TECTONICS, VOL. 23, TC5001, doi:10.
1029/2003TC001554, 2004
Tectonostratigraphic subdivisions of the Himalaya:
A view from the west
Joseph A. DiPietro
Department of Geology, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, Indiana, USA
Kevin R. Pogue
Department of Geology, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, USA
Received 13 June 2003; revised 9 June 2004; accepted 14 June 2004; published 2 September 2004.
[1] Indian plate rocks in the central Himalaya have
traditionally been divided into orogen-parallel, fault-
bound tectonostratigraphic zones. A straightforward
westward extrapolation of these zones has proved
problematic in part because of a lack of consensus on
the existence or significance of major faults within the
metamorphic zone of the Indian plate in Pakistan where
more than 10 locations for the Main Central thrust
(MCT) have been proposed. We address this ambiguity
by systematically tracing established central Himalayan
tectonostratigraphy around the western Himalayan
syntaxis and across Pakistan. This exercise reveals the
following stratigraphic and structural relationships:
(1) There is a westward decrease in Neogene
shortening across the Himalayan fold and thrust belt
such that there is no age equivalent thrust in Pakistan
with displacement and metamorphic juxtaposition
equivalent to the central Himalayan MCT.
(2) Shortening across the fold and thrust belt
in western Pakistan is concentrated in the
unmetamorphosed foreland as opposed to the
metamorphic zone in the central Himalaya. (3) Lesser
Himalayan, Higher Himalayan, and Tethyan rocks are
in stratigraphic order within the metamorphic zone of
Pakistan which appears to be the metamorphic
equivalent of Kashmir Tethyan stratigraphy. (4) The
combination of early Paleozoic and late Paleozoic
tectonism in Pakistan has locally eliminated Upper
Proterozoic Higher Himalayan rock and lower to
middle Paleozoic Tethyan rock from the metamorphic
zone of Pakistan. (5) Late Cretaceous and/or early
Paleocene proto-Himalayan deformation in the
Pakistan foreland telescoped and eroded stratigraphy
prior to the main phase of Himalayan orogeny.
(6) Tectonostratigraphic zones are offset in eastern
Pakistan by the transverse Jhelum-Balakot fault.
(7) There is no evidence within the Indian plate of
Pakistan for a large-scale normal fault system
comparable to the South Tibetan detachment system.
Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.
0278-7407/04/2003TC001554
TC5001
(8) Stratigraphy, as well as the age and tectonic
setting of deformation and metamorphism, must be
taken into account when drawing tectonostratigraphic
zones. INDEX TERMS: 8099 Structural Geology: General or
miscellaneous; 8102 Tectonophysics: Continental contractional
orogenic belts; 8110 Tectonophysics: Continental tectonics—
general (0905); KEYWORDS: Himalaya, Pakistan, MCT, HHC,
tectonostratigraphy, Nepal. Citation: DiPietro, J. A., and K. R.
Pogue (2004), Tectonostratigraphic subdivisions of the Himalaya:
A view from the west, Tectonics, 23, TC5001, doi:10.1029/
2003TC001554.
1. Introduction
[2] Indian plate rocks of the Himalaya have traditionally
been divided into tectonostratigraphic zones that extend the
length of the orogen [Gansser, 1964, 1981; Le Fort, 1975;
Hodges, 2000]. Each zone is bounded by major faults and
each has a characteristic stratigraphy which is not easily
correlated with adjacent zones. From south to north, the
classic subdivisions and major bounding faults are: the
Main Frontal thrust (MFT), Subhimalaya, Main Boundary
thrust (MBT), Lesser Himalayan sedimentary zone (LHSZ),
Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes, Main Central thrust
(MCT), Higher (or Greater) Himalayan crystallines (HHC),
South Tibetan detachment system (STD), Tethys Himalaya,
and the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone which marks the north-
ern limit of exposed Indian plate rock (Figure 1). Although
the subdivisions and bounding faults can be traced across
India and Nepal, geologists who have worked in Pakistan
have pointed out serious problems with a straightforward
extrapolation across the western syntaxis region [Yeats and
Lawrence, 1984; Farah et al., 1984; Pogue et al., 1992b,
1999]. A major controversy centers on the extension of the
MCT and the Higher Himalayan crystallines. Gansser
[1964, 1981] included metamorphic Indian plate rock of
Pakistan in the HHC but did not extend the MCT. Yeats and
Lawrence [1984] concluded that neither the MCT nor the
HHC extend west of the syntaxis region and that the
metamorphic zone in Pakistan more closely resembles rock
of the Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes. Subsequent
workers have accepted the Salt Range thrust as the MFT
and the Murree fault as the MBT but these correlations are
not straightforward [Searle et al., 1999]. At present, there is
no consensus on the relative significance or even existence
of major faults in the metamorphic zone north of the MBT
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DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES

Figure 1. Tectonic map of the Himalaya. Cross sections A through C are shown in Figure 2. The western part of Figure 1
is enlarged with more detail in Figure 5. The tectonic units of the Indian plate are defined in Table 1. The MCT corresponds
with the Vaikrita thrust in the central Himalaya, the Panjal thrust in the west central Himalaya, and the Panjal-Khairabad
thrust in the western Himalaya. The MCT schuppenzone is omitted in eastern Nepal for clarity. Figure 1 is based on many
sources referenced herein and Lombardo et al. [2000]. See color version of this figure at back of this issue.
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TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES
in Pakistan where more than ten locations for the MCT have
been proposed [Kazmi and Jan, 1997, p. 128]. The confu-
sion was evident in a review paper of the Himalaya in which
Hodges [2000, p. 332] stated, ‘‘it has proved to be impos-
sible, with any degree of confidence, to correlate the
metamorphic core of the orogen west of the Nanga Parbat
syntaxis to the Greater Himalayan zone of the central
Himalaya.’’ We analyze this problem from the perspective
of western Himalayan geology by systematically tracing
established central Himalayan tectonostratigraphy into Paki-
stan. Our approach is stratigraphic but we take into account
the regional distribution of five key intrusive ages of circa
1850, 500, 270, 47, and 20 Ma. We also distinguish, in
general terms, between metamorphism prior to late middle
Eocene (prior to late 42 ± 3 Ma) and post-early middle
Eocene (post circa 42 ± 3 Ma) metamorphism. Our conclu-
sion is that central Himalayan stratigraphy can be traced
across the orogen but the tectonostratigraphic zones them-
selves are not continuous. In Pakistan, the disparate Lesser,
Higher, and Tethyan central Himalayan zones are present in
stratigraphic continuity in the metamorphic hinterland
where they overlie Archean-Early Proterozoic Indian crys-
talline basement. Similar stratigraphic relationships are
found in Kashmir, Chamba, and Zanskar. Figure 1 shows
the major tectonic units each of which is defined in Table 1.
Cross sections are presented in Figure 2. Stratigraphic
correlations are shown in Figures 3 and 4.
[3] For the purpose of discussion, we divide the Hima-
laya into three areas: (1) the central Himalaya, which
includes Nepal, southern Tibet, and Kumaun; (2) the west
central Himalaya, which includes Chamba, Kashmir,
Zanskar and the western syntaxis region of Naran and
Nanga Parbat roughly north of 32°N latitude and east of
73°300E longitude; and (3) the western Himalaya, which
includes the area west of the Hazara syntaxis (Figure 1).
2. Tectonostratigraphic Subdivisions of the
Central Himalaya
[4] The MCT is widely regarded as a major intraconti-
nental thrust fault which separates high-grade rock of the
HHC from low-grade or unmetamorphosed rock of the
Lesser Himalayan sedimentary zone (LHSZ). In western
Nepal, the trace of the MCT corresponds roughly with a
topographic step that separates peaks less than 4000 m
south of the fault from the high Himalayan peaks to the
north [Upreti, 1999]. The MCT is a ductile, synmetamor-
phic fault marked by a schuppenzone several kilometers
thick in which metamorphism increases from biotite-to
sillimanite-grade topographically and structurally up section
without, in many areas, an obvious structural break produc-
ing the characteristic inverted (or reverse) metamorphism.
Many workers in Kumaun and Nepal place the MCT in the
upper part of the inverted metamorphic sequence where
kyanite first becomes abundant [Le Fort, 1975; Pêcher and
Le Fort, 1986; Metcalfe, 1993; Hodges et al., 1996; Upreti,
1999]. This location corresponds with the MCT II of Arita
[1983] and with the Vaikrita thrust of Valdiya [1980]. It is
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shown in Figure 1 as the MCT. Other workers place the
MCT at the base of the inverted metamorphic sequence at or
below the biotite isograd where the fault marks the lower
(southern) limit of rocks affected by Himalayan metamor-
phism [Searle and Godin, 2003]. This location corresponds
with the MCT I of Arita [1983], the Munsiari thrust of
Valdiya [1980] and with the original MCT of Heim and
Gansser [1939]. The area between these two faults is the
MCT schuppenzone which is also the root zone from which
all of the Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes originated
(Figure 1, schuppenzone omitted in the eastern Nepal for
clarity). Major activity on the MCT and the emplacement of
crystalline nappes began in the early Miocene and continued
through the late Miocene and Pliocene with out-of-sequence
thrusting particularly in the MCT schuppenzone [Hubbard
and Harrison, 1989; Hodges et al., 1996; Harrison et al.,
1997; Catlos et al., 2001].
[5] The hanging wall block of the MCT consists of a 5 to
20 km thick regionally persistent and stratigraphically
coherent, northward dipping, allochthonous block known
in Nepal as the Tibetan slab [Le Fort, 1975], in Kumaun as
the Vaikrita group [Valdiya, 1980], and regionally as the
Higher (or Greater) Himalayan crystallines (HHC). It con-
sists of high-grade paragneiss, calc-silicate gneiss, marble
and subordinate quartzite, psammitic schist, and amphibo-
lite. The rocks are characterized by protracted metamor-
phism which began with late middle Eocene prograde
metamorphism and ended with early Miocene high-
temperature metamorphism which is closely associated with
displacement along the MCT [Vannay and Hodges, 1996;
Godin et al., 2001; Wiesmayr and Grasemann, 2002; Searle
et al., 2003]. Characteristic features include kyanite- and
sillimanite-grade rock, the presence of Cambrian-
Ordovician (circa 500 Ma) augen orthogneiss, and the
presence of early and middle Miocene (circa 20 Ma)
leucogranite [Le Fort, 1975; Hodges et al., 1988]. Detrital
zircons from the base of the Tibetan slab and intrusive
relationships with circa 500 Ma orthogneiss suggest a Late
Proterozoic to Early Cambrian age for most of the sequence
(Figure 4) [Parrish and Hodges, 1996].
[6] The Tibetan slab is bounded to the north by the South
Tibetan detachment system (STD) which is a zone of north
dipping normal faults with an estimated displacement of at
least 35 km [Le Fort, 1989; Burchfiel et al., 1992]. The STD
was active in the early Miocene apparently at the same time
as the MCT although there is evidence for earlier (Eocene)
activity as a S– SW directed thrust [Vannay and Hodges,
1996]. Metamorphic grade dramatically decreases across
the STD which separates the Tibetan slab from a highly
fossiliferous, 10 –14 km thick, Cambrian through Eocene
marine platform sequence known as the Tethys Himalaya
(Figure 4). This unit forms a wide (>100 km) folded and
imbricated anticlinorium across the central Himalaya
(Figure 1). The crest of the anticlinorium exposes the North
Himalayan gneiss domes which consist mostly of circa
500 Ma augen orthogneiss with circa 20 Ma granite and
minor metasediment. These rocks underlie kyanite- to
chlorite- grade Tethyan rock along depositional, intruded,
or faulted contacts [Hodges, 2000]. In some areas, the lower
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES TC5001

