Abstract
A balanced cross-section along the Budhi-Gandaki River in central Nepal between the Main Central thrust, including displacement on that fault, and the Main Frontal thrust reveals a minimum total shortening of 400 km. Minimum displacement on major orogen-scale structures include 116 km on the Main Central thrust, 110 km on the Ramgarh thrust, 95 km on the Trishuli thrust, and 56 km in the Lesser Himalayan duplex. The balanced cross-section was also incrementally forward modeled assuming a generally forward-breaking sequence of thrusting, where early faults and hanging-wall structures are passively carried from the hinterland toward the foreland. The approximate correspondence of the forward modeled result to observe present day geometries suggest that the section interpretation is viable and admissible. In the balanced cross-section, the Trishuli thrust is the roof thrust for the Lesser Himalayan duplex. The forward model and reconstruction emphasize that the Lesser Himalayan duplex grew by incorporating rock from the footwall and transferring it to the hanging wall along the Main Himalayan thrust. As the duplex developed, the Lesser Himalayan ramp migrated southward. The movement of Lesser Himalayan thrust sheets over the ramp pushed the Lesser Himalayan rock and the overburdens of the Greater and Tibetan Himalayan rock toward the erosional surface. This vertical structural movement caused by footwall collapse and duplexing, in combination with erosion, exhumed the Lesser Himalaya.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmad T, Harris N, Bickle M et al (2000) Isotopic constraints on the structural relationships between the Lesser Himalayan Series and the High Himalayan Crystalline Series, Garhwal Himalaya. Geol Soc Am Bull 112:467–477
Appel E, Roesler W, Corvinus G (1991) Magnetostratigraphy of the Miocene-Pleistocene Surai Khola Siwaliks in West Nepal. Geophys J Int 105(1):191–198
Argles T, Foster G, Whittington A et al (2003) Isotope studies reveal a complete Himalayan section in the Nanga Parbat syntaxis. Geol Soc Am Bull 31:1109–1112
Arita K (1983) Origin of the inverted metamorphism of the Lower Himalayas, central Nepal. Tectonophysics 95(1–2):43–60
Auden JB (1935) Traverses in the Himalaya. Rec Geol Soc India 69(2):123–167
Avouac JP (2003) Mountain building, erosion, and the seismic cycle in the Nepal Himalaya. Adv Geophys 46:1–80. doi:10.1016/S0065-2687(03)46001-9
Beaumont C, Jamieson RA, Nguyen M et al (2001) Himalayan tectonics explained by extrusion of a low viscosity channel coupled to focused surface denudation. Nature 414:738–742. doi:10.1038/414738a
Besse J, Courtillot V (1988) Paleogeographic maps of the continents bordering the Indian Ocean since the Early Jurassic. J Geophys Res 93:11791–11808. doi:10.1029/JB093iB10p11791
Bettinelli P, Avouac JP, Flouzat M et al (2006) Plate motion of India and interseismic strain in the Nepal Himalaya from GPS and DORIS measurements. J Geodesy 80:567–589
Bhattacharyya K, Mitra G (2009) A new kinematic evolutionary model for the growth of a duplex-an example from the Rangit duplex, Sikkim Himalaya, India. Gond Res 16:697–715
Bilham R, Larson K, Freymueller J, Project Idylhim Members (1997) GPS measurements of present-day convergence across the Nepal Himalaya. Nature 386:61–63
Bollinger L, Henry P, Avouac JP (2006) Mountain building in the Nepal Himalaya: thermal and kinematic model. Earth Planet Sci Lett 244:58–71. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2006.01.045
Bordet P (1961) Recherches géologiques dans l’Himalaya du Népal, région du Makalu. CNRS, Paris
Boyer SE, Elliott D (1982) Thrust systems. Am Assoc Petrol Geol Bull 66(9):1196–1230
