TECTONICS, VOL. 11, NO.
5, PAGES 925-943, OCTOBER 1992
THE TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHY AND
STRUCTURE OF THE EASTERN NEPAL
HIMALAYA
Daniel Schelling
Earth SciencesandResourcesInstitute,Universityof South
Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
Abstract.Six yearsof geologicalresearchin eastemNepal
hasresultedin a newgeologicalmapof theeastemNepal
Himalayawhichincludestheregionstretching fromthe
Sikkhim borderin the eastto the KathmanduValley in the
west,andfrom the summitsof the HigherHimalayain the
northto theGangesPlainin the south.This researchhas
permittedthedetermination of thetectonostratigraphy
and
structureof one sectionof the centralHimalayanarc. Southof
theTibetanPlateautheeasternNepalHimalayacanbe divided
into threedistinct,thrust-boundtectonicpackages:(1) the
HigherHimalayanthrustsheetcomposed of theHigher
HimalayanCrystallines, (2) theLesserHimalayanthrustsheet
composed of theLesserHimalayanSeries,and(3) theSub-
Himalayanimbricatezonecomposed of sedimentaryrocks
belongingto the SiwalikGroup.The HigherHimalayanthrust
sheetof easternNepal hasbeenthrustover the Lesser
HimalayanMetasediments a minimumof 140km, and
possiblyas muchas 175-210km, alongtheMain Central
Thrust(MCT). The LesserHimalayanthrustsheetis overlain
by theMCT andis underlainby theMain Detachment Fault
(MDF) andtheMain BoundaryThrust(MBT). Out-of-sequence
thrustfaultsin thehangingwall of theMBT havebreached and
offsetthe presentlyinactiveMCT. The Sub-Himalayan
imbricatezoneis an emergentimbricatefanboundedby the
MBT to the northand the Main FrontalThrust(MFT) to the
southand is underlainby the MDF whichlies at a depthof
between 5 km and 7 kin. A balanced cross section constructed
acrosstheHigher,Lesser,andSub-Himalayaof easternNepal
showsthattheeasternNepalHimalayanorogenicwedgehas
undergone a minimumof between210 and280 km of
horizontal,north-southtectonicshortening
sincethe initiation
of theMCT. The LesserandSub-Himalayahaveabsorbed 70
km of north-southshorteningby thrustingalongthe basal
MDF, of whichthe Sub-Himalayanimbricatezone has
accommodated25 kin, the Sun Kosi Thrusthas accommodated
about10 kin, and theMBT hasaccommodated theremaining
35 km of shortening.Sincethe initiationof the MCT between
15 Ma and 25 Ma shorteningacrossthe easternNepal
Himalayahasoccurredat an averagerateof 8.4-18.6 mm per
year.The structuralgeometryof theeasternNepalHimalaya
suggestsan overall"piggyback"sequenceof thrusting,with
motiontransferredfrom the MCT to theunderlyingMDF and
its emergentsplaythrust,theMBT, andwith theMBT rotated
Copyright1992by the AmericanGeophysical
Union.
Papernumber92TC00213.
0278-7407/92/92TC-00213510.00
to its presentsteeporientationby imbricatethrustingwithin
the Sub-Himalaya.
INTRODUCTION
Followingthecollisionof theIndianandAsiancontinents
between 40 and 55 Ma the continued northward drift of India
hasbeenpartiallyaccommodated by thedeformationof the
northernmarginof theIndiansubcontinent andthegrowthof
theHimalaya[PowellandConaghan,1973;Bird, 1978;
Molnar andTapponier,1975;Le Fort, 1975, 1986, 1989;
Molnar, 1984]. This deformation,resultingin north-south
tectonicshorteningacrossthe Himalayanorogenicbelt, shows
the characteristics of both thin-skinned and basement-involved
fold-thrustdeformation.As thetypelocalityfor a continent-
continentcollision[Bird, 1978;Molnar andTapponier,1975],
it is importantto clarify thestructuralsetupandevolutionof
the Himalayanarc.
Thispaperpresents theresultsof geologicmappingand
structuralanalysisin theeasternNepal Himalayabetween
1984and 1990.The geologicmapproducedcoversan areaof
approximately
22,000
km2 between
theNepal-Sikkhim
border
in the eastand the KathmanduValley and the Langtang
Himalayain the westandbetweentheHigh Himalayanpeaks
to the northand the GangesPlain to the south(Figure 1). The
geologicmapincludestheHigher,Lesser,andSub-Himalaya
of eastemNepal.Thispaperdescribes boththe
tectonostratigraphy
of theeasternNepalHimalayaandthe
large-scale,
thrust-related
structures
thathaveresultedin the
presentlyobservedmappatterns.
By usingsurfacestructuraldataa balancedcrosssection
throughtheHigher,Lesser,andSub-Himalayahasbeen
constructed,andthe amountof horizontaltectonicshortening
undergone by theeasternNepalHimalayanorogenicwedge
since the initiation of the MCT has been calculated. The
structuralevolutionandthrusttectonicsof theeasternNepal
Himalayaarediscussed.
TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHY
As recognizedthroughouttheHimalayanarc, theeastern
NepalHimalayacanbe partitionedintofourmajortectonic
zones,generallyseparated
by majorboundarythrustfaultsor
normal faults [Gansser, 1964, 1981; Le Fort, 1975, 1986,
1989; Stocklin, 1980]. Thesefour tectoniczonesare (1) the
Tibetan(Tethys)Himalayacomposed of theTibetan
Sedimentary Series,(2) theHigher(or Greater)Himalaya
composed of theHigherHimalayanCrystallines, (3) theLesser
Himalayaconsisting of theLesserHimalayanSeries,and(4)
the Sub-Himalaya,composed of sedimentary rocksbelonging
to the Siwalik Group(Figure2). Within theeasternNepal
Himalayasedimentary rocksof theTibetanHimalayaare
exposedonly in southemTibet behindtheHigh Himalayan
Range,on the summitsof Mount Everestand Mount Lhotse,
andin theKathmanduSynform(Figures2 and4). While the
contactbetweenthe overlyingTibetansediments and the
underlyingHigherHimalayanCrystallines hasbeenlocatedand
mappedin severalplacesby the author,the Tibetan
926 Schelling:
Structure
oftheEastern
Nepal
Himalaya

82o

84o
.I

N -I-30ø
86o

L,..,./'i TIBET
88o

Figure4

Annapurna
Figure5

L'I"-"-I'•
xL'
ß Everest

NEPAL 28ø
..•.½ ß

ßKathmandu Kangchenjunga

Ramechap
I'
__27 ø
INDIA

.
ßDharan
I

Fig.1.MapofNepal
showing
thestudy
area
and
thelocations
ofthegeologic
mapsinFigures
4 and
5.

LEGEND
TS TibetanSedimentary
Series SH Sub-H•malaya
__TS
ß• TS N HH
LH
HigherHimalayan
Crystallines
Lesser HimalayanSeries
GB Ganges
Basin

Langtang

Sh•sha
Pangma
• ThrustFault: MCT = Ma•nCentralThrust;MBT = Ma•n Boundary
Thrust; MFT = Main FrontalThrust

BA'•TS
HigherHimalayanCrystall•ne-T•betan
SenesContact
Antiform
Synform
GeneralizedStrikesand D•psof H•gherH•malayanFohat•ons
HH
ß-• Everest
Gaun Shankar ß

E ß Melung
Tse Makalu

,,
Lo HH
HH

Anttforrn Lumba Samba

ß

Jannu

TS
HH

HH

Khola HH
Ant•form
SH

3.Vnforr
n HH

Mahabharat
GB

SH

GB
0 20 40km GB
L I

86
o 87
o
I I

Fig.2.Tectonic
map oftheeastern
NepalHimalaya
showing
thefourlithotectonic
zones
ofeastern
Nepal
andtheir
major
boundary
thrust
faults,
large-scale
antiforms
andsynforms ineastern
Nepal,
andthe
locationsof crosssectionsin Figures6-10.
 Schelling:Structureof theEasternNepal Himalaya 927

sedimentary rockshavenotbeenstudiedor mappedin detail (MCT). The following lithostructuralunitsbelongingto the

and are not includedin thefollowingdiscussion.
The
tectonostratigraphyof theremainingthreetectoniczonesis
described below. Each of the lithostructural units described has
beendefinedon thebasisof (1) overalllithologyand
sedimentary
and/ormetamorphic stratigraphy,(2) internal
deformationalcharacteristics,
and(3) structuralpositionin the
Himalayanthrustpile.
HigherHimalayanCrystallines
The HigherHimalayanCrystallinesof easternNepal are
overlainby sedimentary
rocksof theTibetanHimalaya
(Figures2 and 4). Within southernTibet (and on the summits
of Mount EverestandMountLhotse?)theHigherHimalayan
Crystallines
are separated fromtheTibetansediments by a
shearzone with a normalsenseof motion [Burget al., 1984;
BurchfielandRoyden,1985].Within theKathmanduSynform
theHigherHimalayanCrystallines(corresponding
approximatelyto theBhimphediGroupof Stocklin[1980]) are
overlainunconformably by thesedimentary rocksof the
Tibetan Series [Hashimoto et al., 1973; Stocklin, 1980;
StocklinandBhattarai,1982]or areseparated
fromthemby a
normalfault mappedby theauthor(Figure4). The Higher
HimalayanCrystallineshavebeenthrustover theLesser
HimalayanMetasediments alongtheMain CentralThrust
HigherHimalayanCrystallines havebeendefinedandmapped
in easternNepal (Figures3-7).
The Rolwaling-Khumbu-Makalu. ShishaPangma,and
Jannugranites.TheseHigherHimalayanleucogranites are
situatedat the topof theHigher Himalayanthrustsheetandare
exposedin thehighpeaksof the Khumbu(Everest)and
RolwalingHimalaya,on the summit,south,and eastfacesof
Mount Makalu, alongthe southfaceof ShishaPangma,and
within the upperpartsof theJannu-Kangchenjunga Massif
(Figures4-7). The granitesconsistof tourmaline-bearing,
biotite-muscovite leuco-adamellites
which,in easternNepal,
are generallyundeformed.The granitesare asmuchas 3000 m
thickandshowintrusiverelationships with theunderlying
Rolwaling-Khumbu-Kangchenjunga Paragneiss. Schareret al.
[1986] haveobtainedU/Pb mineralagesof 9.2 Ma + 0.9 m.y.
to 24.0 Ma + 0.4 m.y. for the granitesof the Everestregion.
The NarayanThan,Sindhuli,andDhobareThumka
granites.The NarayanThan,Sindhuli,andDobareThumka
granitesconsistof biotite-poor,muscovite-tourmaline
leucogranite and tourmaline-poor, porphyriticbiotitegranite.
Thesegranitesdisplaya poorlyto well-developed tectonic
foliationwhich is subparallelto the foliationof the
surrounding MahabharatCrystallines.Both the younger
leucogranite andtheolderbiotitegranite(asdeterminedby
crosscutting relationships)
are intrusiveinto thegneissand