Table 1. Definition of Himalayan Tectonostratigraphic Zones Shown in Figure 1

Zone Definition

Subhimalaya Dominantly Neogene molasse in central Himalaya but includes older rock toward
the west. Western Subhimalaya contains Permian Gondwana beds and Mesozoic
Tethyan rocks. Unmetamorphosed.
Lesser Himalayan Lower to Middle Proterozoic and Cambrian with Permian Gondwana beds in central
Sedimentary Zone (LHSZ) Himalaya, Permian Panjal volcanics in west central Himalaya, and Mesozoic
Tethyan rock in western Himalaya. Proterozoic to Cambrian absent in Hazara
syntaxis region. Rocks form the Lesser Himalaya and parts of the Subhimalaya. Post
early middle Eocene metamorphism dominantly chlorite-grade and lower with higher
metamorphic grades near the MCT in central Himalaya and in parts of west central
Himalaya. Possible prior to late middle Eocene metamorphism in Hazara syntaxis. Circa
1850 Ma augen orthogneiss present in central and west central Himalaya, absent in
western Himalaya.
Tethys Himalaya Cambrian to Eocene marine platform sequence. Forms the Tibetan, Zanskar,
and Kashmir Tethys. Present in Chamba region and in western Lesser
and Subhimalaya. Lower and middle Paleozoic rocks are missing surrounding
the North Himalayan and Tso Morari domes, in the western Lesser and Subhimalaya,
and in parts of west-central Himalaya. Upper Permian Panjal
volcanics present in west central Himalaya. Mostly biotite-grade and lower,
post early middle Eocene metamorphism except in the Tso Morari region where
prior to late middle Eocene eclogites and kyanite grade metamorphism is present.
Local early Miocene and younger kyanite-sillimanite grade metamorphism near
the STD, surrounding the North Himalayan domes, and in the Zanskar crystallines
near Nun-Kun. Includes circa 20 Ma granite in central and west-central Himalaya.
Correlative with Tethyan metamorphic rocks.
Tethyan Metamorphic Rocks Tethyan rock in western Hinterland and Naran-Nanga Parbat regions with early
and middle Paleozoic locally absent, and Upper Permian Panjal metavolcanics
present. Prior to late middle Eocene metamorphism in western Hinterland and Naran
region is chlorite-biotite grade near the MCT and garnet-kyanite-grade farther north
with eclogites in Naran region. Post early middle Eocene metamorphism surrounding
Nanga Parbat is garnet grade and higher. Strong early Miocene metamorphism
absent. Includes circa 270 Ma augen orthogneiss and 47 Ma granite.
Lesser Himalayan Crystalline Nappes Includes Lower Proterozoic with circa 1850 Ma augen orthogneiss and Upper
Proterozoic to Cambrian Haimanta with circa 500 Ma augen orthogneiss. Includes
the MCT schuppenzone, Munsiari, Almora-Jajarkot, and Kathmandu nappes. Post
early middle Eocene metamorphism is biotite-garnet grade and locally higher. Strong
early Miocene-Pliocene metamorphism.
Higher Himalayan Dominantly Upper Proterozoic to Cambrian Haimanta with circa 500 Ma augen
Crystallines (HHC) orthogneiss and circa 20 Ma granite. Forms the Tibetan Slab and Zanskar
Crystallines. Post early middle Eocene metamorphism is garnet-grade or higher.
Includes high-grade Tethyan rock near Nun-Kun and locally near the STD at the top
of the Tibetan slab. Strong early Miocene metamorphism.
Low Grade Upper Proterozoic to Cambrian Haimanta (or equivalent Tanawal) with abundant
Haimanta-Tanawal associated circa 500 Ma augen orthogneiss. Present in the Kashmir, Chamba, Lahul
regions. Dominantly post early middle Eocene chlorite-biotite grade metamorphism.
Correlative with rocks of the Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes, the Higher
Himalayan crystallines, and the Haimanta-Tanawal metamorphic rocks.
Depositionally overlain by Tethys Himalaya.
Haimanta-Tanawal Upper Proterozoic to Cambrian Haimanta (or equivalent Tanawal) with abundant
Metamorphic Rocks associated circa 500 and 270 Ma augen orthogneiss. Prior to late middle Eocene
metamorphism in western Hinterland, the Naran region, and Tso Morari dome. Rocks
are chlorite to kyanite grade with low metamorphic grades near the MCT
and surrounding high-grade orthogneiss domes. Eclogites in Naran region. Post early
middle Eocene metamorphism in Nanga Parbat region, North Himalayan domes,
and possibly east of Spiti where rocks are mostly garnet-grade and higher. Includes
circa 20 Ma granite in Nanga Parbat region and in North Himalayan domes. Includes
47 Ma granite in western Hinterland and Naran-Nanga Parbat regions. Depositionally
overlain by Tethys Himalaya.
Lower Proterozoic Lower Proterozoic and inferred Lower Proterozoic metamorphic rock with Lesser
Metamorphic Rocks Himalayan affinities in western Hinterland and Naran-Nanga Parbat regions. Prior
to late middle Eocene chlorite to kyanite-sillimanite grade metamorphism in western
Hinterland and Naran regions with lowest grades near MCT and higher grades farther
north with eclogites in Naran region. Post early middle Eocene garnet-grade
and higher metamorphism at Nanga Parbat. Locally contains Precambrian
metamorphism. Early Miocene metamorphism absent. Includes circa 1850, 500,
and 270 Ma augen orthogneiss. Age relationships in Naran region are uncertain
(Tanawal-equivalent rock may be present north of the Batal fault). Depositionally
overlain by Haimanta-Tanawal and/or Tethyan Himalaya.

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Table 1. (continued)
Zone Definition

Indus Suture Zone Ophiolitic melange. Includes Lamayuru complex, Indus molasse,
forearc deposits, flysch and other associated rock in the central and west central Himalaya. Includes
abundant sedimentary rock in the West Pakistan fold belt. Unmetamorphosed to
greenschist-blueschist facies.

and middle Paleozoic part of the Tethyan sequence is
missing and the orthogneiss/granite is directly overlain by
metamorphosed Carboniferous-Permian rock [Burg et al.,
1984; Brookfield, 1993]. The age of metamorphism is
poorly constrained but likely occurred between the middle
Eocene and Miocene [Lee et al., 2000]. Rocks within the
gneiss domes correlate with similar rock in the HHC but are
separated from the HHC in Figure 1 because of potentially
different tectonic and metamorphic settings. They are
shown as part of the Haimanta-Tanawal sequence in
Figure 1 because of the common association of Haimanta-
Tanawal rock with augen orthogneiss and because of their
structural position directly below Tethyan rock (Table 1).
[7] The footwall block below the MCT in Nepal consists
of the strongly imbricated and folded Lesser Himalayan
sedimentary zone (LHSZ) in which metamorphism is chlo-
rite grade or lower but with higher metamorphic grades near
the MCT [Pêcher and Le Fort, 1986; Guillot, 1999]. A
characteristic feature is an up to 10 km thick section of
Lower to Middle(?) Proterozoic slate, sandstone, quartzite,
phyllite, stromatolitic limestone, dolostone, and volcanic
rock known as the Nawakot or Midlands group [Hodges et

Figure 2. Cross sections A through C. Black half-arrows represent Oligocene and younger
displacement; blue half-arrows represent Eocene and older displacement. See Figure 1 for locations.
Lower Proterozoic rocks in the MCT hanging wall block of section A includes metasedimentary rocks of
Lesser Himalayan affinity and underlying crystalline basement. Note metamorphic facies changes in
Tethyan and Haimanta rock units. Cross section C after DeCelles et al. [2001] and Murphy and Yin
[2003]. Abbreviations are as follows: ADT, Almora-Dadeldhura (Lesser Himalayan crystalline) thrust;
GT, Gangdese thrust; T, toward; A, away. Other symbols as in Figure 1. See color version of this figure at
back of this issue.

