Tectonic Evolution from Pangea to the Neo-Tethys, and to the Tibetan Plateau

This chapter discussed the tectonic evolution of the Pangea supercontinent to the Neo-Tethys, and to the formation of the Tibetan Plateau, in the frame of plate tectonic concept. This work infer that Pangea opened eastward in the Permian-Triassic and formed a triangular bay known as the Tethys. Before the Triassic, the Tethys ocean was pressed and subsequently closed between Angaraland and Gondwanaland, and subsequently caused the growth of the Alps-Himalaya orogeny belt. This study emphasized three tectonic facies model of lithospheric root evolution in continental-continental collision orogeny in the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas, including Pamir-type active lithospheric cold root, Nyainqentanglha-type detached orogenic lithospheric root, and Qiangtang-type hot orogenic lithospheric root. These three type tectonic facies, with the evidences from magmatism, deep geophysical data, geochronology, etc., have significant power in explaining the tectonic evolution of the continental lithosphere in the Tibetan Plateau.