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Tectonic controls on the uplift of the Nanga Parbat Massif, Pakistan Himalayas

Nature volume 333, pages 247–250 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

Cenozoic mountain belts like the Himalayas contain regions that experienced rapid uplift in comparison with the areas around them1. Whether this uplift occurred by buoyant rebound of previously thickened crust2 or during the crustal thickening process itself is uncertain3,4. Here we show, however, that the 7 mm yr–1 Recent uplift5 of the Nanga Parbat massif, Pakistan Himalayas, was accomplished during NW-directed thrusting located along its western margin. This 3-km-wide Liachar thrust zone operated from amphibolite facies to the present topographic surface and accommodates substantial crustal shortening. The adjacent Indus river valley, itself cut by seismogenic faulting, completely transects the massif, showing that erosion keeps pace with geologically rapid thrust uplift6.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK76AA, UK

    Robert W. H. Butler

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, The University, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    David J. Prior

Authors
  1. Robert W. H. Butler
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  2. David J. Prior
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Butler, R., Prior, D. Tectonic controls on the uplift of the Nanga Parbat Massif, Pakistan Himalayas. Nature 333, 247–250 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333247a0

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