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Figure 3. Correlation of Lesser Himalayan Rocks.

al., 1996; Le Fort and Rai, 1999; DeCelles et al., 2001].
The lower part of this group is intruded by circa 1850 Ma
Ulleri augen orthogneiss whereas the upper part locally
includes Cambrian rock [Upreti and Le Fort, 1999]. Late
Carboniferous to Permian (Gondwana) glacial and conti-
nental sandstone, shale, and conglomerate overlies the
dominantly Lower Proterozoic section, followed by Creta-
ceous to Eocene shallow marine limestone, sandstone and
shale, which are locally overlain by fluvial late Oligocene to
early Miocene sandstone and siltstone (Figure 3) [Upreti,
1999]. Major differences with the Higher Himalayan crys-
tallines include the presence of Lower Proterozoic rock
including circa 1850 Ma orthogneiss, the absence of circa
500 Ma and circa 20 Ma intrusions, and the obvious
difference in metamorphism.
[8] Most workers consider the three zones, the Tethys
Himalaya, HHC, and LHSZ, to represent juxtaposed dom-
inantly Phanerozoic, Upper Proterozoic, and Lower Protero-
zoic rocks of the Indian plate respectively [Frank et al.,
1973; Brookfield, 1993; Miller et al., 2000].
[9] South of the MCT, but still within the Lesser Hima-
laya, the sedimentary zone is overlain by one or more
imbricate thrust sheets of variable metamorphic grade
known as the Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes [Auden,
1934, 1937; Heim and Gansser, 1939; Stocklin, 1980].
Included within the crystalline nappes is the MCT schup-
penzone which widens in Kumaun where it is referred to as
the Munsiari nappe [Vannay and Grasemann, 1998, 2001].
The main belt of crystalline nappes are preserved as klippen
up to 12 km thick primarily within a large synclinal trough

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Figure 4. Correlation of Greater Himalayan Rocks.

which extends along the southern part of the Lesser Hima-
laya. Major klippen include the Karnali nappe, the structur-
ally underlying Almora-Jajarkot nappe, and the Kathmandu
nappe (Figure 1). The structurally highest Karnali nappe
contains high-grade rock directly correlative with
the Tibetan slab [Upreti and Le Fort, 1999]. It is therefore
shown as part of the HHC underlain by the MCT in Figure 1.
[10] It has been suggested that the Almora-Jajarkot nappe
correlates with the Kathmandu and Munsiari nappes and
that they root into the MCT schuppenzone [Valdiya, 1980;
Srivastava and Mitra, 1994, 1996]. However, the absence
of a direct correlation between the nappes and the root zone
suggests that the root zone has been overridden by out-of-
sequence thrusting and is not exposed [Upreti and Le Fort,
1999]. The nappes are composed of up to 8 km of
Proterozoic to Cambrian schist, quartzite, graphitic schist,
garnetiferous schist, marble, calc-schist, and metabasalt
referred to as the Bhimphedi Group in Nepal and as the
Munsiari and Almora groups in Kumaun [Schelling, 1992;
Upreti, 1999; Srivastava and Mitra, 1994, 1996]. In con-
trast to the LHSZ and the Tibetan slab, the crystalline
nappes (including the MCT schuppenzone) contain both
circa 1850 Ma and circa 500 Ma augen orthogneiss which
suggests that both Lower and Upper Proterozoic metasedi-
mentary rocks are present (Figure 4). The circa 1850 Ma
orthogneiss is most common near the base of the nappes
where it has been variously described as intrusive into the
sequence, present as fault slices, and present unconformably
below the metasediments [Trivedi et al., 1984; Pêcher and
Le Fort, 1986; Srivastava and Mitra, 1996; Rai et al., 1998;
Searle and Godin, 2003]. Metamorphism is dominantly
garnet-grade or lower but locally reaches sillimanite grade.
Proterozoic rocks in the Jajarkot and Kathmandu nappes are
overlain by up to 5 km of nearly unmetamorphosed plat-

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form rock which appears to correlate with the lower
Paleozoic part of the Tethys Himalaya (Figure 4) [Upreti,
1999].
[11] Another thrust sheet, the Ramgarh nappe, structurally
underlies the Almora-Jajarkot nappe and possibly also the
Kathmandu nappe [Srivastava and Mitra, 1996; DeCelles et
al., 2001]. Rocks within this thrust sheet are mostly chlorite-
grade quartzite and phyllite which correlate directly with
Lower Proterozoic rocks of the LHSZ. This nappe roots into
the LHSZ below the MCT schuppenzone. Because it is part of
the LHSZ, and for clarity, it is not shown in Figure 1.
[12] Reentrants along the trace of the MCT in eastern
Nepal, and the presence of the Karnali nappe, suggest
minimum displacement on the MCT of about 100 km
(Figure 1). Other faults, such as the Ramgarh thrust, may
also have displacement on the order of 100 km or more
[DeCelles et al., 2001]. Conservative estimates and bal-
anced cross sections across the Central Himalayan fold and
thrust belt indicate shortening in excess of 600 km [Gansser,
1974; Lyon-Caen and Molnar, 1983; Schelling, 1992;
Srivastava and Mitra, 1994; Murphy and Yin, 2003; Guillot
et al., 2003].
3. Extension of Tectonostratigraphic
Subdivisions to the West Central Himalaya
[13] The extension of central Himalayan tectonostrati-
graphic zones westward first becomes problematic near
Simla where the MCT (Vaikrita thrust) extends southward
almost to the MBT as a folded, but nearly flat-lying, thrust
sheet (Figure 1) [Frank et al., 1995; Vannay and Grasemann,
2001]. In contrast to Nepal where kyanite- and sillimanite-
grade rocks dominate the Tibetan slab, rocks within this part
of the thrust sheet include garnet- and staurolite-grade rocks
[Frank et al., 1973; Misra, 1999]. Higher-grade rock is
present especially north of the Larji-Kulu-Rampur window
but the Tibetan slab in this region is less recognizable as a
distinctive tectonostratigraphic unit. Figure 1 shows the
extent of the Tibetan slab as defined by garnet- and higher-
grade rock. Farther west, in the Chamba-Lahul region, high-
grade rock is absent across the entire area between the MCT
and Tethys Himalaya [Fuchs and Linner, 1995; Le Fort,
1996]. The low-grade rock in this area is shown in Figure 1 as
Upper Proterozoic to Cambrian Haimanta unit which is
considered to be stratigraphically equivalent with rocks of
the Tibetan slab (Figure 4) [Steck et al., 1993; Frank et al.,
1995; Vannay and Steck, 1995; Wyss et al., 1999; Robyr et al.,
2002; Myrow et al., 2003; Vannay et al., 2004].
[14] The MCT has been traced northwest of Simla across
Chamba and Kashmir where it corresponds with the Panjal
thrust [Fuchs, 1975; Shah, 1980; Gansser, 1981; Thakur,
1981, 1998; Rautela and Thakur, 1992; Fuchs and Linner,
1995; Misra, 1999]. Across this region it closely parallels
the MBT which is also known as the Murree thrust. Here the
MCT (Panjal thrust) is marked locally by a narrow schup-
penzone from 10 m to several 100 m wide composed of
low-grade graphitic slate, phyllite, schist, marble, and circa
1850 Ma mylonitic orthogneiss, referred to as the Lower
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Crystalline or Bajaura nappe [Fuchs and Frank, 1970;
Frank et al., 1995; Miller et al., 2000]. It is discontinuous
along the Panjal thrust and is shown in Figure 1 as part of
the Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes (for example, just
west of Chamba). Some workers [e.g., Thakur, 1998] place
the MCT below the schuppenzone. Other workers [e.g.,
Frank et al., 1995] place the Panjal thrust below the
schuppenzone and the MCT above. The schuppenzone
appears to represent fault slivers of dominantly Lower
Proterozoic rock incorporated during displacement along
the Panjal thrust and is thus an integral part of the fault
system. In Figure 1 the MCT is located at the top of the
schuppenzone where present and coincident with the trace
of the Panjal thrust where the schuppenzone is absent.
[15] The underlying Lesser Himalayan sedimentary zone
(LHSZ) in the Chamba-Kashmir region is narrow (<8 km
wide) but continuous with the central Himalayan LHSZ. In
eastern Kashmir the LHSZ is composed of low-grade Lower
Proterozoic(?) and Cambrian slate, argillite, and sandstone
unconformably overlain by Permian to Triassic Panjal
volcanics and limestone and locally by Eocene limestone
which, with the exception of Panjal volcanics, is generally
typical of the Lesser Himalaya (Figure 3) [Shah, 1980].
However, the nature of the LHSZ changes toward the
northwest where, at the apex of the Hazara syntaxis,
Precambrian rock is absent and the LHSZ is composed of
imbricated, greenschist facies, Permian to Triassic Panjal
metavolcanics and marble [Calkins et al., 1975; Bossart et
al., 1988]. Also present are tectonic slivers composed of
imbricated Permian to Eocene platform rock of Tethyan
affinity (Figures 3 and 5) [Bossart et al., 1988].
[16] Rocks directly above the MCT in the Chamba area
are chlorite- and biotite-grade Haimanta phyllite, schist,
quartzite, and sandstone intruded by circa 500 Ma ortho-
gneiss and locally overlain by Tethyan platform rock
(Figures 1 and 4). Here, as opposed to the central Himalaya,
the grade of metamorphism is similar on both sides of the
MCT [Frank et al., 1995]. This lower-grade, more southern
(foreland), expression of the MCT hanging wall block is
nearly continuous from Simla across both the west central
and western Himalaya, broken only near the Chenab river
(Figure 1). As in the central Himalaya, the Upper Protero-
zoic Haimantas above the MCT cannot be directly correlated
with rock below the MCT.
[17] Garnet- and higher-grade rocks in the Chamba-
Kashmir region are restricted to the Zanskar area mostly
well to the north of the MCT where they are referred to as
Zanskar crystallines [Honegger et al., 1982]. On the basis of
many similarities, including Nd isotopic model ages, late
middle Eocene and early Miocene metamorphism, and the
presence of circa 20 Ma leucogranites, the Zanskar crystal-
lines are considered by most workers to be equivalent with
rocks of the Tibetan slab [Searle and Rex, 1989; Kündig,
1989; Searle et al., 1992; Guillot et al., 1999; Whittington et
al., 1999, 2000; Walker et al., 2001]. Both are shown in
Figure 1 as part of the HHC but a major difference is that
the Zanskar crystallines are not in the form of a slab. In this
area they crop out in a broad domal structure which, with
the exception of a narrow belt of low topography along the
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES TC5001

Figure 5. Enlarged and more detailed tectonic map of the western part of Figure 1. Inset shows major
tectonic zones and regions. Symbols as in Figure 1. See color version of this figure at back of this issue.

