International Geology Review

ISSN: 0020-6814 (Print) 1938-2839 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tigr20

Stratigraphy of Paleogene and Neogene

continental deposits of the Soviet Northeast

Yu. P. Baranova

To cite this article: Yu. P. Baranova (1978) Stratigraphy of Paleogene and Neogene
continental deposits of the Soviet Northeast, International Geology Review, 20:6, 719-730, DOI:
10.1080/00206817809471442

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00206817809471442

Published online: 15 Sep 2009.

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 S t r a t i g r a p h y of Paleogene a n d N e o g e n e continental
deposits of the Soviet Northeast
Yu.P. Boranova
In the structural-tectonic plan of the Soviet
Northeast, the Verkhoyansk-Chukotka Mesozoic
fold region, the Anadyr'-Koryak Cenozoic fold
region, and the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanic belt,
developed at their junction, are recognized.
In the Verkhoyansk-Chukotka and the Ana-
dyr'-Koryak regions, Cenozoic sedimentation
is confined to the intermontane and marginal
basins and downwarps, and is clearly connected
with their geological development. In the first,
predominantly continental formations are de-
veloped, reflecting the post-geosynclinal and
neotectonic evolution of the mountain country.
At the beginning of the Cenozoic Era, during
the Paleocene, Eocene, and partly at the b e -
ginning of the Oligocene, sediments were de-
posited under conditions of planation of the
post-geosynclinal orogenic region; here, the
main basin of accumulation was the plains of
the East Siberian plate and the present shelf of
the Northern Arctic Ocean. A characteristic
feature of the sediments was their fine-clastic
nature and high coal content. Within the moun-
tain country, which was subjected to planation,
chemical weathering crusts were formed. From
the middle of the Oligocene to the end of the
Pliocene, sedimentation in the Verkhoyansk-
Chukotka region occurred in an environment of
the latest orogeny and was localized in the inter-
montane basins. A large amount of material
was transported into lowlands and the sea sur-
rounding the mountain country. The Oligocene-
Neogene deposits are characterized by variation
in lithologic composition of the component con-
tinental formations, consisting of proluvial,
fluvial, lacustrine, and lacustrine-paludal facies.
Within the East Siberian lowland, the thick-
nesses of the Paleogene and Neogene deposits
are still not clarified, since the drilling begun
during the last decade has only involved insig-
nificant sectors of its northwestern part. There
is no doubt that the thicknesses of the sediments
are great and in places exceed 500-600 m. The
relief buried below the Cenozoic cover is un-
even, with ancient basins and watersheds. As
Translated from Stratigrafiya kontinental'nykh otlo-
zheniy paleogena i neogena Severo-Vostoka SSSR, AN
SSSR Izvestiya, ser. geol., 1977, no. 8, p. 38-52.
The author is with the Institute of Geology and Geo-
physics, Siberian Division of the USSR Academy of
Sciences, Novosibirsk.
Internat. Geology Rev., v. 20, no. 6
IGR is not registered with the Copyright Clearance Center
719
a result, the thickness of the overlying Cenozoic
sediments is uneven, increasing in a northerly
direction from the mountains to the ocean and
in individual buried basins ( e. g. in the Omoloy
and Tastakh troughs, e t c . ) , Judging from the
geophysical data, it reaches more than 1000 m.
The completeness of the section within the East
Siberian lowland is still not clear, although
from recent data, it is known that continuous
Paleogene-Neogene sections are r a r e , since
local and regional erosion was recorded in
them, embracing both extremely brief time in-
tervals, and also longer <->nes, extending up to
the length of a subseries of the Paleogene or
the Neogene system. In the intramontane basins
of the Verkhoyansk-Chukotka country, the con-
tinental deposits, corresponding to the latest
orogenic phase, belong mainly to the Neogene
system and to the upper half of the Oligocene,
lying in this respect partly on the early Paleo-
gene weathering crusts. The thicknesses of
the deposits reach 300-600 m.
The orogenic, late-post-geosynclinal, and
latest stages correspond to the Paleogene and
Neogene sediments of the Anadyr'-Koryak struc-
tural region. The migration of the late-geosyncli-
nal troughs toward the Pacific Ocean contributed
toward the gradual and successive replacement
of the marine sequence by continental sediments;
in the peripheral sectors of the region, in the
Lower Anadyr', there was repeated replacement
of sedimentary regimes, which controlled the al-
ternation of marine and continental facies in the
section. The Paleogene and Neogene deposits
belong to the molasse associations, developed in
an environment of the orogenic regime of the in-
version phase of the geosyncline and the latest
orogenesis, which immediately followed it. This
controlled the variable facies and the lithologic
composition of the sediments, consisting both
of fine- and also coarse-clastic material, and
saturated with lignites and brown coals. Most
of the troughs and basins are characterized by
sediments of great thickness, exceeding 1000
and sometimes 1400 m. The deposits are char-
acterized by more complete Paleogene and Neo-
gene sections, although gaps are recorded,
owing to the presence of frequent erosion breaks.
The marine and continental facies, forming
the deposits of the Anadyr'-Koryak region, en-
able us to compare the Paleogene and Neogene
sediments with those of the adjacent territories
(the West Kamchatka trough, where the
 INTERNATIONAL GEOLOCY REVIEW

Comparison of stratigraphic subdivisions of the Soviet Northeast.

1 - East Siberian lowland; basins: 2 - Lower Aldan, 3 - Verkhoyansk-Kolyma mountain region,
4 - Sea of Okhotsk coast, 5 - Bel'-Markov and Lower Anadyr', 6 - Chukotka peninsula.

stratigraphy has been sufficiently well worked
out, and entered on the unified stratigraphic
schemes; and the continental deposits of the
Verkhoyansk-Chukotka region, in which their
stratigraphic subdivision was recently achieved
by a range of paleobotanical methods).
Within the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanic belt
superimposed on the above-mentioned struc-
tures, the Paleogene and Neogene deposits
consist of rocks of volcanic and, less frequently,
of sedimentary origin. Their stratigraphy is
still poorly worked out. The greater part of
the volcanic rocks of the belt belong to the
Cretaceous system. The younger formations
(basalts, tufflavas, and associated sedimentary
rocks) are dated provisionally as Paleogene,
and less frequently, as Neogene.
I studied the stratigraphy of the continental
formations developed within the Mesozoides of
the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanogenic belt, and
the northern part of the Cenozoides of the Ana-
dyr'-Koryak region, which includes the Markov-
Bel' and Lower Anadyr' basins, and the Rarytkin
and Zolotogorsk rises.
