Robinson, D. and DeCelles, P. 2014.   Finding the Lesser Himalayan Duplex in the Himalayan Thrust Belt of Far Western Nepal amidst Forests, Villages, Farming and Leeches . In: (Eds.) Chiara Montomoli, Rodolfo Carosi, Rick Law, Sandeep Singh, and Santa Man Rai, Geological field trips in the Himalaya, Karakoram and Tibet, Journal of the Virtual Explorer, Electronic Edition, ISSN 1441-8142, volume 47, paper 2.

Finding the Lesser Himalayan Duplex in the Himalayan Thrust Belt of Far Western Nepal amidst Forests, Villages, Farming and Leeches

Delores Robinson

Department of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa AL 35487 USA

Peter DeCelles

Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ 85721 USA

Abstract

Much of the evidence for the Miocene to Pliocene evolution of the Himalayan thrust belt resides in the Lesser Himalayan rocks along the Himalayan arc. These rocks are thrust one top of one another in imbricated thrust sheets called the Lesser Himalayan duplex. The rocks and the structures crop out poorly south of the high peaks of the Himalaya; thus, the timing and sequence of thrusting in the Lesser Himalayan rocks are difficult to unravel. The field evidence, both stratigraphic and structural, dictates the location and composition of the thrust sheets; however, thermochronology and modeling aids in determining the evolution. This virtual field trip documents important locations in remote far western Nepal that help to understand and unraveling the geologic history in the Lesser Himalayan rocks