Chenab river, is well north of the MCT. In addition to high-
grade equivalents of the Haimantas, the Zanskar crystallines
also contain metamorphic equivalents of the Tethys Hima-
laya (Figures 1 and 4). In the Nun-Kun area, for example,
probable Panjal volcanics and overlying Triassic platform
rocks are at kyanite and sillimanite grade [Honegger et al.,
1982]. The Zanskar crystallines have not been traced as a
continuous metamorphic belt west of the Nun-Kun region.
[18] There are two windows within the HHC, one near
the western margin of the Tibetan slab and the other within
the Zanskar crystallines. Both occur along anticlinal flex-
ures that fold the MCT. These are the Larji-Kulu-Rampur
window (LKRW) and Kishtwar window (KW) respectively
(Figure 1). Both expose low-grade LHSZ phyllite, quartzite,
and circa 1850 orthogneiss below the MCT [Frank et al.,
1973; Miller et al., 2000]. The northeastern part of the
LKRW contains two zones of reverse metamorphism which
are separated by the MCT [Vannay and Grasemann, 1998,
2001; Wiesmayr and Grasemann, 2002]. The lower zone is
18 km thick, varies from garnet to sillimanite-grade, and
includes circa 1850 Ma (Wangto) augen orthogneiss at the
top of the sequence. It has been mapped as the Munsiari
nappe and is shown in Figure 1 as part of the Lesser
Himalayan Crystalline nappes [Vannay et al., 1999, 2004].
It is overlain by the MCT and a second 10 km thick zone of
reverse staurolite to sillimanite-migmatite grade metamor-
phism which is shown in Figure 1 as part of the Tibetan
slab. A thin schuppenzone with circa 1850 Ma mylonitic
orthogneiss and associated metasediment intervenes
between the two zones of reverse metamorphism directly
below the MCT. This schuppenzone partly surrounds the
LKRW and correlates with the schuppenzone along the
main trace of the MCT [Miller et al., 2000]. A single
schuppenzone of reverse metamorphism less than 3 km
thick from biotite to kyanite grade has been mapped as the
MCT zone surrounding the Kishtwar window [Stephenson
et al., 2000, 2001]. This zone also contains probable circa
1850 Ma mylonitic orthogneiss and correlates with its
lower-grade counterpart along the main trace of the MCT
[Frank et al., 1995].