As a result of many years of biostratigraphic
investigations into the continental Paleogene
and Neogene deposits of these regions, it is
possible to recognize phytostratigraphic r e -
gional horizons for the second half of the Eo-
cene and Oligocene and the entire Miocene,
correlated with horizons of Northwestern and
Northeastern Kamchatka (table). Of decisive
significance as a basis for these horizons is
the recognition of the stage nature during the

720
 YU.P. BARANOVA
evolution of the floras with the aid of a com-
parison of the uniform floristic assemblages in
sections remote from one another, allowing
for the paleogeographic environments (changes
in climate and the evolution of the relief).
THE PALEOGENE SYSTEM
The Paleocene continental deposits in the
Soviet Northeast have still been poorly examined.
They include the lower half of the Kengdey
suite, which fills the graben of the Kengdey
River in the Kharaulakh mountains (Northern
Verkhoyansk). The lower part of the section
of the suite is formed by white kaolin clays,
argillites, and brown coals, which are contem-
poraneous, apparently, with the clays with
brown coals from the Sogo River brown-coal
deposit at Tiksi Bay. The floras are charac-
terized by the presence of relicts of the Upper
Cretaceous plants Menispermites, Protophyl-
lum, Pterospermites, and Cephalotaxopsis
( Mezhvilk, 1958) and the spore-pollen assem-
blages ( Grinenko et al., 1975) with Proteacid-
ites, Parviprojectus, Dicksonia, Quercites,
etc.
To the Paleocene, and possibly to the basal
parts of the Eocene, belong the volcanogenic
rocks (basalts, their tuffs, and less frequently,
andesites and dacites) with an age of 47-69
m. y. , which underlie the complex of sediment-
ary sequences in the Lower Anadyr' basin.
A provisional Paleocene-Middle Eocene age
is ascribed to the basalt flows with members of
tuff sandstones and tuff-conglomerates in the
Zolotogorsk rise. The volcanogenic rocks in
the various sectors of the Okhotsk-Chukotka
belt (basins of the rivers emptying into the
Sea of Okhotsk — the Kukhtuy, Annan', Ola,
Garmanda, Oklan rivers, e t c . ) , and also in
the basin of the upper reaches of the Penzhina,
Anadyr', and Tanyurer rivers, are assigned
to the early Paleogene." The assignment of the
effusive formations (basalts, andesite-dacites,
dacites, and their tuffs) to the beginning of the
Paleogene is based not on biostratigraphic evi-
dence, but on the cenotypic aspect of the rocks
and on their position in the upper part of the
section, above the Upper Cretaceous acid vol-
canic rocks (Geology of the USSR, 1970).
The second half of the Eocene is clearly
recognized in the Tastakh regional stratigraphic
horizon, whose reference section is the Tastakh
suite, studied in the lower reaches of the In-
digirka River, in the sections at Lake Tastakh,
and in the Dzholoon-Sise hills. The floristic
assemblages of the Tastakh suite were recon-
structed from leaf impressions, paleocarpologic
remains, spores, and pollen ( Krishtofovich,
1958; Dorofeyev, 1968; Kul'kova, 1973; Kar-
tashova, 1975). Using the floristic assem-
blages, the Tastakh suite may be clearly traced
in the upper half of the Kengdey suite in North-
ern Verkhoyansk, in the Ust'-Penzhino sequence
of the northern coast of Penzhino Gulf, in the
Cape Telegraficheskiy suite in the lower reaches
of the Anadyr', at the base of the section exposed
in a drill hole in the basin of the Tnekveyem
River, and in the sands underlying the Koynat-
khun sequence. This horizon corresponds to
the Tkapravayam, Kinkil', and Irgirna suites
of Western Kamchatka with the "Chemurnaut"
flora in them. Judging by the identified plant
remains from the Onemen and Produktivnaya
suites in the Anadyr' brown-coal deposit, these
suites are contemporaneous with that at Cape
Telegraficheskiy, and may also be assigned to
the Tastakh horizon. The age equivalent of the
Tastakh suite, judging by the floral remains,
may also be the sedimentary sequences among
the basalts of the Umka suite from the right-
hand tributaries of the Anadyr'. Similar in
age, apparently, is the Mayn sequence also in
the upper reaches of the Anadyr', which con-
tains a number of forms common to the Tastakh
flora.
The assemblage of paleobotanical data from
the suites and sequences of the Tastakh horizon
indicates a mixed type of flora of subtropical
aspect with a greater participation of ever-
greens and a smaller proportion of deciduous
plants, and the minor importance of gymno-
sperms with predominance of taxoids, and with
ferns predominant among the spores.
The Tastakh horizon is characterized by
the unusual features of the palynologic assem-
blages ( Kul'kova, 1973; Kartashova, 1975).
In them, angiosperms predominate (up to 80-
94%). Pollens of trisaccate and trisaccate-
porous structure predominate ( Castanea c r e -
nataeformis, Quercus conferta, Q. graciliformis,
Q. tenella, Tricolpopollenites s p . , Tricolporo-
pollenites s p . , e t c . ) . Of no less significance
is the pollen of the evergreens ( Palmae, Sabal,
Nipa, Phoenix, Myrica eocenica, Engelnardtia
quietus, Proteacidites paradoxus, Loranthus
elegans, L. mirus, Hamamelis scotica, Fother-
gilla vera, F_. gracilis, Myrtaceidites jacuticus,
and Aralis sibirica).
The palyno-assemblages are characterized
by the presence of forms which are, according
to I. A. Kul'kova, index types both for the
middle ( Castanea crenataeformis, Tricolporo-
poUenites cingulum, Araliaceoipollenites eu-
phorii, Nyssa ingentigullina, Pistillipollenites
macgregorii), and also for the upper Eocene
(Ojjercus conferta, Q. graciliformis, Tricolpo-
pollenites liblarensis), and also taxa typical
for the Eocene as a whole ( Fother gilla gracilis,
F. vera, Hamamelis scotica, Carya simplex,
Engelnardtia quietus, Juglans nigrites). There
are small amounts (7-15%) of pollens of Faga-
ceae, Myriaceae, Juglandaceae, and Betulaceae.
 INTERNATIONAL CEOLOGY REVIEW
There are isolated pollens of Pinaceae, and more
numerous and varied pollens of Taxodiaceae
(Taxodium, Glyptostrobus, Sequoia, and Sciado-
pitys). The spores belong to Osmunda, Gleich-
enia, and Polypodiaceae.
