Western Zagros fold-thrust belt : part II : the high folded zone

Abstract EN

-BSTRACT The High Folded Zone is an integral part of the Western Zagros Fold – Thrust Belt of Iraq.

It is characterized by the presence of a huge number of NW – SE and E – W trending, high amplitude, short wavelength southwest and south vergent folds.

The landforms in the zone are highly structural and reflected on the topography as high rugged anticlinal mountains separated by deep narrow synclinal valleys.

The Folds display wide range of geometries and sizes, reflecting that more than one folding mechanism is possibly responsible for their initiation and development.

Judging by their style and geometry, simple buckle folds, generated by flexural-slip and neutral-surface folding mechanisms, as well as fault-propagation folds appear to dominate fold types in the zone.

Significant topographic and structural relief is clearly observed across the boundary between the High Folded and Low Folded zones of the belt.

This structural uplift is attributed to the involvement of the basement by thrust faulting beneath the sedimentary cover, and the deformation is considered to be a "thick skin" type in the zone.