9 of 20
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES
[19] The STD has been mapped along the northern
margin of the Zanskar crystallines where it is referred to
as the Zanskar shear zone [Herren, 1987]. As in the
central Himalaya, the STD may have been a SW vergent
thrust fault prior to early Miocene reactivation as a
detachment fault with displacement on the order of
35 km but possibly as much as 100 km [Patel et al.,
1993; Dèzes et al., 1999]. Here the STD separates the
high-grade Haimantas of the Zanskar crystallines from
low-grade Haimantas and overlying Tethyan rock which
includes rift-related Permian Panjal volcanics. The belt of
low-grade Haimantas above the STD is shown separate
from the Tethys Himalaya in Figure 1. This basal Upper
Proterozoic part of the Tethyan sequence does not extend
across Nepal where, in the Dhaulagiri-Annapura region,
the STD separates the Tibetan slab from Cambrian-
Ordovician Tethyan rock [Pêcher, 1991; Hodges et al.,
1996; Vannay and Hodges, 1996; Godin et al., 2001].
Although the STD is present at the northern margins of
both the Tibetan slab and Zanskar crystallines, it appar-
ently is absent in the intervening Lahul area [Wyss et al.,
1999; Robyr et al., 2002]. A. Yin (Cenozoic evolution of
the Himalayan orogen as constrained by along-strike
variations of structural geometry, exhumation history,
and foreland sedimentation, submitted to Earth Science
Reviews, 2003), following Thakur [1998], has argued that
the STD surrounds the Zanskar crystallines and is present
along the northwest termination of the Tibetan slab such
that it intersects the MCT to form a folded duplex. In this
interpretation, the contact between the HHC and the low-
grade Haimanta-Tanawal unit in Figure 1 would coincide
roughly with the folded southern extension of the STD.
[20] The northern part of the Tethys Himalaya in the
Zanskar region contains domal structures cored with
variably metamorphosed Haimantas and/or circa 500 Ma
orthogneiss. They include the Nyimaling and Tso Morari
domes [Steck et al., 1993, 1998; Schlup et al., 2003].
Eclogites and kyanite-grade rocks are present in the Tso
Morari dome within strongly deformed and infolded
Upper Carboniferous to Permian Tethyan rocks (including
Panjal metavolcanics) which are most abundant along the
margins of the dome (Figure 1 [Gansser, 1981; Guillot et
al., 1997; de Sigoyer et al., 2004]). Normal faults separate
the Tso Morari dome from lower grade, eclogite-absent,
late Paleozoic-Mesozoic Tethyan rocks and rocks of the
Indus-Tsangpo suture zone. Unlike the North Himalayan
domes and the HHC, most of the well-preserved meta-
morphism in the Tso Morari dome, including eclogite
facies rock, is prior to late middle Eocene (Figure 4)
[Guillot et al., 2003].
[21] The main belt of Tethys Himalaya ends north of
Nun-Kun where it truncates against the Indus-Tsangpo
suture zone [Gansser, 1981; Honegger et al., 1982;
Searle, 1983]. However, additional low-grade Paleozoic
and Mesozoic Tethyan rocks crop out over a wide area
especially west of the Zanskar crystallines where they are
referred to as the Kashmir Tethys (Figures 1 and 5). In
contrast to the Tethys Himalaya in Tibet, much of the
Paleozoic stratigraphy is missing in the Kashmir Tethys
10 of 20
TC5001
where Wadia [1934] mapped the ‘‘Paleozoic unconfor-
mity’’ below Permian Panjal volcanics. According to
Wadia [1934], the age of rock directly below the uncon-
formity is variable over short distances (<50 km). Lower
and middle Paleozoic strata are present below the uncon-
formity in some areas whereas only Precambrian rocks
are present in other areas, some of which are correlative
with the Haimantas and some of which may be older
(Lower Proterozoic). This relationship, in which Panjal
volcanics overlie rocks of variable age, is present in the
metamorphic Hinterland of the western Himalaya and
presumably also in the Naran and Nanga Parbat regions
(Figure 5). The cause of this stratigraphic complexity will
be discussed in relation to the western Himalaya.
[22] Across the Chamba-Kashmir region there is no
controversy regarding the Murree thrust as the MBT and
the Panjal thrust (or its equivalent schuppenzone) as the
MCT. Wadia [1934, p. 130], for example, recognized the
Panjal thrust as ‘‘the most important tectonic feature of
these mountains.’’ However, although the Murree thrust is
recognized as the MBT in the Naran region, the Panjal
thrust commonly is not recognized as the MCT [e.g., Greco
et al., 1989; Chaudhry and Ghazanfar, 1990]. For reasons
discussed below, we show the Panjal thrust as the MCT in
the Naran region (Figures 1 and 5).
[23] Both the MBT and Panjal thrust (MCT) are well
exposed at the apex of the Hazara syntaxis where both are
late to postmetamorphic faults with a low-grade, dominantly
cataclastic fabric which truncates rock units and metamor-
phic cleavage in their footwall blocks [Bossart et al., 1988].
These characteristics imply that displacement on this part of
the Panjal thrust is not tied directly to metamorphism to the
same extent as along the synmetamorphic central Hima-
layan MCT. This, however, does not imply that the Panjal
thrust is younger in the Hazara syntaxis. Metamorphic ages
from the Naran region are Eocene or older [Chamberlain et
al., 1991; Smith et al., 1994; Kaneko et al., 2003]. If
metamorphism surrounding the Hazara syntaxis is of similar
age, then Miocene displacement on the MCT-Panjal system
would be synmetamorphic in the central Himalaya and late
to postmetamorphic in the Hazara syntaxis.
[24] Both the MBT and Panjal thrust (MCT) are truncated
on the western flank of the Hazara syntaxis by the Balakot
fault which is a north striking, sinistral, strike-slip mylonitic
to brittle shear zone present along the entire steepened
western limb of the Hazara syntaxis (Figure 5 [Calkins et
al., 1975; Bossart et al., 1988]). Greco et al. [1989]
extended the Balakot fault northward to connect with the
Batal thrust of Chaudhry et al. [1986] such that it forms a
loop around the syntaxis that extends to within 5 km of the
Indus-Tsangpo suture zone. They also extended the fault
westward to connect with the Oghi fault of Coward et al.
[1986]. These authors considered the Oghi-Balakot-Batal
fault zone to be the MCT. The Oghi fault is one of several
generally west trending, late metamorphic fault zones
depicted on early reconnaissance maps of the western
Hinterland region (Figure 5). Another one, south of the
Oghi fault, is the Mansehra fault of Coward et al. [1988]
which was also considered to be an MCT analog (not shown
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES
in Figure 5). These fault zones coincide with the staurolite
and garnet isograds respectively within a sequence of
interlayered circa 500 Ma (Mansehra) augen orthogneiss
and Tanawal pelitic schist [Treloar et al., 1989a]. Detailed
maps of the region show that none of the faults can be
traced westward to the Indus syntaxis and that the faults do
not juxtapose rocks of vastly different metamorphic grade
[Calkins et al., 1975; DiPietro et al., 1999; Pogue et al.,
1999]. For these reasons, and because the faults do not
juxtapose rocks of different composition or age, we view
them as local faults with relatively small displacement. We
do not consider them to be the MCT or the continuation of
the Balakot fault but concur with Kazmi and Jan [1997] and
extend the strike-slip system southward to the Salt Range as
the Jhelum fault.
[25] The continuation of the Balakot fault as the Batal fault
is also questionable. The Batal fault was active during
(Eocene) metamorphism as indicated by fibrolitic sillimanite
in the shear zone [Greco et al., 1989]. The Balakot fault cuts
both the regional foliation and the largely postmetamorphic
Murree and Panjal thrusts. These relationships imply that the
Batal fault is older than the Balakot fault. Instead of curving
into the Batal fault, we follow Wadia [1931] and extend the
Balakot fault northward for less than 5 km to an intersection
with the older Kohistan fault at the Indus-Tsangpo suture
zone (Figure 5). Interpreted in this way, the Balakot fault is an
active or recently active (Miocene or younger) structure
which acts as a tear fault that separates the Hazara syntaxis
from the western Himalayan fold and thrust belt to the west
[Kazmi, 1979]. We refer to the entire strike-slip system as the
Jhelum-Balakot fault (Figure 5).
[26] The Batal fault has been cited as the MCT probably
because it is marked by mylonitic (circa 500 Ma?) ortho-
gneiss along part of its trace; because in the Kaghan valley it
separates kyanite-grade rock north of the fault from garnet-
and lower-grade rock to the south; and because rocks in the
footwall block (Salkhala formation) resemble rocks of the
LHSZ [Greco et al., 1989; Chaudhry and Ghazanfar, 1990;
Greco and Spencer, 1993]. However, there are a number of
problems with this correlation. One, already noted, is that
the Batal fault appears to be Eocene (not Miocene) in age.
Another is that the increase in metamorphic grade across the
fault, evident in the Kaghan valley, may not be regional.
The Kaghan valley is located where the Batal fault reaches
nearly its northernmost extent in Figure 5 in close proximity
with the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone. From this area, Greco
and Spencer [1993] suggested that the fault trends south-
eastward into the area south of the Kashmir Basin. This
interpretation is not shown in Figures 1 and 5 because rock
south of the Kashmir Basin is low-grade and because there
are no mapped faults north of the Panjal thrust in the
Kashmir or Chamba regions which could be considered
an eastern continuation of the Batal fault. The presence of
low-grade rock in this area prompted Fontan et al. [2000] to
place their MCT north of the Kashmir Basin. We suggest
that the MCT mapped by Fontan et al. [2000] is the Batal
fault and that it continues eastward north of the Kashmir
Basin as shown in Figures 1 and 5. We do not consider this
fault to be the MCT.
11 of 20
TC5001
[27] In Figure 5 the Salkhala formation constitutes the
area of Lower Proterozoic rock south of the Batal fault. It
consists of an unknown thickness of chlorite- to garnet-
grade pelitic schist, marble, and graphitic schist intruded by
pegmatite, circa 500(?) Ma orthogneiss, and amphibolite
[Calkins et al., 1975]. The age of the Salkhala formation is
unknown but its lithology and stratigraphic position suggest
a correlation with the Karora and Gandaf formations of the
western Himalaya which are known to be Lower Protero-
zoic and of LHSZ affinity [DiPietro and Isachsen, 2001].
The Karora and Gandaf formations extend northward to the
Indus-Tsangpo suture zone, therefore, they must also be
north of the MCT (Figure 5). Additional Lower Proterozoic
rocks of LHSZ affinity are present at Nanga Parbat and are
likely present in the Naran region north of the Batal fault
[Wadia, 1934; Whittington et al., 1999, 2000]. These
relationships suggest that the Salkhala is of LHSZ affinity
but they do not imply that the Salkhala must be south of the
MCT. We note that the name Salkhala has also been used in
the Chamba region for rocks directly above the MCT which
we show in Figure 1 as part of the Haimanta unit [Srikantia
and Bhargava, 1974; Thakur, 1998]. If the Salkhala in the
Naran region is Early Proterozoic as we suspect, then this
would imply an Early Proterozoic age for at least part of the
Haimantas. Although Lower Proterozoic rocks are likely
present in the MCT schuppenzone, there is no published
evidence to suggest that part of the Haimantas in the
Chamba region are Early Proterozoic. We therefore restrict
the name Salkhala to the Naran region.
[28] The criteria used to define the Batal fault as the MCT
is inconsistent with criteria used to define the MCT across
the west central Himalaya. In the Chamba-Kashmir region,
the MCT (Panjal thrust) carries all garnet- and higher-grade
rock and carries all occurrences of circa 500 Ma orthogneiss
in its hanging wall block. In the Naran region this criteria
fits the Panjal thrust which is also the direct northwestward
extension of the west central MCT. For these reasons we
consider the Panjal thrust to be the MCT. Greco and
Spencer [1993] mapped a narrow zone of granitoid rock
in the immediate hanging wall of the Panjal thrust along the
eastern flank of the Hazara syntaxis. We suggest that some
of these rocks are fault slivers of circa 1850 Ma orthogneiss
related to displacement on the Panjal fault. Figure 5 shows
this zone as correlative with the narrow MCT schuppenzone
mapped farther east along the MCT in the west central
Himalaya.
[29] The Batal fault appears to be a major thrust possibly
associated with the exhumation of eclogites which are
widespread north of the fault (Figure 5). As such, this fault
must continue west of the Jhelum-Balakot fault. We suggest
that the Banna fault, as mapped by DiPietro et al. [1999], is
the western continuation because both have similar rock in
their hanging wall blocks (Figure 5). The Banna fault
merges with the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone along the
eastern flank of the Indus syntaxis and thus is not contin-
uous across the western Himalaya. The eastern continuation
of the Batal fault is unknown. It could merge with the Indus-
Tsangpo suture zone or, because it has Tethyan rock in its
hanging wall block, it could correlate with Eocene SW
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES
thrust displacement along the STD. There is, however, no
evidence along the Batal fault for Miocene reactivation as a
normal fault.
[30] The stratigraphy and age of rocks north of the Batal
fault in the Naran and Nanga Parbat regions is not well
constrained. Most of the rocks are at amphibolite or eclogite
facies. In addition to widespread Precambrian rock of
probable Lesser and Higher Himalayan affinity, Panjal
volcanics and associated Mesozoic rock of Tethyan affinity
are present along with a great variety of intrusive rock of
circa 1850, 500, 47 Ma and younger [Zeitler et al., 1989,
1993; Smith et al., 1994; Fontan et al., 2000; Whittington et
al., 1999, 2000; Argles et al., 2003]. Lower and middle
Paleozoic Tethyan rock may also be present but this has not
been confirmed (Figure 4). The distribution of Lower
Proterozoic rock north of the Batal fault in the Naran region
as shown in Figures 1 and 5 is uncertain. This area is
extensively intruded and most of these rocks have not been
dated. Although not shown in the figures, it is probable that
Tanawal-equivalent Upper Proterozoic rock intervenes at
least locally between Lower Proterozoic and Tethyan rock
in the hanging wall block of the Batal thrust.
[31] In contrast to the HHC, there is no evidence for
widespread early Miocene metamorphism in the Naran-
Nanga Parbat region. Metamorphism had largely ended by
the late Eocene in the Naran region and by the late
Oligocene at Nanga Parbat with only local areas of younger
(Plio-Pleistocene) metamorphism [Zeitler et al., 1989, 2001;
Chamberlain et al., 1991]. In both areas the metamorphism
is more closely associated with underthrusting beneath the
Indus-Tsangpo suture zone and Kohistan-Ladakh arc than
with an intracontinental (MCT) thrust. The stratigraphy and
metamorphism therefore does not fit the HHC as defined in
the central and west central Himalaya. Rather than part of
the HHC, the Naran-Nanga Parbat stratigraphy appears to
be a direct continuation of the incompletely developed
Kashmir Tethyan stratigraphy except that depositionally
underlying Precambrian rocks are more widely exposed,
the grade of metamorphism is higher, and intrusive rocks
are far more abundant. Structurally the Naran region is
similar to the Tso Morari region in the sense that both
contain rocks of similar metamorphic age and grade
(including eclogites), the metamorphism is not tied directly
to the MCT, both areas contain domal structures, and both
are adjacent to the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone. The major
stratigraphic difference is that there is no report of Lower
Proterozoic rock in the Tso Morari region.
[32] The above relationships indicate that it is in the west
central Himalaya where many of the defining characteristics
of the Lesser Himalaya, Higher Himalaya, and MCT
disappear. The Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes wedge
out in the Chamba-Kashmir area such that only thin
mylonitic layers of Lower Proterozoic orthogneiss and
associated rock are present along the main trace of the
MCT. The HHC, as defined in the central Himalaya, is
mostly absent from the immediate hanging wall block of the
MCT, is completely absent in the Lahul region, and does not
extend west of the Zanskar crystallines. Across the west
central Himalaya the low-grade Haimantas are not only
12 of 20
TC5001
considered to be stratigraphically equivalent with rocks of
the HHC but they also form the Precambrian base of the
Tethys Himalaya in the Kashmir, Zanskar, and Tso Morari
regions. Rather than unmetamorphosed Lower Proterozoic
rock, the Lesser Himalaya in the Hazara syntaxis is dom-
inated by greenschist facies Permian Panjal metavolcanics
and associated Mesozoic Tethyan platform rock. Here, the
MCT is largely a postmetamorphic fault. Lower Proterozoic
rocks of Lesser Himalayan affinity are present, not in the
Lesser Himalaya, but across the entire Naran-Nanga Parbat
metamorphic belt where they variably underlie rocks of
Higher Himalayan and/or Tethyan affinity. The stratigraphy
is a direct continuation of the Kashmir Tethys except that
Lower Proterozoic rock is more widely exposed. These
relationships, coupled with the presence of similar rock
(Panjal volcanics) in the Lesser Himalaya, the Zanskar and
Kashmir Tethys, the Zanskar crystallines, and in the Naran-
Nanga Parbat region, suggests that shortening across major
thrust faults (in particular the MCT) is less than in the
central Himalaya.
4. Extension of Tectonostratigraphic
Subdivisions to the Western Himalaya
[33] The western Himalaya extends from the Jhelum-
Balakot fault westward to ophiolitic rock of the West
Pakistan fold belt. In the central Himalaya, some of the
highest mountains on earth are underlain by Indian plate
rock. In the western Himalaya, the highest elevations
underlain by Indian plate rock are about 3000 m. Because
of low topography and easy accessibility, detailed geologic
maps and balanced cross sections have been constructed for
most of the western Himalaya [Latif, 1970; Tahirkheli,
1971, 1979; Calkins et al., 1975; Kazmi et al., 1984; Lillie
et al., 1987; Yeats and Hussain, 1987; Gee, 1989; Pennock
et al., 1989; Hussain et al., 1990; McDougall et al., 1993;
Pivnik and Wells, 1996; DiPietro et al., 1999, 2000; Pogue
et al., 1992b, 1999]. The mapping does not show evidence
for a fault with displacement comparable to the central
Himalayan MCT or for thrust nappes comparable with the
Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes. The major through-
going fault zones are the Khairabad-MBT thrust system
which is a 20 km wide imbricate zone structurally equiva-
lent to the Panjal-Murree (MCT-MBT) fault system; and the
Salt Range thrust zone which is equivalent to the MFT.
Combined estimates of shortening along the Salt Range
thrust (20 to 40 km), the Khairabad-MBT fault system (84
to 105 km) and along cumulative folds and faults in the
intervening Potwar Plateau (50 to 74 km), is about 200 km
which is significantly less than shortening estimates in the
central Himalayan fold and thrust belt [Yeats and Hussain,
1987; Lillie et al., 1987; Gee, 1989; Pennock et al., 1989;
McDougall et al., 1993]. Faults depicted on early recon-
naissance maps of the region such as the Oghi, Tarbela,
Alpurai, Mansehra, and Thakot faults, have relatively small
displacement compared to the major faults listed above
[DiPietro et al., 1999; Pogue et al., 1999]. They are not
continuous across the area and early balanced cross sections
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES
which assumed significant displacement along them exag-
gerated total shortening [e.g., Coward and Butler, 1985].
We point out, however, that major Eocene shortening may
have occurred along the Banna thrust, and possibly along
other faults such as the Malakand thrust, which are partly or
completely buried beneath the Kohistan arc complex
(Figure 5).
[34] The Khairabad thrust is the western continuation of
the Panjal thrust and is the southernmost fault which carries
both circa 500 Ma orthogneiss and garnet-grade rock in
addition to Tethyan rock. For these reasons we consider it to
be the western extension of the MCT although with dimin-
ished displacement. On this basis, the western Himalayan
fold and thrust belt is subdivided into the Subhimalaya
north of the MFT (Salt Range thrust), the Lesser Himalaya
north of the MBT (Murree thrust), and the western Hinter-
land (or metamorphic zone) north of the MCT (Panjal-
Khairabad thrust; Figure 5). Although the major tectonic
zones and boundary faults can be traced into the western
Himalaya, there are significant stratigraphic and structural
differences between these zones and equivalent zones in
both the central and west central Himalaya. The Panjal-
Khairabad fault is younger than the central Himalayan MCT
and is largely postmetamorphic. Thrusting along this fault,
and along other faults in the western Lesser and Subhima-
laya, postdate deposition of Oligocene-early Miocene
Murree molasse. Geochronologic studies based primarily
on magnetic polarity stratigraphy indicate that thrusting and
associated deformation began in the middle to late Miocene
and has been more or less continuous from Pliocene to
present, commonly with out-of-sequence faulting [Burbank,
1983; Burbank and Raynolds, 1984; Burbank and
Tahirkheli, 1985; Yeats and Hussain, 1987; Burbank and
Beck, 1989]. Both the MBT and Khairabad thrust are folded.
[35] The Subhimalaya, which is narrow and consists only
of Neogene formations in the central Himalaya, widens in
Kashmir where pre-Neogene rock crops out along the
Jammu thrust, and reaches its widest extent in the western
Himalaya where pre-Neogene rock is widespread across the
Potwar and Kohat Plateaus, the Salt Range, and the Trans-
Indus Salt Range south and east of the Bannu Basin. In
sharp contrast to the central Himalaya, the western Sub-
himalaya occupies about 50% of the width of the fold and
thrust belt (Figure 2). The region is characterized by Plio-
Pleistocene, east trending folds and minor thrust faults,
high-angle reverse faults, and strike-slip faults [Lillie et
al., 1987; Pennock et al., 1989; Pivnik and Wells, 1996;
Kazmi and Jan, 1997; Sercombe et al., 1998]. Deformation
is strongest in the northern part of the Potwar Plateau and in
the Kohat Plateau.
[36] Stratigraphy in the Salt Range consists of Cambrian
evaporite, sandstone and shale, Permian (Gondwana) sand-
stone and limestone, Triassic to Lower Cretaceous and
Paleocene to lower Eocene sandstone, limestone, and shale,
Miocene to Pliocene Murree and Siwalik molasse, and
younger, unconformably overlying rock (Figure 3) [Gee,
1989]. The total thickness of Salt Range stratigraphy,
excluding the basal evaporite, is only about 1100 m. The
section shares characteristics with peninsular India and with
13 of 20
TC5001
