Paleozoic accretionary and collisional tectonics of the eastern Tianshan (China): Implications for the continental growth of central Asia

This paper deals with the various tectonic units in the Chinese Eastern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, and discusses the Paleozoic geological history of the several periods of accretion and collision of archipelago systems lying between the Tarim and southern Angaran continental margins. The Late Ordovician-Silurian to Early Devonian Eastern Tianshan archipelago was characterized by (a) the Harlik-Dananhu subduction system with a S-dipping polarity in the north; (b) a southerly N-dipping subduction system beneath the Central Tianshan arc in the middle; and (c) the South Tianshan ocean against Tarim in the south. During the Devonian to Early Carboniferous, N-dipping subduction led…