THE CENTRAL PAMIR—AN ALPINE COLLISION ZONE

The Alpine zone of Central Pamir is elongated in sublatitudinal direction between the Hercynians of Northern Pamir and the Cimmerians of Southern Pamir south of the Vanch\|Akbaital thrust. Its western continuation is overthrusted by the Herat fault and its eastern continuation is cut by the Karakoram strike\|slip fault.. The Central Pamir is a mainly S\|vergent (at the southern part N\|vergent) Alpine nappe stack then folding in antiform. It comprises deposits from Vendian to Neogene which have a thickness of 10km. Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic activity was poorly displaied in its limits. Rifting took place in Early and probably Upper Paleozoic. Pre\|Upper Cretaceous unconformity is known only in southern (autochthonous) part of the Zone as a result of closing of Bangong\|Nu Jiang ocean. In northern (allochthonous) part of the zone the sequence of Mesozoic and Paleogene rocks has no unconformities. Alpine endogenous processes were developed very intensively. They implied nappes and imbricate structures, linear folding, different igneous activity, zonal metamorphism. Slices of pyroxenites and gabbroids occured. Calc\|alkaline lavas and tuffs constitutes the major part of Paleocene to Miocene sequence (andesites\|ryolites\|in Paleogene, alkaline basalts in Oligocene—Miocene). Oligocene—Miocene zonal metamorphic belt of the intermediate type of high pressure including series of granitegneiss domes can be traced along the Central Pamir. Cores of domes include migmatites and remobilized bodies of the Early Paleozoic gneissic granites. The decompression took place at a later stage and rocks were overprinted by the andalusite\|sillimanite type metamorphism.. Syenite and leucogranite bodies, pegmatite and aplite veins were emplaced.