JOURNAL GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF INDIA

Vol.75, January 2010, pp.289-301

The Lesser Himalayan Duplex in Sikkim: Implications for

Variations in Himalayan Shortening
GAUTAM MITRA1, KATHAKALI BHATTACHARYYA1 and MALAY MUKUL2,3
1
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
2
CSIR Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation, Bangalore - 560 037
3
Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, Mumbai - 400 076
Email: mitr@ur.rochester.edu

Abstract: Thrust duplexes account for large fractions of the total shortening in most fold-thrust belts (FTBs). They also
provide an efficient mechanism for transferring slip upward from the basal decollement and for transporting roof thrust
sheets over long distances. The Lesser Himalayan duplex (LHD) plays a prominent role in the overall evolution of the
Himalayan FTB and has been described from Garhwal-Kumaon to Bhutan. In Sikkim the LHD shows unique structural
geometry and has been responsible for transporting crystalline thrust sheets (MCT 1 and MCT 2) farther southward than
other parts of the Himalaya. Such lateral variations in LHD geometry imply variations in the kinematic history of the
Lesser Himalaya and variations in shortening and shortening history along the length of the Himalayan arc, and these are
reflected in observable large scale structural patterns.

Keywords: Duplex kinematics, Balanced cross-section, Fold-thrust belt, Lesser Himalaya, Darjeeling-Sikkim.

INTRODUCTION In the Himalayan orogen (Fig.1), the Lesser Himalayan

Fold-thrust belts (FTBs) are a characteristic feature of
orogenic belts developed at convergent plate boundaries,
and have been described from both ancient and modern
orogens (e.g. Boyer and Elliott, 1982; Srivastava and Mitra,
1994). FTBs typically account for a large fraction of the
total horizontal shortening at a convergent boundary and
can serve as a proxy for the total convergence (DeCelles
et al. 2002).
In most FTBs, a large fraction of the total shortening is
accommodated by thrust duplexes (Dahlstrom, 1970; Boyer
and Elliott, 1982). These structures are an integral part of
FTBs (e.g. Elliott and Johnson, 1980; Diegel, 1986; Mitra
and Sussman, 1997), and are generally found in the internal
portions of these belts where thrusts typically exhibit higher
connectivity (Boyer and Elliott, 1982). Duplexes provide
an efficient mechanism for transferring slip upward from
the basal decollement into the FTB wedge and for
transporting roof thrust sheets over long distances. They may
also provide thickening in the hinterland portion of an FTB
wedge to maintain critical taper and allow continued
thrusting onto the foreland (DeCelles and Mitra, 1995).
Because of their prominent role within any FTB,
understanding the kinematic evolution of duplexes can
provide many clues to evaluating the growth of an orogen
as a whole.
duplex (LHD) plays a prominent role in the overall evolution
of the FTB. The LHD was first postulated, on the basis of
surface and subsurface geology and balancing constraints,
from the Kumaon Himalaya (Srivastava and Mitra, 1994)
(Fig.2a). It has since been described from other parts of
the Himalayan arc, including Nepal (DeCelles et al. 1998)
(Fig.2b), Sikkim (Bhattacharyya and Mitra, 2009), and
Bhutan (McQuarrie et al. 2008) (Fig.2c). The LHD generally
accommodates a significant fraction of the total shortening
of the Lesser Himalayan FTB, and its roof thrust has
translated the overlying Greater Himalayan crystalline thrust
sheets southward over long distances resulting in the
formation of the Greater Himalayan klippen that are exposed
in the Lesser Himalaya (Srivastava and Mitra, 1994;
DeCelles et al. 1998). Deciphering the kinematics of the
LHD is critical to understanding the overall evolution of
the Himalayan FTB at different locations along the
Himalayan arc (Figs. 1, 2).
Lateral variations in the geometry of the Lesser
Himalayan Duplex along the length of the Himalayan arc
(Fig.2) imply variations in the kinematic history of the Lesser
Himalaya. Here we summarize new work on the geometry
and kinematics of the LHD in the Sikkim Himalaya and place
its shortening history in the context of information available
from other parts of the Himalaya from earlier studies.

0016-7622/2010-75-1-289/$ 1.00 © GEOL. SOC. INDIA

290 GAUTAM MITRA AND OTHERS

Fig.1. Map of the Himalaya showing the principal tectonostratigraphic zones and the major faults separating them. Box on inset map
shows location of larger map. The locations of the four main transects discussed in the paper (Figs. 2, 8) are shown. Map is
modified after Sorkhabi and Macfarlane (1999).