GangesBasin Higher Himalaya

[• Alluvium Quaternary •_•--•-q

Rolwaling-Khumbu,
Shisha
Pangma
and Jannu Granites
Miocene

Sub-Himalaya

*•:o
• Upper
Siwaliks -• Narayan
Than,
Sindhuli
and
Dobare Thumka Granites Cambrian to Ordowcmn

.......
•'• Middle
Siwaliks Middle Miocene to Pleistocene
Rolwaling-Khumbu
andKangchenjunga
Paragneiss

.....
:':• Lower
Siwaliks Rolwaling-Khumbu
Migmatite
Precambrian to Canlbrlan
Tibetan Himalaya
Kangchenjunga
Migmatite
[• Tibetan
Series Cambrian-Ordovician to Eocene

JunbesiParagneiss
LesserHimalaya
MahabharatCrystallines

• Gondwana
Group Upper Paleozoicto Mesozoic

Map Symbols
• Khare
Phyllite
_ ß Thrustfault,saw-teeth
onhangingwall
g• Melung-Salleri,
Khandbari,
SisneKhola and
Augen Gneiss
ß Normalfault,boxon hangingwall
[• Dolakha
Phyllite Precambrian to Lower Paleozoic ,, High-anglefault,linesonupthrown
block

• Suri
Dhoban
Augen
Gneiss Antiform

• Ramechap
Group
-3- Synform

[--• Tumlingtar
Group International
boundary

t•] Taplejung
Group ß High Himalayansummit

? ß Town,village
t• Tamar
Khola
Granite
Fig. 3. Legendfor thegeologicmapsof Figures4 and5 showingthe tectonostratigraphy
of theeastern
Nepal Himalaya.
928 Schelling:Structure
of theEasternNepalHimalaya

i
85ø30 ' 86[30
'
Shisha Pangma

Cho Oyu
ß
Jobo Barnare

+ + +
+++
+

fm fm

Chautara

Kathmandu
oooo
oooo

oo

oo

oo

oo

oo

Ramechap

Karmaiya

27 ø

Muksar

0 20 40km ..

I I I ß
Kanchanpur

I I

Fig. 4. Geologicmapof theeasternNepal HimalayabetweenKathmanduandtheLangtangHimalayain

the westandMount Everestin theeast.Legendfor themapis shownin Figure3. Abbreviations
are
MCT, Main CentralThrust;MBT, Main BoundaryThrust;MFI', Main FrontalThrust;SKT, SunKosi
Thrust;TKT, TamarKhola Thrust;MT, Marin Thrust;KT, KamalaThrust;andNF, NarayanThanfault.

Schelling:Structureof theEasternNepalHimalaya
schistof theMahabharatCrystallinesandare themselves
intrudedby pegmatiticdikes.The biotitegranitescontain
abundantxenolithsof schistandgneisscomparablein
lithologyandinternalstructureto the surrounding Mahabharat
Crystallines.Thesegranites,whichoccuronly within the
MahabharatSynformof theMahabharatLekh, in the
southernmost (frontal)regionsof the HigherHimalayanthrust
sheet,arecomparablein mineralogy,internalstructure,and
tectonicpositionwithin the Himalayanthrustpile to the
PalungandSimchargranitessouthwest of Kathmanduwhich
are of Cambro-Ordovician age [Le Fort et al., 1983;Scharer
andAllegre, 1983].
The Rolwaling-Khumbu-Kangchenjunga Paragneiss. The
Rolwaling-Khumbu-Kangchenjunga Paragneiss (theGneiss
Noirs of Bordet[ 1961]) consistsprimarilyof sillimanite-
bearing,biotite-richparagneiss intercalatedwith metaquartzite,
calc-silicategneiss,marble,graniticgneiss,andgraniticaugen
gneiss.The RolwalingParagneiss of theRolwalingvalley
includesthe600-m-thickRolwalingAugenGneiss,a granitic
augengneisswith K-feldsparaugenas muchas 10 cm long.
Pancake-shaped, quartz-sillimanitenodules,between1 cm and
2 cm in diameter,arecommonlyobservedin thebiotite
paragneiss. The Rolwaling-Khumbu-Kangchenjunga
Paragneiss hasbeenextensivelyintrudedby granitic,aplitic
and pegmatiticveins,as muchas severalmetersthick, which
are generallydeformed.This unit rangesfrom 3000 m to 6000
m in thickness(Figures6 and7). The contactbetweenthe
Rolwaling-Khumbu-Kangchenjunga Paragneiss andthe
underlyingRolwaling-Khumbu-Kangchenjunga Migmatiteis
gradational.
The Rolwaling-Khumbu-Kangchenjunga Migmatite.The
Rolwaling-Khumbu Kangchenjunga Migmatiteis a 5000- to
18,000-m-thicksequence of sillimanite-bearing, migmatitic
orthogneiss (primarilyof graniticcompositon) with
intercalated paragneiss andsparseamphibolite.The migmatite
showsin situmelt structures,and melt podsof tourmaline-rich
graniteare common.It is probablethatthe migmatiteof the
Higher Himalayanthrustsheetis the sourcerock for the
Higher Himalayanleucogranite[Le Fort, 1981, 1989;Le Fort
et al., 1987]. The contactbetweenthe Rolwaling-Khumbu
Migmatiteand the underlyingJunbesiParagneiss is
gradational.
The JunbesiParagneiss.The JunbesiParagneiss is a 4000-
to 7000-m-thickunit of stronglyfoliated,garnet-biotite schist,
feldspathic gneiss,calc-silicate schist,metaquartzite, granitic
augengneiss,and rare amphibolite.Kyanite is commonin the
lower sequences of theJunbesiParagneiss but givesway to
sillimanitein the uppersequences between4 and7 km above
the MCT. The JunbesiParagneisslies at the baseof the
Higher Himalayanthrustsheet;thelowerboundaryof the
JunbesiParagneissis the MCT (Figures4-7).
The MahabharatCrystallines.The Mahabharat
Crystallines, a southernextensionof theHigherHimalayan
thrustsheet,consistof well-foliated,kyanite-andsillimanite-
bearinggneiss,biotiteschist,metaquartzite, amphibolite,calc-
silicategneissandaugengneiss.As with theJunbesi
Paragneiss, sillimaniteis restrictedto thegneisswhichlies
morethan4 km abovetheMCT. The Mahabharat Crystallines
are underlainby theMCT andarecontinuous with theJunbesi
929
Paragneissexposedto the north(Figures6 and 7).
The HigherHimalayanCrystallinesof easternNepal,
includingthe MahabharatCrystallinesof the Kathmandu
region,are overlainby theCambrianor Ordovicianto Eocene
Tibetansedimentary rockswhichweredeposited on the
northernmarginof theIndiansubcontinent andin theTethys
Sea [Gansser,1964; Shackleton,1981; Chi Hsiangand Shih-
Tseng,1978; Stocklin,1980]. In the Kathmanduregionthe
contactbetweenthe Higher HimalayanCrystallines(the
BhimphediGroupof Stocklin[1980]) andtheTibetan
SedimentarySeries(the PhulchaukiGroupof Stocklin[1980])
is unconformable[Stocklin, 1980]; in southernTibet the two
unitsareseparatedby a shearzonewith a normalsenseof
motion[Burget. al., 1984;BurchfielandRoyden,1985].
Therefore,with theexceptionof theintrusiveMiocene
Rolwaling-Khumbu-Makalu, ShishaPangma,andJannu
granites,theorthogneiss andparagneiss thatmakeup the
HigherHimalayanCrystallinethrustsheetareconsidered here
to be of Precambrianto Cambrianor Ordovicianage. If the
NarayanThan,Sindhuli,andDobareThumkagranitesareof
Cambro-Ordovician age,thenthepresenceof foliatedgneissic
andschistose xenolithswithin thesegranitessuggests that the
HigherHimalayanCrystallines alreadyhada metamorphic
foliationprior to thedepositionof theTibetansediments. The
HigherHimalayanCrystallinesare thusconsidered hereto have
beenthecrystallinebasementuponwhichtheTibetan
sediments weredeposited.
LesserHimalayanSeries
The LesserHimalayanSeriesof easternNepal consistsof
Precambrianto lowerPaleozoic(?) metasedimentary rocks(the
LesserHimalayanMetasediments), upperPaleozoic
Gondwanansedimentary rocks,andintrusivegranitesof
unknownage.The grouplies below theMCT andabovethe
Main BoundaryThrust(MBT) andtheMain Detachment Fault
(MDF). The LesserHimalayanSeriesis composed of the
followingexposedlithostructuralunits.
The KharePhyllite.The KharePhylliteconsistsof
graphite-richphyllite,biotite-muscovite-chlorite (+ garnet+
staurolite+ kyanite)phyllite,blackslate,calcitemarble,
dolomitemarble,talc schist,magnesite,andactinolite-epidote
schist.The KharePhyllite is as muchas 2500 m thick.The
slate,phyllite, andactinolite-epidoteschistof the Khare
Phylliteare characterized by a pronounced N-S to NE-SW
mineralstretchlineation,alongwith quartzveinsanda NW-
SE strikingcrenulationcleavage[Schelling,1989]. Garnets
andepidotesin thephylliticsequences of theKharePhyllite
arecommonlyrotationalandshowa S to SW directed
overthrustsenseof shear,in accordwith the inferreddirection
of overthrusting alongthe MCT [Schelling,1989]. Brunelet
al. [1985] reporttheoccurrence of paleobasidiospores of
"Precambrian to Cambrian"agewithinmagnesitebedsof the
KharePhyllite.Thesepaleobasidiospores are theonly fossils
foundto datewithin theLesserHimalayanMetasediments of
theeasternNepal Himalaya.
The Sun Kosi Phyllite. The Sun Kosi Phyllite is a 300- to
500-m-thickunit of biotite-chlorite-garnet phylliteexposed
directlyunderneath theMCT andtheMahabharatCrystallines
930 Schelling:
Structure
oftheEastern
Nepal
Himalaya

