To understand the General Tectonic setting of Pakistan which includes all tectonic segments and the currently active convergent boundaries present in Pakistan

1. Presented By:
HAMAS-UL-GHANI
Roll no. 11(M)
Bs 4th Prof(Structure/Petroleum)
Session: 2015-19
Institute of Geology, Univerisity of the Punjab,
Lahore.

2. Tectonic Framework of Pakistan
 Tectonics of Pakistan is chracterized by two active
convergent boundaries:
1) In the northeast there is an active continent-island
arc-continent collision boundary, the west end of the
Himalayan orogeny.
2) In the southwest there is an active boundary of
oceanic lithosphere subducting beneatharc-trench
gap sediments, the oceanic part of the Arabian plate
passing under the Makran arc-trench gap and
Afghan microplate.
2

3. Tectonic Framework of Pakistan
 The tectonics of Pakistan is divided into the following
main segments:
1. Northern Collision Belt
2. Subduction complex association of Balochistan
3. Chaman Transform Zone
4. Zone of Ophiolites
5. Platform Areas
3

4. Generalized Tectonic Map of Pakistan
4
Fig. 1: Generalized Tectonic Map of Pakistan

5. Northern Collision Belt
 The northern collision belt of Pakistan is a part of the
Himalayan orogeny which has been considered to be
produced by continental collision.
 This belt comprises areas representing the stratigraphy
of Upper Indus Basin.
5

6. Himalayan Orogeny?
6

7. 7Fig. 2: Major Thrusts of Northern Pakistan

8. Northern Collision Belt
 The main features of the Northern Collision Belt from
south to north are as follows(Yeats & Lawrence 1984):
a) Indian Foreland
b) Salt Range
c) Potwar & Kohat Plateau
d) Hill Ranges
e) Plio-Pleistocene Basins
f) Southern Kohistan
g) Nanga Parbat Massif
h) Karakorum Block
8

9. Indian Foreland
 Rocks of the Indian Shield are exposed in Pakistan at
Nagar Parkar and Kirana Hills.
9

10. Salt Range
 Salt range and Trans-Indus Ranges are the surface
expressions of the leading edge of a decollement
thrust/Salt Range Thrust/Himalayan Frontal Thrust.
 The zone of decollement appears to have been
provided by the evaporites of the Precambrian Salt
Range Formation which underlies the Salt Range and
the Potwar Plateau to the north.
10

11. 11
Fig. 3: Salt Range and Trans Indus Ranges

12. Potwar and Kohat Plateau
 The area is located north of Salt Range and Trans-
Indus Salt Range culminating in Parachinar-Kala
Chitta Fold Belt.
 Potwar Plateau:
a. Northern folded zone
b. The platform zone
 Kohat Plateau:
a. Kohat Eocene Salt Zone
b. Bannu Depression
12

13. 13Fig. 4: Kohat-Potwar Plateau

14. Hill Ranges
Hill Ranges consist of a pair of low, interrupted
mountain chains extending from the Hazara-Kashmir
syntaxis to Sulaiman Range.
14

15. 15
Fig. 5: Hill Ranges

16. Plio-Pleistocene Basins
 Cambellpur and Peshawar Basins are two major
currently active geomorphic features in northern
Pakistan.
 These basins are in the south of southern Kohistan
and in the north of Hill Ranges.
16

17. Southern Kohistan
 This is located north of the Plio-Pleistocene Basins
and is dominated by crystalline metamorphic and
intrusive rocks.
17

18. Nanga Parbat Massif
 This part includes the rocks of Himalayan age
metamorphism and is cross cut by small Tertiary
tourmaline granite intrusive bodies.
 This massif is a narrow northward extension of the
crystalline rocks deep into the Kohistan-Ladakh
andesitic arc and represents the western end of the
High Himalaya.
18

19. Karakorum Block
This is located north of MKT and is a terrain of
Gondwana affinities which was sutured to Eurasia.
19

20. Subduction Complex association of
Balochistan
 A subduction-convergence zone with an unusually
wide and subaerially exposed arc-trench gap is
situated west of Chaman-Ornach Nal faults.
 The general geological setting is typical of a
subduction complex except a wide arc-trench gap.
 An Andean type andesitic arc in the Chagai Hills, Ras
Koh and Saindak area exists in the north of Hamun-i-
Mashkel Fore-Arc Basin.
 Hamun-i-Mashkel is a wide area of Quaternary cover
in Balochistan desert.
20

21. 21
Fig. 6: Subduction Complex of Balochistan

22. Subduction Complex association of
Balochistan
 Then comes Makran Ranges in the south which consist
of thick extensive flysch deposits of Late
Paleogene/Early Neogene age.
 This can be regarded as Makran accretionary prism.
22

23. Volcanic-Plutonic Arc of Chagai
 The Chagai volcanic arc is the northern most
subduction associated feature exposed in Pakistan.
 It is convex towards south and extends for about 500
kms in east-west direction and 150 kms in a north-
south direction.
 The arc is associated with the ultramafic rocks of Ras
Koh Range.
23

24. Makran Margin
 This is the accretionary wedge of sediments and
regarded as the arc-trench gap.
 Pakistani Makran is bounded between two strike slip
fault systems; to the west the Neh faults of Hari Rud
Zone and to the east the Chaman Transform Zone.
24

25. Chaman Transform Zone
 This zone is mainly chracterised by strike-slip faulting
with minor thrust components.
 It connects the Makran Convergent Margin in the
south with Himalayan Convergence Zone in the north.
 The width of the transform zone varies from north to
south.
 The rock type of this zone is the Khojak Flysch of
Oligocene/Miocene age.
25

26. 26
Fig.7: Chaman Transform Zone

27. Zone of Ophiolites
The eastern edge of the transform zone is associated
with ophiolites, which includes: Zhob, Waziristan,
Muslimbagh and Bela ophiolites.
27

28. 28
Fig. 8: Zone of Ophiolites

29. Platform Areas
 These are the eastern most features of Pakistan.
 Platform areas form south-eastern part of Lower Indus
Basin.
29

30. 30
Fig. 9: General Tectonic Map showing Platforms in Pakistan

31. Any Questions?
31

32. 32
THANK YOU!