Abstract
The timing of the “Yanshanian Movement” and the tectonic setting that controlled the Yanshan fold-and-thrust belt during Jurassic time in China are still matters of controversy. Sediments that filled the intramontane basins in the Yanshan belt perfectly record the history of “Yanshanian Movement” and the tectonic background of these basins. Recognizing syn-tectonic sedimentation, clarifying its relationship with structures, and accurately defining strata ages to build up a correct chronostratigraphic framework are the key points to further reveal the timing and kinematics of tectonic deformation in the Yanshan belt from the Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. This paper applies both tectonic and sedimentary methods on the fold-and-thrust belt and intramontane basins in the Zhangjiakou area, which is located at the intersection between the western Yanshan and northern Taihangshan. Our work suggests that the pre-defined “Jurassic strata” should be re-dated and sub-divided into three strata units: a Late Triassic to Early Jurassic unit, a Middle Jurassic unit, and a Late Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous unit. Under the control of growth fold-and-thrust structures, five types of growth strata developed in different growth structures: fold-belt foredeep type, thrust-belt foredeep type, fault-propagation fold-thrust structure type, fault-bend fold-thrust structure type, and fault-bend fold-thrust plus fault-propagation fold composite type. The reconstructed “source-to-sink” systems of Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, Middle Jurassic and Late Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous times, which are composed of a fold-and-thrust belt and flexure basins, imply that the “Yanshanian Movement” in our study area started in theMiddle Jurassic. During Middle Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous times, there have been at least three stages of fold-thrust events that developed “Laramide-type” basement-involved fold-thrust structures and small-scale intramontane broken “axial basins”. The westward migration of a “pair” of basement-involved fold-thrust belt and flexure basins might have been controlled by flat subduction of the western Paleo-Pacific slab from the Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Berg R R. 1962. Mountain flank thrusting in Rocky Mountain foreland, Wyoming and Colorado. Bull Am Assoc Petrol Geol, 46: 2019–2032
Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Hebei Province. 1989. Regional Geology of Hebei Province, Beijing and Tianjin Municipality. Beijing: Geological Publishing House. 182–191
Chang S C, Zhang H, Hemming S R, Mesko G T, Fang Y. 2014. 40Ar/39Ar age constraints on the Haifanggou and Lanqi formations: When did the first flowers bloom? Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ, 378: 277–284
Charvet J. 2013. Late Paleozoic-Mesozoic tectonic evolution of SW Japan: A review—Reappraisal of the accretionary orogeny and revalidation of the collisional model. J Asian Earth Sci, 72: 88–101
Chen H Y, Zhang Y Q, Zhang J D, Fan Y G, Peng Q P, Lian Q, Sun L P, Yu L. 2014. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb age and geochemi-cal characteristics of tuff of Jiulongshan Formation from Chengde basin, northern Hebei (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 7: 966–973
Chen J B, Wu T S. 1997. Multiple Comparison of Stratigraphy in China: North China Region (in Chinese). Wuhan: China University of Geosciences Press. 199
Cope T D, Shultz M R, Graham S A. 2007. Detrital record of Mesozoic shortening in the Yanshan belt, NE China: Testing structural inter-pretations with basin analysis. Basin Res, 19: 253–272
Davis G A. 2005. The Late Jurassic “Tuchengzi/Houcheng” formation of the Yanshan fold-thrust belt: An analysis. Earth Sci Front, 12: 331–345
Davis G A, Meng J, Cao W, Du X. 2009. Triassic and Jurassic Tectonics in the Eastern Yanshan Belt, North China: Insights from the controversial Dengzhangzi Formation and its neighboring units. Earth Sci Front, 16: 69–86
Davis G A, Zheng Y D, Wang C. 2001. Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the Yanshan fold and thrust belt, with emphasis on Hebei and Liaoning provinces, northern China. In: Hendrix M S, Davis G A, eds. Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central Asia: From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental Deformation. Boulder: Geological Society of America Memoir. 171–197