the central Himalayan LHSZ such as the presence of
Permian Gondwana rocks and the absence of middle
Paleozoic rocks [Yeats and Lawrence, 1984]. However,
the absence of Panjal volcanics is unlike the Kashmir
LHSZ. The relatively complete but thin (500 m) marine
and nonmarine Mesozoic strata have proximal, epicontinen-
tal Tethyan affinities. These rocks thicken and are domi-
nantly marine in character farther west where they truncate
against east verging thrusts of the West Pakistan fold belt
[Hemphill and Kidwai, 1973; Meissner et al., 1974, 1975;
Badshah et al., 2000]. Rocks correlative with the Haimantas
have not been reported.
[37] South of the Peshawar Basin, the Lesser Himalaya is
a 20 km wide imbricate thrust zone underlain by the MBT.
Unlike the Kashmir LHSZ, Panjal volcanics are absent and
the rocks are unmetamorphosed [Pogue et al., 1999]. In
contrast to the central Himalaya, the MBT does not have
Precambrian rock in its hanging wall block but instead
carries a 650 m thick section of mostly shallow marine
Lower Triassic to Upper Cretaceous limestone, marl and
sandstone unconformably overlain by 500 m of Paleocene
to middle Eocene sandstone, limestone, and shale [Yeats
and Hussain, 1987]. These rocks, although relatively thin,
are more characteristic of the Tethys Himalaya than the
classical Lesser Himalaya (Figure 5). According to Yeats
and Hussain [1987], correlation of Mesozoic stratigraphy
from the Subhimalayan Surghar and Salt Ranges across the
MBT is straightforward with dominantly shallow marine
clastic deposition in the Surghar and Salt Ranges giving
way to dominantly shallow marine carbonate deposition.
This is consistent with limited displacement on the MBT.
[38] Major faults in the Lesser Himalaya north of the
MBT include the Hissartang and Cherat thrusts which
merge eastward to form the Nathia Gali thrust (Figure 5).
More than 1000 m of undated Precambrian and possibly
early Paleozoic(?) argillite, sandstone, shale, limestone, and
dolostone are present in the hanging wall blocks of these
faults (Figure 3). The rocks are locally unconformably
overlain by a thin section of Jurassic and Cretaceous strata
but, in most areas, Mesozoic rock is absent and the
Precambrian-early Paleozoic(?) rock is directly overlain by
marine Paleocene to lower Eocene sandstone, shale, and
limestone. Oligocene to lower Miocene Murree red beds cap
the section above another unconformity marking the end of
marine deposition in the foreland [Yeats and Hussain, 1987;
Hussain et al., 1990; Pogue et al., 1999]. The Precambrian
section and the absence of middle Paleozoic rock in the
Hissartang and Cherat blocks are consistent with the LHSZ.
The undated Precambrian rock (Dakhner and Hazara for-
mations) could be Lower Proterozoic; however, circa
1850 Ma granitic rock is absent. We also note that with
the exception of the thin to absent Mesozoic section,
Tethyan rock is restricted to the hanging wall block of the
MBT in the southern part of the Lesser Himalaya. As in the
Subhimalaya, rocks correlative with the Haimantas have not
been reported.
[39] The western hinterland region includes Indian plate
rock west of the Jhelum-Balakot fault and north of the
MCT. It is a region of low elevation (<3 km), about 325 km
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES
long and between 60 and 130 km wide although much of it
is buried beneath the Peshawar and Jalalabad Basins.
Garnet- and higher-grade rocks are mostly restricted to the
region north and northeast of the Peshawar Basin where
they crop out in north trending domes. Rocks are low grade
surrounding the Peshawar and Jalalabad Basins where, in
the west, they are surrounded nearly on three sides by
ophiolitic rock [Schreiber et al., 1972; Badshah et al.,
2000; DiPietro et al., 2000]. Much of the metamorphism
and deformation in the western Hinterland is prior to late
middle Eocene and is more closely related with emplace-
ment of Indus ophiolitic melange and the Kohistan arc than
with intracontinental (MCT) thrusting [Maluski and Matte,
1984; Treloar et al., 1989b; Treloar and Rex, 1990; Baig,
1990; DiPietro, 1991; DiPietro and Lawrence, 1991]. There
is no evidence of high-grade early Miocene metamorphism
or of widespread circa 20 Ma magmatism. The only major
thrust faults other than the MCT are the Banna fault east of
the Indus syntaxis and the Malakand fault which carries the
Malakand slice. Both are synmetamorphic (prior to late
middle Eocene) thrust faults, and neither extends across the
length of the western Himalaya [DiPietro et al., 2000;
DiPietro and Isachsen, 2001]. The Banna fault strikes into
the suture zone east of the Indus syntaxis and the Malakand
fault is truncated by the Kohistan fault which forms the
southern boundary of the Kohistan arc complex (Figure 5).
[40] Rocks of Lesser Himalayan, Higher Himalayan, and
Tethyan affinity transgress tectonostratigraphic zones in the
western Himalaya where they commonly occur in strati-
graphic conformity [Yeats and Lawrence, 1984; Pogue et
al., 1992b, 1999; DiPietro et al., 1993, 1999]. The stratig-
raphy is most complete and best displayed in the hinterland
region along both limbs of the Indus River anticline which
is the major N-S trending fold in the Indus syntaxis
(Figure 5). Here the rocks range in age from Archean or
Early Proterozoic to Mesozoic. The basal unit is a pre-
2173 Ma gneissic unit (Kishar formation) that forms part of
the crystalline basement of the Indian plate. The Kishar is
unconformably overlain by >6 km of Lower Proterozoic
graphitic schist, garnetiferous schist, marble, metapsammite,
phyllite, and slate of the Karora and Gandaf formations both
of which are intruded by circa 1850 Ma (Shang and Kotla)
orthogneiss [DiPietro and Isachsen, 2001]. The Kotla augen
orthogneiss is of particular importance because its age and
composition suggest a direct correlation with the circa
1850 Ma Ulleri orthogneiss which characterizes the LHSZ
in both the central and west central Himalaya. Additional
Lower Proterozoic rock of Lesser Himalayan affinity is
present in the core of the Malakand slice (Pinjkora complex)
and it is possible that other, undated, Precambrian rock units
(Manglaur, Manki) are also Lower Proterozoic and correl-
ative with the LHSZ.
[41] Quartzite, quartz schist, argillite, and garnetiferous
schist of the Upper Proterozoic Tanawal formation uncon-
formably overlies the Gandaf formation on both flanks of
the Indus River anticline. This unit is locally more than
3000 m thick and is extensively intruded by sills of circa
500 Ma augen orthogneiss [Pogue et al., 1999]. The age and
interlayered relationship of the Tanawal/orthogneiss
14 of 20
TC5001
sequence suggests that these rocks correlate with the Hai-
mantas and therefore with high-grade rock which forms the
HHC. In the low-grade area of the Peshawar Basin, a
fossiliferous greenschist facies Cambrian to Triassic plat-
form sequence of dolomite, feldspathic quartzite, argillite,
phyllite, marble, and (Panjal) metabasalt with Tethyan
affinities unconformably overlies the Tanawal formation
[Pogue et al., 1992b]. In the area north of the Peshawar
Basin the lower and middle Paleozoic part of the Tethyan
sequence is missing below Permian Panjal metavolcanics.
In other areas, such as in the Malakand slice, the Tanawals
are missing. These complex stratigraphic relationships mir-
ror those found by Wadia [1934] in the Kashmir Tethys and
those which we suggest are present in the Naran-Nanga
Parbat region. They are similar to stratigraphic relationships
surrounding the North Himalayan and Tso Morari dome
regions where lower and middle Paleozoic rock is also
locally absent [Burg et al., 1984; Guillot et al., 1997].
[42] The stratigraphic relationships result from overlap of
two intrusive-erosional events. The first occurred in the Late
Cambrian to Early Ordovician following circa 500 Ma
intrusion. This event, which was not associated with strong
deformation or regional metamorphism in the western
Himalaya, removed Cambrian strata and locally part or all
of the Tanawal formation. The second event occurred in the
Permian following widespread Carboniferous to Permian
(circa 270 Ma) intrusion and normal faulting which
removed lower and middle Paleozoic strata and also
Tanawal strata prior to extrusion of Late Permian (Panjal)
volcanics [Kempe, 1986; Pogue et al., 1992a; DiPietro et
al., 1993; DiPietro and Isachsen, 2001]. The widespread
occurrence of circa 270 Ma intrusions (including a third
generation of augen orthogneiss) is unique to the western
Hinterland although undated intrusions in the Naran-Nanga
Parbat region may also correlate with this event. The overall
stratigraphic, structural, and metamorphic character of the
western Hinterland is unlike that of the HHC; high eleva-
tions, high-grade early Miocene metamorphism, and circa
20 Ma intrusions are absent, Haimanta (HHC) equivalent
rocks are locally absent, and rocks of Lesser Himalayan and
Tethyan affinity are widespread.
[43] Finally we note differences along the northern mar-
gin of the Indian plate between the western Hinterland and
the central Himalaya. Completely absent from the western
Hinterland (as well as from the Naran-Nanga Parbat region)
are late Oligocene to early Miocene Indus molasse deposits.
This suggests deeper erosion of the suture zone in the west.
A major south dipping Miocene backthrust system (the
Great Counter thrust system) imbricates and locally over-
thrusts the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone in the west central
and central Himalaya (Figures 1 and 2 [Gansser, 1964;
Searle, 1983, 1991; Yin et al., 1999a]). A similar backthrust
system may be present in the Naran-Nanga Parbat region in
the form of the Miocene and younger Raikot-Diamir-
northern Balakot fault system (north to northwest directed
reverse and strike-slip faults) but, there is no evidence for
such a system in the western Hinterland (Figure 5).
[44] In the western Hinterland, ophiolitic rocks of the
Indus-Tsangpo suture zone are imbricated and infolded with
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES
Indian plate rocks and both are truncated by the Kohistan
fault which is the fault along which the Kohistan arc
complex was emplaced. This fault extends from Afghani-
stan eastward to where we propose that it is intersected and
overprinted by the northern extension of the Balakot fault
(Figure 5). The Kohistan fault may have initiated in the
early Eocene and remained active until the late Oligocene or
early Miocene [DiPietro et al., 1999, 2000]. Locally, the
fault conceals or has removed ophiolitic rock of the Indus-
Tsangpo suture zone so that the Indian plate abuts directly
against the Kohistan arc complex. The structural position of
the Kohistan fault is roughly equivalent with the central and
west central Himalayan Gangdese thrust which juxtaposes
the Gangdese-Ladakh batholith (Transhimalayan belt)
against the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone (Figure 2 [Yin et
al., 1999b; Hodges, 2000]). However, the Gangdese thrust
was active primarily in the late Oligocene, therefore it may
have initiated later than the Kohistan fault [Murphy and Yin,
2003].
[45] The Kohistan fault is a major tectonic boundary in
the western Himalaya that forms a topographic front in
which mountains north of the fault reach elevations of
nearly 6000 m. Well developed late to postmetamorphic
(post early middle Eocene) brittle and cataclastic fabrics
along the length of the fault suggest east to southeast
directed thrust and dextral strike-slip displacement
[DiPietro et al., 2000] which is inconsistent with proposed
southward thrust displacement and with late reactivation as
a normal fault. Major normal reactivation comparable with
the STD has been proposed along the Kohistan fault in the
western Hinterland and along the entire northern edge of the
Indian plate in the Naran and Nanga Parbat regions
[Hubbard et al., 1995; Burg et al., 1996; Vince and Treloar,
1996; Anczkiewicz et al., 2001; Argles and Edwards, 2002].
According to these authors, normal faulting may have
begun as early as 47 Ma and ended as late as 15 Ma with
most of the activity between about 29 and 18 Ma. The
presence of normal faults, extensional structures, reverse
faults, and north verging folds across a wide zone which
includes the Kohistan/Ladakh arc, the Indus-Tsangpo suture
zone, and the Indian plate, is cited as evidence. However,
there are inconsistencies which argue against large-scale
normal (detachment) faulting. It is significant that there are
no reports of large-scale, continuous, shear zones with
normal displacement along the Kohistan fault itself. Also
inconsistent is the presence of the structurally lowest part of
the Kohistan arc (Jijal and Sapat ultramafic rock) in the
immediate hanging wall block of the Kohistan fault in both
the Indus syntaxis and Naran regions. Finally, in both areas,
the Kohistan fault is deformed across north trending folds
[Khan et al., 1995; Searle et al., 1999; DiPietro et al.,
2000]. Although we view the presence of major extensional
structures in the western Hinterland with skepticism, such
debate is secondary to the discussion of Himalayan tecto-
nostratigraphy because the proposed structure is not within
the Indian plate itself but instead forms its northern bound-
ary. There is no evidence for an intracontinental structure
equivalent with the STD in the western Hinterland or, in our
opinion, in the Naran-Nanga Parbat region.
15 of 20
TC5001
[46] An alternative to major normal faulting is that some
of the extensional structures are related to Eocene-early
Miocene transtension developed during oblique east-south-
east displacement along the Kohistan fault and/or to late
doming which is prevalent across the northern part of the
western Hinterland. Additionally, the structures in the
Naran-Nanga Parbat region could be related to Miocene
and younger reverse and strike-slip (west and northwest
directed) faulting along the Raikot-Diamir-northern Balakot
fault system, all of which deform and overprint the Kohistan
fault [Khan et al., 1995; Schneider et al., 2001].
5. Regional Unconformities in the Himalaya
[47] Figures 3 and 4 show stratigraphy and major intru-
sive ages across the Himalaya. The oldest well-documented
unconformity occurs between the Kishar and Karora for-
mations in the western Hinterland. On the basis of clasts in a
conglomerate at the base of the Karora, DiPietro and
Isachsen [2001] suggested that the unconformity is associ-
ated with deformation and metamorphism prior to 2174 Ma.
This unconformity may also be present in the Naran-Nanga
Parbat region [Wheeler et al., 1995] but is either not
exposed or not well documented in other parts of the
Himalaya.
[48] A widespread unconformity occurs above all expo-
sures of circa 1850 Ma augen orthogneiss and associated
Lower Proterozoic rock across the Himalaya. Rocks below
the unconformity are low grade in most areas and without
strong Precambrian deformation. This implies a dominantly
low grade-intrusive-erosional event. On this basis, DiPietro
and Isachsen [2001] suggested that inferred circa 1850 Ma
high-grade metamorphism and deformation at Nanga Parbat
[e.g., Treloar et al., 2000] is actually older and related to the
circa 2174 Ma event.
[49] Because of the presence of Cambrian rock in the
Lesser Himalaya, it has generally been assumed that Upper
Proterozoic rock is also present [e.g., Brookfield, 1993].
However, we could not find a well documented occurrence
in the literature, therefore, in Figure 3 we show this interval
with a question mark. With the possible exception of Ahmad
et al. [2000] we also could not find a correlation between
the Haimantas north of the MCT and any rock in the Lesser
Himalaya. Our own observations suggest that Upper Prote-
rozoic rock correlative with the Haimanta (Tanawal) unit is
not present in the western Lesser Himalaya although rocks
of Tethyan affinity are present (Figures 2a and 5). If similar
relationships are present in the central and west central
Himalaya, it would imply an unconformity below Cambrian
rock which is restricted to the Lesser Himalaya. Such an
unconformity would partly explain the absence of a corre-
lation between the LHSZ and the HHC.
[50] An unconformity is present above Upper Proterozoic
rocks and circa 500 Ma orthogneiss in the crystalline nappes
and in all tectonostratigraphic zones above the MCT
(Figure 4). Intrusions associated with this event span more
than 100 million years from Late Proterozoic to early Late
Ordovician (560– 453 Ma) and, as a result, rocks above the
unconformity also vary in age from Cambrian to Ordovician
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES
[Miller et al., 2001]. The nature of this event, which has
been correlated with the Pan-African orogeny, varies along
the length of the Himalaya. In the central Himalaya,
intrusion is associated with strong deformation, thrusting
and high-grade metamorphism [Gehrels et al., 2003]. In the
west central Himalaya it is associated with normal faulting,
minor volcanism, minor folding, and possibly thrusting, but
without high-grade metamorphism [Garzanti et al., 1986;
Steck et al., 1993; Frank et al., 1995; Miller et al., 2001;
Wiesmayr and Grasemann, 2002]. In the western Himalaya,
intrusion is associated with an erosional unconformity
[Pogue et al., 1992b, 1999].
[51] A major unconformity related to late Paleozoic
rifting of microcontinents from the northern margin of the
Indian plate occurs below mostly Permian rock across the
entire Himalaya [Pogue et al., 1992a; Brookfield, 1993].
Nearly all lower and middle Paleozoic strata are missing
below Upper Carboniferous-Permian rock in the Lesser
Himalaya although some of these rocks may never have
been deposited or were eroded prior to the late Paleozoic.
North of the MCT the unconformity commonly occurs
below Upper Permian rock (Figure 4). The event is less
strongly expressed in the central Himalaya where lower and
middle Paleozoic strata are widespread. In the west central
Himalaya extensional tectonism is marked by the appear-
ance of Panjal volcanics typically above the unconformity,
the local absence of lower and middle Paleozoic rock,
normal faulting, and minor intrusion [Steck et al., 1993;
Frank et al., 1995]. The event was strongest in the western
Hinterland where it was associated with widespread circa
270 Ma intrusions, normal faulting, the partial or complete
removal of lower and middle Paleozoic and Upper Prote-
rozoic strata, and the extrusion of Panjal volcanics above
the unconformity [Pogue et al., 1992a]. Stratigraphic rela-
tionships in the Naran-Nanga Parbat region are similar to
those in the western Hinterland which suggests that erosion
was also strong in this region although widespread circa
270 Ma intrusions have not been confirmed.
[52] An unconformity is present below (upper?) Paleo-
cene rocks in the western Subhimalaya and Lesser Hima-
laya where Yeats and Hussain [1987] noted that the MBT
and the Hissartang-Cherat fault blocks contain similar
Paleocene and younger stratigraphy but different pre-
Paleocene stratigraphy. They concluded that most of the
displacement on the Hissartang and Cherat faults was Late
Cretaceous and that post-Paleocene displacement was small.
This implies the presence of a proto-Himalayan fold and
thrust belt in the western Himalaya. Such an event may
correlate with Late Cretaceous ophiolite obduction and/or
(early) Paleocene India-Asia collision in the West Pakistan
fold belt [Beck et al., 1996; Robinson et al., 2000].
Additionally, this event could correlate with possible ophio-
lite obduction and metamorphism in the western Hinterland
(Figures 3 and 4) [DiPietro et al., 2000]. There is no
reported evidence for a Late Cretaceous or Paleocene fold
and thrust belt in the west central or central Himalaya where
there is controversy regarding the age of ophiolite obduc-
tion. Some workers argue for Late Cretaceous obduction
onto the outer margin of the Indian plate followed by
16 of 20
TC5001
Eocene rethrusting onto the passive margin [Searle et al.,
1997; Corfield et al., 1999; Pedersen et al., 2001; Murphy
and Yin, 2003]. Others suggest that ophiolite obduction onto
the Indian margin did not begin until the Eocene [Fuchs,
1979; Garzanti et al., 1987; Guillot et al., 2003].
6. Discussion
[53] Regional correlations sometimes assume that all
high-grade metamorphic rocks belong to the HHC regard-
less of their stratigraphic age, the age and origin of
metamorphism, or their structural position within the
Himalayan belt. Similarly, the existence of HHC correlative
rock in contact with Lesser Himalayan and Tethyan rocks is
sometimes used to assume separate tectonic zones bounded
by MCT and STD analogs [e.g., Argles et al., 2003]. These
assumptions, perhaps more than anything else, have con-
tributed to confusion regarding the extension of tectono-
stratigraphic zones and the location and significance of the
MCT in the Naran-Nanga Parbat region and in the western
Hinterland. The stratigraphic approach developed in this
paper mostly synthesizes the work of others to show, for
example, that the HHC, as defined by dominantly Upper
Proterozoic Haimantas with Eocene and early Miocene
garnet-grade or higher metamorphism, is confined to the
Tibetan slab and Zanskar crystallines, and that rocks cor-
relative with the HHC (e.g., the Haimantas) occur elsewhere
in different structural and metamorphic settings and in more
complete stratigraphic sections which may include Lesser
Himalayan or Tethyan stratigraphy. We have defined each
of the zones shown in Figure 1 on the basis of multiple
factors which include stratigraphy, age and degree of
deformation and metamorphism, age of intrusive rock,
and position within the orogen (Table 1). In doing so, we
find that the dismembered and juxtaposed stratigraphy of
the central Himalaya becomes less dismembered in the
west. Rocks which distinguish the Lesser, Higher, and
Tethyan central Himalaya are present in stratigraphic con-
tinuity in the western Hinterland where they unconformably
overlie Archean-Lower Proterozoic crystalline basement of
the Indian plate. We find a similar relationship in the Naran-
Nanga Parbat region and conclude that stratigraphy in both
areas is an extension of the incomplete Kashmir Tethyan
stratigraphy differing only in tectonic style, metamorphism,
and amount of Precambrian rock exposed. The tectonic
style of both the western Hinterland and the Naran-Nanga
Parbat region bears a closer similarity to the North Hima-
layan gneiss domes and particularly to the Tso Morari
region than to any one of the more classic Himalayan zones.
We speculate on a possible westward extension for Eocene
thrusting of the STD in the form of the Batal thrust which
we suggest extends north of the Kashmir Basin and is
continuous with the Banna fault of the western Hinterland.
[54] The analysis allows us to untangle, at least some-
what, the complex pre-Himalayan geology by identifying
regional unconformities. Here we find that the combination
of early Paleozoic and late Paleozoic erosion in the western
and west central Himalaya has complicated attempts at
finding a direct correlation with the Tethys Himalaya and
TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES TC5001