I i
87 o 880

TIBET •, ,,.

o • 27{
o jg •
oo o • ) 30'
ß

Taplejung . N

tg
tk;

Tamar Khola Window

tjg k ( SIKKHIM

27
tg

G .•
mc
• •Ilam
..'"'"'•_"{'
:i:i'
,,.
. M
BT MCT tjg
,•oOi.:iø:
oø
øøø oOo:ooO:o:ooO:o:ooO
:{o::
:o:O!o:iO:O
ooo)
0I 20
i
40km
J
O O //
/
I i i

Fig.5.Geologic
mapofthefar-eastern
NepalHimalaya
between
Mount
Makaluinthewest
andthe
Nepal-Sikkhim
border
intheeast.
Legend
forthemapisshown
inFigure
3.Abbreviations
areMCT,
MainCentral
Thrust;
MBT,MainBoundary
Thrust;
MFT,MainFrontal
Thrust;
TKT,TamarKhola
Thrust;and DT, DabmaiThrust.
 Schelling:Structureof theEasternNepalHimalaya 931

on the north and south sides of the Mahabharat Lekh. Like the
KharePhyllite,theSunKosiPhylliteis characterized by
rotationalgarnetsshowinga S directedoverthrustsenseof
shear.Thisunit is probablya southernextensionof theKhare
Phyllite.Becauseit occupiesa verylimitedareain mapview,
the SunKosi Phylliteis not shownin Figures4 and 5;
however,it is shownin thecrosssectionsof Figures6, 7, 8,
and 9.
The Melung-Salleri,Khandbari,andSisneKhola Augen
Gneiss.The Melung-Salleri,Khandbari,andSisneKhola
AugenGneissconsists of biotite-muscovite-quartz-feldspar
(+
chlorite+ tourmaline),myloniticaugengneissof granitic
composition containinglensesof phylloniteandmylonitic
metaquartzite.Thismyloniticaugengneissrangesin thickness
from lessthan 100 m (northeastof Chautara)to morethan
1400 m (northof Taplejung).The Melung-Salleri,Khandbari,
andSisneKholaAugenGneissis characterized by a strong,S-
C myloniticfoliationdefininga S to SW directedoverthrust
senseof shear,andby thepresence of feldsparporphyroclasts
as muchas 15 cm long [Schelling,1989]. This unit is
comparablein lithologyand tectonicpositionwithin the
Himalayanthrustpile to theUlleri AugenGneissdescribedby
Le Fort [1975] and Arita [1983].
The DolakhaPhyllite.The DolakhaPhylliteis exposed
beneaththeMelung-SalleriAugenGneiss(Figures4 and6)
andconsists of I000 m to 2000 m of graphite-richphyiiite,
biotite-muscovite-chlorite
(2_garne0phyllite,sericitephyllite,
andsemischist. An invertedmetamorphic sequence is observed
withintheDolakhaPhyllite;garnetis presentonly in thetop
severalhundredmetersof theunit.Rotationalgarnetsand
epidotesin theuppersequences of theDolakhaPhyliiteshowa
S to SW directedoverthrust senseof shear[Schelling,1989].
The SuriDhobanAugenGneiss.The Suri DhobanAugen
Gneissis a bodyof biotite-muscovite-chlorite-quartz-feldspar
myloniticaugengneisscontaininglensesof mylonitic
metaquartzite.Theserocks arecomparable in mineralogyand
textureto theMelung-SalleriAugenGneiss.The Suri Dhoban
AugenGneissis exposedonly in thecoreof theTambaKosi
Dome (Figures4 and 6), and is a minimumof 200 m thick.
The Ramechap-Tumlingtar-Taplejung Group.The
Ramechap-Tumlingtar-Taplejung Groupconsists of asmuch
as 12 km of metaquartzite, slate,metagraywacke (semischist),
calcitemarble,dolomitemarble,rareconglomerate, and
occcasionalbandsof myloniticaugengneiss.This unit has
beenintrudedby doleriticsillsin a numberof locations;K/Ar
wholerock agesof 820 Ma and630 Ma havebeenobtained
from two doleriticsills within theRamechapGroup[Talalov,
1972]. The Ramechap-Tumlingtar-Taplejung Groupis roughly
comparableto theNawakotComplexof Stocklin[1980],
whichin centralNepal includestheDhadingDolomite.The
latterhasyieldedearlyPaleozoicfossilalgae[Stocklin,1980].
The Ramechap-Tumlingtar-Taplejung Groupis therefore
believedto be of Precambrian to earlyPaleozoicage.
The Tamar Khola Granite. Within the Tamar Khola
Window thetopof a bodyof tourmaline-bearing graniteis
exposed(Figures5 and7). Thisgranitewasintrudedintothe
lowestobserved sequences of theTaplejungGroup.TheTamar
KholaGranitecontainsundeformed regionswhichgradeinto
shearzoneswith a distinctS-C mylonitictexture,the
myionitictexturedefininga S directedoverthrustsenseof
shear.Accordingto thegeologicalmapof easternNepal
compiledby Shrestha et al. [1984]similargranitesareexposed
southeast of Taplejung.The ageof thisgraniteis unknown.
Gondwanas. UpperPaleozoicandMesozoicGondwanan
sedimentaryrocks,suchas thoseobservedelsewherein the
centralHimalayanarc [e.g.,Gansser,1964;Frank andFuchs,
1969;Valdiya, 1980;Sakai,1983]arereportedfromonlyone
localityin theeasternNepalHimalaya[Bashyal,1980].In

Melung Tse Chordung SIndhull Garhl

r = RolwallngGranlte sp = SunKoslPhyllltes
0 10 20km
L, I I rp = RolwallngParagnelsses mc = MahabharatCrystallines
rm = RolwallngMlcjmatltes sg = $1ndhullGranites
]p = dunbeslParagnelsses s = $1wallkGroup
kp = Khare Phyllltes MCT = Main Central Thrust
ms = Melung-$allerl AugenOnelsses SKT = Sun Kosl Thrust
dp = DolakhaPhyllltes MBT = Maln BoundaryThrust
sd = $url DhobanAugenGneisses LHSZ= LesserHimalayan5hear Zone
rg = RarnechapGroup

Fig. 6. Geologiccrosssectionthroughtheeastern
NepalHimalayabetweenMelung-Tse(Rolwaling
Himalaya)andtheMain BoundaryThrustsouthof SindhuliGarhi.Locationof crosssectionis shownin
Figure 2.
932 Schelling:
Structure
oftheEastern
Nepal
Himalaya
,/
o
 Schelling:
Structure
of theEastern
NepalHimalaya 933

D E
N S
LEGEND

•oøø•
Upper
Siwaliks
::• Middle
Siwaliks
':• Lower
Siwaliks
•-] SunKosi
Phyllite
• Ramechap
Group
km
[-• Mahabharat
Crystallines

b 20kin 10

Fig. 8. (a) Balanced

and(b) restored
crosssections throughtheSub-HimalayanSiwalikHills of the
Sindhuliregion.Abbreviations areMCT, MainCentralThrust;MBT, MainBoundary Thrust;MT, Marin
(Dungrebans) Thrust;KT, KamalaThrust;ST, SunjhariThrust;MFT, Main FrontalThrust;andMDF =
Main Detachment Fault.Locationof sectionis shownin Figure2.

easternNepalthe Gondwanas areexposedabout10 km Tokuoka et al. [1986].

northwestof Dharan(Figure5) andincludenonmetamorphosed
sandstones,shales,conglomerates,
anddolomites[Bashyal,
1980].The Gondwanas areexposedin a thinthrustslicewhich
hasbeenoverthrustby theTumlingtarGroupto thenorthand
whichhasbeenthrustovertheSiwalikGroupto thesouth
alongtheMBT [Bashyal,1980](Figure5). Similarstructural
relationships
are observedbetweenthe Gondwanas,the Siwalik
GroupandtheLesserHimalayanMetasediments
(theDalings)
in theSikkhimHimalaya[Gansser,1964].Thereforethe
Gondwanas of eastern
Nepalmustlie stratigraphically
between
theoriginallyoverlyingSiwalikGroupandtheoriginally
underlyingLesserHimalayanMetasediments. However,
Gondwanas arenotnecessarily
presenteverywhere betweenthe
LesserHimalayanMetasediments and theSiwalik Groupin
easternNepal.
Sub-Himalaya
Lying betweenthe MBT to thenorthandthe Main Frontal
Thrust(MFT) to the south,the Sub-Himalayais underlainby
Mioceneto Plio-Pleistocenemolassicsedimentary rocksof the
SiwalikGroupwhichweredeposited in theforelandbasinof
therisingHimalaya[Gansser,1981;WestandMunthe, 1981;
Lyon-Caenand Molnar, 1985; Tokuokaet al., 1986]. The
SiwalikGroupof Nepal canbe dividedintothree
lithostratigraphic
units[Hagen,1969;Itiharaet al., 1972;
West and Munthe, 1981; Herail et al., 1986, Delcaillau et al.,
1987]:theLower Siwaliks,Middle Siwaliks,andUpper
Siwaliks.
The Lower Siwaliks.The Lower Siwaliksconsistprimarily
of variegatedmudstone andshalealongwith minorsandstone
beds.In easternNepal theLowerSiwaliksrangefrom2000 to
3100 m thick.The LowerSiwaliksof easternNepalcanbe
correlatedwith the ArungKholaFormationof centralNepal
whichhasbeendatedby magnetostratigraphy at 15-8.5Ma by
The Middle Siwaliks. The Middle Siwaliks consist
primarilyof mica-richsandstoneandarkosewithsparsely
intercalated
mudstone; in theuppersequences
pebble
conglomerates
are common.Individualcross-bedded
sandstone
bodiesof theMiddle Siwaliksarecommonlyasmuchas
severaltensof metersthick.In easternNepal the Middle
Siwaliksare 2000-3000m thick.Conglomerates in theMiddle
Siwalikscontainabundant pebblesof graniteandkyanite-and
sillimanite-bearing
gneiss,derivedfromtheHigherHimalayan
Crystallines.
ThereforetheHigherHimalayanCrystallines
musthavebeenupliftedandunroofed by thetimeof deposition
of theMiddle Siwalikconglomerate-bearing sequences. The
Middle Siwaliksof eastemNepalcanbe correlated with the
BinaiKholaFormationof centralNepalwhichhasbeendated
by magnetostratigraphyat 8.5-2.5 Ma by Tokuokaet al.
[1986].
The UpperSiwaliks.The UpperSiwaliksof easternNepal
arebetween1000and 1700 m thickandconsistprimarilyof
pebbleandcobbleconglomerates interbedded
with minor
sandstoneandmudstone. The roundedandpoorlysorted
cobblesof theUpperSiwaliksmay be as muchas 30 cm in
diameter.The UpperSiwaliksof easternNepalcanbe
correlatedwith theChitwanFormationof centralNepal which
hasbeendatedby Tokuokaet al. [1986]at approximately2.5
to 1.0 Ma.
In thefrontalthrustsheetsof theSub-Himalaya theUpper
Siwalik conglomerates gradeinto therecentalluvialsediments
of theDun (intermontane) valleys,while in the moreinternal
thrustsheetsof theSub-Himalaya thereis generallya sharp
unconformity
of 40ø ormorebetween
theUpperSiwalik
conglomerates
andtheoverlyingrecentalluvialdeposits.
The upwardcoarseningnatureof theSiwalikGrouprecords
thesouthwardmigrationof theHimalayantopographic front
since the middle Miocene.
934 Schelling:
Structure
of theEastern
NepalHimalaya

