Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Neotectonic transformation of Cenozoic fold structures in the northwestern Caucasus

  • Published:
Geotectonics Aims and scope

Abstract

The performed morphotectonic regionalization of the northwestern Caucasus shows that the fold structures directly expressed in the topography of the territory and continuing to evolve under the settings of contemporary lateral shortening predominate in the northwestern Caucasus. A map of fold structures expressed in the topography of the northwestern Caucasus is presented. The districts distinguished therein correspond to the largest regional tectonic units, the fold topography of which occurs at various stages of tectonic evolution from primary brachyanticlinal ridges of the Taman and Sochi districts to the complex fold–thrust and inversion fold ridges of the axial zone. Data on active newly formed fold and inversion structures are given. These inherited structures develop under the combined action of selective denudation, beddingplane upthrow faulting, and thrusting.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. N. S. Blagovolin, Geomorphology of the Kerch-Taman Zone (Akad. Nauk SSSR, Moscow, 1962) [in Russian].

  2. Ch. B. Borukaev, L. M. Rastsvetaev, and I. G. Shcherba, “Mesozoic and Cenozoic olistostromes on the southern slope of Western Caucasus,” Byull. Mosk. O-va. Ispyt. Prir., Otd. Geol. 56 (6), 32–44 (1981).

    Google Scholar 

  3. S. A. Bulanov, “Subdivision of the folded orogen under the conditions of regional compression: A case study of the junction zone between the Pamir and Tien Shan),” Geomorfologiya, No. 4, 68–73 (1993).

    Google Scholar 

  4. S. A. Bulanov and Ya. I. Trikhunkov, “Inversion of the folded relied as an indicator of tangential compression of the Earth’s crust,” Geomorfologiya, No. 1, 11–18 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  5. N. A. Gvozdetskii, Physical Geography of Caucasus, Vol. 1 (Mosk. Gos. Univ., Moscow, 1954) [in Russian].

  6. I. P. Gerasimov and Yu. A. Meshcheryakov, “The terms ‘morphostructure’ and ‘morphosculpture’ and their applications for the purposes of geomorphologic analysis,” in Relief of the Earth, Ed. by I. P. Gerasimov (Nauka, Moscow, 1967), pp. 6–28.

  7. A. V. Ershov and A. M. Nikishin, “Recent geodynamics of the Caucasus–Arabia–East Africa Region,” Geotectonics 38, 123–136 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Ya. A. Izmailov, Pleistocene Evolution of the Coast and Contemporary Trends in Morphogenesis (Izd. Severo-Kavkaz. Nauchn. Tsentra Vysshei Shkoly, Rostov-on-Don, 2007) [in Russian].

  9. A. V. Marinin, L. F. Kopaevich, and S. I. Stupin, “Geological structure of the Ubinka River Valley (Northwestern Caucasus),” Moscow Univ. Geol. Bull. 66, 331–340 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. E. E. Milanovskii, Recent Tectonics of Caucasus (Nedra, Moscow, 1968) [in Russian].

  11. V. M. Muratov, Extended Abstract of Candidate’s Dissertation in Geography (Inst. Geol. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Moscow, 1965).

  12. M. L. Kopp, Mobilistic Neotectonics of Platforms in the Southeastern Europe (Nauka, Moscow, 2005) [in Russian].

  13. O. K. Leont’ev and G. I. Rychagov, General Geomorphology (Vysshaya shkola, Moscow, 1988) [in Russian].

  14. S. A. Nesmeyanov, Neostructural Zoning of Northwestern Caucasus: Advanced Research for Engineering Investigations (Nedra, Moscow, 1992) [in Russian].

  15. S. A. Nesmeyanov and Ya. A. Izmailov, Tectonic Deformations of the Black Sea Marine Terraces in the Cauca sian Coast of Russia (Proizvod. Nauchno-Issled. Inst. Inzh. Izyskaniyam Stroit., Moscow, 1995) [in Russian].

  16. A. M. Nikishin, A. V. Ershov, and V. A. Nikishin, “Geological history of Western Caucasus and coupled foredeeps based on analysis of the regional balanced section,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 430, 515–517 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. C. D. Ollier, Tectonics and Landforms (Longman, London, 1981).

  18. V. I. Popkov, “Imbricate thrust structure of the Northwestern Caucasus,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 411, 1222–1224 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. V. I. Popkov, “Tectonics of the Northwest Caucasus,” Izv. Otd. Nauk Zemle Prir. Resur., Geol., No. 11, 13–19 (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  20. V. I. Popkov, “Geodynamic setting when forming the structures of Cenozoic foredeeps in West Caucasus,” Geol., Geogr. Global’naya Energ., No. 3, 23–26 (2010).

