CRETACEOUS AND TERTIARY BOUNDARY IN THE TINGRI REGION OF SOUTHERN TIBET

Marine uppermost Cretaceous to lowermost Tertiary sequence occurs in the Gamba and Tingri regions of southern Tibet. In previous work, the sequences in both regions were divided into the Zongshan, Jidula and Zhepure Formations (Wan, 1985; Hao and Wan, 1985; Xu, Wan, et al. 1990). The K/T boundary in Gamba was studied by Wan Xiaoqiao (1988). This paper deals with the boundary in the Tingri region. Willems (1993) discussed the Cretaceous to Tertiary sequence in the Tingri region. In his work, the Upper Cretaceous to Lower Tertiary passage beds involved the Zongshan, Zhepure Shanpo, Jidula and Zhepure Shan Formations. The lithologies in the Tingri and Gamba regions are generally comparable, and we describe the boundary sequence in the Tingri region as follows:1\ Zongshan Formation (Campanian—Middle Maastrichtian) Hao and Wan (1985) first described this formation in Tingri. It consists of limestones equivalent to the strata in Gamba. The nomination of the Zongshan formation has been used in both regions. The Formation in Gamba ranges from Campanian to Late Maastrichtian age. In Tingri, however, the upper beds were referred to the Zhepure Shanpo Formation because they are clastic sediments (Willems, 1993). Planktonic foraminifera are abundant, such as Globotruncana spp. and Omphalocyclus sp.