Deng J F, Su S G, Niu Y L, Liu C, Zhao G C, Zhao X G, Zhou S, Wu Z X. 2007. A possible model for the lithospheric thinning of North China Craton: Evidence from the Yanshanian (Jura-Cretaceous) magmatism and tectonism. Lithos, 96: 22–35
Dong S W, Zhang Y Q, Long C X, Yang Z Y, Ji Q, Wang T, Hu J M, Chen X H. 2007. Jurassic Tectonic Revolution in China and New Interpretation of the Yanshanian movement (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 81: 1449–1461
Dickinson W R, Klute M A, Hayes M J, Janecke S U, Lundin E R, McKittrick M A, Olivares M D. 2005. Paleogeographic and paleotectonic setting of Laramide sedimentary basins in the central Rocky Mountain region. Geol Soc Am Bull, 100: 1023–1039
Erslev E A. 1991. Trishear fault-propagation folding. Geology, 19: 617–620
Fan W M, Menzies M A. 1992. Destruction of aged lower lithosphere and accretion of asthenosphere mantle beneath eastern China. Geotecton Metallog, 16: 171–180
Huang D Y. 2015. Yanliao biota and Yanshanian movement (in Chinese). Acta Palaeontol Sin, 54: 501–546
Isozaki Y, Aoki K, Nakama T, Yanai S. 2010. New insight into a subduction- related orogen: A reappraisal of the geotectonic framework and evolution of the Japanese Islands. Gondwana Res, 18: 82–105
Kemkin I V. 2012. Microfaunal biostratigraphy and structural framework of the Nadanhada-Bikin terrane within a Jurassic accretionary prism of the Sikhote-Alin Fold Belt, eastern Russia. J Asian Earth Sci, 61: 88–101
Li C M, Zhang C H, Cope T D, Lin Y. 2016. Out-of-sequence thrusting in polycyclic thrust belts: An example from the Mesozoic Yanshan belt, North China Craton. Tectonics, 35: 2082–2116
Li Z, Liu S, Zhang J, Wang Q. 2004. Typical bsin-fill sequences and basin migration in Yanshan, North China. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci, 47: 181–192
Liu J, Zhao Y, Liu X M, Wang Y, Liu X W. 2012. Rapid exhumation of basement rocks along the northern margin of the North China craton in the early Jurassic: Evidence from the Xiabancheng Basin, Yanshan Tectonic Belt. Basin Res, 24: 544–558
Liu J, Zhao Y, Liu A K, Ye H. 2015a. Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous sedimentary-tectonic development in the Chengde Basin, Yanshan foldthrust belt, North China Craton. J Asian Earth Sci, 114: 611–622
Liu S F. 1998. The coupling mechanism of basin and orogen in the western Ordos Basin and adjacent regions of China. J Asian Earth Sci, 16: 369–383
Liu S F, Heller P L, Zhang G W. 2003. Mesozoic basin development and tectonic evolution of the Dabieshan orogenic belt, central China. Tectonics, 22: 1038
Liu S F, Gurnis M, Ma P F, and Z B. 2017. Reconstruction of northeast Asian deformation integrated with western Pacific plate subduction since 200 Ma. Earth-Sci Rev, 175: 114–142
Liu S F, Li Z, Zhang J F. 2004a. Mesozoic basin evolution and structural framework in Yanshan area, China. Sci China Ser D-Earth Sci, 47 (Suppl 2): 24–38
Liu S F, Lin C F. 2017. Migration of episodic fold-thrusting and basin subsidence across North China Craton in response to western Pacifc plate subduction. In preparation
Liu S F, Qian T, Li W P, Dou G X, Wu P. 2015b. Oblique closure of the northeastern Paleo-Tethys in central China. Tectonics, 34: 413–434
Liu S F, Su S, Zhang G W. 2013. Early Mesozoic basin development in North China: Indications of cratonic deformation. J Asian Earth Sci, 62: 221–236
Liu S F, Yang S G. 2000. Upper Triassic-Jurassic sequence stratigraphy and its structural controls in the western Ordos Basin, China. Basin Res, 12: 1–18
Liu S F, Zhang J F, Hong S Y, Ritts B. 2007. Early Mesozoic basin development and its response to thrusting in the Yanshan Fold-and- Thrust Belt, China. Int Geol Rev, 49: 1025–1049
Liu S F, Zhang J F, Li Z, Wang Q C. 2004b. Late Jurassic basin-fill record and its implication for basin margin tectonism, Chengde, Yanshan Mountains, North China (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 11: 245–254
Liu X B, Liu S F, Lin C F. 2016. Analysis of Depositional Characteristics of Tuchengzi Formation and Basin Edge Structures, Chicheng-Xuanhua Basin, Northwestern Hebei Province (in Chinese). J Jilin Univ-Earth Sci Ed, 46: 1297–1311
Liu X W, Hu J M, Zhao Y, Wu H, Zhang T K. 2005. Stratigraphic division and correlation of the Early-Middle Jurassic in northern Hebei, China (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 24: 872–878
Meng Q R, Wei H H, Wu G L, Duan L. 2014. Early Mesozoic tectonic settings of the northern North China craton. Tectonophysics, 611: 155–166