the HHC. The Precambrian rock above the MCT in the
Naran region appears to be in depositional contact with the
Kashmir Tethys which, on its eastern side, is in depositional
contact with the Haimantas which, in turn, are directly
correlated with the HHC. This implies a single Precambrian
to Mesozoic stratigraphic sequence across the region with
differences resulting from (1) style of deformation; (2) age
and grade of metamorphism; (3) general absence of con-
firmed deeper-seated (Lower Proterozoic) rock in the east;
and (4) stratigraphic omission due to Paleozoic erosion in
the west. We suggest that part of the reason for stratigraphic
disparity between the Lesser and Higher Himalaya is that
age-equivalent Haimanta-Tanawal rock was either not
deposited in the Lesser Himalaya or was removed prior to
Cambrian deposition. We also point out evidence for the
existence of a Late Cretaceous or early Paleocene proto-
Himalayan fold and thrust belt in the western Lesser
Himalaya which may correlate with either ophiolite obduc-
tion and/or with early continental collision.
[55] In the central Himalaya, the MCT is a synmetamor-
phic hinterland fault underlain by a thick zone of metamor-
phic thrust nappes to which the MCT is very closely
associated. The base of the thrust nappes generally marks
the southern limit of both garnet-grade metamorphism and
circa 500 Ma orthogneiss. Farther west, the southern limit of
these rocks is marked first by the Panjal thrust and then the
Khairabad thrust, which are considered to be westward
extensions of the MCT. This is consistent with Le Fort
[1996] who suggested that the MCT could be defined across
the entire Himalaya as the structurally lowest thrust which
carries circa 500 Ma orthogneiss. Major differences in the
western Himalaya include the following: (1) diminished
shortening along major thrust faults such that all of the
tectonostratigraphic zones contain Tethyan rock; (2) offset
along the Jhelum-Balakot fault such that a more foreland
part of the Indian plate is imbricated; (3) a younger late to
postmetamorphic initiation of the Khairabad fault which
suggests that the MCT may have propagated westward and
toward the foreland in the middle Miocene; (4) early
Paleozoic and late Paleozoic tectonism which removed
stratigraphy and complicated attempts at finding a direct
western equivalent to the HHC and the Tethys Himalaya;
and (5) different tectonic and metamorphic settings which
are sometimes ignored when drawing tectonostratigraphic
boundaries. A major metamorphic difference is the absence
of early Miocene metamorphism and, with the exception of
Nanga Parbat, a somewhat older Eocene metamorphism
across the entire region west of the Kashmir Tethys where
the MCT becomes a late to postmetamorphic thrust. In this
region, and also in the Tso Morari dome, the dominant
metamorphic event is associated, not with early Miocene
thrusting along the MCT, but with prior to late middle
Eocene underthrusting beneath Indus ophiolitic melange
and the Kohistan-Ladakh complex. Also absent west of
the Kashmir Tethys is an intracontinental STD.
[56] We suggest that significant Eocene to Oligocene
shortening in the western Himalaya was accommodated
by displacement along the intercontinental Kohistan fault.
Displacement was transferred from the Kohistan fault to the
central Himalayan MCT and possibly to other faults such as
the Gangdese thrust in the late Oligocene-early Miocene.
The MCT then propagated westward and toward the fore-
land in the middle Miocene to form the Panjal-Khairabad
fault in the western Himalaya.
[57] The term ‘‘Greater Himalaya’’ has been used to refer
specifically to the Higher Himalayan crystallines. In
Figure 4 we suggest a broader definition which would
include all tectonostratigraphic zones south of the Indus-
Tsangpo suture zone and north of the MCT but also
including the underlying Lesser Himalayan crystalline
nappes which appear to be an integral part of the MCT.
[58] Acknowledgments. We have benefited from discussions and
field excursions with Irshad Ahmad, Syed Hamidullah, Ahmad Hussain,
M. Qasim Jan, A. H. Kazmi, M. Asif Khan, and R. A. K. Tahirkheli. We
thank Jean-Pierre Burg, an anonymous reviewer, Stéphane Guillot, An Yin,
and particularly Bernhard Grasemann for a constructive criticism. We thank
An Yin for discussion and an opportunity to view his unpublished
manuscript. Logistical support was provided by the National Centre of
Excellence in Geology at the University of Peshawar and by the Geological
Survey of Pakistan, Peshawar office. This research was funded by National
Science Foundation grant EAR-9316021.