F G

LEGEND KT•-" _ • ---

MBT ...... • • "/•__ _ _
ø?• Upper
Siwa#ks MCT /-/"""' '"--'" ,./ / - ' //
• I ! •" •/ / __ MFT
I• Middle
Siwaliks
•'•-] Lower
Siwa#ks
SunKosi
Phyl•te
0 12

• Mahabharat
Crystallines

b 20km
i
10
i
0
J

Fig.9. (a)Balanced
and(b)restored
cross
section
through
theSub-Himalayan
SiwalikHillsof theKamri
region. Abbreviations
areMCT,MainCentralThrust;
MBT,MainBoundaryThrust;
KT, Kamala Thrust;
ST,Sunjhari Thrust;
MFT,MainFrontal Thrust;
andMDF,MainDetachmentFault.Location of section
is shownin Figure2.

STRUCTURE OF TIlE EASTERN NEPAL HIMALAYA 9); theHigherHimalayan

thrustsheetat onetimemusthave
completelycovered
thepresently
exposed LesserHimalayan
Meresediments.
The Main CentralThrustandtheHigherHimalayanThrust
TheHigherHimalayan
Crystallines,
abovetheMCT where
Sheet
it dipstothenorthornortheast
between
30ø and60ø onthe
northsidesof theRamechap andTamarKholawindows,are
The Main CentralThrust(MCT) in easternNepal is the
between15 and25 km thick(Figures6 and7). Southof the
tectonicdiscontinuity
alongwhichtheHigherHimalayan
Kathmandu Valley,however,theMahabharat Crystallines,
thrustsheet,composed
of theHigherHimalayanCrystallines,
has been thrust to the south-southwest over the Lesser whichunderlietheTibemn-Tethyan sediments
of the
Kathmandu region,areonlyabout6 km thick[Hashimoto et
HimalayanMetasediments. Generally, in eastern
Nepal,the
al., 1973;StocklinandBhattarai,1982].Elsewherein eastern
MCT isrecognized asthelocationwherethegranoblastic,
NepaltheMahabharat Crystallines
area minimum of 5-7km
kyanite-bearinggneissandschist of theJunbesi Paragneiss
and
thick(Figures
6 and7). Thus,overa calculated
distanceof
Mahabharat Crystallinesoverliethehighlysheared Khareand
140km asmeasured alongthefoldedMCT surface(Figure10;
SunKosiPhyllite.Northof Chaumra, however,in the
seealsoSchellingandArita [1991]),theMCT hascut9-20
northwestcomerof theRamechap Window,andnorthof
km "upsection"throughtheHigherHimalayan Crystalline
Taplejungin theTamarKholaWindow,theJunbesi
basement rocksof theHigherHimalayanthrustsheet(Figures
Paragneissliesdirectlyontopof theMelung-Salleri andSisne
6, 7, and 10). The MCT basement
frontalramp,then,is
KholaAugenGneiss(Figures 4 and5). Thesestructural
relationships
suggestthepresence of lateralrampsin the believed
tohavehadanaverage
dipofbetween
3.5ø and8ø to
footwallof theMCT, theMCT cuttingdownsectionin its the north-northeastat the time of initimtion. Tectonic
footwall to both the east and west. thicknening
of theHigherHimalayan thrustsheetdueto shear
Thekyanite-bearing JunbesiParagneiss,
exposed onthe thrusting
withinthehangingwall of theMCT wouldreduce
northsidesof theRamechap WindowandtheTamarKhola thecalculated
angleat whichtheMCT cutupthroughthe
Window,hasbeentracedsouthward by theauthorin the basement
rocksof theHigherHimalayanCrystallines;
vicinityof Kathmandu, andalongtheBhojpurandMilke thinningof theHigherHimalayan thrustsheetthroughnormal
Dandasynforms, to thekyanite-bearing
Mahabharat faultingat thetopof theHigherHimalayan Crystallines
would
Crystallines
of theMahabharat
Lekh(Figures
2, 4, and5). It increasethecalculatedangle.However,if thecalculated
thrust-
is thusclearthattheMahabharat
Crystallines
area southern basement cutoffangleis correctandwasmaintained updip(to
extensionof theHigherHimalayan Crystallines
andarepartof thesouth),theMCT basement-cover (HigherHimalayan
theHigherHimalayanthrustsheet.The southernmost Crystalline-TethyanSediment)hanging wallcutoffwouldlie
exposureof theMCT throughout eastern
Nepalisfoundjusta between35 and70 km updipfromthepresent exposure of the
few kilometersnorthof theMain BoundaryThrust(Figures6- MCT.
 Schelling:
Structure
oftheEastern
NepalHimalaya 935
I.l.I
cr \
I
I
Ix x x x
x x x
I
x x x
x x x
x x
x x x
!
936 Schelling:
Structure
of theEastern
The HigherHimalayanthrustsheetalsothickenstowardthe
eastfrom between15 and18km in the ShishaPangma,
Rolwaling(Gauri Shankar),Everest,andMakaluHimalayato
morethan25 km thickin theKangchenjunga Massif(Figures
6 and 7). Two hundredkilometerswestof Kathmandu,in the
Kali GandakiValley of centralNepal,theHigherHimalayan
thrust sheet is less than 10 km thick [Bordet et al., 1971;
Hashimotoet al., 1973; personalobservationsby the author,
1987]. This generalwestwardthinningof the Higher
Himalayanthrustsheetis herebelievedto be theresultof
lateralrampingin thehangingwall of the MCT.
The lithologicsimilaritybetweentheRolwaling-Khumbu-
Kangchenjunga Paragneiss andtheJunbesiParagneiss suggests
thepossibletectonicthickeningof theHigherHimalayan
thrustsheetthroughtherepetitionof lithotectonicunits,as
suggested by previousworkersin theKhumbu(Everest)region
[Hagen,1969;Hashimotoet al., 1973;Maruo andKizaki,
1981]. However, the authorhasobservedno clear evidencein
the field for majorthrustfaultsor shearzoneswithin the
Higher HimalayanCrystallines.
In easternNepal the MCT is associated with an inverse
metarnorphism;sillimanite,kyanite,garnet,biotite, and
chloritezonemetamorphicrocksof a Barrovianmetamorphic
sequence occurat progressively
deeperstructurallevelsin the
Himalayanthrustpile (Figures6 and7) (seealsomapsand
sectionsof Bordet [ 1961], Hashimoto et al. [ 1973], Maruo and
Kizaki [ 1981], Brunel [ 1986], Brunel and Kienast [1986],
Schelling[1987, 1989]). Above the MCT the sillimanite-
bearinggneissof theRolwaling-Khumbu Paragneissandthe
Rolwaling-Khumbu Migmatiteoverlie,structurally,
the
kyanite-bearingJunbesiParagneiss.Within the Mahabharat
Crystallines,whichmakeup the southern portionsof the
HigherHimalayanthrustsheet,sillimanite-bearing gneissalso
overlieskyanite-bearing
gneiss.The kyanite-sillimanite
isogradthroughout easternNepalliesbetween4 and7 km
abovethe MCT, bothon thenorthsidesof theRamechapand
Tamar Khola windowsandwithin theMahabharatSynform
(Figures6 and7). This geometricrelationship betweenthe
MCT andthekyanite-sillimanite isogradsuggests a genetic
relationshipas well, aspointedout by Le Fort [1975] and
Pecherand Le Fort [1986].
In eastemNepal theHigherHimalayanthrustsheetandthe
underlyingMCT aresteeplyfolded,asobserved withinthe
Mahabharat, Gosainkhund, Bhojpur,andMilke Danda
synforms(Figures6, 7, and 10). In addition,the MCT has
beenbreachedandoffsetby thrustingalongboththeSunKosi
ThrustandtheTamarKholaThrust(Figures6 and7). Thusit
is clearthatthe MCT is a presentlyinactivethrustfault which
hasbeeninactivesincetheinitiationof thrustingalongthe
Sun Kosi and Tamar Khola thrusts.
LesserHimalayanShearZone
The LesserHimalayanShearZone(LHSZ) is heredefined
as the several hundred meter to several kilometer thick zone of
phyllonite,mylonite,and myloniticaugengneisswhich
directlyunderlietheMain CentralThrustthroughout eastem
Nepal. The shearzoneincludesthe KharePhyllite, the Sun
Kosi Phyllite, the Melung-Salleri,Khandbari,and SisneKhola
NepalHimalaya
Augen Gneiss,the Dolakha Phyllite, and the Suri Dhoban
AugenGneiss;that is, thoselithostructuralunitswhich
overlietheRamechap-Tumlingtar-Taplejung Groupandwhich
underliethe MCT. This zonecorresponds to the "Zonedes
Ecailles"of Bordet[1961] andSchelling[1989], the "MCT
Zone"of Arita [1983], andto the "NappesInferieurs"of Brunel
[ 1986] and Brunel and Kienast [ 1986].
The lithostructural
unitswhichmakeup theLesser
HimalayanShearZonearecharacterized by penetrative
myloniticandphylloniticfabricsformed,in part,under
retrograde-or late-metamorphic,greenschist-facies
conditions.
The myloniticandphyllonitictexturesof theLesser
HimalayanShearZonecontrastsharplywith thegenerally
granoblastictexturesof the HigherHimalayanCrystalline
gneiss.The underlyingmetasediments of theRamechap-
Tumlingtar-Taplejung Group,while showinglocalizedzones
of mylonitizationandphyllonitization,arelesspenetratively
andlessintenselydeformedthantherocksof theLHSZ.
Within theLesserHimalayanShearZone, senseof shear
indicators,includingrotationalgarnetsandepidotes,S-C
mylonitictextures,intrafolialdragfolds,micafish,offset
mineralgrains,anda pronounced north-southto northeast-
southwestoriented mineral stretchlineation, all indicate a S to
SW directedoverthrustsenseof shear[Schelling,1989](see
alsoBrunel[1986]).This clearlydefinedsenseof shearwithin
the myloniticandphylloniticsequences of theLesser
HimalayanShearZone is in accordwith thepresumeddirection
of overthrusting
alongthe MCT in easternNepal.
Two outstandingproblemson thestructure andstratigraphy
of theLesserHimalayaof Nepalconcemtheoriginof the
LesserHimalayanAugenGneiss(e.g.,theMelung-Salleri,
Khandbari,SisneKhola,andSuriDhobanAugenGneissof
eastemNepal, theUlleri AugenGneissof centralNepal,and
theLingtseAugenGneissof Sikkhim)andthenatureof the
contactbetweentheLesserHimalayanAugenGneissandthe
underlyingmetasedimentary units.Le Fort [ 1975],Pecherand
Le Fort [1977] and Brunel [1986] believe that the Lesser
HimalayanAugenGneissareof volcanosedimentary
origin.
However, while Brunel [ 1986] believes that the Lesser
HimalayanAugenGneissis underlainby a thrustfault(thus
his "NappesInferieurs"),Le Fort [1975]andPecherandLe
Fort [1977] believethatthe sameaugengneissremainsin its
originalstratigraphicpositionwithintheLesserHimalayan
metasedimentary sequence. Arita [1983]andSinha-Roy[1979]
believethatthesameLesserHimalayanAugenGneissof
centralNepalandtheSikkhimHimalayais upthrust granitic
basement. Kano [1984] suggests thattheLesserHimalayan
AugenGneisswasoriginallycomposed of granitebodies
intrudedintotheLesserHimalayanMetasediments.
Unfortunately, thereis at presentno definitiveprooffor anyof
thesetheories,thoughthe structuralimplicationsfor the
easternNepalHimalayaareextreme.If theMelung-Salleri,
Khandbari,andSisneKholaAugenGneissareupthrust
basement rockwhichoriginallylayundemeath theRamechap-
Tumlingtar-Taplejung Groupmetasediments, thentheseaugen
gneisses arenecessarily undedainby a majorthrustfaultalong
whichtherehasbeena minimumof 50 km displacement
(Figures6 and7). Suggesting thattheaugengneissmaintains
its originalstratigraphic
positionwithintheLesserHimalayan
 Schelling:Structureof theEasternNepal Himalaya
Metasediments impliessignificantlylessshorteningwithin the
LesserHimalayanthrustsheet.
Finally,it mustbe notedthattheLesserHimalayanShear
Zone thins toward the south. Underneath the MCT root zone,
on the northsidesof theRamechapandTamarKhola
windows,theLesserHimalayanShearZoneattainsa thickness
of 1.5-3 kin; 50-60 km to the south, underneaththe
MahabharatLekh, theequivalentLesserHimalayanShearZone
does not exceed 500 m in thickness.
The LesserHimalayanThrustSheet
The LesserHimalayanthrustsheetis heredefinedasthe
thrust-fault-bound
packageof rockwhichunderlies theMCT
andwhichlies northof theMain BoundaryThrust(MBT). The
LesserHimalayanthrustsheetin easternNepal is composed
almostentirelyof LesserHimalayanmetasedimentary rocks
and includesthe myloniticsequences
thatmake up the Lesser
HimalayanShearZone. Boththe thin thrustsliceof
Gondwanas exposedin thehangingwall of theMBT westof
Dharan(Figure5) andtheintrusiveTamarKholaGranite
exposedin thecoreof theTamarKholaDome(Figures5 and
7) belongto theLesserHimalayanthrustsheetas well.
Focal mechanism solutions from the eastern sector of the
Himalayanarc,to whichtheeasternNepalHimalayabelongs,
indicatethattheLesserHimalayais underlainby a shallowly
north-northeastdippingthrustfault [Molnaret al., 1977;
Seeberand Armbruster,1981; Molnar, 1984; Baranowskiet
al., 1984]. The structuralgeometryof theeasternNepal
Himalayasupports thecontention
thattheLesserHimalayais
underlainby a decollement,
herecalledtheMain Detachment
Fault (MDF) (seeFigure10 andthesectionbelowon balanced
crosssections).
As waspointedoutabove,thesouthernmost exposure
of
theMCT in easternNepallieswithina few kilometers
of the
MBT. Thusall of theLesserHimalayanmetasedimentsnow
exposedin easternNepalhaveapparentlybeenoverthrust
by
theHigherHimalayanthrustsheet;theMCT may thenbe
considereda roof thrustto theLesserHimalayanthrustpackage
(Figure10).The Main Detachment
Fault(MDF), which
underliestheLesserHimalaya,is considered hereto be the
floor, or solethrust,of theLesserHimalayanthrustsheet
(Figure 10).
Within theLesserHimalayanthrustsheetan inverted
metamorphic sequence is observed,
withgarnet,biotiteand
chloritezonemetamorphic rocksappearing
in successively
deeperstructural levels(Figures6 and7). Kyaniteand
stauroliteareoccasionally foundwithinseveralhundredmeters
of the MCT within the KharePhyllite. Sincethereis at
presentnoevidence
for a pre-Himalayan
metamorphic
eventin
theLesserHimalayanMetasediments
of easternNepal,and
since there are no observable tectonic discontinuities between
the metamorphiczones,it is probablethatmetamorphism
within theLesserHimalayanMetasediments is theresultof
heattransferfrom theMCT hangingwall to the MCT footwall
duringandafteroverthrusting
alongtheMCT, asoriginally
envisionedby Le Fort [1975].
MetamorphiczoneswithintheLesserHimalayanthrust
sheet are observed to crosscut the lithostructural units defined
in thefirstpartof thispaper.In thecentralandeasternpartsof
937
theRamechapWindowtheRamechapGroupmetasediments
havebeenmetamorphosed only to thechloritezone(Figure6;
seealsothemapsof Hashimotoet al. [1973]). However,in
thewesternportionsof theRamechap Window(in the
Chautararegion),in the vicinityof Tumlingtar,and within the
Tamar Khola Window, the Ramechap,Tumlingtar,and
TaplejungGroupmetasediments includechlorite,biotite,and
garnetmetamorphic zones(Figure7). The DolakhaPhyllite,
exposedbetweentheMelung-SalleriAugenGneissandthe
Suri DhobanAugenGneissin the TambaKosi Dome, also
showsan invertedmetamorphism, with the upperkilometer
bearingabundantgarnetsandthelowerkilometercontaining
only biotite-chlorite-sericite
phylliteswhichlack garnets.
The garnetmetamorphic zoneunderneath theMCT thins
southward from between 2 and 6.5 km thick in the root zone
of the MCT to less than 500 m thick on the south side of the
MahabharatLekh (Figures6 and7).
The structureof theLesserHimalayaof easternNepalis
characterized
by thepresence of multikilometer-scale
antiforms
andsynformstrendingroughlyENE-WSW andN-S, the
intersecting
foldsresultingin theculminationswhichhave
formedtheRamechap-Okhaldhunga, Amn, andTamarKhola
windowsandthetectonicdepressions of theKathmandu Basin
andtheMahabharat,Gosainkhund, Bhojpur,andMilke Danda
synforms(Figures2, 4, and5). Thesepostmetamorphic folds
are here believed to be thrust-related structures that reflect the
internalgeometryof theLesserHimalayanthrustsheetandthe
topographyof the underlyingMDF.
TheMainBoundary
Thrust
andAssociated
Hanging
Wall
Imbricates
In easternNepal theMain BoundaryThrust(MBT), which
formsthesouthernboundaryof theLesserHimalayanthrust
sheet,is a steeply(greaterthan60ø) northdippingto
overturned,southdippingthrustfault alongwhichthelow-
grade(chloritezone)LesserHimalayanMetasediments of the
Ramechap,Tumlingtar,andTaplejunggroupshavebeenthrust
overtheSiwalikGroupof theSub-Himalaya(Figures6-9).
The MBT generallyhasLowerandMiddleSiwaliksexposed at
the surfacein its footwall(Figures4, 5, 8, and9). However,
northof Karmaiyaandeastof Ilam, UpperSiwalik
conglomerates areexposedin theMBT footwall(Figures4 and
5). Thusalongits entirelengthin easternNepal theMBT has
rampedup sectionthroughseveralkilometersof Lesser
HimalayanMetasediments andbetween3 and 6 km of Siwalik
Groupsection(Figures7, 8, and9).
North of the MahabharatLekh, andformingthe southern
boundaryof theRamechapWindoweastof Ramechap,liesthe
Sun Kosi Thrust(Figure4, SKT), alongwhich the Sun Kosi
River flows for muchof its length.The SunKosi Thrusthas
lifted theRamechapGroupin its hangingwall (on thenorth
sideof thefau10upwardrelativeto theMahabharat
Crystallinesexposedin its footwall(Figure6). Alongthe
MelungTse-SindhuliGarhisection(Figure6) theSunKosi
Thrustcutsthroughtheforelimbof an asymmetric,south-
vergentfold, theRamechapAnfiform-Mahabharat Synform
pair. The RamechapAntiformis believedhereto be a hybrid
fold, a combination of a faultpropagationfold anda faultbend
fold (Figure 10). CuttingthroughtheinactiveMCT andLesser
938 Schelling:Structure
of theEasternNepalHimalaya

HimalayanShearZone,thepresentlyactive[Nakata,1989] Himalaya.The Main FrontalThrust(MFT), alongwhich