The leaf impressions indicate a variety of
Cercidiphyllaceae (Cercidiphyllum crenatum,
Trochodendroides arcticus, T. richardsonii,
T. smilacifolia, and T. zadachii), Vitaceae
( Cissus jacutica, C_. lobatocrenata, Cissites
vollosovitschii, C. ochotensis, and Vitis olrikii) ,
and Taxodiaceae (Sequoia langsdorfii, Meta-
sequoia disticha, and Taxodium dubium). There
are species of older Platanus, Grewiopsis, and
Macclintockia, which emphasizes the associa-
tion between the Eocene floras and the Late
Cretaceous-Paleocene floras of the Tsagayan
type. Moreover, representatives of an "Arcto-
Tertiary" flora are inherent in the floras of
the Tastakh horizon ( Alnus kefersteenii. Cory-
lus macquarii, C. kenaiana, Carpinus grandis,
Juglans nigella, Quercus groenlandica, Acer
arctica, e t c . ) . In the seed assemblages are
Glyptostrobus, Metasequoia, Cedrus, Abies,
and Tsuga, and representatives of Betulaceae,
Ulmaceae, Juglandaceae, and subtropical types
(Magnolia, Ficus, Hibiscus, and Aralia).
The stratigraphic position of the Tastakh
horizon in the middle-upper Eocene is empha-
sized, in addition to the paleobotanical evi-
dence, by the macrofaunal remains. In the
upper part of the Cape Telegraficheskiy suite,
we identified Nuculana snatolensis, Macoma
twinensis, Tellina pittsburgensis, Mactra xeno-
phonti, etc., typical of the Uvucha horizon of
Western Kamchatka (Volobuyevaand Nevretdi-
nova, 1975). From the number of common species
(Metasequoia disticha. Vitis olrikii. and Corylus
macquarii), the flora of Tastakh horizon may be
correlated with those of the Markov suite of the
Penzhino trough, whosefaunal composition (with
Yoldia takaradaiensis, Solen tigilensis, and
Solemyatigilensis) also corresponds to that of
the Uvucha horizon of Western Kamchatka and to
the Shebunina horizon of Sakhalin. From the
floras, the Tastakh horizon is correlated with the
lower Ravenian of Alaska (Biske, 1971, 1975).
The continental deposits of the first half of
the Oligocene in the Soviet Northeast are poorly
exposed, and therefore, inadequately studied.
The most widely distributed in the extreme
northeast, within the Anadyr'-Koryak fold s y s -
tem, are Oligocene marine facies. They are
quite well defined paleontologically, which en-
ables us to correlate them with the horizons of
Western Kamchatka. Since the continental
facies in these sections is either absent, or
represented by thin layers only, and moreover,
not defined paleobotanically, comparison of
the Oligocene deposits of the Anadyr'-Koryak
and the Verkhoyansk-Chukotka regions is quite
difficult.
722
Spore-pollen data indicate that the Solur
sequence, developed within the Kular range,
where it passes into the Yana-Indigirka lowland,
should be assigned to the end of the Eocene and
the lower Oligocene. A palynologic study of
the sequence by Kartashova (1975) revealed
gradual changes in its palyno-assemblages u p -
ward through the section, in the lower ranges,
the significance of exotic taxa is retained, such
as Nyssa, Ilex, Rhus, Aralia, Morus, Liquid-
ambar, Magnolia, Laurus, Cedrus, and Myrta-
ceae, and pollen of trisaccate-porous composi-
tion, Tricolpopollenites liblarensis and Tricol-
poropollenites cingulum, which emphasizes the
association between the early Solur palyno-
flora and the late Eocene Tastakh flora.
In the middle and upper ranges of the Solur
sequence, there is a marked redistribution of
dominants. Among the angiosperms, there is
a predominance of amentaceous plants, and
Pinaceae acquire a leading role in the gymno-
spermous group, although the Taxodiaceae,
decreasing quantitatively, retain their generic
variety. This, the greater portion of the Solur
sequence, is dated as early Oligocene.
In all probability, the lower part of the
Solur sequence corresponds to the Anzhuya
sequence of Fadeyeva Island {the Novosibirsk
Islands archipelago) with a late Eocene palyno-
flora ( Trufanov and Vakulenko, 1977). In the
paly no-assemblage of the Anzhuya sequence,
there is a predominance of angiospermous
pollens with Tricolporopollenites cingulum,
Pistillipollenites macgregorii, Fothergilla vera,
Sterculia, Myrtaceae, Liquidambar, Rhus, and
Nyssa.
A major role in it is played by the broad-
leafed Quercus, Castanea, ULmus, Carya, and
Tilia. The amentaceous plants are of minor
significance and are represented by Betula and
Alnus. There are also a few Pinaceae and
spores of Osmundaceae, Schizaceae, Gleichenia-
ceae, and Polypodiaceae.
Stratigraphically above the Solur sequence,
evidently, are the Onkuchakh pebble beds in
the basin of the Omoloy River. The direct
relationships between these geologic formations
have not been clarified, and their geologic and
palynologic characteristics are based on frag-
mentary outcrops, which points up the provi-
sional nature of separating these subdivisions.
In the Onkuchakh pebble beds, spore-pollen
sampling, carried out by A. Ya. Kiseleva, showed
the dominance of pollens of Betulaceae (Alnus,
Betula, Corylus, and Carpinus), accompanied
by those of the Pinaceae (Tsuga, Pinus, and
Picea) and spores of Polypodiaceae. The
amount of pollens of the more warmth-loving
broadleafs and evergreens reaches 18-25%
and consists of Ulmus, Fagus, Quercus.
 YU.P. BARANOVA
Castanea, Juglans, Tilia, Ilex, Nyssa, Ster-
culia, and Liquidambar. The provisional age
for the Onkuchakh pebble beds is end of the
early and beginning of the middle Oligocene,
and is dependent on their suggested position be-
tween the Solur sequence and the Omoloy suite.
The Avekova sequence, developed on the
Taygonos peninsula on the Penzhino Gulf, from
the Gizhiga River to the Kuybiveyem-River, is
assigned to the lower Oligocene. The conti-
nental deposits here consist of alternating sand-
stones, argillites, and brown coals, charac-
terized by impressions of Onoclea sensibilis,
Osmunda doroschiana, O. heeri, G. sachalin-
ensis. Sequoia langsdorfii, Metasequoia disj-
ticha, Populus glandulifera, I\ balsamoides,
Alnus kefersteenii, A. alnifolia, Platanus acer-
oides latifolia, and Quercus juglandica, which,
in the opinion of A. N. Krishtofovich and A. F.
Yefimova, indicates possibly a late Eocene,
but more probably, an early Oligocene age.
In the palynological spectra of the Avekova
suite, I. A. Kul'kova { Biske, 1975) recorded a
predominance of spores, among which Osmunda
and Polypodiacaea prevail. The gymnosperms
are represented mainly by Pinaceae, and also
Taxodium, and less frequently, by Glyptostro-
bus and Sequoia. There are a few angiosperms,
among which there is predominance of Alnus
pollen and r a r e Ericaceae, Betula, Myrica,
and Acer. No forms were found in the Avekova
spectra that are indices for the second half of
the Eocene (the Tastakh horizon), therefore
the Avekova suite is assigned to the lower Oligo-
cene.
