Abstract
The structure of the Qinling Shan mountain range (Shaanxi, China) involves major east-south-east strike-slip faults. Field observations made during two expeditions in 1983 and 1984 show that the faults are active and may have undergone several tens of kilometres of post-Eocene left-lateral displacement. The faults cut the morphology sharply and offset left-laterally small channels. Their trace is marked by cataclastic to mylonitic non-coaxial deformation zones at least 50–100 m wide. The Qinling faults allow the eastward extrusion of south China and may be considered the easternmost continuation of the Altyn Tagh fault system. They link extensional tectonics in northeastern China to the Himalayan collision.
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Peltzer, G., Tapponnier, P., Zhitao, Z. et al. Neogene and Quaternary faulting in and along the Qinling Shan. Nature 317, 500–505 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/317500a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/317500a0
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