SunKosi Thrustis a breachthrustwhichis causingthe Middle or Lower Siwaliksarepresentlybeingthrustoverthe
"leapfrogging,"
or reinversion,
of previouslyinvertedtectonic recentalluvialsediments of theGangesBasin(theforeland
units. basinof the Himalaya),is the southernmostemergentthrust
Southeast of Okhaldhunga theSunKosiThrusttums fault of theSHIZ andtheHimalayanorogenicbelt, andis the
abruptlyfrom its WNW-ESE strikeon the northsideof the southernboundaryof theHimalayanorogen(Figures4, 5, 7,
Mahabharat Lekh to a roughlyN-S strikingorientation (Figure 8, and 9).
4). Here the SunKosi Thrusthasbecomean obliquethrust. Westof theDharanregiononeor morethrustfaultsare
Mappingby the authorhasshownthatthe SunKosi Thrust observedbetweentheMFT andtheMBT (Figure4). These
branchesoff of theMain BoundaryThrustnorth-northwest of thrustfaults,includingtheMarin andKamalathrusts,have
Kanchanpur(Figure4). The SunKosi Thrusthasthusbeen generallythrustLower SiwaliksoverUpperSiwaliks(Figures
shownto be a splaythrustoff of the MBT; the SunKosi 4, 8, and9). Northeastof Karmaiya,however,theKamala
ThrustandtheMBT mustjoin at depthunderneath the Thrustcutsup sectionin its hangingwall, to the west,
RamechapWindow. throughthe Middle Siwaliksandinto theUpperSiwaliks
Westof Ramechapthe SunKosi Thrustturnstowarda
(Figure4).
NW-SE orientation(Figure4). Displacement acrossthe Sun
The Marin Thrust(Figure4, MT) branchesoff the MBT
KosiThrustdecreases to theNW andis apparently transferred
southof Ramechapandcoalesces with theKamalaThrust
to a seriesof splaythrustsandfoldsbothnorthandsouthof
northeastof Karmaiya(Figure4). The KamalaThrustcanbe
Kathmandu(seethe mapsof Hashimotoet al. [1973]). Of
tracedeastwardnorthof MuksarandKanchanpurto whereit
particularinterestis theNarayanThanfault (Figure4), a north
apparentlymergeswith theMFT westof Dharan(Figures4
dippingnormalfault in the vicinityof NarayanThanwhich
and 5). Thus the MBT, the Marin Thrust, the Kamala Thrust,
separates theunderlyingNarayanThanGranitesfrom the
and the MFT, as well as the Sun Kosi and Tamar Khola
overlyingTibetansediments of theKathmanduBasin.This
thrusts,are all seento belongto the samethrustsystem.
normalfault maybe a detachment betweentheoverlying Between Dharan and Madhumalla the Siwalik Hills are
TibetanSediments andtheunderlyingMahabharat
thinnerthanelsewherein Nepal, theirwidthin the vicinityof
Crystallines.Alternatively,it mayrampdowndipto join either
Dharanreachingonly severalkilometers(Figure5) in contrast
theMCT or theMDF. Aerial photographs andLandsat
to a 20-25 km widthnorthof Kanchanpur, Muksarand
imagerysuggest thatthisnormalfaultis connected to theSun
Karmaiya(Figure4). BetweenDharanandMadhumalla, and
Kosi Thrust,andthusit is heresuggested thattheNarayan
withinabout20 km of theNepal-Sikkhimborder,thereareno
Than fault is a listricnormalfault whichis a splayoff of the
emergentthrustfaultsbetweenthe MBT andthe MFT (Figure
MDF. It is possiblethatthe NarayanThan fault was
5). However,betweenMadhumallaandIlam the MBT contains
originallya thrustfault whichwaslaterreactivated asa normal
a rejoiningsplaythrustin its footwall,the DabmaiThrust
fault.Boundedon thenorthby a listric(?) normalfaultandon
(Figure5, DT), alongwhichLower Siwalikshavebeenthrust
the southby a seriesof thrustfaults,theMahabharatLekh
over Upper Siwaliks.It is in this locationthat the Siwalik
southof Kathmandumayhaverecentlyundergone a processof
Hills of far easternNepalarewidest.
southward "extrusion."
Balancedcrosssectionsthroughthe Siwalik Hills (Figures
The TamarKhola Thrust(Figures5 and7, TKT) is a
subverticalthrustfault alongwhichthemetasedimentary rocks
8 and9; seealsothecrosssectionsof Schellinget al. [1991]
of theTaplejungGroup,on thenorthsideof the fault,have andSchellingandArita [1991])showthattheSub-Himalaya
of easternNepalhasanemergent imbricatefangeometry.The
beenupliftedrelativeto theMahabharatCrystallineson the
south side of the fault. Like the Sun Kosi Thrust, the Tamar
MFT, the "Dun"thrusts(includingthe Marin, Kamala,and
Dabmai thrusts),the MBT, and associatedsplaythrustsall
Khola Thrustis a breachthrustwhichhascut throughthe
inactive MCT north of the Mahabharat Lekh of far-eastern
rampup sectiondirectlyto the erosionsurfacethrougha 5- to
7-km-thicksectionof the Siwalik Groupwith no major
Nepal (Figure7). It tooappearsto branchoff of theMBT
interveningthrustflats.A basaldetachment, theMain
northof Kanchanpur(Figure4), thoughthishasyet to be
DetachmentFault (MDF), from which the Sub-Himalayan
provenin the field.
imbricatethrustsoriginate,liesbetween5 and7 km depth
In the vicinity of Dharanthereis a changein the structural
belowthe Sub-Himalaya,within or at thebaseof theLower
systemwhichaccommodates north-south shorteningin the toe
Siwaliks.Uplifted recentalluvial sediments southof theMFT
of theHimalayanorogenicwedge.Northof Dharanshortening
suggestthe presenceof blind thrustfaultssouthof the MFT
in thetoeof thewedgehasapparently beenaccommodated
primarilyby MBT hangingwall imbricatethrusting(Figure within the Siwalik Groupof theGangesBasin,andthusthe
5). To boththeeastand thewestof Dharan,however,a large MDF is believedto continueunderneath theGangesBasin
percentage of thesametectonicshortening hasbeen southof the MFT (Figures7-10).
accommodated by imbricatethrustingin thefootwallof the
BALANCED CROSS SECTIONS, TECTONIC
MBT, in the Sub-Himalayanimbricatezone(Figures4 and 5).
SHORTENING, AND THRUST TECTONICS
The Sub-HimalayanImbricateZone
BalancedCrossSection:MelungTse-Sindhuli

Southof the MBT lies the Sub-Himalayanimbricatezone ThegeologiccrosssectionsthroughtheRolwaling