Brown LD, Zhao W, Nelson KD et al (1996) INDEPTH deep seismic reflection observation of a regionally extensive high-amplitude basement reflector, and associated ‘‘bright spots’’ beneath the northern Yadong-Gulu rift, Tibet. Science 274:1688–1690
Brunel M (1975) La nappe du Mahabharat, Himalaya du Nepal Central: Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Seances de l’Academie des Sciences, Serie D. Sciences Naturelles 280(5):551–554
Burchfiel BC, Chen Z, Hodges, KV et al (1992) The South Tibetan Detachment System, Himalayan Orogen; Extension contemporaneous with and parallel shortening in a collisional mountain belt. Geol Soc Am Spec Pap 269:49
Carosi R, Montomoli C, Rubatto D et al (2010) Late oligocene high-temperature shear zones in the core of the higher Himalayan crystallines (Lower Dolpo, western Nepal). Tectonics 29:TC4029. doi:10.1029/2008TC002400
Catlos EJ, Harrison TM, Kohn MJ et al (2001) Geochronologic and thermobarometric constraints on the evolution of the Main Central thrust, central Nepal Himalaya. J Geophys Res 106:16,177–16204. doi:10.1029/2000JB900375
Colchen M, Le Fort P, Pêcher A (1986) Recherches géologiques dans l’Himalaya du Népal; Annapurna-Manaslu-Ganesh Himal. Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Scale 1:200,000
Coleman ME (1996) Orogen-parallel and orogen-perpendicular extension in the central Nepalese Himalayas. Geol Soc Am Bull 108:1594–1607
Copley A, Avouac JP, Royer JY (2010) India-Asia collision and the Cenozoic slowdown of the Indian plate: implications for the forces driving plate motions. J Geophys Res 115:B03410. doi:10.1029/2009JB006634
Corrie SL, Kohn MJ (2011) Metamorphic history of the central Himalaya, Annapurna region, Nepal, and implications for tectonic models. Geol Soc Am Bull 123:1863–1879
Coward MP, Butler RHW (1985) Thrust tectonics and the deep structure of the Pakistan Himalaya. Geology 18:417–420
Dahlstrom CDA (1969) Balanced cross sections. Can J Earth Sci 6(4):743–757
Davis D, Suppe J, Dahlen FA (1983) Mechanics of fold-and-thrust belts and accretionary wedges. J Geophys Res 88:1153–1172
DeCelles PG, Gehrels GE, Quade J et al (1998) Neogene foreland basin deposits, erosional unroofing, and the kinematic history of the Himalayan fold-thrust belt, western Nepal. Geol Soc Am Bull 110(1):2–21
DeCelles PG, Gehrels GE, Quade J et al (2000) Tectonic implications of U-Pb zircon ages of the Himalayan orogenic belt in Nepal. Science 288(5465):497–499
DeCelles PG, Robinson DM, Quade J et al (2001) Stratigraphy, structure, and tectonic evolution of the Himalayan fold-thrust belt in western Nepal. Tectonics 20(4):487–509
Dhital MR (2012) Distribution of frontal faults in Nepal Himalaya. 27th Himalayan-Karakoram-Tibet workshop (HKT) abstract with program. NGS 45:106
Dubey AK, Misra R, Bhakuni SS (2001) Erratic shortening from balanced cross-sections of the western Himalayan foreland basin: causes and implications for basin evolution. J Asian Earth Sci 19:765–775
Dupont-Nivet G, Lippet PC, Hinsbergen DJJ et al (2010) Palaeolatitude and age of the Indo-Asia collision: palaeomagentic constraints. Geophys J Int 182:1189–1198. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04697.x
Gansser A (1964) Geology of the Himalayas. Wiley Interscience, London, p 289
Gansser A (1983) Geology of the Bhutan Himalaya. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, p 181
Gautam P, Roesler W (1999) Depositional chronology and fabric of Siwalik Group sediments in central Nepal from magnetostratigraphy and magnetic anisotropy. J Asian Earth Sci 17(5–6):659–682
Gehrels GE, DeCelles PG, Martin A et al (2003) Initiation of the Himalayan orogen as an Early Paleozoic thin-skinned thrust belt. GSA Today 18(9):4–9