BACKGROUND (Medlicott, 1864; Gansser, 1964; Valdiya, 1980; Srivastava

Regional Geology
The Himalayan orogen formed as a result of continent-
continent collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates
(Fig.1) that began around 60-55 Ma (Klootwijk et al. 1992;
Rowley, 1996; DeCelles et al. 2004) and is continuing to
the present day. The fold-thrust belt (FTB) associated with
the Himalayan orogen forms an arcuate belt that extends
for ~2500 km from the Hazara syntaxis in the west to the
Namche Barwa syntaxis in the east (Fig.1). The shortening
in the Himalayan fold-thrust belt (FTB) accounts for a
significant portion of the convergence between the Indian
and Eurasian plates, and is dominantly accommodated by a
system of south-vergent thrust faults that are folded
and Mitra, 1994; DeCelles et al. 1998).
Traditionally the Himalayan orogen is subdivided
into a number of longitudinal tectonostratigraphic zones
that can be traced along the entire length of the mountain
belt and that are separated from one another by major
faults (Fig. 1). The northern boundary of the orogen is
defined by the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone (ITSZ). This
is followed to the south successively by the weakly
deformed and metamorphosed Tethyan sequence, the
South Tibetan Detachment (STD, a north-verging
normal fault system), the strongly deformed and
metamorphosed Greater Himalayan sequence (GHS), the
Main Central thrust system (MCT 1 and 2), the less
metamorphosed Lesser Himalayan sequence (LHS), the

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 THE LESSER HIMALAYAN DUPLEX IN SIKKIM: IMPLICATIONS FOR VARIATIONS IN HIMALAYAN SHORTENING 291

SUBHIMALAYA LESSER HIMALAYA GREATER HIMALAYA

Mu
ns
iar M ST
SW M M Lansdowne
i (M
CT CT D NE
FT BT RT Klippe 2)
5

0 0

10

15
km
33 km shortening
a: Kumaon-Garhwal (20% of LHS shortening)

GREATER

MCT
SUBHIMALAYA LESSER HIMALAYA HIMALAYA
Tertiary (Siwaliks)
MB

ST
SSW Dadeldhura NNE
T

D
Upper Paleozoic
RT

Klippe
(Gondwana equivalents)
5
MFT
0 0
Lower Paleozoic

5 Upper Proterozoic
- Lower Paleozoic
10
km
MCT 2 Sheet
181 km shortening
b: Western Nepal (79% of LHS shortening)
MCT 1 Sheet

Tibetan (Tethyan)
Sequence
SUBHIMALAYA LESSER HIMALAYA GREATER HIMALAYA
STD
M MCT
BT Tethyan
M
FT

MC NNW
T
SSE
0 0

5 Shumar (RT)

10 0 10 20km

15
SCALE
20 V=H
km

179 km shortening
c: Bhutan (>95% of LHS shortening)

Fig.2. Regional balanced cross-sections through the Himalayas in (a) Kumaon (after Srivastava and Mitra, 1994), (b) western Nepal
(after DeCelles et al. 1998) and (c) Bhutan (after McQuarrie et al., 2008) showing the principal tectonic features and the variation
in geometry and stratigraphic position of the Lesser Himalayan Duplex that carries crystalline complexes along its roof thrust.
See Fig.1 for locations of cross-sections.

Main Boundary thrust zone (MBT), the unmetamorphosed
Sub-Himalayan sequence, and the Main Frontal thrust
(MFT) (Fig.1). This order also represents the tectonic
stacking sequence (from top to bottom) generally observed
in the Himalaya.
Newer work in the Lesser Himalaya has shown that the
Ramgarh thrust (RT) and the Lesser Himalayan duplex
(LHD) are important components within the Lesser
Himalayan sequence and account for large fractions of the
total shortening within the FTB (Srivastava and Mitra,
1994; DeCelles et al. 1998; Pearson and DeCelles, 2005;
McQuarrie et al. 2008). The LHD has been described from
different parts of the Lesser Himalaya, but its geometry,
stratigraphic position, and the total amount of shortening
vary from place to place (Figs.1, 2). In the Kumaon-Garhwal
Himalaya the LHD is a simple hinterland dipping duplex
(Srivastava and Mitra, 1994) that accounts for ~20% of the
total minimum shortening in the LHS (Fig.2a). In western
Nepal the structure of the duplex varies along strike even
over fairly short distances and accounts for ~57-79% of total
shortening (Robinson et al. 2006); in the direction of
transport the duplex generally changes in geometry from
hinterland dipping to an antiformal stack (DeCelles et al.
1998) (Fig. 2b). In eastern Bhutan the duplex is hinterland
dipping but is made up of a LHD of lower LHS rocks
stacked on top of a LHD of upper LHS rocks (Fig.2c)
(McQuarrie et al. 2008); the duplex accounts for >95% of
total shortening in the LHS.

