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Geomorphologic, stratigraphic and sedimentologic evidences of tectonic activity in Sone–Ganga alluvial tract in Middle Ganga Plain, India

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Abstract

The basement of the Ganga basin in the Himalayan foreland is criss-crossed by several faults, dividing the basin into several sub-blocks forming horsts, grabens, or half-grabens. Tectonic perturbations along basement faults have affected the fluvial regime and extent of sediment fill in different parts of the basin during Late Quaternary. The East Patna Fault (EPF) and the West Patna Fault (WPF), located in Sone–Ganga alluvial tract in the southern marginal parts of Middle Ganga Plain (MGP), have remained tectonically active. The EPF particularly has acted significantly and influenced in evolving the geomorphological landscape and the stratigraphic architecture of the area. The block bounded by the two faults has earlier been considered as a single entity, constituting a half-graben. The present investigation (by morpho-stratigraphic and sedimentologic means) has revealed the existence of yet another fault within the half-graben, referred to as Bishunpur–Khagaul Fault (BKF). Many of the long profile morphological characters (e.g., knick-zone, low width–depth ratio) of the Sone River at its lower reaches can be ascribed to local structural deformation along BKF. These basement faults in MGP lie parallel to each other in NE–SW direction.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Chairman and Member (SAM), CGWB, for the encouragement and necessary guidance they provided for the PhD work of the first author. The present paper is a part of the PhD research work of the first author at Dept. of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. The authors are thankful to A K Singh for his kind co-operation during the research work. Sincere thanks are extended to V Srivastava and H B Srivastava for their kind support during the work.

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  1. Central Ground Water Board, Mid-eastern Region, 6th and 7th floor, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Bhawan, Fraser Road, Patna, 800 001, India

    Sudarsan Sahu & Dipankar Saha

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  1. Sudarsan Sahu
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Correspondence to Sudarsan Sahu.

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Sahu, S., Saha, D. Geomorphologic, stratigraphic and sedimentologic evidences of tectonic activity in Sone–Ganga alluvial tract in Middle Ganga Plain, India. J Earth Syst Sci 123, 1335–1347 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-014-0470-8

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