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Geomorphic Evidence of Late Quaternary Displacement of the Karakoram Fault in Nubra and Shyok Valleys, Ladakh Himalaya


Affiliations
1 Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun 248 001, India
2 Institute of Seismological Research, Gandhi Nagar 382 421, India
3 Department of Geological Sciences, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 013, India
 

The present study ascertains the spatial variability in the extent of activity of the Karakoram Fault (KF) in Nubra and Shyok river valleys (Karakoram), which was known to be active during the Holocene. Towards this we have used conventional morphometric indices supported by geomorphological observations on the pattern of alluvial and bedrock streams, alluvial fan geometry and moraines. The right lateral displacement associated with KF is geomorphologically expressed by the lateral deflections of the bedrock and alluvial streams toward northwest-southeast as they cut across the Fault. Indirect age estimates inferred based on slip rate of KF suggest that the deflection of bedrock streams with prominent shutter ridges is the cumulative expression of activity of KF since the middle Pleistocene, which continued till the late Holocene.

Keywords

Alluvial and Bedrock Streams, Geomorphic Evidence, Morphometry, Right Lateral Displacement.
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  • Geomorphic Evidence of Late Quaternary Displacement of the Karakoram Fault in Nubra and Shyok Valleys, Ladakh Himalaya

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Authors

Watinaro Imsong
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun 248 001, India
Falguni Bhattacharya
Institute of Seismological Research, Gandhi Nagar 382 421, India
Rajeeb Lochan Mishra
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun 248 001, India
Sarat Phukan
Department of Geological Sciences, Gauhati University, Guwahati 781 013, India

Abstract


The present study ascertains the spatial variability in the extent of activity of the Karakoram Fault (KF) in Nubra and Shyok river valleys (Karakoram), which was known to be active during the Holocene. Towards this we have used conventional morphometric indices supported by geomorphological observations on the pattern of alluvial and bedrock streams, alluvial fan geometry and moraines. The right lateral displacement associated with KF is geomorphologically expressed by the lateral deflections of the bedrock and alluvial streams toward northwest-southeast as they cut across the Fault. Indirect age estimates inferred based on slip rate of KF suggest that the deflection of bedrock streams with prominent shutter ridges is the cumulative expression of activity of KF since the middle Pleistocene, which continued till the late Holocene.

Keywords


Alluvial and Bedrock Streams, Geomorphic Evidence, Morphometry, Right Lateral Displacement.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv112%2Fi11%2F2295-2305