Gehrels GE, DeCelles PG, Ojha TP et al (2006) Geologic and U-Th-Pb geochronologic evidence for early Paleozoic tectonism in the Kathmandu thrust sheet, central Nepal Himalaya. J Geol Soc Am Bull 118:185–198. doi:10.1180/B25753.1
Godin L, Parrish RR, Brown RL et al (2001) Crustal thickening leading to exhumation of the Himalayan metamorphic core of central Nepal: insight from U-Pb geochronology and 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology. Tectonics 20(5):729–747. doi:10.1029/2000TC001204
Godin L, Grujic D, Law R et al (2006) Channel flow, ductile extrusion and exhumation in continental collision zones: and introduction. Geol Soc Spec Publ 268:1–23
Groshong RH Jr, Withjack MO, Schlische RW et al (2012a) Bed length does not remain constant during deformation: recognition and why it matters. J Struct Geol 41:86–97. doi:10.1016/j.jsg.2012.02.009
Groshong RH Jr, Bond C, Gibbs A (2012b) Preface: structural balancing at the start of the twenty first century: 100 years since Chamberlin. J Struct Geol 41:1–5
Grujic D (2006) Channel flow and continental collision tectonics: an overview. In: Law RD, Searle MP (eds) Channel flow, extrusion and exhumation in continental collision zones. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 268:25–37. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.268.01.02
Grujic D, Casey M, Davidson C et al (1996) Ductile extrusion of the Higher Himalayan crystalline in Bhutan: evidence from quartz microfabrics. Tectonophysics 260:21–43
Guillot S (1999) An overview of the metamorphic evolution in central Nepal. J Asian Earth Sci 17(5–6):718–725
Hagen T (1969) Report on the geological survey of Nepal preliminary reconnaissance. Zürich Mémoires de la Societe Helvétique des Sciences Naturelles LXXXVI/1, 185
Harris N (2007) Channel flow and the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen: a critical review. J Geol Soc London 164:511–523. doi:10.1144/0016-76492006-133
Harrison TM, Copeland P, Kidd WSF et al (1992) Raising Tibet. Science 255:1663–1670
Harrison TM, Copeland P, Hall SA et al (1993) Isotopic preservation of Himalayan/Tibet uplift denudation, and climatic histories of two molasse deposits. J Geol 101:159–177
Harrison TM, McKeegan KD, Le Fort P (1995) Detection of inherited monazite in the Manaslu leucogranite by 208Pb/232Th ion microprobe dating: crystallization age and tectonic significance. Earth Planet Sci Lett 183:271–282
Harrison TM, Grove M, Lovera OM et al (1998) A model for the origin of Himalayan anatexis and inverted metamorphism. J Geophys Res 103:27,017–27032
Hashimoto S, Ohta Y, Akiba C (1973) Geology of the Nepal Himalayas. Saikon, Tokyo
Hatcher RD, Hooper RJ (1992) Evolution of crystalline thrust sheets in the internal parts of mountain chains. In: McClay KR (ed) Thrust tectonics, Chapman and Hall, London, pp 217–234
Hauck ML, Nelson KD, Brown LD et al (1998) Crustal structure of the Himalayan Orogen at approximately 90 degrees east longitude from Project INDEPTH deep reflection profiles. Tectonics 17(4):481–500
Heim A, Gansser A (1939) Central Himalaya geological observations of swiss expedition. Gebruder Fretz, Zurich, pp 1–246
Herman F, Copeland P, Avouac, JP et al (2010) Exhumation, crustal deformation, and thermal structure of the Nepal Himalaya derived from the inversion of thermochronological and thermobarometric data and modeling of the topography. J Geophys Res 115:B06407. doi:10.1029/2008JB006126
Hodges KV (2000) Tectonics of the Himalaya and southernTibet from two perspectives. Geol Soc Am Bull 112: 324–350
Hodges KV, Burchfiel BC, Royden LH et al (1993) The metamorphic signature of contemporaneous extension and shortening in the central Himalayan orogen: data from the Nyalam transect, southern Tibet. J Metmorph Geol 11:721–737