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292 GAUTAM MITRA AND OTHERS

Geometry of Duplex Structures

Boyer (1978) first described the basic structure and
kinematics of a thrust duplex. The duplex is made up of a
floor thrust and a roof thrust that are approximately parallel
to regional bedding, and a series of imbricate thrusts that
develop successively by footwall imbrication and join the
floor and roof thrusts (Fig.3a). The imbricate thrusts carry
imbricate slices (horses) that are entirely surrounded by
faults; within each horse, bedding is overall parallel to the
imbricate faults but shows folding at the leading and trailing
edges of the horse (Fig.3a). The roof thrust of a duplex is
progressively folded upward as successive horses are
emplaced underneath it. In detail, the geometry of a duplex
depends on the size of individual horses and the
displacements on the imbricate faults carrying the horses.
For horses of the same size, as displacement on individual
imbricate faults increases, the duplex changes geometry from
a hinterland dipping duplex (HDD) (Fig. 3b) to an antiformal
stack (duplex) (ASD) (Figs. 3c, d) to a foreland dipping
duplex (FDD) (Figs. 3e, f) (Boyer and Elliott, 1982; Mitra
and Boyer, 1986). In addition, since the individual imbricate
faults transfer displacement from the floor to the roof thrust
(Boyer, 1978), increase in displacement on individual
imbricates increases the total displacement on the roof
thrust (Mitra and Boyer, 1986). Thus, other factors being
equal, a foreland dipping duplex results in the largest
translation of the roof thrust sheet.
In most fold-thrust belts (FTBs) cleavage is formed
progressively from the hinterland to the foreland as
successive thrust sheets are emplaced (Mitra and Elliott,
1980; Mitra and Yonkee, 1985); cleavage morphology and
intensity depend on metamorphic grade and strain
magnitude. The cleavage typically has a concave-up profile
within a thrust sheet, with steeper dips high up within the
sheet progressively decreasing to gentler dips low down
within the sheet, eventually leading to an asymptotic
relationship to the underlying thrust fault (Ramsay et al.
1983; Groshong et al. 1984; Boyer and Mitra, 1988). This,
together with distribution of strain data within thrust sheets
(Mitra, 1994; Casey and Dietrich, 1997), suggests that the
latter typically undergo dominantly fault-parallel
inhomogeneous simple shear close to the fault, which results
in acute cleavage/bedding relationships, and dominantly
pure shear layer-parallel shortening (LPS) higher up within
the sheet resulting in bed-perpendicular cleavage. These

Leading edge Roof T.

fold Im
br
Horse icate
T.
Trailing Floor T.
a edge fold
b Hinterland Dipping Duplex

c Antiformal Stack d Antiformal Stack

e Foreland Dipping Duplex f Foreland Dipping Duplex

Fig.3. (a) Structures generally observed within a duplex.(b – f) Cleavage – bedding relations and bed facing directions (dark arrows)
and structural facing directions (open arrows) in horses within different types of duplexes. (b) Hinterland dipping duplex.
(c, d) Antiformal stack. (e, f) Foreland dipping duplex. See text for details.