(SHIZ), thepresentlyactiveforelandfold-and-thrust
beltof the Himalaya(Figure6) andtheSiwalikHills of theSindhuli
 Schelling:
Structure
of theEastern
region(Figure8) havebeencombined todrawa balanced
structural
sectionacrosstheHigher,Lesser,andSub-Himalaya
of theeasternNepalHimalaya(Figure10).The balanced
structural
sectionof Figure10 hasbeendrawnperpendicular to
thegeneralstructuraltrendof theeastern NepalHimalaya
(Figures2 and4), andsubparallel to linearion
orientations
in
theHigherHimalayanCrystallines andtheLesserHimalayan
Metasediments which are believed to indicate the direction of
shorteningandtectonictransport in theeasternNepal
Himalaya[Brunel,1986;Schelling,1989].
While theHigherHimalayanandtheLesserHimalayan
thrustsheetsare composed primarilyof metamorphic rocks,
andthusstructuralsectionsacrosstheorogencannotbe
precisely"balanced," surficialstructuraldataandgeometric
constraintsallow theconstruction of permissable
and
restorablecrosssections.
All of thelarge-scale sructures
used
to constructthe balancedcrosssections,and all of the
structures
whichhavebeenrestored,arepostmetamorphic
structures
whichhavedeformedthepreviouslymetamorphosed
HigherHimalayanCrystallines andLesserHimalayan
Metasediments. Moreover,within the LesserHimalayan
Metasediments, foliationsurfacesare alwaysparallelor
subparallel
to originalsedimentary beddingsurfaces, andthus
it is reasonable to assume that these foliation surfaces were
subplanarpriorto thedeformation
eventwhichproducedthe
structures
analyzedandrestoredbelow.Therehasbeenno
attempttorestorethesynmetamorphictolate-metamorphic
structures
observedwithintheHigherHimalayanandLesser
Himalayanthrustsheets.
Pinnedin theGanges(foreland)Basinsouthof theMFT,
thebalancedcrosssectionthroughtheSub-Himalaya of the
Sindhuliregionshowsa totalshortening
of 24 km (Figure8).
The SiwalikHills of eastern
Nepalareunderlainby theMDF
which,in theSindhuliregion,liesat thebaseof, or within,
theLowerSiwaliksat a depthof between5.5 and6 km
(Figure8). Therefore
alongtheMelungTse-Sindhuli
section
theMDF mustlie at approximately
thesamestructural-
stratigraphic
horizon(thebaseof theLowerSiwaliks)toa
distanceof about55 km northof thesurfaceexposureof the
MFT (pointX in Figure10).BoththeMahabharat
Synform
andtheRamechap
Antiformmust,then,be underlainby the
MDF where it lies at the base of or within the Lower Siwalik
sediments at a calculated
depthof 6-7 km belowsealevel.
Schellinget al. [1991] haveshownthatin thenearby
centralNepalSub-Himalaya of theHitaudaregiontheSiwalik
Groupdisplays a southwardthinningwedgegeometry, thebase
of theLowerSiwaliksdippinggentlyto thenorth.Lyon-Caen
andMolnar [1985] haveshowna similarwedge-shaped
geometry fortheSiwalikGroupin theGanges Basinandthe
Sub-Himalaya in theKumaonregionof NorthwestIndia,the
Siwalik/sub-Siwalik unconformity dippingseveraldegreesto
thenorth.ThereforetheSub-Himalaya of easternNepalis
shownin Figures7-10 asdippingseveraldegrees to thenorth.
Throughout theNepalHimalayatheMCT is subparallel to
thefoliationsof theoverlyingHigherHimalayanCrystallines
andtheunderlying LesserHimalayan Metasediments [Ishida,
1969; Hashimotoet. al., 1973; Le Fort, 1975; Stocklin,
1980; Maruo and Kizaki, 1981; Arita, 1983; Brunel, 1986;
BrunelandKienast,1986;Schelling,1989;Schellingand
NepalHimalaya 939
Arita, 1991].ThustheHigherHimalayanandMahabharat
Crystallinefoliationscanbe usedwith someaccuracyto
determine thegeometry of theunderlyingMCT. Foliations
withintheMahabharat Crystallines
havebeenusedto drawthe
MCT underneath theMahabharatSynformin Figures6, 7, and
10.Projecting theMCT andtheMDF to depthbeneath the
Mahabharat Lekhsuggests thatthethickness
of theRamechap
Groupmetasediments betweentheMBT andtheMCT doesnot
change
significantly
between
thesurface
exposures
of the
MCT and the MBT on the south side of the Mahabharat Lekh
and the branchline betweenthe MBT and the MDF (Figure
10). In otherwords,betweenits surfaceexposure andits
branchline with the MDF, over a distanceof about 10 km, the
MBT hasan approximatehangingwall flat geometry.A
corresponding
footwallflat alongtheMDF, witha lengthof
10 km or more,mustthenexist within the LesserHimalayan
Metasediments to the north.
As discussed
above,the SunKosi Thrust(SKT) hasbeen
shownby mappingto be a splaythrustoff of theMBT
(Figures2 and4), andthustheSKT mustbelongto thesame
thrustsystem astheMBT andtheSub-Himalayan imbricate
zone.Thereforethe SKT is shownin Figure10 as beinga
splaythrustoff of theMDF. Cuttingthrough theforelimbof
theasymmetric, south-vergentRamechap Antiformandthe
northlimb of theMahabharatSynform,theSKT is believedto
cutthrough theforelimbof a kilometer-scale
rampanticline
(Figure10).
The structural
geometryof theLesserHimalayan
Metasediments withintheRamechap Windowhasbeenusedto
determine,approximately,thegeometry of theunderlyingSKT
and the solethrustof theLesserHimalayanthrustsheet,the
MDF. The northlimb of theRamechapAntiformis believed
to define the orientation of the SKT above and south of its
branchwith the MDF, which, as statedabove, must lie at a
depthof about6-7 kmbelowsealevelbelowtheRamechap
Antiform(Figure10).The SKT is thusshownashavinga
listticshape,
dippingsteeply
(>60ø) atthesurface
and
flatteningdowndipasit approaches
theMDF atapproximately
7 km depth.
North of the SKT-MDF branchline, at pointX in Figure
10, theMDF is believedto rampdownsectionin its footwall,
to thenorth,into theLesserHimalayanMetasediments,an
MDF rampdipof 25ø corresponding to the25ø dipsobserved
in theLesserHimalayanMetasediments onthenorthlimbof
theRamechap Antiform.ThisMDF rampmustlie northof
pointX in Figure10 (theline southof whichtheMDF must
lie within or at the baseof the Siwalik sediments)and southof
the footwallflat within the LesserHimalayanMetasediments
whichcorresponds to thehangingwall flat of theMBT (Figure
10). The MDF in thislocationis shownas rampingup
sectionthrough1.4 km of LesserHimalayanMetasediments,
thethicknessof theRamechap Groupobserved betweenthe
surfaceexposures of theMCT andtheMBT onthesouthside
of theMahabharatLekh (Figures8 and 10).
The 300-40ø northto northeast
foliationdipsof theHigher
HimalayanCrystallines
andtheLesserHimalayan
Metasediments on the north side of the Tamba Kosi Dome are
believedto definethelocationof a majorfootwallrampalong
940 Schelling:Structure
of theEasternNepalHimalaya
the MDF. Betweenthe Tamba Kosi Dome and the Ramechap
Antiformthesubhorizontal dipsof theLesserHimalayan
Metasediments arebelievedto reflectan underlyingflat-on-flat
thrustgeometry,a hangingwall flat lyingat thebaseof the
estimated13-km-thicksectionof LesserHimalayan
Metasediments (Figure10). As thetopof theLesser
HimalayanMetasediments, underlyingthebaseof the Siwalik
Group,mustlie at a depthof 7-8 km beneaththeRamechap
Window (Figure 10), thebaseof theknownLesserHimalayan
Metasedimentsectionmustlie at a depthof 20 km or more
below sealevel. ThereforetheMDF hangingwall flat within
the LesserHimalayanMetasediments on the southsideof the
TambaKosi Dome shouldhavea corresponding footwallflat
at a depthof greaterthan20 km belowsealevel northof the
Tamba Kosi Dome. The MDF footwall ramp, then,on the
northsideof the Tamba Kosi Dome, is shownasrampingup
sectionthrough13 km of LesserHimalayanMetasediments
from a depthof 23 km to a depthof 10 km below sealevel.
North of thisramplies the footwallflat within or at thebase
of theLesserHimalayanMetasedimentary sectionwhich
corresponds to the hangingwall flat southof theTambaKosi
Dome.
The combinedsouthlimb of theRamechapAntiform and
northlimb of the MahabharatSynformis believedto be
underlainby an MDF hangingwall rampwhichcorresponds to
thefootwallrampalongthe MDF on thenorthsideof the
TambaKosi Dome (Figure 10). Thereforethe Ramechap
Window (culmination)is believedto overlie a multikilometer-
scale fault-bend antiform.
The300-40ø north-northeast
foliationdipsof theHigher
HimalayanCrystallines,northof theRamechapWindow,are
interpretedasreflectingtwo differentunderlyingthrust
geometries.Above an estimateddepthof about10 km below
sealevel thenorth-northeast dipsof the HigherHimalayan
Crystallinesreflecta flat-on-flatgeometryalongthe MCT; the
hangingwall andfootwallsequences of theMCT dip
uniformlyto the north-northeast andreflecttheapproximate
orientationof theunderlyingfootwallrampalongtheMDF.
Below 10 km depththeLesserHimalayanMetasediments are
believedto flattenout,andtheHigherHimalayanCrystalline
foliationdipsof 300-40ø tothenorth-northeast
reflectan
MCT flat-on-rampgeometry.
Throughout easternNepalthenorthward dipsof theHigher
HimalayanCrystallines, northof theRamechap andTamar
Kholawindows,areobserved to flattento thenorth(Figures6
and7). Whilethisgeneralflatteningof HigherHimalayan
Crystallinefoliationscanbe explained by deformation within
theHigherHimalayanthrustsheet,it is heresuggested that
thisregionalflatteningof foliationsdefines,approximately,
thelocationat whichtheMCT coalesces with a gentlynorth
dippingMDF. By usingtheHigherHimalayanCrystalline
foliafionorientationsin theMelungTse-SindhuliSectionthe
MCT hasbeenprojecteddownwardto theMDF; theMCT-
MDF branchlineliesat an estimated depthof approximately