Hodges KV, Parrish RR, Searle MP (1996) Tectonic evolution of the central Annapurna Range, Nepalese Himalayas. Tectonics 15(6):1264–1291
Igner S, Harris NBW (1992) Tectonothermal evolution of the High Himalayan crystalline sequence, Langtang Valley, northern Nepal. J Metamorph Geol 10(3):439–452
Jain AK, Singh S, Manickavasagam RM (2002) Himalayan collisional tectonics. Gond Res Gp Mem No. 7. Field Science, 1398 Hashimoto
Jamieson RA, Beaumont C, Medvedev S et al (2004) Crustal channel flows: 2. Numerical models with implications for metamorphism in the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen. J Geophys Res 109:B06407. doi:10.1029/2003JB002811
Johnson MRW (1994) Volume balance of erosion loss and sediment deposition related to Himalayan uplift. J Geol Soc Lond 151:217–220
Johnson MRW, Oliver GJH, Parrish RR et al (2001) Synthrusting metamorphism, cooling, and erosion of the Himalayan Kathmandu Complex, Nepal. Tectonics 20(3):394–415
Jouanne F, Mugnier JL, Pandey MR et al (1999) Oblique convergence in the Himalayas of Western Nepal deduced from preliminary results of GPS measurements. Geophys Res Lett 29:1933–1936
Jouanne F, Mugnier JL, Gamond JF et al (2004) Current shortening across the Himalayas of Nepal. Geophys J Int 157:1–14
Khanal S (2009) Upper crustal shortening and forward modeling of the Himalayan fold-thrust belt along the Budhi-Gandaki River, central Nepal. University of Alabama, Thesis
Kohn MJ (2008) P–T–t data from central Nepal support critical taper and repudiate large scale channel flow of the Greater Himalayan sequence. J Geol Soc Am Bull 120:259–273. doi:10.1180/B26252.1
Kohn MJ, Wieland M, Parkinson CD, Upreti BN (2004) Miocene faulting at plate tectonic velocity in the Himalaya of central Nepal. Earth Planet Sci Lett 228:299–310. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2004.10.007
Kohn MJ, Weiland MS, Parkinson CD et al (2005) Five generations of monazite in Langtang gneisses: implications for chronology of the Himalayan metamorphic core. J Meta Pet 23:399–406. doi:10.1111/j.1525-1814.2005.00584.x
Larson KP, Godin L (2009) Kinematics of the Greater Himalayan sequence, Dhaulagiri Himal: implications for the structural framework of central Nepal. J Geol Soc Lond 115:25–43
Larson KP, Godin L, Price RA (2010) Relationships between displacement and distortion in orogens: linking the Himalayan foreland and hinterland in central Nepal. J Geol Soc Am Bull 122:1116–1134. doi:10.1130/B30073.1
Lavé J, Avouac JP (2000) Active folding of fluvial terraces across the Siwaliks Hills, Himalayas of central Nepal. J Geophys Res 105(3):5735–5770
Law RD, Searle MP, Simpson RL (2004) Strain, deformation temperatures and vorticity of flow at the top of the Greater Himalayan Slab, Everest Massif, Tibet. J Geol Soc Lond 161:305–320
Le Fort P (1975) Himalayas: the collided range, present knowledge of the continental arc. Am J Sci 275(A):1–44
Le Fort P, Debon F, Pêcher A, Sonet JVP (1986) The 500 Ma magmatic event in alpine southern Asia, a thermal episode at Gondwana scale. In: Le Fort P, Colchen M, Montenat C (eds) Évolution des domaines orogéniques d'Asie méridionale (de la Turquie à l'Indonésie): Nancy, Science de la Terre, pp 191–209
Liebke U, Appel E, Ding L et al (2010) Position of the Lhasa terrane prior to India-Asia collision derived from palaeomagnetic inclinations of 53 Ma old dykes of the Linzhou Basin: constraints on the age of collision and post-collisional shortening within the Tibetan Plateau. Geophys J Int 182:1199–1215. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04698.x
Long S, McQuarrie N (2010) Placing limits on channel flow: insights from the Bhutan Himalaya. Earth Planet Sci Lett. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2009.12.033