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J.
A. DiPietro, Department of Geology, University
of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN 47712, USA.
(dipietro@usi.edu)
K. R. Pogue, Department of Geology, Whitman
College, Walla Walla, WA 99362, USA. (pogue@
whitman.edu)
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Figure 1. Tectonic map of the Himalaya. Cross sections A through C are shown in Figure 2. The western part of Figure 1
is enlarged with more detail in Figure 5. The tectonic units of the Indian plate are defined in Table 1. The MCT corresponds
with the Vaikrita thrust in the central Himalaya, the Panjal thrust in the west central Himalaya, and the Panjal-Khairabad
thrust in the western Himalaya. The MCT schuppenzone is omitted in eastern Nepal for clarity. Figure 1 is based on many
TC5001

sources referenced herein and Lombardo et al. [2000].

TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES TC5001

Figure 2. Cross sections A through C. Black half-arrows represent Oligocene and younger
displacement; blue half-arrows represent Eocene and older displacement. See Figure 1 for locations.
Lower Proterozoic rocks in the MCT hanging wall block of section A includes metasedimentary rocks of
Lesser Himalayan affinity and underlying crystalline basement. Note metamorphic facies changes in
Tethyan and Haimanta rock units. Cross section C after DeCelles et al. [2001] and Murphy and Yin
[2003]. Abbreviations are as follows: ADT, Almora-Dadeldhura (Lesser Himalayan crystalline) thrust;
GT, Gangdese thrust; T, toward; A, away. Other symbols as in Figure 1.

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TC5001 DIPIETRO AND POGUE: HIMALAYAN TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC ZONES TC5001

Figure 5. Enlarged and more detailed tectonic map of the western part of Figure 1. Inset shows major
tectonic zones and regions. Symbols as in Figure 1.

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