25 km below sealevel (Figure 10).
The unexposedunitsmakingup thecoreof theTamba
Kosi Dome,labeled"unknownLesserHimalayanrocks"in
Figure10,maybe LesserHimalayanMetasedimentary "cover"
rocks,"basement" crystallinesbelongingto the Indian
continentalbasement (comparable to theHigherHimalayan
Crystallines),or both,andmayhavea compleximbricate
(duplex)structure. As an intenselydeformedimbricatepackage
of both"basement" and"cover"rockswhichhaveundergone
ductileto brittle-ductile
simplesheardeformation at a depthof
20-25 km belowsealevel,thissequence of unexposed
"unknownLesserHimalayanrocks"may be analogous to the
LesserHimalayanShearZone.
ShorteningAmountsandRatesAcrossEasternNepal
The balancedcrosssectionof Figure 10 showsa total
shorteningof 70 km within theLesserand Sub-Himalaya.Of
this70 km of shorteningaccommodated by motionalongthe
MDF, the Sub-Himalayanimbricatezone,includingthe
Marin, Kamala, Sunjhari,andMain Frontalthrusts,has
accommodated about25 km of shortening;the SunKosi
Thrust has accommodated another 10 km of horizontal
shortening;
and the MBT hasabsorbedtheremaining35 km of
shortening.
The MBT may thenbe considered thedominant
exposedthrustfault within theLesserandSub-Himalaya,and
the Sub-Himalayamay be considered a footwallimbricatefan.
As shownin Figure 10, theHigherHimalayanCrystallines
havebeenthrustover theLesserHimalayanMetasediments a
minimumof 140 km, as measuredalongthe foldedandfaulted
MCT surface.However, as discussedabove, the eroded
portionsof theMCT may haveaccommodated another35-70
km of overthrusting,
andtheactualdistancebetweentheburied
footwallcutoffanderodedhangingwall cutoffof the
"basement-cover"(HigherHimalayanCrystalline-Tibetan
Sediment?) contact,asmeasured alongtheMCT, is probably
closerto 175-210km. With an averagefrontalrampdip along
the MCT, at the time of initiation,of lessthan 10o (see
above),the MCT hasaccommodated an equivalentamountof
horizontalshortening.Thereforetotalnorth-south tectonic
shorteningacrossthe easternNepal Himalaya,southof the
Tibetan Plateau, has been a minimum of 210 kin, and has
probablybeencloserto 245-280km. Sinceshortening dueto
synmetamorphic ductiledeformation withintheHigherand
LesserHimalayanthrustsheetshasnotbeentakeninto
account,thefiguresgivenheremustbe considered minimum
shorteningamounts.In addition,it mustbe stressed thatthese
figuresdo notincludetectonicshortening (andextension)
acrosstheTibetanHimalayabetweentheIndus-Tsangpo
Sutureand the summitsof the High Himalaya,andthustotal
shorteningacrossthe northernmarginof the Indian
subcontinent,sinceits collisionwith Asia, hasprobablybeen
greaterthanthefiguresgivenhere.
Of the above calculated 210-280 km of north-south tectonic
shorteningabsorbed by theeasternNepalHimalaya,between
67% and75% hasbeenaccommodated by thrusting alongthe
MCT, theremaining25-33%beingaccommodated by motion
alongtheMDF andits associated splaythrusts.
The presentdistancebetweentheHigh Himalayabehind
Melung Tse,abovetheprojectedMCT-MDF branchline
shownin Figure 10, and the GangesPlain, is 150 km. Thus
theeasternNepalHimalayahasundergone between58% and
65% shortening.This calculatedshortening
of 58-65% for the
 Schelling:
Structure
of theEastern
MelungTse-Sindhulisectionis comparable to the59-65%
shorteningcalculatedfor thefar-easternNepalHimalayaby
Schellingand Arita [ 1991], andto the64% tectonicshortening
calculatedfor thenorthwestern Himalayaof Pakistanby Butler
and Coward [1989].
K/Arand40Ar/39Ar
radiometric
agedates
fromtheHigher
HimalayanCrystallinesof theeasternNepalHimalaya,and
from sediments
withintheBengalFan,suggestthat
exhumationand coolingof theHigherHimalayanCrystallines
beganbetweenabout15 and21 Ma [Krummenacher et al.,
1978; Kai, 1981; Ferrara et al., 1983; Maluski et al., 1988;
HubbardandHarrison,1989;CopelandandHarrison,1990]. If,
as suggested by PecherandLe Fort [ 1986] and Sternet al.
[ 1989],earlyexhumationof theHigherHimalayan
Crystallines,due in part to uplift anderosion,reflectscrustal
rampingalongtheMCT, thentheMCT musthavebeen
initiatedbetween15 and21 Ma. However,if theHigher
Himalayanleucogranites (e.g.,theRolwaling-Khumbu,
ShishaPangma,andJannugranites)wereproduced by melting
within themigmatitesof theHigherHimalayanthrustsheet
after thrustingalongtheMCT hadbegun,assuggested by Le
Fort [1981, 1989] and Le Fort et al. [1987], then the 24 Ma
U/Pb datesfrom theKhumbu(Everest)Granitesobtainedby
Schareret al. [1986] wouldsuggest thattheMCT wasactive
by 24 Ma. It appears,then,that initiationof thrustingalong
the MCT begansometimebetweenapproximately15 and25
Ma. Thusthetotalcalculatedshortening of 210-280km across
theeasternNepal Himalayahasbeentakingplaceat an average
rate of between8.4 and 18.6 mm per year.
ThrustSequences
and StructuralEvolution
As theMCT surfacein easternNepalhasbeenfaultedand
offsetby boththe SunKosi and theTamarKholathrusts
(Figures6, 7, and 10) andhasbeensteeplyfoldedas well,
thereis little doubtthat in easternNepal the MCT is presently
inactive.Thesesamestructuralrelationships alsoprovethat
motionalongthe TamarKhola andthe SunKosi thrusts
postdates motionalongtheMCT. As theSunKosiandTamar
Khola thrustsare splaythrustsoff of the MBT and the MDF it
is thereforeinferredthatmotionalongtheMDF andMBT
postdates motionalongtheMCT. Accomodation of tectonic
shorteningwithin theeasternNepal Himalayaorogenicwedge
wasapparentlytransferred from theMCT to theunderlying
MDF in a "piggyback"sequence.
Becausethe SunKosi Thrustapparentlycutsthroughthe
forelimbof a previouslyformedfault-bendantiformabovethe
MDF, the Sun Kosi Thrust must be a break-back thrust
formedin thehangingwall of a moresoutherlysplaythrust
off of the MDF, which is here believed to be the MBT. The
Tamar Khola Thrustof far-easternNepal (Figure7) hasthe
samestructural,and thustemporal,relationships with the
MDF and the MBT as the Sun Kosi Thrust[Schellingand
Arita, 1991].
Two linesof evidencesuggestthattheMBT wasactive
prior to theformationof theSub-Himalayanimbricatezone
(SHIZ). First,while the MBT containsLesserHimalayan
Metasediments in its hangingwall, the Sub-Himalayanthrust
faults(theMarin,Kamala,Sunjhari,Dabmai,andMain
Frontalthrusts)all lie at thebaseof or entirelywithinthe
NepalHimalaya 941
Siwalik Group.The MBT and the SHIZ havebeenshown
throughmappingto be part of the samethrustsystem
connected by theunderlyingMDF. Sincethrustfaultsare
generallyconsideredto rampupwardtowardtheerosionsurface
as theypropagatethemselves forward,andsincetheLesser
HimalayanMetasediments stratigraphically
underliethe
Siwalik Group,thesegeologicrelationships suggestthatthe
partsof the MBT whichare presentlyexposedwereactiveprior
to the developmentof the SHIZ.
Second,throughout easternNepaltheMBT is a steeply
northdipping(>60ø) to verticalthrustfaultandin placesis
overturnedand steeplysouthdipping.In thefootwallof the
MBT the SiwalikGroupis alsoalwaysnorthdipping.These
structuralrelationships,particularlyin theregionswherethe
MBT is southdipping,suggestthatthe MBT hasbeenrotated
into its presentorientationby later thrustingin its footwall
(within the Sub-Himalayanimbricatezone).
Thereareat presentno structural or stratigraphicdatathat
reliablyindicatetherelativetimingof motionalongthe
differentthrustfaultsof the Sub-Himalayanimbricatezone.
CONCLUSIONS
Southof the TibetanPlateautheeasternNepal Himalaya
can be divided into three distinct fault-bounded tectonic
packages:
(1) theHigherHimalayanthrustsheet,(2) theLesser
Himalayanthrustsheet,and (3) theSub-Himalayanimbricate
zone.
The HigherHimalayanthrustsheet,composed of the
HigherHimalayanCrystallines,is a 15- to 25-km-thick
sequence of intrusivegranitesandsillimanite-andkyanite-
bearingmetamorphic rocksdisplayingan inverted
metamorphic zoning.
The LesserHimalayanthrustsheetis composedof the
LesserHimalayanSeries,a 12- to 13-km-thicksequence of
metasedimentary rocks(theLesserHimalayanMetasediments),
sparseintrusivegranites,anda thin thrustsliceof Gondwanas.
The LesserHimalayanMetasediments alsodisplayan inverted
metamorphism, with thekyanite-staurolite,
garnet,biotite,and
chloritezonesof a Barrovianmetamorphicsequence occurring
in progressivelydeeperstructurallevels.The LesserHimalayan
thrustsheetincludestheLesserHimalayanShearZone
(LHSZ), a severalhundredmeterto severalkilometerthick
zoneof mylonites,phyllonites,and myloniticaugengneiss
whichdirectlyunderliesthe MCT. The LesserHimalayan
Seriesis exposedonly in tectonicwindowsand in a thin slice
between the MCT and the MBT.
The Sub-Himalayanimbricatezoneis composedof the
Siwalik Groupmolassicsedimentary rockswhichwere
depositedin theforelandbasinof therisingHimalaya.The
SiwalikGroupcanbe dividedintotheLower,Middle, and
Upper Siwaliks.
In easternNepal the Higher Himlayanthrustsheethasbeen
thrustover theLesserHimalayanMetasediments a minimum
of 140 km alongthe MCT, thoughprojectionof the MCT
abovetheerosionsurfacesuggests thatsouthwardthrustingof
the Higher Himalayanthrustsheethasbeencloserto 175-210
km. The LesserHimalayanthrustsheetis overlainby, andat
onetime wasentirelycoveredby, theMCT andtheHigher
Himalayanthrustsheet.The LesserHimalayais underlainby
942 Schelling:
Structure
of theEastern
NepalHimalaya

