Mountain Front Structural Geometries And Their Implications For Understanding The Detachment Tectonics And Oroclinal Bending Along The Eastern Salt Range, Pakistan

T.H. Ali, G. Rehman, R.Ahmad, Noor ul Islam, M. Irfan, Abdullah, S.F. Khan, S.M. Siyar, Izhar Ullah, Kamran Shams

doi:10.63278/mme.vi.2003

Authors

T.H. Ali, G. Rehman, R.Ahmad, Noor ul Islam, M. Irfan, Abdullah, S.F. Khan, S.M. Siyar, Izhar Ullah, Kamran Shams

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63278/mme.vi.2003

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate the structural variations of a major thrust fault in the Himalayan foreland fold and thrust belt. The study utilized field, radon concentration, and satellite imagery data to analyze surface and subsurface deformation patterns along the eastern part of the Salt Range Thrust (SRT). The research area was divided into a less deformed western part with east-west trending structures and a highly deformed eastern part. The study addressed the controversial behavior of the SRT near the Jalalpur area, where opposite directions of vergences along the same trend line have remained an unsolved question. The results revealed a sequence of tectonic events, starting with the formation of the SRT as a south-verging major thrust fault, followed by another episode of stresses, with maximum principal stress axes (σ1) oriented in the NW direction, resulting in tight oroclinal bending in the SRT and the formation of the Jalalpur back-thrust. The back-thrust was identified as the most recent deformational event, thrusting the Salt Range Formation onto Miocene rocks in Jalalpur valley. The study also identified the presence of the northeast-southwest trending Karangal bach-thrust, dividing the western and eastern parts. Additionally, a transformation from the Karangal back-thrust to the Choa fore-thrust indicated the presence of a sinistral strike-slip fault near Choa Saidan Shah Village. The research findings suggested that the SRT is an active fault-zone, supported by higher values of radon gas emission and readings showing multiple points of higher values on the surface expression of the SRT.

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