East of the region, in the Markov-Bel'
basin, the end of the Eocene and the lower
strata of the Oligocene are matched by the vol-
canogenic formations of the Konachan sequence
( andesites, dacites, and andesite-basalts with
an age of 25-44 m. y. ( K-Ar method)). The
Bycha sequence, surrounding the western foot-
hills of the Pekul'ney range, and consisting of
cobble-pebble conglomerates with seams and
lenses of brown coal and remains of Meta-
sequoia disticha, Cephalotaxopsis sp. , Taxo-
dium s p . , Grewiopsis cf. frastodorius, Pla-
tanus s p . , Populus s p . , Corylus sp. (deter-
mined by A. F. Yefimova), belongs to the un-
differentiated Oligocene.
Farther south, in the basin of the left-hand
tributaries of the Penzhina River, the rhyolites,
rhyolite-dacites, and their tuffs, and tuff sand-
stones, with an age of 25-26 m. y. (K-Ar me-
thod) , are Oligocene in age. To the east of
Penzhino Gulf is the Velonlyk sedimentary-
volcanogenic suite, at the base of which among
siltstones, argillites, and brown coals are
palyno-assemblages very similar to those of
the Avekova suite with a predominance of spores
of Osmunda, Polypodiaceae, and Cyathaceae,
accompanied by pollens of Pinaceae ( Tsuga,
723
Pinus, and Picea), and less frequently, Taxo-
diaceae, and with a trace of pollens of Alnus
and ULmaceae. This part of the suite is evi-
dently contemporaneous with the Avekova suite
of the Taygonos peninsula. The volcanogenic
portion of the Velonlyk suite, with basalts,
dacites, andesite -dacites, and rhyolites, was
dated at 40 m. y. by the K-Ar method.
The geologic data indicate that throughout
most of the Paleogene, possibly since the b e -
ginning of the Danian stage, processes of chem -
ical weathering were active in the territory of
the Verkhoyansk-Chukotka region. Remains of
crusts of the kaolin type were preserved in a
buried state at the base of many of the Neogene
sequences in the youngest basins. In some of
them, as for example, the Okhotsk basin, the
thickness of the weathering crust, which under-
lies the Marekan suite, reaches 50 m. A weather-
ing crust with a thickness of 5-7 m is known below
the Tastakh, Nagayevo, Rypyl'kha, and other
suites. The widespread distribution of weathering
crusts in the past is indicat:xl by the presence of
redeposited kaolinite in the younger Oligocene-
Miocene sediments of many of the youngest basins.
A residual weathering crust is also known on the
slopes of the Bongataga range, in the Kondakov
and Alazey plateaus (Cenozoic . . . , 1968) in
the basin of the Viliga River, and at individual
sites on the Yukagir plateau, Taygonos peninsula,
and Chukotka peninsula (Biske, 1975). The basis
for the Danian-early Oligocene age for the
weathering crust is the presence of primary
kaolinite in the Paieocene-Eocene KengdSy
suite, the middle-upper Eocene Tastakh suite,
and finally, in the upper Eocene-lower Oligocene
Solur sequence, which are continental sediments
of epochs of planation and crust formation.
The second half of the Oligocene in the Sov-
iet Northeast corresponds to the Omoloy r e -
gional horizon, which was recognized from the
stratotype of the Omoloy suite in Sergey creek
in the basin of the Omoloy River, in the Yana-
Indigirka lowland. The floristic assemblages
of the Omoloy suite were studied using carpologic
remains, spores, and pollens. The Omoloy
horizon may be traced in many sections in the
basal strata of the Koynatkhun sequence in the
basin of the Tnekveyem River (on the Anadyr'
Gulf), in the basal strata of the RypylTch
suite in the Val'karay lowland and in the basin
of the Pegtymel River, in the Sana and Lesna
sequences in the basin of the Anadyr' River,
in the pebble beds of the El'gen suite in the
Seymchan-Buyunda basin, in the upper reaches
of the Kolyma River, and provisionally in the
Tatta suite in the Lower Aldan basin. The
assemblage of paleobotanical data for the Omo-
loy horizon has revealed a forest flora of the
Turgay type, markedly distinguished from that
of the Tastakh horizon, indicating quite a lengthy
time break between them. In some degree,
this gap in the evolution of the floras of the
first half of the Oligocene may be filled by the
 INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW
above-described floras from the Avekova and
Velonlyk suites, although they reflect local
coastal-lagoonal natural conditions; these
same floras are still weakly recognized and
are poorly represented. As a result of these
peculiarities, the lower boundary of the Omoloy
horizon is provisional, and currently it is im -
possible to decide whether to assign the whole
of the middle subseries of the Oligocene to this
horizon or only part of i t Because of the
sparseness of the Omoloy floras ( as compared
with the Tastakh floras) in many of the Paleo-
gene exotics, we suggest that the Omoloy hori-
zon embraces the upper Oligocene and the s e c -
ond half of the middle Oligocene ( and possibly
also its end).
The palynologic assemblages of the Omoloy
horizon are characterized by a predominance
of angiospermous pollens ( 61-80%), but al-
ready in lesser amount than in the Tastakh
palyno-assemblages. The main background of
angiospermous plants is made up of deciduous,
and broad- and narrow-leaf plants. The con-
tent of pollens of warmth-loving plants varies
from 20 to 35%, and among them there is a
predominance of Castanea (up to 20%), Fagus
(up to 14%), Quercus (up to 7%), and Ilex
(up to 7%) ; in lesser amounts, but constantly
present are Juglandaceae, and isolated Ster-
culia, Rhus, Nyssa, Celtis, and Liquidambar.
Betulaceae make up 25-37%, with a predomi-
nance of Alnus pollen and the presence of all
other genera of this family. The amount of
Pinaceae pollen in the various suites of the
Omoloy horizon is variable and depends on the
site of the section. In the Omoloy suite, located
in the north of the region, in the marginal part
(foothills) of the Yana-Indigirka lowland, it
varies from 8 to 22%, with the proportion of
dark-conifer pollen not exceeding 7-8%, whereas
the background is created by different species
of Pinus. In the Sana sequence, which fills
the basin of the intramontane country, the
amount of gymnospermous pollen increases in
individual spectra to 58%, and on average has
been placed at 30-37%. Here also there is a
predominance of pine pollen, and the dark-
conifer pollens occupy a minor position, which
generally distinguishes the Oligocene spectra
from the Miocene, in which the percentage of
dark-conifer pollen in the rocks is markedly
increased.