  21. E. Ya. Rantsman, “Morphostructural zoning and some problems of the Greater Caucasus geodynamics,” Geomorfologiya, No. 1, 3–17 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  22. L. M. Rastsvetaev, “Some peculiarities of the late Apline structure of the orogenic zones in southern USSR and recent neotectonic stresses,” in Recent Tectonics, Recent Deposits, and Humans (Mosk. Gos. Univ., Moscow, 1973), Vol. 5, pp. 57–107.

  23. L. M. Rastsvetaev, A. V. Marinin, and T. Yu. Tveritinova, “Late-Alpine fault systems and geodynamics of the West Caucasus,” Izv., Phys. Solid Earth 46, 394–403 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. E. A. Rogozhin and V. N. Sholpo, “Inhomogeneity of the full folding zone in the Greater Caucasus,” Geotektonika, No. 5, 79–93 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  25. E. A. Rogozhin, A. L. Sobisevich, L. E. Sobisevich, and T. Yu. Tveritinova, “Structural position and problems of mud volcanism origination in the late Alpine fold structure of Northwestern Caucasus: A case study of deep structure of Shugo mud volcano,” Geol. Geofiz. Yuga Ross., No. 3, 89–115 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  26. V. G. Trifonov, Neotectonics of Eurasia (Nauchnyi mir, Moscow, 1999) [in Russian].

  27. V. G. Trifonov and A. S. Karakhanyan, Earth’s Dynamics and Evolution of Society (Ob”ed. Gumanitar. Izd., Moscow, 2008) [in Russian].

  28. Ya. I. Trikhunkov, “Morphostructural zoning of the Northwestern Caucasus,” Geomorfologiya, No. 2, 97–107 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Ya. I. Trikhunkov, “Morphostructural system and seismicity of the Northwestern Caucasus,” in Geomorpho logical Systems: Properties, Hierarchy, and Organization, Ed. by E. A. Likhacheva (Media-PRESS, Moscow, 2010), pp. 101–115.

  30. Ya. I. Trikhunkov and D. M. Bachmanov, “Modern pushing-out structures in the axial zone of the Western Caucasus (Achishkho Range),” in Second Tectonophysical Workshop for Young Scientists, Ed. by Yu. L. Rebetskii (Inst. Fiz. Zemli Ross. Akad. Nauk, Moscow, 2011), pp. 108–112.

  31. V. E. Khain, V. I. Popkov, and P. A. Chekhovich, “The key geostructures in the Black Sea–Caspian Region,” Ekol. Vestn. Nauchn. Tsentrov Chernomorsk. Ekon. Sotr., No. 2, 105–112 (2006).

  32. V. N. Sholpo, E. A. Rogozhin, and M. A. Goncharov, Orogenesis of the Greater Caucasus (Nauka, Moscow, 1993) [in Russian].

  33. V. E. Shchelinskii, Paleolith of the Black Sea Coast of the Northwestern Caucasus Based on the Studies of Settlement Sites (Evropeiskii dom, St. Petersburg, 2007) [in Russian].

  34. I. G. Shcherba, “Cenozoic olistostromes of the Alpine folded zone,” Geotektonika, No. 6, 90–106 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

  35. F. L. Yakovlev, A. V. Marinin, L. A. Sim, and P. P. Gordeev, “Tectonic stress and strain fields in the Vorontsovsky sheet (Northeastern Caucasus),” in Problems of Tectonophysics: On the 40th Anniversary of Organization of the Laboratory for Tectonophysics by M.V. Gzovskii at the Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ed. by Yu. L. Rebetskii (Inst. Fiz. Zemli Ross. Akad. Nauk, Moscow, 2008), pp. 319–333.

  36. F. L. Yakovlev, “Strain multirank analysis and a structural paragenesis: The comparison of approaches and results,” Vestn. KRAUNTs: Nauki Zemle, No. 2, 179–193 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  37. Ya. I. Trikhunkov and E. A. Zelenin, “Active folded structures of the Western Caucasus (Sochi region),” in Geophys. Res. Abstr. 16, (dy2014), Ed. by P. Vernant. http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2014/sessionprogramme/ GM.

  38. Ya. I. Trikhunkov, E. A. Zelenin, and A. A. Kolesnichenko, “Deformation of Late Quaternary fluvial terraces in the Sochi region, Western Caucasus,” in Quaternary Perspectives on Climate Change, Natural Hazards and Civilization: XIX INQUA Congress, Nagoya, Japan, 2015 (Nagoya, 2015), Abstract T00973.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pyzhevskii per. 7, Moscow, 119017, Russia

    Ya. I. Trikhunkov

Authors
  1. Ya. I. Trikhunkov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ya. I. Trikhunkov.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © Ya.I. Trikhunkov, 2016, published in Geotektonika, 2016, No. 5, pp. 67–81.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Trikhunkov, Y.I. Neotectonic transformation of Cenozoic fold structures in the northwestern Caucasus. Geotecton. 50, 509–521 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016852116040087

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016852116040087

Keywords

Search

Navigation