REGIONAL SYNTHESIS
Geological story
The Pamir salient is built from east–west belts assembled by Paleozoic and Mesozoic collisions, then shortened, thickened, magmatically reworked, and locally extended during the Cenozoic. Competing models differ on how much the salient translated north and on the identity of the south-dipping lithospheric slab.
- Time represented
- Paleozoic–present
- Tectonic setting
- India–Asia collision; crustal shortening, deep underthrusting or delamination, and active deformation
- Rock record
- Accreted terranes, arc rocks, sutures, high-grade metamorphic rocks, granitoids, and Cenozoic volcanic rocks
DOCUMENTED PROVENANCE
Linked minerals
Snezhnoe ruby and sapphire deposit, Kukurt district, Eastern Pamir · Snezhnoe is a marble-hosted ruby and sapphire deposit in the broader Kukurt/Turakulominsky gem-bearing district. The Kukurt name is also used for nearby pegmatite occurrences, so this record keeps the ruby deposit and pegmatite field distinct. Public precision remains regional.
SourcedRubies and Sapphires from Snezhnoe, Tajikistan (Sorokina et al., 2015)Kukurt pegmatite field, Eastern Pamir · Beryl is documented as a common accessory mineral in the Dorozhny miarolitic granitic pegmatite. The public record remains at regional precision and is not collecting guidance.
SourcedBadakhshanite-(Y), a new mineral species from a granite miarolitic pegmatite in Eastern Pamir (Pautov et al., 2020)Kukurt pegmatite field, Eastern Pamir · Schorl is documented as a rock-forming mineral in the Dorozhny pegmatite and occurs in the reported boron-rich mineral association. The public record remains at regional precision.
SourcedBadakhshanite-(Y), a new mineral species from a granite miarolitic pegmatite in Eastern Pamir (Pautov et al., 2020)Rangkul' pegmatite field, Eastern Pamir · Topaz occurs with gem tourmaline in miarolitic granite pegmatites of the Rangkul' field, near the Turakuloma (Kukurt) ruby district. The record stays at regional precision.
SourcedMindat — Rangkul' pegmatite field, Rangkul' Highlands, Gorno-BadakhshanSnezhnoe ruby and sapphire deposit, Kukurt district, Eastern Pamir · Calcite forms the marble host of the Snezhnoe ruby and sapphire deposit within the broader Kukurt district and accompanies corundum in the documented mineral assemblage.
SourcedRubies and Sapphires from Snezhnoe, Tajikistan (Sorokina et al., 2015)EVIDENCE BASE
Sources for this region
Was cratonic Asia deeply subducted beneath the Pamir?Li et al. · 2023Tests competing interpretations of the deep Pamir lithosphere using xenolith petrology and geochronology.