Nemec W, Steel R. 1984. Alluvial and coastal conglomerates: Their significant features and some comments on gravelly mass-flow deposits. In: Koster E, Steel R, eds. Sedimentology of Gravels and Conglomerates. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir. 31
Niu B G, He Z J, Song B, Ren J S. 2003. The SHRIMP dating of the Zhangjiakou volcanic series and its significance (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 22: 140–141
Poblet J. 2012. 2D kinematic models of growth fault-related folds in contractional settings. In: Busby C, Azor A, eds. Tectonics of Sedimentary Basins: Recent Advances. Oxford: Willey-Blackwell. 538–564
Qi G W, Zhang J J, Wang M. 2015. Mesozoic tectonic setting of rift basins in eastern North China and implications for destruction of the North China Craton. J Asian Earth Sci, 111: 414–427
Qi J F, Yu F S, Lu K Z, Zhou J X, Wang Z Y, Yang Q. 2003. Conspectus on Mesozoic basin in Bohai Bay Province (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 10: 199–206
Ren Q, Zhang S H, Wu H C, Liang Z K, Miao X J, Zhao H Q, Li H Y, Yang T S, Pei J L, Davis A G. 2016. Further paleomagnetic results from the ~155 Ma Tiaojishan Formation, Yanshan Belt, North China, and their implications for the tectonic evolution of the Mongol-Okhotsk suture. Gondwana Res, 35: 180–191
Salvini F, Storti F. 2002. Three-dimensional architecture of growth strata associated to fault-bend, fault-propagation, and décollement anticlines in non-erosional environments. Sediment Geol, 146: 57–73
Shao J A, Meng Q R, Wei H Q, Zhang L Q, Wang P Y. 2003. Nature and tectonic environment of Late Jurassic volcanic-sedimentary basins in northwestern Hebei Province (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 22: 751–761
Shaw H J, Connors C, Suppe J. 2005. Seismic Interpretation of Contractional Fault-Related Folds. The American Association of Petroleum Geologist. 53
Studnicki-Gizbert C, Burchfiel B C, Li Z, Chen Z. 2008. Early Tertiary Gonjo basin, eastern Tibet: Sedimentary and structural record of the early history of India-Asia collision. Geosphere, 4: 713–735
Suppe J, Connors C D, Zhang Y. 2004. Shear fault-bend folding. In: McClay K R, ed. Thrust Tectonics and Hydrocarbon Systems. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir. 303–323
Suppe J, Sàbat F, Anton Muñoz J, Poblet J, Roca E, Vergés J. 1997. Bedbybed fold growth by kink-band migration: Sant llorenç de Morunys, eastern Pyrenees. J Struct Geol, 19: 443–461
Swisher C, Wang X, Zhou Z, Wang Y, Fan J. 2002. Further support for a Cretaceous age for the feathered-dinosaur beds of Liaoning, China: New 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Yixian and Tuchengzi Formations. Sci Bull, 47: 136–139
Sun L X, Zhao F Q, Wang H C, Gu Y C, Ji S P. 2007. Correlationship of Tuchengzi Formation and Implications of the Basin Tectonic Evolution in the Intracontinental Yanshan Orogenic Belt (in Chinese). Acta Geol Sin, 81: 445–453
Wang G L, Cao D Y, Jiang B, Xu Z B, Liu D Z, Yan S X. 1992. Thrust nappe, extensional nappe and gravitational gliding structures in southern North China (in Chinese). Xuzhou: China University of Mining Technology. 245
Wang Y, Zhou L Y, Li J Y. 2011. Intracontinental superimposed tectonics —A case study in the Western Hills of Beijing, eastern China. Geol Soc Am Bull, 123: 1033–1055
Wang Y, Zhou L Y, Zhao L J. 2013. Cratonic reactivation and orogeny: An example from the northern margin of the North China Craton. Gondwana Res, 24: 1203–1222
Wang Y, Zhou L Y, Luo Z H. 2017. Kinematics and timing of continental block deformation from margins to interiors. Terra Nova, 29: 253–263
Wong W H. 1927. Crustal movements and igneous activities in Eastern China since Mesozoic time. Bull Geol Soc China, 6: 9–37
Wu F Y, Yang J H, Lo C H, Wilde S A, Sun D Y, Jahn B M. 2007. The Heilongjiang Group: A Jurassic accretionary complex in the Jiamusi Massif at the western Pacific margin of northeastern China. Isl Arc, 16: 156–172
Xu W L, Wang F, Pei F P, Meng E, Tang J, Xu M J, Wang W. 2013. Mesozoic tectonic regimes and regional ore-forming background in NE China: Constraints from spatial and temporal variations of Mesozoic volcanic rock associations (in Chinese). Acta Petrol Sin, 29: 339–353
Xiao W J, Windley B F, Hao J, Zhai M. 2003. Accretion leading to collision and the Permian Solonker suture, Inner Mongolia, China: Termination of the Central Asian orogenic belt. Tectonics, 22: 1069
Yang J H, Wu F Y, Shao J A, Wilde S A, Xie L W, Liu X M. 2006. Constraints on the timing of uplift of the Yanshan Fold and Thrust Belt, North China. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 246: 336–352
