Paleozoic Accretionary Terranes in Northern Tianshan, NW China

During the Paleozoic, the Northern Tianshan region of China in Central Asia consists of 7 allochthonous terranes which were situated in the ancient Sino\|Mongolian Ocean as volcanic arcs and splitted continental fragments. The tectonic framework was similar to that of Southwest Pacific today. In the Late Paleozoic, these terranes started mutual amalgamation to cause strong thrusting. At the end of Carboniferous, the Sino\|Mongolian ocean including several inter\|terrane small sea basins closed and these terranes accreted on the margins of the Siberian and Tarim continents. The 6 ophiolitic zones among the terranes recorded this collision event.