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 THE LESSER HIMALAYAN DUPLEX IN SIKKIM: IMPLICATIONS FOR VARIATIONS IN HIMALAYAN SHORTENING
cleavage/bedding patterns are also developed within
individual horses of a duplex (Fig. 3), although the patterns
may be modified due to global shearing within the sheet as
a whole; cleavage within horses may also show asymptotic
relationship to the roof thrust. Careful study of the cleavage-
bedding patterns within horses can be used to determine the
details of the geometry of a duplex.
The simplest cleavage – bedding relationships are
expected in a hinterland dipping duplex (Fig.3b). Within
any individual horse, bedding is everywhere upward-facing
and dips dominantly towards the hinterland, except in the
forelimb of the leading anticline and the backlimb of the
trailing syncline. Cleavage is everywhere steeper than
bedding as might be normally expected in areas of upright
or inclined folding, and the folds are upward facing
(Shackleton, 1958) and may be forward facing (Boyer and
Elliott, 1982).
With larger displacements on individual faults, the
horses in a duplex are stacked on top of one another forming
an antiformal stack (Figs. 3c, d). In this situation the beds
within a horse are generally upward facing, and cleavage is
everywhere steeper than bedding except in the forelimb of
the leading anticline and the backlimb of the trailing syncline;
the folds within the horse are upward-facing and typically
forward-facing (Fig. 3c). In addition, if the displacement
on a fault is sufficiently large the horse may pass the crest
of the antiformal stack and be located on its forelimb (Mitra,
1986). In this case, the horse is forward sloping, but beds
and cleavage within the trailing portion of the horse still
show the relationships described above (Fig. 3d). However,
the leading portion of the horse moves far enough forward
on the forelimb of the antiformal stack that the cleavage is
rotated through the horizontal and will be gently dipping
toward the foreland (Fig. 3d). In this case both cleavage
and bedding dip toward the foreland, and cleavage is more
gently dipping than bedding and the beds are upward facing.
We note that these cleavage-bedding relations are similar to
the overturned limb in an overturned fold; but, in fact, in a
rotated horse the beds are still upward facing. The leading
anticline in the horse is still generally upward facing and it
is forward facing (Fig.3d).
Larger displacement of individual horses results in the
formation of a foreland dipping duplex within which the
horses have trailing branch lines at the roof thrust and at a
higher structural elevation than the leading branch lines that
lie at the floor thrust. Bedding is generally upward facing
although cleavage is more gently dipping than bedding; the
folds are always downward facing and forward facing (Boyer
and Elliott, 1982) (Fig.3e). Emplacement of successive
horses in a foreland dipping duplex may result in the earliest
JOUR.GEOL.SOC.INDIA, VOL.75, JAN. 2010
293
horse (closest to the foreland) being steepened or even
overturned (e.g. Diegel, 1986) particularly if its leading
branch line (at the floor thrust) is pinned at some stage after
horse emplacement (Fig.3f). Bedding within such a horse is
dominantly overturned and the cleavage dips either in the
same direction as bedding and is steeper than bedding, or
dips steeply in the opposite direction to bedding. The folds
within such a horse are downward facing and hindward
facing (Fig.3f). With sufficient rotation and overturning,
the trailing branch-line of the horse (at the roof thrust) may
move farther forward than the leading branch-line (at the
floor thrust) and lie closer to the foreland (Fig.3f).
These structural relationships can be used to work out
the details of the geometry of even fairly complex duplex
structures developed in areas of considerable penetrative
deformation. Many of the cleavage – bedding relationships
described above are similar to those observed in areas of
refolded folds (e.g. Ramsay, 1967) and have been interpreted
that way in the past in different parts of the Himalaya (e.g.
Raina, 1976). However, when the data are viewed in the
proper context of the Himalayan fold-thrust belt, and used
carefully in combination with facing data on both beds and
folds, they yield duplex structural interpretations that are
both internally consistent and fit well with larger scale
interpretations of Himalayan thrusting.
DARJEELING – SIKKIM HIMALAYA
In the Darjeeling – Sikkim Himalaya (DSH) (Acharyya,
1971; Schwann, 1980; Mukul, 2000; Bhattacharyya and
Mitra, 2009) the Higher Himalayan crystalline thrust sheets
have been transported much farther southward than
elsewhere in the Himalaya. These rocks are exposed in large
klippen (Darjeeling and Labha) that overlie Lesser
Himalayan rocks on either side of the N–S Tista drainage
(Fig.4). Farther to the north, exposures of Lesser Himalayan
rocks extend into central Sikkim within the Sikkim half-
window that extends northward along the Tista drainage.
The half-window covers an area of 1640 km2 and extends
from Kalimpong in the south to Dikchu in the north, and
from Gangtok in the east to Pelling in the west (Fig.4).
Within the half window, west of the Tista river, and along
the Rangit river, is a small inner window (Figs.4, 5), the
Rangit window, that exposes younger rocks of the Lesser
Himalayan sequence. This window formed by erosion
through the folded Ramgarh thrust (Srivastava and Mitra,
1994; Pearson and DeCelles, 2005). Outside the window is
the Ramgarh hanging wall sequence made up of Daling
schists. Within the window is a complexly repeated sequence
of younger Daling phyllites and schists together with
294 GAUTAM MITRA AND OTHERS

88°05’ 88°45’
27°40’
MCT 1
C

M
MCT
2

Y
G

P RT
Siwalik
Formation

RW Gondwana/Buxa
ta Formation
J Tis
Rangit Daling
Group
TB LK
DK Lingtse
Gneiss
D
Paro
Gneiss
RT (NKT
) Darjeeling/
S MBT Kanchenjunga
Ks Gneiss
MFT
5 km
26°47’

Fig.4. Geologic map of the Darjeeling – Sikkim area showing the Sikkim half-window that is almost entirely surrounded by the folded
MCT2 carrying crystalline Paro-Lingtse gneisses in its hanging wall and passing through Pelling (P) and near Gangtok (G),
Teesta Bazar (TB) and Kurseong (Ks). The tectonically higher MCT1 sheet is exposed at Yuksum (Y) and Chungthang (C), and
in klippen at Darjeeling (DK) and Labha (LK). The Rangit window (RW) at Jorethang (J) exposes Buxa-Gondwana rocks and is
surrounded on all sides by the folded Ramgarh thrust that carries Daling schists in its hanging wall and is also exposed near the
range front. The MBT places Gondwana rocks over synorogenic Siwalik beds near Sevok (S).

