tectonics of China: Data, Maps and Evolution , publisher = Higher Education Press , date=May 2011 , pages = 173 , isbn = 978-7-04-029534-4 Geology of China Tectonics