Long S, McQuarrie N, Tobgay T et al (2011) Geometry and crustal shortening of the Himalayan fold thrust belt, eastern and central Bhutan. Geol Soc Am Bull. doi:10.1130/B30203.1
Lyon-Caen H, Molnar P (1983) Constraints on the structure of the Himalaya from an analysis of gravity anomalies and a flexural model of the lithosphere. J Geophys Res 88:8171–8191
Lyon-Caen H, Molnar P (1985) Gravity anomalies, flexure of the Indian plate, and the structure, support and evolution of the Himalaya and Ganga Basin. Tectonics 4:518–538
Macfarlane AM (1995) An evaluation of the inverted metamorphic gradient at Langtang National Park, central Nepal Himalaya. J Metamorph Geol 13(5):595–612
Macfarlane AM, Hodges KV, Lux D (1992) A structural analysis of the Main Central thrust zone, Langtang National Park, central Nepal Himalaya. J Geol Soc Am Bull 104(11):1402–1889
Manickavasagam RM, Jain AK, Singh S Asokan A (1999) Metamorphic evolution of the northwest Himalaya, India: pressure-temperature data, inverted metamorphism, and exhumation in the Kashmir, Himachal, and Garhwal Himalayas, in Himalaya and Tibet: In: Macfarlane A, Aorkhabi RB, Quade J (eds) Mountain roots to mountain tops. Geol Soc Am Spec Pap 328:179–198
Martin AJ, DeCelles PG, Gehrels GE et al (2005) Isotopic and structural constraints on the location of the Main Central thrust in the Annapurna Range, central Nepal Himalaya. J Geol Soc Am Bull 117:926–944. doi:10.1180/B25646.1
Martin AJ, Burgy KD, Kaufman AJ et al (2011) Stratigraphic and tectonic implications of field and isotopic constraints on depositional ages of Proterozoic Lesser Himalayan rocks in central Nepal. Precam Res 185:1–17
McQuarrie N, Robinson D, Long S et al (2008) Preliminary stratigraphic and structural architecture of Bhutan: implications for the along strike architecture of the Himalayan system. Earth Planet Sci Lett 105:105–117
Mishra P, Mukhopadhyay DK (2012) Structural evolution of the frontal fold-thrust belt, NW Himalayas from sequential restoration of balanced cross-sections and its hydrocarbon potential. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 366. doi:10.1144/SP366.6
Mitra G (1978) Ductile deformation zones and mylonites: the mechanical processes involved in the deformation or crystalline basement rocks. Am J Sci 278:1057–1084
Mitra G, Bhattacharyya K, Mukul M (2010) The lesser Himalayan duplex in Sikkim: implications for variations in Himalayan shortening. J Geol Soc India 175:289–301
Moretti I, Callot JP (2012) Area, length and thickness conservation: dogma or reality? J Struct Geol 41:64–75. doi:10.1016/j.jsg.2012.02.014
Mugnier JL, Huyghe P (2006) Ganges basin geometry records a pre-15 Ma isostatic rebound of Himalaya. Geology 34:445–448
Mugnier JL, Mascle G, Faucher T (1992) La structure des Siwalik de l’Ouest Ne′pal: un prisme d’accre′-tion intracontinental. Bulletin de la Socie′te′ Ge′ologique de France 163:585–595
Mugnier JL, Leturmy P, Mascle G et al (1999) The Siwaliks of western Nepal I. Geometry and kinematics. J Asian Earth Sci 17:629–642
Mukherjee S (2005) Channel flow, ductile extrusion and exhumation of lower-mid crust in continental collisional zones. Curr Sci 89:435–436
Mukherjee S (2013a) Channel flow extrusion model to constrain dynamic viscosity and Prandtl number of the Higher Himalayan shear zone. Int J Earth Sci. doi:10.1007/s00531-012-0806-z
Mukherjee S (2013b) Higher Himalayan shear zone, Bhagirathi section (NW Himalaya, India)—its structures, backthrusts, and extrusion mechanism by both channel flow and critical taper mechanisms. Int J Earth Sci. doi:10.1007/s00531-012-0861-5
Mukherjee S, Koyi HA (2009) Flanking microstructures. Geol Mag 146:517–526