Buxa carbonates and Gondwana clastics (sandstones, shale
and coal) that constitutes a duplex. This is an important
component of the LHD in the DSH and understanding its
geometry and kinematics is critical to evaluating the
evolution of the Himalayan FTB as a whole in the
Darjeeling-Sikkim region.
Based on regional correlations a stratigraphic sequence
has been worked out in the Lesser Himalaya for the region
(Acharyya, 1971; Raina, 1976; Mukul, 2000). Because of
repetition of units as a result of thrusting, the structural
patterns are quite complex within the windows. However,
locally continuous sections allow relative stratigraphic
positions of units to be determined with some confidence
and a detailed stratigraphic sequence can be constructed.
Here we simply summarize the principal age relationships
within the Lesser Himalayan sequence (Table 1). This
stratigraphy allows us to interpret observed structures
(e.g. repetition due to thrusting) in terms of standard
geometric rules applicable to FTBs and to make larger-scale
structural interpretations.
Structure of the Rangit Window
Geometry: In map view the Rangit window covers an
area of 195 km2 (Fig.5) and is completely enclosed by a

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 THE LESSER HIMALAYAN DUPLEX IN SIKKIM: IMPLICATIONS FOR VARIATIONS IN HIMALAYAN SHORTENING 295

Table 1. Stratigraphic sequence in Darjeeling – Sikkim Lesser Himalayas
and Sub-Himalaya
Units & Age Lithology
Siwaliks Synorogenic clastic sediments
(Miocene - associated with Himalayan
Pliocene) thrusting
Gondwana Coaly shales interbedded with
(Permian) sandstones
Massive grey sandstones
Conglomeratic sandstones and
Rangit pebble slates
Buxa Massive, thick-bedded dolomites
(Late Proterozoic- Cherts and phyllites with dolomite
Early Cambrian) bands
Limey shales with thin beds of
pink limestone
Daling Flysch sequence made up of dirty
(Early Proterozoic) sandstones/siltstones and mafic-
rich pelites (commonly meta-
morphosed to dark green phyllites
and schists)
single folded thrust that carries the Proterozoic Daling
sequence in its hanging wall. This fault has been previously
mapped as the Tendong thrust on the North side of the
window and as the Ramman – Rangit fault on the South
side of the window (Raina, 1976). The folded fault has the
same structural position as the Ramgarh thrust in the Kumaon
Himalayas (Valdiya, 1980; Srivastava and Mitra, 1994),
where it lies below two major branches of the Main Central
Thrust (MCT), and in the western and central Nepal
Himalayas (DeCelles et al, 1998; Pearson and DeCelles,
2005). It also carries a similar dark, dominantly pelitic
sequence in its hanging wall as the Ramgarh thrust in
Kumaon and Nepal. We therefore refer to the folded thrust
around the Rangit window as the Ramgarh thrust. We also
tentatively correlate this fault with the North Kalijhora thrust
(Mukul, 2000) that is exposed 50 km to the South, since
both faults carry the Daling sequence in the hanging wall
and have the Gondwana sequence in the footwall. This field
relationship implies a minimum displacement of 50 km on
the Ramgarh thrust.
Within the window is a repeated sequence of uppermost
Daling, Buxa and Gondwana units (Fig.5) that have been
previously interpreted as a multiply folded sequence that
has also been faulted in places (Raina, 1976). Our detailed
mapping within the window indicates that the structure is
an asymmetric repetition of the Daling – Buxa – Gondwana
sequence, that we interpret as a series of imbricate thrust
slices that comprise a duplex made up of at least 7 exposed
horses (Figs.5, 6) hereafter referred to as the Rangit duplex
(RD). Details of the geometry and kinematics of this structure
are out of the scope of the present paper and are presented
Thickness elsewhere (Bhattacharyya and Mitra, 2009). However, here
we present a brief summary.
The southern three horses of the duplex are the smallest
and most strongly deformed; they expose a thinner and
shalier than normal Gondwana sequence underlain by Daling
~ 1 km rocks, with the intervening Buxa unit missing from the
southernmost two horses (Figs.5, 6). The southernmost horse
is entirely overturned, and contains overturned Gondwana
beds (with graded bedding) dipping gently toward the N or
NW, and N-dipping cleavage steeper than bedding. Also,
~ 1.2 km thinner bedded units show rare s-folds (looking W). Taken
together, these data suggest that the southernmost horse is
overturned in the frontal part of a foreland-dipping duplex
(e.g. Fig.3f).
The next two horses to the N generally have vertical to
~ 5 km
steeply dipping bedding, with cleavage dipping toward S
more gently than bedding. The northern horse has a
continuous N-S section from uppermost Daling, through
Buxa carbonates to Gondwana sandstones and coaly shales,
indicating that the top of the sequence is toward the S. This,
combined with cleavage/bedding intersection relationships,
suggests that these are subvertical horses in the frontal part
of a foreland dipping duplex (e.g. Fig.3e). The fault at the
base of the third horse is approximately vertical and is well
exposed; it juxtaposes steeply dipping Buxa carbonates in
the hanging wall against thin-bedded steeply dipping
Gondwana siltstones in the footwall in a flat-on-flat
relationship.
The middle portion of the duplex is an antiformal stack
whose uppermost horse exposes Gondwana sandstones that
define a broad upright to slightly southward inclined
antiform. Sedimentary structures indicate that the beds face
up, and cleavage generally dips N with the acute cleavage -
bedding intersection angle suggesting overall southward
shear within the horse. In other words, the horse is upward
facing and forward facing (e.g. Fig.3d). Cross-section
balancing constraints suggest the presence of at least two
more underlying horses within the antiformal stack whose
floor thrust is interpreted to be the Main Himalayan sole
thrust (MHT) at a depth of ~10 km (Fig. 6).
North of the antiformal stack, the three northern horses
of the duplex constitute a hinterland dipping duplex and are
made up of the largest horses. These expose the entire Upper
Daling – Buxa – Gondwana sequence with the Gondwana
always making up the structurally highest part of the slices.
The Daling forms the lowest parts of the largest horses and
is only exposed in the core of the window. Various
sedimentary structures within the sandstones and

