Altaids
Quick Summary
The Altaids are a complex geological region in Asia that formed around the Angaran platform from the late Proterozoic to the early Mesozoic Era. This region is characterized by a history of tectonic activity, including the accretion of island arcs and microcontinents, subduction, and collisions.12
Key geological events in the Altaids include:
* The formation of the Baikalides between 850 and 570 million years ago.1
* The development of accretionary prisms, which are wedges of deformed rocks scraped from the ocean floor during subduction, forming the basement of areas like the Altai Mountains and Kazakhstan.1
* The collision of the Kazakhstan continental block with the Angaran nucleus around 320 million years ago.1
* Subsequent collisions and rifting events throughout the Paleozoic and into the Mesozoic Era, contributing to the collage of tectonic fragments that define the Altaids.12
The Altaids are part of Asia's broader geological evolution, which is marked by its complexity and ongoing seismic activity.12
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AsiaPaleozoic events in the AltaidsThe Altaids constitute a large and complex tectonic collage that accreted around the Angaran platform from late in the Proterozoic to early in the Mesozoic Era. Its oldest part, the Baikalides, formed between about 850 and 570 million years ago along the southern peripheryā¦
Read MoreThe Altaids constitute a large and complex tectonic collage that accreted around the Angaran platform from late in the Proterozoic to early in the Mesozoic Era. Its oldest part, the Baikalides, formed between about 850 and 570 million years ago along the southern peripheryā¦
Read More- AsiaMesozoic events in the Altaids
Most of the Mesozoic events in the Altaids were the echoes of the Cimmeride collisions farther south. In places the collisions split the old Altaid edifice at high angles to the collision front, creating extensional basins such as the Turgay (Torghay) Valley of Kazakhstan,ā¦
Read MoreMost of the Mesozoic events in the Altaids were the echoes of the Cimmeride collisions farther south. In places the collisions split the old Altaid edifice at high angles to the collision front, creating extensional basins such as the Turgay (Torghay) Valley of Kazakhstan,ā¦
Read More