Mukherjee S, Koyi HA (2010a) Higher Himalayan shear zone, Sutlej section: structural geology and extrusion mechanism by various combinations of simple shear, pure shear and channel flow in shifting modes. Int J Earth Sci 99:1267–1303
Mukherjee S, Koyi HA (2010b) Higher Himalayan shear zone, Zanskar Section—Microstructural studies and extrusion mechanism by a combination of simple shear and channel flow. Int J Earth Sci 99:1083–1110
Mukherjee S, Koyi HA, Talbot CJ (2012) Implications of channel flow analogue models in extrusion of the Higher Himalayan shear zone with special reference to the out-of-sequence thrusting. Int J Earth Sci 101:253–272
Mukhopadhyay DK, Mishra P (2005) A balanced cross section across the Himalayan frontal fold–thrust belt, Subathu area, Himachal Pradesh, India: thrust sequence, structural evolution and shortening. J Asian Earth Sci 25:735–746
Mukhrerjee S, Mulchrone K (2013) Viscous dissipation pattern in incompressible Newtonian simple shear zone—an analytical model. (in press)
Murphy MA, Yin A (2003) Structural evolution and sequence of thrusting in the Tethyan fold-thrust belt and Indus suture zone, southwest Tibet. J Geol Soc Am Bull 115:21–34. doi:10.1180/0016-7606(2003)
Nabelek J, Hetenyi G, Vergne J et al (2009) Underplating in the Himalaya-Tibet collision zone revealed by the Hi-CLIMB experiment. Science 325:1371–1374
Najman Y, Appel E, Fadel MB et al (2010) Timing of India-Asia collision: geological, biostratigraphic and paleomagnetic constraints. J Geophys Res. doi:10.1029/2010JB007673
Nazarchuk, JH (1993) Structure and geochronology of the Greater Himalaya, Kali Gandaki region, west-central Nepal, thesis, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Nelson KD, Zhao WJ, Brown LD et al (1996) Partially molten middle crust beneath southern Tibet: synthesis of project INDEPTH results. Science 174:1684–1688
Ni J, Barazangi M (1984) Seismotectonics of the Himalayan collision zone; geometry of the underthrusting Indian Plate beneath the Himalaya. J Geophys Res 89(2):1147–1163
Northrup CJ (1996) Structural expressions and tectonic implications of general noncoaxial flow in the midcrust of a collisional orogen: the northern Scandinavian Caledonides. Tectonics 15:490–505
Ojha TP, Butler RF, Quade J et al (2000) Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of the Neogene Siwalik Group at Khutia Khola, far western Nepal. J Geol Soc Am Bull 112(3):424–434
Ojha TP, Butler RF, DeCelles PG et al (2008) Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of the Neogene foreland basin deposits of Nepal. Basin Res. doi:10.1111/j.1865-2117.2008.00374.x
Pandey MR, Tandukar RP, Avouac JP et al (1995) Interseismic strain accumulation on the Himalayan crustal ramp (Nepal). Geophys Res Lett 22(7):751–754
Pandey MR, Tandukar RP, Avouac JP et al (1999) Seismotectonics of the Nepal Himalaya from a local seismic network. J Asian Earth Sci 17(5–6):703–712
Parrish RR, Hodges KV (1996) Isotopic constraints on the age and provenance of the lesser and Greater Himalayan sequences, Nepalese Himalaya. J Geol Soc Am Bull 108:904–911
Patriat P, Achache J (1984) Indian-Asia collision chronology has implications for crustal shortening and driving mechanisms of plates. Nature 311:615–621. doi:10.1038/311615a0
Pearson ON (2002) Structural evolution of the central Nepal fold-thrust belt and regional tectonic and structural significance of the Ramgarh thrust. University of Arizona, Dissertation
Pearson ON, DeCelles PG (2005) Structural geology and regional tectonic significance of the Ramgarh thrust, Himalayan fold-thrust belt of Nepal. Tectonics 24:TC4008. doi:10.1029/2003TC001617