The pollen of the Taxodiaceae in all the
assemblages of the Omoloy horizon still retains
its importance, in individual spectra reaching
28% , and consists of grains of Sequoia, Glypto-
strobus, Taxodium, and Sciadopitys. The
amount of spores on average reaches 11%.
They consist of Polypodiaceae and Sphagnum.
The paleocarpologic data indicate the Oligo-
cene age of the Omoloy horizon. Among the
plant remains, there is an abundance of Meta-
724
sequoia disticha, Pinus spinosa, Vitis s p . ,
Parthenocissus elongata, Decodon sibiricus,
Caldesia provintitia, Sagisma turgida, Epi-
premnum ornatum~Aracispermum johnstruppii,
Aralia omoloica, and Juglans jacutica. Most
of these forms are typical of the Oligocene
and only a small portion of them passes into the
Miocene (Cenozoic . . . . 1968; Dorofeyev,
1972). The Omoloy horizon corresponds in its
floras to the Angonian of Alaska (Biske, 1975).
A comparison of the typologic palyno-
assemblages of the Omoloy horizon with the
spore-pollen assemblages, recognized by G. M.
Kabanova from the marine deposits of the upper
part of the Mayn suite of the Lower Anadyr'
basin, indicates the possibility of correlating
them. From the marine fauna, this part of the
Mayn suite corresponds to the Amanina-Gakkha
horizon of the Western Kamchatka.
THE NEOGENE SYSTEM
In two regions (the Yana-Indigirka lowland
and the Lower Aldan basin), the Miocene is
divided into three regional horizons: the Il'dik-
ilyakh, the Mamontovaya Gora, and the Khap-
chan. In the former region, the Mamontovaya
Gora horizon corresponds to erosion and a
break in sedimentation. In the second, the
Khapchan horizon is absent, and during its
time span, there was also deep regional erosion.
Nevertheless, a comparison of the composite
Miocene section in these regions is possible,
owing to the fact that the quite completely
studied paleobotanical assemblages show a
clear interrelationship between the floras through-
out the Miocene epoch.
The n'dikilyakh horizon was recognized
by Kartashova ( 1975) from the stratotype of
the U'dikilyakh suite in the basin of the Yana
River, on the basis of an unusual paly no-assem-
blage and was dated as early to the beginning
of middle Miocene. Besides the data on paly -
nology, the U'dikilyakh horizon was given addi-
tional status from paleocarpologic remains and
a flora of diatoms, recognized in other sections.
This horizon includes the deposits on the Ura-
salakh River in the basin of the Omoloy River,
in the Yana-Indigirka lowland, the Tanda and
Nam suites of the Lower Aldan basin, the lower
third of the Dzhelkan suite in the upper Nera
basins, and the basal strata of the productive
subsuite in the El'gen basin. In the north of
Chukotka peninsula, the U'dikilyakh horizon
corresponds to deposits in many sectors of the
Val'karay lowland (the middle parts of the s e c -
tions of the Rypyl'kha suite in the Ryveyem,
Pegtymel' rivers, e t c . ) . South of the Chukotka
peninsula, this horizon may be traced in the
upper parts of the Koynatkhun sequence on the
Tnekveyem River and in the lower parts of the
North Pekul'neyveyem suite in the Bel' and
 YU.P. BARANOVA
Markov basins ( Anadyr' River). On the coast
of the Sea of Okhotsk, it includes: the lower
non-coal subsuite of the Marekan suite in the
Okhotsk basin along the Kukhtuy River, the s e -
quence on Buyan Island, the lower part of the
Shestakova suite on the northern Penzhino Gulf,
and the lower strata that fill the Kava-Tauyskaya
basin.
The original basis for the Il'dikilyakh hori-
zon based on the palynologic assemblages in
the stratotype section of the Il'dikilyakh suite
later was substantially supplemented by paly-
nologic data from all the above-listed geologic
subdivisions. In a generalized form, the palyno- V.Ye. Narkhina within the Rypyl'kha suite
assemblages of the Il'dikilyakh horizon reflect
the Turgay flora, but with a reduction in the
pollens of warmth-loving angiosperms and a
predominance of narrow-leaf forms among
them, especially the Betulaceae.
From a comparison with the paly no-assem-
blages of the Omoloy horizon, the Il'dikilyakh
horizon is characterized by an increase in the
amount of gymnospermous pollens as a result
of an increase in the generic and specific varia-
tion in the pollens of the pine and especially
the dark conifer stocks. However, the import-
ance of the Taxodiaceae is still quite great, and
in a number of sectors, their pollens make up
20-35%, prevailing in such cases over the
Pinaceae. Along with the reduction in the
quantity of pollens of the warmth-loving plants,
there is an almost complete disappearance of
the pollens of Magnolia, Liquidambar, Rhus,
Engelhardtia, Platycarya, Sterculia, and other
exotics.
In the angiosperm group, after the domi-
nants of the Betulaceae, come the representa-
tives of the Myriaceae, Fagaceae, Juglandaceae, as distinct as that of its stratotype, is evidently
and Ulmaceae.
The lower boundary of the Il'dikilyakh
horizon is not precisely identified from the
pollens and spores. In most of the sections,
there are continuous, lithological uniform s e -
quences of late Oligocene to early Miocene age.
It has not proved successful to find any single
datum, above or below, at which the palyno-
assemblages could be significantly distinguished
from one another. Moreover, a gradual change
in the dominants in the palyno-assemblages
(Betulaceae instead of broadleafs with very
warmth-loving exotics), and an increase in the
variety of the pines and grasses indicate the
marked paucity of the early Miocene palyno-
floras and enables us to distinguish them from
those of the Oligocene Omoloy horizon.
The upper boundary of the Il'dikilyakh hori-
zon is clearly reflected in the spectra with a
peak for the beech pollens. This was first
established by Kartashova (1973, 1974), who
pointed out two characteristic features. The
725
dominant angiosperms ( up to 80-87%) in them
are distributed between the pollen of the Faga-
ceae (38%) with Fagus silvatica, F. japonica,
F. orientalis, and F. taurica, various Quercus
and Castanea, and deciduous pollens of an i m -
poverished Turgay type. Conifer pollens are
few in number ( 7-8%), although their generic
composition is varied. The first feature is
clearly traced in the palyno-assemblages of
many other sections at the top of the Il'dikilyakh
horizon. Thus, the peak of the beech pollens
with the recognition of these same species was
made by Borisova ( Bakay and Borisova, 1977)
in the middle of the Shestakova sequence, by
near the Pegtymel' River, and by I. B. Kistereva,
in the ranges through three drill holes in the
lower half of the sequence that fills the Kava-
Tauyskaya basin. In the Rypyl'kha suite of
the Ryveyem River, the beech peak, according
to I. Ya. Dushina and T. P. Kazakova, c o r r e -
sponds to that ( 35%) of the myriacids with up
to 10% of beech pollen. In addition, in the
ranges of these sections, in contrast to those
of the stratotype of the Il'dikilyakh suite, the
Taxodiaceae pollen occupy a prominent place.
