Hercynian Orogenic Fold Belts and the Terrane Tectonics in Northern Xinjiang, China

There are eight Hercynian orogenic fold belts in northern Xinjiang. The traditional viewpoint is that the orogeny was related to collision between the Siberian plate, Kazakhstan-Junggar and Tarim-Sinokorean plates. The recent investigation indicates that in northern Xinjiang, geological entity of continental plate did not exist during the Hercynian cycle. It is suggested that the orogenic processes in this area are the results of displacement and accretion between the Tarim terrane, Junggar terrane, central Tianshan (Ili-Isaik Lake)