Pêcher A (1977) Geology of the Nepal Himalaya; deformation and petrography in the Main Central thrust zone. In: Jest C (ed) Himalaya; Sciences de la terre: Paris, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, pp 301–318
Pognante U, Castelli D, Benna P et al (1990) The crystalline units of the High Himalayas in the Lahul-Zanskar region (northwest India): metamorphic and tectonic history and geochronology of the collided and imbricated Indian plate. Geol Mag 127:101–116
Powell CM, Conaghan PJ (1973) Plate tectonics and the Himalayas. Earth Planet Sci Lett 20:1–20. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(73)90184-9
Rai SM, Guillot S, Le Fort P, Upreti BN (1998) Pressure-temperature evolution in the Kathmandu and Gosainkunda regions, central Nepal. J Asian Earth Sci 16(2–3):283–298
Ratschbacher L, Frisch W, Guanghua L (1994) Distributed deformation in southern and western Tibet during and after the India-Asia collision. J Geophys Res 99:19,917–19945
Richards A, Parrish R, Harris N et al (2006) Correlation of lithotectonic units across the eastern Himalaya, Bhutan. Geology 34:341–344. doi:10.1130/G22169.1
Robinson DM (2008) Forward modeling the kinematic sequence of the central Himalayan thrust belt, western Nepal. Geosphere 4(5):785–801. doi:10.1180/GES00163.1
Robinson DM, DeCelles PG, Patchett PJ, Garzione CN (2001) The kinematic evolution of the Nepalese Himalaya interpreted from Nd isotopes. Earth Planet Sci Lett 192:507–521
Robinson DM, DeCelles PG, Garzione CN et al (2003) Kinematic model for the Main Central thrust in Nepal. Geology 31:359–362. doi:10.1180/0091-7618(2003)
Robinson DM, DeCelles PG, Copeland P (2006) Tectonic evolution of the Himalayan thrust belt in western Nepal: implications for channel flow models. J Geol Soc Am Bull 118:865–885. doi:10.1180/B25911.1
Rosler W, Metzler W, Appel E (1997) Neogene magnetic polarity stratigraphy of some fluviatile Siwalik sections, Nepal. Geophys J Int 130:89–111
Rowan MG, Ratliff RA (2012) Cross-section restoration of salt-related deformation: Best practices and potential pitfalls. J Struct Geol 41:24–37
Rowley DB (1996) Age of initiation of collision between India and Asia: a review of stratigraphic data. Earth Planet Sci Lett 145:1–13
Sakai H (1983) Geology of the Tansen group of the lesser Himalayas in Nepal: memoirs of the Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Series D. Geology 15:27–74
Sastri VV, Bhandari LL, Raju ATR, Datta AK (1971) Tectonic framework and subsurface stratigraphy of the Ganga Basin. J Geol Soc India 12(3):222–233
Schelling D (1992) The tectonostratigraphy and structure of the eastern Nepal Himalaya. Tectonics 11(5):925–943
Schelling D, Arita K (1991) Thrust tectonics, crustal shortening, and the structure of the far-eastern Nepal Himalaya. Tectonics 10(5):851–862
Schulte-Pelkum V, Monsalve G, Sheehan A et al (2005) Imaging the Indian subcontinent beneath the Himalaya. Nature 435:1222–1225
Searle MP, Godin L (2003) The South Tibetan detachment and the Manaslu leucogranite: a structural reinterpretation and restoration of the Annapurna-Manaslu Himalaya, Nepal. J Geol 111:505–523. doi:10.1086/376763
Searle MP, Szulc AG (2005) Channel flow and ductile extrusion of the high Himalayan slab—the Kangchenjunga–Darjeeling profile, Sikkim Himalaya. J Asian Earth Sci 25:173–185
Searle MPR, Law L, Godin K et al (2008) Defining the Himalayan Main Central thrust in Nepal. J Geol Soc Lond 165:523–534. doi:10.1144/0016-76492007-081
Shrestha SB, Shrestha JN, Sharma SR (1984) Geological map of central Nepal. Dep Mines Geol Kathmandu Scale 1(250):000
Sinclair HD, Gibson M, Naylor M, Morris RG (2005) Asymmetric growth of the Pyrenees revealed through measurement and modeling of orogenic fluxes. Am J Sci 305:369–406. doi:10.2475/ajs.305.5.369