theMain DetachmentFault (MDF) whichliesat a depthof of horizontal,north-southtectonicshortening,of which 140-

between 7 and 25 km below sea level and which is believed to
branchoff of the MCT beneaththeHigh Himalaya.The
southern boundaryof theLesserHimalayanthrustsheetis the
MBT, an emergentsplay-thrust off of theMDF. The
topography of theMDF, alongwith internalimbrication
within theLesserHimalayanthrustsheet,is believedto be
responsiblefor thepresence
of theRamechap, Arun,and
TamarKhola windows(culminations) aswell asthe
Mahabharat, Gosainkhund,Bhojpur,andMilke Danda
synforms.
The Sun Kosi and the Tamar Khola thrusts are out-of-
sequence
splaythrusts
off of theMDF locatedin thehanging
wall of the MBT. These two thrust faults have breached and
offsettheMCT, provingthatthelatteris presently
inactive
andthatextensivemotionalongtheMDF postdates motion
alongthe MCT.
The Sub-Himalayanimbricatezone,lying betweenthe
MBT to the north and the Main Frontal Thrust (MF'T) to the
south,displaysan emergentimbricatefan geometry.The
MBT, the MFT, and the "Dun" thrusts(e.g., the Kamalaand
Marin thrusts)are splaythrustsoff of theMDF whichramp
directlyto the surfacewith no majorinterveningthrustflats.
The DabmaiThrustis a rejoiningsplaythrustoff of the MBT.
Mappingin easternNepal hasshownthatthe lVlFT,the "Dun"
thrusts,the MBT, the Sun Kosi Thrust, and the Tamar Khola
Thrustall belongto the samethrustsystemconnected
by a
seriesof thrustbranchesandrootingdowninto theMDF.
A balancedcrosssectionconstructed
acrosstheHigher,
Lesser,andSub-Himalayaof theeasternNepal Himalaya,
betweenMelungTseandtheGangesBasinsouthof Sindhuli
Bazaar,showsthattheeasternNepalHimalayanorogenic
wedgehasundergone a minimumof between210 and280 km
210 km hasbeenaccommodated by motionalongtheMCT.
The LesserandSub-Himalayahaveabsorbed70 km of
horizontalnorth-southshortening by thrustingalongthe
underlyingMDF; of this70 km of shortening theSunKosi
Thrusthasaccommodated 10 kin, theSub-Himalayan
imbricatezone hasaccommodated25 km, and the MBT has
accommodated theremaining35 km. Tectonicshortening
acrosstheeasternNepalHimalayahasoccurred atanestimated
averagerateof between8.4 and 18.6mm peryearsincethe
initiation of the MCT between 15 and 25 Ma.
Acknowledgments. Thispaperis theresultof severalyears
of mappingandresearchin theNepalHimalayawhichhas
beensupported, in part,by a NationalScienceFoundation
GraduateFellowship,a FulbrightResearch Fellowshipin
Nepal, a JapanSocietyfor thePromotionof Science
PostdoctoralFellowship,anda Grant-in-aidfor the
Encouragement of YoungScientists from theMinistryof
Education,ScienceandCultureof Japan(02962002).I am
gratefultoJackEnglishof TexacoOverseas Holding
Company,Houston,Texas,andJ. M. Taterof theNepal
Bureauof MinesandGeology,for allowingmetopublishthe
balancedcrosssections acrosstheeasternNepalSiwalikHills.
I havehadmanyusefuldiscussions on thegeologyof the
HimalayawithRoy Kligfield,ChuckStern,DanielVuichard,
Yuji Maruo, JohnCater,Rob Seago, M. R. Dhital, andM.P.
Sharma.RobertMoenchgaveusefulcriticismson the
manuscript,asdid theTectonicsreviewersK. Hodges,M.
Hubbard,andD. Silverberg.KazunoriArita gavemeadvice,
assistance,andencouragement duringmy tenureasa
postdoctoralFellow at HokkaidoUniversity.I amparticularly
indebtedto Hilary JacobsandKrishnaGurungfor their
patienceandassistance in themountainsof Nepal.

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(ReceivedMay 8, 1991;
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