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ABSTRACT

Gornitz V. and Seeber 1981

Gornitz V., and L. Seeber, 1981: Morphotectonic analysis of the Hazara arc region of the Himalayas, north Pakistan and northwest India. Tectonophysics, 74, 263-282, doi:10.1016/0040-1951(81)90193-1.

In the Hazara arc region of northern Pakistan, some of the active basements structures buried below a thick, detached sedimentary layer are inferred from the distribution of lineaments and the drainage patterns, as viewed in Landsat satellite imagery and from river profiles.

A prominent set of NW-trending lineaments seen on satellite imagery, coincides approximately with the southwest or updip side of the Indus-Kohistan seismic zone (IKSZ) — the most active basement structure of the region, even though this structure is buried beneath and decoupled from a 12 km thick sedimentary layer. The IKSZ has been interpreted as an extension of the Himalayan Basement Thrust, and is also associated with a prominent topographic "step".

Knickpoints on major rivers in the region lie on or north of the IKSZ. All Indus River tributaries, examined north of the IKSZ, show prominent knickpoints, while two tributaries draining south of the IKSZ have no knickpoints. These results suggest ongoing uplift above and north of the IKSZ, and are consistent with the tectonic model obtained from the seismic data.

Another prominent lineament set is detected along the north-south section of the Indus River. This set is probably related to the Indus River horst-anticline and associated reentrant.

One of the two highest lineament concentrations occurs at the intersection between the NW-trending IKSZ lineament and the N-trending Indus River lineament. The other is along the west bank of the Indus Valley, 25 km north of Tarbela Dam.

A topographic ridge (Swabi-Nowshera ridge) appears to be forming along the west side of the Indus River, in the Peshawar Basin. The rising ridge is ponding the Kabul River upstream of Nowshera, where the drainage is braided.

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