A syntaxis is an abrupt major change in the dominant orientation of the main fold and

thrust Thrust is a reaction force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can al ...

structures in an

orogenic belt An orogenic belt, or orogen, is a zone of Earth's crust affected by orogeny. An orogenic belt develops when a continental plate crumples and is uplifted to form one or more mountain ranges; this involves a series of geological processes collec ...

. For example, the Himalayan belt forms a continuous gentle curve in its main part, running almost perpendicular to the motion of the

Indian Plate The Indian Plate (or India Plate) is a minor tectonic plate straddling the equator in the Eastern Hemisphere. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, the Indian Plate broke away from the other fragments of Gondwana , began m ...

as it collides with the

Eurasian Plate The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent and ...

. This

-dominated plate boundary connects at both ends to the highly oblique,

strike-slip 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 tecton ...

dominated boundaries running through Pakistan and Myanmar, forming the Nanga Parbat syntaxis to the west and the Namche Barwa syntaxis in the east.

References

{{Reflist Structural geology