Gediminas Motuza, Saulius Šliaupa
Palaeogene plutonic magmatism in Central Afghanistan, and its relation to the India-Eurasia collision
Numerous granitic intrusions occur along the southern margin
of the Tajik Block and the Band-e-Bayan Zone in the Ghor Province of Central
Afghanistan. Previously, they used to be linked to the Cimmerian igneous
episodes of Triassic and Cretaceous ages. However, the new U-Pb dating has
revealed that these granite intrusions occurred during the Eocene within a
narrow time span of 41–36 Ma. They are related to the number of local
depressions filled with the volcanic-sedimentary sequence of the same age.
These data indicate an intense short-termed magmatic event that affected the
region in the Palaeogene. The magmatism might be related to the India-Eurasia
collision, which started approximately at the same time. It is likely to have
induced the horizontal displacement of crustal blocks westwards along the Hari
Rod fault.