Himalayan Geology, Vol. 43 (1B), 2022, pp. 180-200, Printed in India
Transverse tectonic features of the Himalaya and sub-surface basement structures of the foreland basin: implications for orgenic segmentation and seismicity distribution
ANANYA DIVYADARSHINI1, SAMPAT KUMAR TANDON2*
1Department of Geology, University of Delhi, Delhi-110 007, India
2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal 462066, India
*Email (Corresponding author): sktand@iiserb.ac.in
Abstract: This article provides a detailed framework for contextualizing the transverse structures in the Himalaya and their relationship to the sub-surface features of the Himalayan Foreland Basin. We have analysed the orogenic segmentation of the Himalaya with respect to the transverse tectonic features that have been identified previously through various geological and geophysical investigations in the last two decades; at least 14 major transverse lineaments are delineated that broadly coincide with the basement structures of the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra foreland basin and extend into the Himalaya. Tectonic segments of the Himalayan Front in all its major sectors from NW to SE are marked by alternating salients and recesses. An attempt has been made to relate the seismicity of the foreland basin and the Himalaya with the transverse features and major terrane forming Himalayan thrusts; we also examine the seismicity in terms of these orogenic segments.
Keywords: Ganga basin, Himalaya, Transverse structures, Basement ridges, Tear faults, Orogenic segmentation