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296 GAUTAM MITRA AND OTHERS

35 40 50
88°15’ PCd
40
20 PCd 88°25’
36
PCb 42
N Pzg 37 Pzg PCb

45
27°15’
26 25
68 49 42
PCb 26

Ra
50

m
62 Tatap T PCd

ga
40
a ni T. 42

rh
60
43 50 38
t

Thrust
Pzg
rus

C
Th

PCd R 48 3
PCb Pzg 0
48
6458 60
rh
24 O
ga PCb Pzg
R am
48 PCd
50 PCb
Pzg 30
Sikkip T. 42 30 Pzg
36
20 35
58
17

45 T. 30 PCb
Pzg
PCd Pzg
ng r
64 38
Do38
PCb
Rive
it K Pzg PCd
Ra K ng PCd
35

48 Ra DK 50 60 24
31 Pzg
24
36 44 22 30 40
38 52
50 30 44
50 27°10’
49

35
PN 34 N 48 56
45
50

Pzg 20 30 PCb
42

68
56

51 44 29 44
Pzg Pzg
33
PCd 38 T. T. 64
ang k
Joreth 50 ro 30 Gondwana Fm.
So
24

PCd
74
76 82 68
Pzg
Pzg J PCd Kitam T. 60 PCd Buxa Fm.
Pzg 43 67
59 PCd
rh Thru
Ramga st (RT 1) Pzg 32
30
1 km Daling Gp.
PCd 30
PCd

Fig.5. Map of the Rangit window showing the repeated sequence of Daling-Buxa-Gondwana units forming seven exposed horses of the
Rangit duplex. Prominent thrust-related folds are seen in the four northern horses. The window is surrounded on all sides by the
Ramgarh thrust (roof thrust) that carries older Daling phyllites and schists in its hanging wall. Towns shown are C – Chamchey,
J – Jorethang, K – Kamrang, N – Namchi, O – Omchu, PN – Purana Namchi, R – Reshi, T – Tinkitam.

stromatolites within the Buxa carbonates all suggest that knowledge this is the first description of a duplex that
the beds are generally upward facing. In places the rocks contains all three different duplex types within a single
show considerable mesoscopic deformation in the form of duplex. Because the top of the duplex has been eroded the
small-scale folds and contraction faults at low angles to fault-branching and -rejoining patterns can be interpreted
bedding. Cleavage is generally steeper than bedding, with in slightly different ways that are discussed in detail
the acute angle between bedding and cleavage indicating elsewhere (Bhattacharyya and Mitra, 2009). The
that the structure is upward facing and forward facing. These interpretation presented here is the only one that is
horses have asymmetric anticlines developed immediately geometrically admissible and kinematically viable, and
above the faults carrying them (Figs.5, 6) indicating strong therefore the only one that yields a retrodeformable balanced
top to the south (forelandward) shearing. section (McNaught and Mitra, 1996).
In cross-section the Rangit duplex consists of 9 horses
with the Ramgarh thrust as the roof thrust and the MHT as Kinematic Evolution: In the kinematic model the duplex
the floor thrust (Fig. 6). The duplex consists of three northern evolves as a complex combination of footwall imbrication
hinterland-dipping horses making up a hinterland-dipping and reactivation of the Ramgarh thrust. A sequential diagram
component, three horses in the middle constituting an showing the kinematics of RD growth is presented
antiformal stack, and three small southern horses making schematically in Fig.7. After the Daling sequence is placed
up a foreland-dipping component of the duplex. Although over the northern distal tapered edge of the Gondwana basin
duplexes often show transition from one type to another in along the early Ramgarh thrust (RT 1), a foreland-dipping
the transport direction (Mitra and Boyer, 1986), to our duplex (FDD) grows there (Figs. 7a, b); the trailing branch

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 THE LESSER HIMALAYAN DUPLEX IN SIKKIM: IMPLICATIONS FOR VARIATIONS IN HIMALAYAN SHORTENING 297

