Tethys orogenic belt

The Tethys orogenic belt is a tectonic zone between the main cratons of the Eurasian continent, consisting of multiple orogenic belts comprised of Ocean Plates and Microcontinents associated with subduction and disappearance of Oceanic crust, which involved strong tectonic movement and mixing. At present, the Tethys (mainly the Proto-Tethys) is in great dispute. In this paper, the Tethys orogenic belt is divided into the Proterozoic-Paleozoic Proto-Tethys orogenic belt, the late Paleozoic-Triassic Paleo-Tethys orogenic belt, and the Triassic-Cenozoic Neo-Tethys orogenic belt based on the latest achievements of predecessors in structural geology, petrology characteristics, tectonic chronology, biological paleogeography and plate kinematics. The Proto-Tethys orogenic belt is composed of the Central Asia orogenic belt (Kipchak arc), Ural orogenic belt and the Qin-Qi-Kun orogenic belt. The Central Asia Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic orogenic belt is the Proto-Tethys main ocean basin (Paleo Asian Ocean) arc basin system, the Ural Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic orogenic belt is the Proto-Tethys western marginal arc basin system, and the Qin-Qi-Kun Neoproterozoic-Early Paleozoic orogenic belt is the Proto-Tethys eastern (now southern) marginal arc basin system. The Paleo-Tethys orogenic belt is bounded by the discontinuous Stavropol-Mangeshlak-Amdalia late Paleozoic suture zone—Kangxiwar (South Kunlun) Anemaqen-Mianlue (South Qinling) late Paleozoic suture zone in the north, and the Caucasus-Herat—Lancang River Triassic suture zone in the south, which is the late Paleozoic-Triassic magmatic arc folding collision (area) zone of the Silk Road. The Neo-Tethys orogenic belt, located in the south of the Paleo-Tethys orogenic belt, is bounded by the Zagros suture zone (K₂-E) - the Yarlung Zangbo suture zone (J₃-E₂) in the south. It is an arc-basin system that was spliced to the southern margin of the Laurasia (Eurasian) continent in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic at different times.