Kinematic analysis of Jurassic grabens of soulthern Turgai and the role of the Mesozoic stage in the evolution of the Karatau–Talas–Ferghana strike-slip fault, Southern Kazakhstan and Tian Shan

Abstract

The Karatau–Talas–Ferghana Fault (KTF) extending for 1500 km from Turgai to western Tarim is one of the world’s largest intracontinental strike-slip faults. This paper overviews the evolution of the KTF, providing insight into its relatively poorly studied northern segment in the Karatau Range and Turgai, known as the Main Karatau Fault (MKF). The right-lateral strike-slip along the KTF developed during three stages in the late Permian–Triassic, Early–Middle Jurassic, and late Cenozoic. The total strike-slip decreases northward from 200 km in the Ferghana Range to 100 km in the Karatau Range and decreases to zero in southern Turgai. Kinematic analysis of Jurassic grabens compensating the strike-slip in southern Turgai shows that strike slip along the KTF in the Jurassic, previously regarded as insignificant, actually measures tens of kilometers and 50% of the total strike slip in the northern segment of this fault.