Srivastava P, Mitra G (1994) Thrust geometries and deep structure of the outer and lesser Himalaya, Kumaon and Garhwal (India): implication for evolution of the Himalayan fold-and-thrust belt. Tectonics 18:89–109. doi:10.1029/93TC01180
Stöcklin J (1980) Geology of Nepal and its regional frame. J Geol Soc Lond 187:1–34
Stöcklin J, Bhattarai KD (1980) Geologic map of the Kathmandu area and central Mahabharat Range. Dep Mines Geol Kathmandu Scale 1(250):000
Szulc AG, Najman Y, Sinclair H et al (2006) Tectonic evolution of the Himalaya constrained by detrital 40Ar/39Ar, Sm/Nd and petrographic data from the Siwalik foreland basin succession, SW Nepal. Basin Res 18:375–391
TokuokaT Takayasu K, Yoshida M, Hisatomi K (1986) The Churia (Siwalik) Group of the Arung Khola area, west central Nepal. Mem Fac Sci Shimane Univ 20:185–210
Upreti BN (1996) Stratigraphy of the western Nepal Lesser Himalaya. J Nepal Geol Soc 18:11–28
Upreti BN, Le Fort P (1999) Lesser Himalayan crystalline nappes of Nepal: problem of their origin, in advances on the geology of the Himalaya, focus on Nepal geology. J Asian Earth Sci 328:225–238
Valdiya KS (1980) Geology of the Kumaon lesser Himalaya: Dehra Dun. Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, India
Vannay JC, Grasemann B, Rahn M et al (2004) Miocene to holocene exhumation of metamorphic crustal wedge in the NW Himalaya: evidence for tectonic extrusion coupled to fluvial erosion. Tectonics 23(TC1014):1–24. doi:10.1029/2002TC001429
Whittington A, Foster G, Harris N et al (1999) Lithostratigraphic correlations in the western Himalaya—an isotopic approach. Geology 27:585–588
Yin A (2006) Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Himalayan orogen as constrained by along strike variation of structural geometry, exhumation history, and foreland sedimentation. Earth Sci Rev 76:1–131
Zhang J, Guo L (2007) Structure and geochronology of the southern Xainza-Dinggye rift and its relationship to the South Tibetan Detachment System. J Asian Earth Sci 29:722–736
Zhang PZ et al (2004) Continuous deformation of the Tibetan Plateau from global positioning system data. Geology 32:809–812
Zhao W, Nelson KD, Project INDEPTH Team (1993) Deep seismic-reflection evidence continental underthrusting beneath southern Tibet. Nature 366:555–557
Acknowledgments
Support for this project was provided to S. Khanal by the Geological Sciences Advisory Board (GSAB) Scholarship, Graduate School, Capstone International, and Graduate Student Services at the University of Alabama. We acknowledge the donation of the 2D Move software from Midland Valley. H. Kandel, P. C. Neupane and P. Simkhada provided field assistance. G. Neupane shared his knowledge and experience of the Himalaya and provided fruitful suggestions. D. Robinson acknowledges support from the Cooperative Institute for Research and Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado at Boulder for time to edit this manuscript while a visiting faculty fellow. This manuscript benefited from the comments of S. Mukherjee, R. A. Ratliff and an anonymous reviewer. T. Masterlark and A. Weislogel served on Khanal’s thesis committee and improved early versions of this manuscript. We thank W.-C. Dullo (IFM-Geomar, Chief Editor) and Monika Dullo (Managing Editor) for editorial handling of the paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khanal, S., Robinson, D.M. Upper crustal shortening and forward modeling of the Himalayan thrust belt along the Budhi-Gandaki River, central Nepal. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 102, 1871–1891 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-013-0889-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-013-0889-1