Yang W, Li S G. 2008. Geochronology and geochemistry of the Mesozoic volcanic rocks in Western Liaoning: Implications for lithospheric thinning of the North China Craton. Lithos, 102: 88–117
Yonkee W A, Weil A B. 2015. Tectonic evolution of the Sevier and Laramide belts within the North American Cordillera orogenic system. Earth-Sci Rev, 150: 531–593
Zhang C H. 1999. A primary discussion on the intraplate orogenic belt (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 6: 295–308
Zhang C H, Chen A G, Bai Z D. 1997. Thick-skin thrust nappe structure and blind coal field matter in Xinglong coal field and adjacent area, Hebei Province (in Chinese). J Graduate School, China Univ Geosci, 11: 305–312
Zhang C H, Song H L. 2001. Mesozoic dextral strike-slip structural system in middle segment of intraplate Yanshan orogenic belt, northern China (in Chinese). Earth Sci-J China Univ Geosci, 26: 464–472
Zhang C H, Wang G H, Wang G S, Wu Z W, Zhang L S, Sun W H. 2002. Thrust Tectonics in the Eastern Segment of the Intraplate Yanshan Orogenic Belt, Western Liaoning Province, North China (in Chinese). Acta Geol Sin, 76: 64–76
Zhang C H, Wu G G, Xu D B, Wang G H, Sun W H. 2004. Mesozoic tectonic framework and evolution in the central segment of the intraplate Yanshan orogenic belt (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 23: 864–873
Zhang C H, Li C M, Deng H L, Liu Y, Liu L, Wei B, Li H B, Liu Z. 2011. Mesozoic contraction deformation in the Yanshan and northern Taihang mountains and its implications to the destruction of the North China Craton. Sci China Earth Sci, 54: 798–822
Zhang G W, Zhang B R, Yuan X C, Xiao Q H. 2001. Qinling Orogeny and Continental Dynamics (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press. 855
Zhang H, Liu X M, Gao S, Zhang L J, Li Z T, Yang F L, Wang X C. 2005. Redefinition of the Zhangjiakou Formation in Lingyuan, western Liaoning and its significance-Constraints from Laser ICP-MS zircon UPb ages (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 24: 110–117
Zhang H R, Zhang Y K, Cai X M, Qu H J, Li H L, Wang M. 2013. The Triggering of Yanshanian movement: Yanshan Event (in Chinese). Acta Geol Sin, 87: 1779–1790
Zhang S H, Zhao Y, Davis G A, Ye H, Wu F. 2014. Temporal and spatial variations of Mesozoic magmatism and deformation in the North China Craton: Implications for lithospheric thinning and decratonization. Earth-Sci Rev, 131: 49–87
Zhang J, Li S Z, Li X Y, Zhao S J, Fu X H, Li S J, Lan H Y. 2017. Yanshanian deFormation of the Luxi area: tectonic response to the Paleo-Pacifc Plate subduction (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 24: 226–238
Zhao Y. 1990. Mesozoic orogenic movement and structural evolution in Yanshan area (in Chinese). Geol Rev, 36: 1–12
Zhao Y, Xu G, Zhang S H, Yang Z Y, Zhang Y Q, Hu J M. 2004a. Yanshanian movement and conversion of tectonic regimes in East Asia (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 11: 319–328
Zhao Y, Zhang S H, Xu G, Yang Z Y, Zhang Y Q, Hu J M. 2004b. Major tectonic event in the Yanshanian intraplate deFormation belt in the Jurassic (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 23: 854–863
Zorin Y A. 1999. Geodynamics of the western part of the Mongolia–Okhotsk collisional belt, Trans-Baikal region (Russia) and Mongolia. Tectonophysics, 306: 33–56
Zorin Y A, Belichenko V G, Turutanov E K, Mazukabzov A M, Sklyarov E V, Mordvinova V V. 1995. The East Siberia Transect. Int Geol Rev, 37: 154–175
Zhu R X, Chen L, Wu F Y, Liu J L. 2011. Timing, scale and mechanism of the destruction of the North China Craton. Sci China Earth Sci, 54: 789–797
Zhu R X, Xu Y G, Zhu G, Zhang H F, Xia Q K, Zheng T Y. 2012. Destruction of the North China Craton. Sci China Earth Sci, 55: 1565–1587
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Prof. Zhu Rixiang for inviting this manuscript, and to Prof. Yongfei Zheng and three reviewers for valuable advice. The work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41572189 & 91114203), National Key R&D Plan (Grant No. 2017YFC0601405), and the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB18000000).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, S., Lin, C., Liu, X. et al. Syn-tectonic sedimentation and its linkage to fold-thrusting in the region of Zhangjiakou, North Hebei, China. Sci. China Earth Sci. 61, 681–710 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-017-9175-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-017-9175-3