S Darjeeling
Klippe
Rangit Window Daling duplex N
5 km Jorethang T.
Sorok T.
5 km
Kitam T.
T1
MC

0 0
T2
5 Km
Na
C AS1
M
T. mc
5 arh AS2 hi T 5
mg .
Ra Gondwana Fm
Ra
mg
Do Ta arh
ng Sik ta T.
Buxa Fm
MB T. kip pa
T T. ni
T.
10 MHT 10 Daling Gp
Paro - Lingtse
Darjeeling Gneiss

Fig.6. Balanced N-S cross-section through the Rangit duplex showing the northern hinterland dipping component made up of three
horses, the middle antiformal stack with three horses, and the southern foreland dipping component made up of three horses. The
roof thrust is the folded Ramgarh thrust carrying the Daling duplex in its hanging wall at the north end of the section. The floor
thrust is the Main Himalayan sole thrust (MHT).

lines of the three horses are carried to the roof thrust (RT 1),
while the leading branch lines are at the floor thrust (RT)
(Fig.7b).
At the next stage of footwall imbrication, as deformation
reaches a thicker sedimentary section in the middle of the
Buxa-Gondwana basin, large hinterland dipping horses
develop with the RT as the roof thrust and the MHT as the
floor thrust (Fig.7c). Emplacement of these horses would
result in uplift of the FDD horses (Fig.7d) involving
significant gravitational work; we believe that this stage
(shown within a box in Fig.7d) is unlikely. It is energetically
more favorable to concurrently reactivate the RT to move
the FDD horses forward so that they never gain additional
structural elevation (Fig.7e). In other words, the RT remains

RT1
RT1
RT

a MHT b MHT

1
RT1 RT RT
RT

c MHT
d MHT

RT1 RT
RT1 RT
RT RT

e MHT
f MHT

RT
RT
1
RT

MHT
g h
Fig.7. Schematic model showing the kinematic sequence of events in Rangit duplex development. (a, b, c) Initial growth of foreland
dipping duplex. (d) Unlikely growth of hinterland dipping horses with passive roof thrust. (e, f) More likely growth of hinterland
dipping horses with concurrent reactivation of roof thrust to move foreland dipping horses forelandward. (g, h) Growth of
antiformal stack causing steepening of foreland-dipping and hinterland-dipping horses. Refer to text for fault names and details
of kinematic sequence.

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298 GAUTAM MITRA AND OTHERS

Quaternary
S Darjeeling Rangit Daling Alluvium
Klippe Window Duplex N
Siwalik
MCT 1 10
Formation
RT
MCT 2
5
MBT 5 Gondwana
MFT RT
Formation
0 0

Buxa Formation
5 5

10 10
Daling
Group
15
15
km
Paro - Lingtse
20
Gneiss
0 10 km km
Darjeeling/
Kanchenjunga
V=H Gneiss

152 km (125 km shortening)

MBT
Rangit Duplex
RT

160 km (121 km shortening)

Daling Duplex MCT 2

MCT 1

Fig.8. Preliminary regional balanced cross-section of the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya incorporating the Rangit duplex. Restored section
shows ~500 km (82%) shortening in the section that has resulted in the MCT1 and MCT2 sheets being carried farther S than
other parts of the Himalaya. Approximately half the shortening is in the Lesser Himalaya, most of it (>95%) accomplished by the
Rangit/Daling Lesser Himalayan duplex.

active throughout the growth of the hinterland dipping
duplex (HDD), while the earlier formed RT 1 and FDD
imbricates remain passive.
Following the growth of three HDD horses the duplexing
evolves into an antiformal stack (AS) with larger translations
on individual imbricate faults (Figs. 7f, g, h). This results in
steepening of the FDD and HDD horses (Figs.7g, h),
eventually arriving at the final geometry (Fig. 7h). We note
that the floor thrust (RT) of the FDD acts as the roof thrust
during the later part of duplex growth, so that geometrically
the structure is a stacked duplex, with the early-formed FDD
containing the farthest traveled horses that are carried along
the roof thrust of the later HDD-AS duplex.
Shortening: Figure 8 presents a preliminary regional
balanced cross-section through the Darjeeling – Sikkim
Himalaya (DSH) and shows that the Rangit duplex forms
an important component of the regional section.
Retrodeformation of the Rangit duplex using the kinematic
model presented above (Figs.7, 8) yields a shortening of
~125 km. This, together with 121 km of shortening on the
rest of the Lesser Himalayan duplex that repeats the Daling
section (Fig.8) results in a total shortening of 246 km
(or 79%) in the LHD; this accounts for most (97%) of the
253 km of shortening in the Lesser Himalaya. The total
shortening in the entire contractional belt south of the
STD is ~ 502 km (or 82%); the LHD shortening represents
~49% of this shortening.
DISCUSSION
Based on work done in the Himalaya over the last twenty
years, considerable advances have been made in our
understanding of the FTB structure of the Himalaya and
variation of shortening across the Himalayan orogen. Much
of this work has been done in northwestern India (Kumaon-
Garhwal) and in Nepal. Until very recently (Mukul, 2000;
McQuarrie et al. 2008; Bhattacharyya and Mitra, 2009) the
structure of the eastern Himalaya has remained terra
incognita (DeCelles et al. 2002) in terms of modern concepts
of fold-thrust belt geology. Here we have presented a
preliminary balanced cross-section and shortening estimates
across the Darjeeling–Sikkim Himalaya.
The magnitude of shortening from the Gangetic foreland