In individual ranges in the upper boundary strata
of the Il'dikilyakh horizon, Taxodium pollen
reaches 40% (the Shestakova suite). In the s e -
quence on Buyan Island, the quantity of various
Taxodiaceae (Sequoia, Metasequoia, Taxodium,
and Glyptostrobus) varies from 15 to 35% and
is accompanied by a small beech peak (up to
11%) (Fradkina, 1975). The large content of
Taxodiaceae pollen is also characteristic of
the palyno-assemblages of the "beech" horizon
in the Kava-Tauyskaya basin, and also the
basal beds of the Marekan suite of the Okhotsk
basin. This distinguishing feature of the palyno-
assemblages for the entire Il'dikilyakh horizon,
explained by the position of the sections in
relation to the ancient shoreline. Possibly, all
the sections with Taxodiaceae in the palyno-
assemblages reflect the humid conditions of
coastal-lagoonal sites, whereas the stratotype
section on the Il'dikilyakh River is probably
intracontinental, and remote from the shoreline.
Among the carpologic remains in the beds
of the Il'dikilyakh horizon, the following were
identified: Metasequoia ex gr. sibirica, M. dis-
ticha, Tsuga. oblonga, Pseudotsuga s p . , Picea
anadyrensis, P_. latibracteata, P. bilibinii,
Pinus itelmenorum, P. nagajevii, P. spinosa,
P_, oligolepis, Larix palaeosibirica, L. antiqua,
Abies s p . , Rubus aldanensis, Pterocarya kire-
evskiana, Betuja aldanensis, Juglans jacutica,
Padus japonica, Cornus kineliana, Epipremnum
crassum, Decodon globosus, Prunus jacutica,
Andromeda nigra, A. polifolia. Menyanthes
trifoliata, M_. miocenica, M. parvula, Chama-
edaphna calyculata, Aracispermum johnstrupxii,
Ampelopsis ex gr. rotundata, Aldrovanda poli-
folia, Rhododendron sp., and Ceratophyllum sub-
mersum.
 INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW
Diatoms are known from the Buyan Island
sequence, the Rypyl'kha suite, and the Shesta-
kova suite. They include Melosira sulcata, M.
sulcata var. bisorata, Thalassiosira zabelinae.
Coscinodiscus marginatus, Trochosira spinosa,
Stephanopyxis schenckii, S^ turris, Pseudo-
podosira hyalina, Actinoptychus vulgaris.
The upper beds of the Il'dikilyakh horizon
with a "beech" peak are correlated with the
Daijima beds of Japan ( Tanai, 1972; Karta-
shova, 1974) and correspond to a climatic
optimum, manifested in t i e Pacific Ocean r e -
gion at the end of the early and the beginning
of the middle Miocene. There is a possible
correlation between these beds and the Engel'-
gardiyev beds of the south of the Soviet Far
East (Akhmet'yev, 1974), and with the "Yezh-
ov" horizon of the Korfovo region of Kamchatka
(Chelebayeva, 1971: Fradkina, 1975). On
the whole, the Il'dikilyakh horizon apparently
corresponds to the Kuluven and H'in horizons
of Western Kamchatka.
The Mamontovaya Gora (Mt. Mamontovaya)
horizon was recognized using the suite of the
same name in Aldan, where it is well-defined
by paleontologic and paleocarpologic data and
identifications of leaves. The Mamontovaya
Gora flora is very completely known: 70 forms
of leaf impressions and more than 280 species
of fruits and seeds have been identified, and
178 spore-pollen ranges have been described.
The identifications from other local strata p r o -
vide only insignificant additions to the flora of
this stratotype.
The Mamontovaya Gora horizon may be
clearly traced in the middle of continuous Mio-
cene sections: NorthPekul'neyveyem, Marekan,
and Dzhelkan suites of the Bel'-Markov, Okhotsk,
and upper Nera basins. This horizon includes
the Sededem beds of the Alazey plateau; the
productive subsuite of the El'gen suite of the
northern Seymchan-Buyunda basin; the basal
beds of the Tirekhtyakh suite of the Bugchan
basin; the lower Yana, Balakhapcha, and Nag-
ayevo sequences; and the Melkovodnaya s e -
quence and the upper half of the Shestakova se-
quence, distributed in the basins along the Sea
of Okhotsk.
Among the leaf impressions, first place is
occupied by the Salicaceae, in which the most
abundantly represented are Populus pacifica
and Salix samylinae, and frequent Populus
aldanensis, Salix protogracilistyla, S. varians,
and less frequently, other species of Salix and
Populus. At the second site, there are r e p r e -
sentatives of the Betulaceae, namely, Alnus
protohirsuta, A. jljinskiae, A. tiulinae, and
Corylus kenaiana. The Salicaceae and Betula-
ceae are of prime importance, and according
to I. A. Il'inskaya, a temperate type of Turgay
flora occurs at Mamontovaya Gora ( Baranova
726
et aL , 1976). The Turgay nature of the flora
is indicated by the presence of Osmunda heeri,
Populus balsamoides, Salix varians, and Cerci-
diphyllum crenatum, and also such genera as
Comptonia, Pterocarya, Castanea, Quercus,
Ulmus, Zelkova, Acer, Tilia, and Vitis. The
paucity of the flora is expressed in the absence
of Celtis, Cyclocarpa, Carpinus, Fagus, and
Carya, although some of these genera ( Carya,
Fagus, and Carpinus) are known in the palyno-
flora of the Mamontovaya Gora horizoa
Of the modern species revealing a s i m i -
larity to species of the Mamontovaya Gora flora,
most have their northern boundary of distribution
at 15-30° to the south of this location ( i n P r i -
mor'ye, Japan, Korea, North and Central China,
and in Pacific North America). This circum-
stance, also the comparison by I. A. Il'inskaya
and N. Ya. Shvareva of the systematic composi-
tion of the Mamontovaya Gora flora with the
lower Medvezhka flora from Korf Gulf ( Chele-
bayeva, 1971; Baranova et a l . , 1976), which
lies above a body of andesites, dated at 18 ± 2
and 23. 5 ± 0. 5 m. y . , indicate a middle Miocene
age for this flora and its surrounding strata.
