Tectonic framework and evolution of Tianshan in China and Kyrgyzstan

Tianshan in China and Kyrgyzstan is located in the middle of Tianshan orogenic belt, with complex geological structure and abundant mineral resources. On the basis of previous studies, and according to the distribution and space-time characteristics of regional tectonic-rock combination, the authors divided the study area into Kazakhstan and Tarim plates, and the two plates are connected by Late Paleozoic suture zone of southern Tianshan. Then the study area was further divided into five secondary units and eighteen third-level units. The results show that the northern, middle and southern Tianshan tectonic frameworks are continuous in the study area and the continental blocks were split at 800 Ma (equivalent to the bottom of Nanhua), which become parts of the Neoproterozoic Rodinia supercontinent. Later, the study area has experienced roughly the same structural evolution. From the beginning of the Middle Permian, the area transferredin to continental basin-mountain tectonic pattern. In Cenozoic, the collision between subcontinent of India and Eurasia has improved the continental basin-mountain tectonics pattern.