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 THE LESSER HIMALAYAN DUPLEX IN SIKKIM: IMPLICATIONS FOR VARIATIONS IN HIMALAYAN SHORTENING 299

Hazara Namche Barwa

Syntaxis Syntaxis
800

Simikot

Eastern Bhutan
Chainpur
Western Nepal
Pakistan

Sikkim
STDS

Kumaon
Garhwal
600
Shortening (km)

MC
T
400 ? Eastern Nepal
MCT
200

MBT
MBT
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Arc Distance (km)
Greater Himalaya
Lesser Himalaya with STDS - South Tibetan Detachment System
Lesser Himalayan Duplex MCT - Main Central Thrust
MBT - Main Boundary Thrust
Subhimalaya
Fig.9. Plot showing variations in shortening in different parts of the Himalayan arc south of the STDS. Note the dramatic increase in the
proportion of total shortening taken up in the Lesser Himalaya east of Kumaon, and the increase in importance of duplex
shortening in the Lesser Himalaya (particularly in Sikkim and Bhutan), where high-grade crystalline thrust sheets are carried
significantly closer to the foreland than elsewhere in the Himalaya.

up to the STD and the distribution of shortening across the from 15-20% in Kumaon – Garhwal, to 50-80% in western
fold-thrust belt can be compared with estimates from other Nepal, to >95% in Sikkim and Bhutan. Since duplex
parts of the Himalaya (Fig.9). The overall shortening shortening is transferred up-section as slip on the roof
progressively increases from the western syntaxis through thrust, the greater proportion of duplex shortening
Kumaon - Garhwal (Srivastava and Mitra, 1994) and western results in crystalline roof thrust sheets being transported
Nepal (DeCelles et al. 1998; Robinson et al. 2006) toward farther southward onto the LHS in the eastern Himalaya
the middle of the Himalayan arc in central Nepal, and (Sikkim – Bhutan) than in Nepal and Kumaon.
maintains a high value through Sikkim (this paper). The Based on the current distribution of shortening data it is
shortening appears to decrease through Bhutan (McQuarrie difficult to evaluate the primary cause for the variation in
et al. 2008) toward the eastern syntaxis. Published shortening shortening. The overall increase in shortening in the middle
estimates in eastern Nepal (Schelling and Arita, 1991) do of the Himalayan arc (central Nepal) with apparent decrease
not seem to agree with this overall shortening distribution; toward Bhutan in the east and Kumaon in the west can be
possible causes for this discrepancy have been discussed explained with the bow and arrow rule (Elliott, 1976) that
earlier (Srivastava and Mitra, 1994; DeCelles et al. 2002). would predict maximum displacement in the middle of the
Through much of the Himalayan arc between Kumaon and arc, decreasing to zero at the two syntaxes. On the other
Bhutan the shortening is approximately equally distributed hand, convergence vectors between India and Asia based
between the Lesser and Greater Himalayas, except in west- on paleomagnetic data suggest a rotational collision that
central Nepal where there is considerably more shortening would result in maximum arc-perpendicular displacement
in the LHS than in the GHS (Fig.9). in eastern Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan; some of this shortening
Although the absolute shortening (in kilometers) in the may have been taken up in the growth of the Shillong
Lesser Himalaya decreases from western Nepal toward plateau (McQuarrie, personal communication 2009) and is
Sikkim – Bhutan, the shortening in the east is accomplished therefore not recorded in the Himalayan FTB.
over a significantly narrower FTB so that shortening
percentage remains approximately the same at ~75% in the Acknowledgments: Work for this project was supported
middle of the Himalayan arc (from western Nepal to Sikkim). by research grant NSF EAR-0439999 to G. Mitra. We thank
Within the Lesser Himalaya, the LHD plays an important the reviewers, R.H. Groshong Jr. and R.O. Greiling, and the
role in how shortening is accomplished. The proportion of editor M.A. Mamtani for their comments and suggestions
LHS shortening that is accomplished by duplexing increases that resulted in a better final paper.

JOUR.GEOL.SOC.INDIA, VOL.75, JAN. 2010

300 GAUTAM MITRA AND OTHERS
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(Received: 6 March 2009; Revised form accepted: 31 May 2009)

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