The Mamontovaya Gora flora, based on
seed assemblages, studied by V. P. Nikitin
( Baranova et a l . , 1976), includes representa-
tives from modern North America { Sequoia,
Dulichium, Leitneria, Comptonia, Decodon,
and Proserpinaca) and East Asia (Metasequoia,
Epipremnum, and Weigela), and also genera
characteristic of both regions (Azolla, Mag-
nolia, and Liriodendron). From the generic
composition, the flora is similar to the Turgay
floras, but somewhat sparse in warmth-loving
plants. The Turgay element in it is clearly
expressed by Glyptostrobus, Metasequoia,
Alismateria, Dulichium, Epipremnum, Comp-
tonia, Pterocarya, etc. The Mamontovaya
Gora flora, according to V. P. Nikitin, is d i s -
tinguished from the West Siberian and Uralian
floras by the large content (up to 43-49%) of
woody plants and the small content (up to 10%)
of swamp grasses. In the seed assemblages
of the Mamontovaya Gora flora, there is a p r e -
dominance of moderately warmth-loving plants,
although some of them have even subtropical
and tropical associations; Taxodiaceae, Thea-
ceae, Magnoliaceae, Moraceae, Araceae, Ca-
bombaceae, and Lythraceae. In addition, Niki-
tin pointed out several boreal plants ( Spargan-
ium, Juncus, Alnaster, Betula sect. Albae,
Polygonum aviculare, Andromeda polifolia,
Menyanthes trifoliata, e t c . ) . He thinks the
age of the flora is definitely Miocene because
it contains no specifically Oligocene species
and almost none that pass into the Pliocene.
During a comparison between the Mamontovaya
Gora flora and the Oligocene and Miocene floras
of Western Siberia, based on the ratio of local,
foreign, and extinct genera in each of the floras,
Nikitin concluded that the Mamontovaya Gora
flora was of middle Miocene age.
 YU.P. BARANOVA
The palyno-assemblages of the Mamontovaya
Gora horizon, according to A. F . Fradkina
(Baranova et al., 1967), are characterized by
an identical or alternately somewhat excessive
amount of pollen of gymnosperms and angio-
sperms, with a predominance of Betulaceae
(Alnus, Betula, and a trace of Corylus and
Carpinus), Pinaceae ( Pinus, Picea, and Tsuga),
and Ericaceae. Among the spores, Polypodia-
ceae predominate. The content of warmth-
loving plants rarely exceeds 10%. These com-
prise Myrica, Comptonia, Pterocarya, Juglans,
Quercus, Fagus, Castanea, Ulmus, and Tilia.
The small percentage of warmth-loving plants
and the absence of Platycarya, Rhamnaceae,
Sterculiaceae, Eleagnus, Nyssa, and Myrtaceae,
and of pollens of older gymnosperms (Cedrus
and Cupressaceae), and also the-relationships
of the dominants in the palyno-assemblages of
the Mamontovaya Gora flora, also indicate, in
Fradkina's view, the sparse nature of the Ma-
montovaya Gora flora. These palyno-assem-
blages are characterized by an abundance of
the conifer component, which clearly distin-
guishes them from the ITdikilyakh palyno-
assemblages, in which the content-of Pinaceae
is still not equal to the content of Betulaceae.
From what has been stated, and allowing for
the overall paucity of the Turgay palyno-flora,
the Mamontovaya Gora horizon, from palynologic
data, is also assigned to the middle Miocene.
Overall, it corresponds to the Kakert and Etolon
horizons of Western Kamchatka and the Med-
vezhka horizon of Northeastern Kamchatka.
The upper subseries of the Miocene forms
the Khapchan horizon, recognized from the
stratotype of the suite of the same name in the
lower reaches of the Omoloy River, in the
northwestern East Siberian lowland. The Khap-
chan horizon was traced in the upper parts of
the following continuous sections of the Miocene
(in the North Pekul'neyveyem, Marekan, and
Dzhelkan suites). It includes the Osinov, Kuy-
biveyem, and Ryveyem suites, the middle and
upper parts of the Yana and Balakhapcha s e -
quences, the middle of the Nagayevo sequence,
and possibly, the base of the Buorkhaya suite,
and the base of the section in Promezhutochnaya
creek.
The paleobotanical basis for the Khapchan
horizon is palynologic and paleocarpologic data.
In some local sections, there are diatom data
also.
The seed assemblages from more than 70
denominations (based on 49 species and 37
genera) have reproduced a temperate forest
flora with predominant conifers, deciduous
trees, shrubs, and grasses. According to N. I,
Dorofeyev and V. P. Nikitin, among the plant
remains there is a dominance of Larix, Pinus,
and Picea ( a few species), Betula and Alnus
( a few species), Alnaster, Myrica, Juglans,
727
Pterocarya, Andromeda, Vaccinium, Sambucus,
Rubus, Epipremnum, Caldesia, Decodon, Scir-
pus, etc. From the most characteristic species,
we must note Pinus itelmenorum, P. omoloica.
P. palaeosibirica, P. jacutica, Picea wolloso-
wiczii, Larix omoloica, Betula omoloica, Jug-
lans omoloica, Epipremnum crassum, Myrica
omoloica, Menyanthes mlocenica. The flora
includes modern species (Alnus hirsuta, Coma-
rum palustre, Hippuris vulgar is, e t c . ) . The
diatom flora from the Ryveyem suite contains
50% of modern forms.
The palyno-assemblages of the Khapchan
horizon are characterized by an approximately
identical percentage ratio of pollens of angio-
sperms and gymnosperms and an increase in
the amount of spores up to 30-35%.
There is a marked paucity of assemblages
of pollen of warmth-loving broadleaf plants
down to 2-3% ( Myrica, Tilia, Carpinus, Jug-
lans, and Ulmus) and the complete disappear-
ance of evergreen pollenr. The dominants in
the assemblages are Alnus, Betula, Pinus,
Tsuga, and Ericaceae. Among the gymnosperms,
the pollen of the Taxodiaceae is absent, in the
spores there is much Sphagnum, and the poly-
podiaceae still retain significance. In the a s -
semblages, the amount of grass pollen and
shrubs has increased. Thus, the Khapchan
horizon is characterized by a boreal flora,
having already lost its association with the Tur-
gay floras, and including 30-50% of modern
plants.
The Khapchan horizon was correlated with
the Ermanov and the classical horizons of
Northwestern and Northeastern Kamchatka.
In Alaska, it corresponds to the Homerian
(Biske, 1971, 1975).
The Pliocene deposits in the Soviet North-
east are restricted in their distribution. In
contrast to the Miocene deposits, they do not
form continuous sections, but partly at the
base and at the top the deposits are bounded by
erosion breaks. This makes it difficult to
group the local Pliocene strata into single
stratigraphic schemes. The absence of Pliocene
deposits in many of the regions of the Soviet
Northeast is associated with tectonic stresses
which increased during the Pliocene and a
strengthening in erosion processes, against a
background of rejuvenated mountain building.
