Geology, Structural and Exhumation History of the Higher Himalayan Crystallines in Kumaon Himalaya, India

The crystallines in the Kumaon Himalaya, India are studied along Goriganga, Darma and Kaliganga valleys and found to be composed of two high-grade metamorphic gneiss sheets i.e. the Higher Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) and Lesser Himalayan Crystalline (LHC) zones. These were tectonically extruded as a consequence of the southward directed propagation of crustal deformation in the Indian plate margin. The HHC and its cover rocks i.e. the Tethyan Sedimentary Zone (TSZ) are exposed through tectonic zones within the hinterland of Kumaon Himalaya. The HHC records history of at least one episode of pre-Himalayan deformation (D₁), three episodes of Himalayan deformation (D₂, D₃, D₄). The rocks of the HHC in Kumaon Himalaya are thoroughly transposed by D₂ deformation into NW-SE trending S_m (S₁+S₂). The extent of transposition and a well-developed NE-plunging L₂ lineation indicate intense strain during D₂ throughout the studied portion of the HHC. Ductile flow continued, resulting in rotation of F₁ and F₂ folds due NE-direction and NW-SE plunging F₃ folds within the HHC. The over thickened crystalline was finally, superimposed by late-to-post collisional brittle-ductile deformation (D₄) and exposed the rocks to rapid erosion.

Apatite Fission Track (AFT) and Zircon Fission Track (ZFT) studies from the Kumaon Himalaya suggest reactivation of the Main Central/Munsiari Thrust (MCT/MT) and Vaikrita Thrust (VT), rapid exhumation and a system that has been in topographic and exhumation steady-state since at least ₄ Ma.