This is indicated by the variety of lithologic
composition of the deposits in those regions
where Pliocene sedimentation occurred. In
most cases, the deposits are fluvial, proluvial,
and lacustrine facies, which consist of pebble
beds, vari-grained sandstones, siltstones,
argillites with lignites, and less frequently,
with brown coals. The thickness of the Pliocene
deposits varies from 10 up to 200-300 m.
 INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW
Among the Pliocene deposits, three groups
of sections are recognized, characterized by
different features.
The first group is formed of Pliocene sedi-
ments that terminate the continuous sections of
Miocene age, forming with them a single cycle
of sedimentation. These are the sediments of
the upper part of the Dzhelkan suite of the Upper
Nera basins, and the upper Uyanda sequence of
the basin of the left-hand tributaries of the In-
digirka. This group includes the lower Pliocene
sediments of the top of the Tirekhtyakh suite in
the Bugchan basin and the Nagayevo sequence
on the Sea of Okhotsk.
The second group is formed of sediments
bounded at the base and top by erosion surfaces
and not connected by mutual transitions with
the underlying and overlying sediments, therefore
more provisionally dated. These are the middle
Pliocene ( ?) Impoveyem sequence of Taygonos
peninsula, the lower-middle Pliocene Lovat'
sequence on the northern coast of Penzhino
Gulf, and the Yel'gala beds of the Kolyma River
terrace. A somewhat more reliable age basis
for these sediments applies to the middle Plio-
cene Buorkhaya suite in the north East Siberian
lowland, since its palynologic assemblages
reveal a clear genetic connection with those of
the late Miocene Khapchan suite, developed in
the Immediate vicinity of the Buorkhaya suite,
indicating an age continuity with the latter.
The third group of sections comprises
sediments assigned to the upper subseries of
the Pliocene or forming continuous sequences
of late Pliocene-early Quaternary age. They
are separated from the underlying deposits, as
a rule, by deep erosion, and their paieobotani-
cal assemblages are significantly different
from those of the older Pliocene types, reveal-
ing a clear connection with the Quaternary.
The paleobotanical characteristics of the
Pliocene deposits within each of the recognized
groups of sections, allowing for their local
peculiarities, are similar. Owing to this, the
possibility has arisen of phytostratigraphic
correlation of all the sections named and the
recognition of common features in the history
of evolution of the floras.
Thus, in the lower and middle Pliocene
deposits, associated through continuous transi-
tions with the Miocene deposits, a gradual
sparspness of the floristic assemblages was
recognized, proceeding through sequential r e -
placement of the warmth-loving floras by boreal
types.
In the lower strata of these sediments,
there is still a clear link with the late Miocene
floras. The distribution of dominants in them
is the same as in the spectra of the Khapchan
728
horizon, although more often, the pollen of
gymnosperms dominates over that of the angio-
sperms, and the proportion of moderately
warmth-loving types is quite insignificant, from
isolated grains up to 1-1. 5%.
The spectra for the second half of the early
Pliocene and for the middle Pliocene gradually
change their aspect. Here they may be com-
pared through the sections of both the first and
also the second groups, allowing for geographic
zonation and local peculiarities.
The palyno-assemblages from the northern
sections ( e. g. the Buorkhaya suite, excluding its
lower strata) are characterized by a predomi-
nance of pollens of pines and larches, with only
a trace of spruce and hemlock, that is, mainly
representatives of the light-conifer association.
The angiosperms are represented, as in the
spectra from other sections, by dominant Betu-
laceae, among which there are equal amounts
of both woody and shrubby forms of Betula and
Alnus. The pollens of grasses and shrubs with
elements of tundra coenoses are varied. Sphag-
num predominates in the spores, and a distin-
guishing feature of the upper spectra of the
Buorkhaya palyno-assemblages is the marked
decrease in the participation of conifer pollens
and their substitution by narrow-leaf forms.
Kartashova ( 1975) pointed out that the forest
type of vegetation that dominated at the beginning
of the Pliocene in the East Siberian lowland
was replaced toward the end of the middle Plio-
cene by that developing in non-forest land-
scapes and insular narrow-leaf forests.
The southern type of the early and middle
Pliocene palyno-assemblages is well represented
by spectra from the upper strata of the Nagayevo
sequence, the Delyankir beds, and the Lovat',
Impoveyem, and Gusinov sequences. They
have much in common, and the differences be-
tween them were controlled by local geographic
peculiarities. Upward through the composite
section of these deposits, there is a replacement
of the dominant Betulaceae by representatives
of the Pinaceae, and among the latter there is
clear predominance of the dark-conifer element,
which enabled Biske ( 1975) to recognize a con-
tinuous belt of dark-conifer taiga for the south-
ern regions of the Soviet Northeast (including
the "old Bering" region). Of the warm-tem-
perate types in the spectra, we find only Corylus
and Myrica, with major participation of shrubby
forms of birch, alder, and other plants: the
amount of grasses has increased. Thus, in
these sections also, a gradual change in the
palynofloras is recorded, indicating their
sparseness in association with the progressive
cooling. In addition, these palynofloras differ
significantly from the northern sections, p r i -
marily in the retention of the forest type, with
only a trace of shrubs and grasses, which in-
dicates the lack of forest in the mountain or
 YU.P. BARANOVA
slope habitations and the absence of a zoned
forest-tundra. Apparently, these differences
should be used as a basis for subdividing the
Pliocene and recognizing regional horizons.
The paly no-assemblages of the third group
of sections of late Pliocene age are interesting
in the complexity of their structure, which in-
dicates climatic fluctuations. In the north,
they consist of the spectra of the Serkino suite
and the sequence along the Pegtimel' River
(eastern Chaun Bay). In the south, these
are the spectra of the Malooklan sequence in
the Penzhino region. In all the palyno-assem-
blages, two or three phases of evolution of the
vegetation were recorded (Borisova, 1973;
Kartashova, 1975), associated with climatic
fluctuations. Cold phases were recorded in the
forest-tundra or tundra palynofloras, and the
warm phases are characterized by forest palyno-
floras, narrow-leaf or conifer types. In the
southern regions and in the Tnekveyem basin
(the Malooklan sequence and the sequence at
Graphite Spring), the spectra contain even an
insignificant trace of such warmth-loving forms
as Ulmus, Corylus, Carpinus, and Ilex. Cor-
relation of the upper Pliocene sections, in
spite of recognition in them of peaks of a cli-
matic optimum and a minimum, is nevertheless
difficult because of the fragmentary nature of
the sections, the absence of any connection
with the underlying deposits, their disconnection,
and the occurrence in different geographic and
high-level belts. Therefore, as a rule, dating
of these sequences is provisional. Only those
sections are reliably dated where they are con-
tinuous with the overlying lower Quaternary
sequences.
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