REGIONAL SYNTHESIS
Geological story
The composite Shakhdara–Alichur gneiss dome extends hundreds of kilometres. Research documents Miocene normal-sense shear zones, up to roughly 90 km of north–south extension, and exhumation of rocks from about 30–40 km depth.
- Time represented
- Precambrian protoliths; Cretaceous magmatism; Cenozoic metamorphism and exhumation
- Tectonic setting
- South Pamir terrane, crustal thickening, partial melting, and Miocene extensional exhumation
- Rock record
- Gneiss, schist, migmatite, Cretaceous granitoids, leucogranite, marble, and ultramafic/magnesian lenses
DOCUMENTED PROVENANCE
Linked minerals
Kuh-i-Lal district, Ishkoshim · Clinohumite occurs with sapphirine and other minerals in an ultra-magnesian metamorphic lens at Kuh-i-Lal. This record exposes district context only, not collecting coordinates.
SourcedSapphirine + Forsterite and Sapphirine + Humite-Group Minerals in an Ultra-Magnesian Lens from Kuhi-lal, SW Pamirs, TajikistanKuh-i-Lal district, Ishkoshim · Historic gem spinel is documented in magnesian marble with forsterite-bearing rocks. Display is deliberately limited to district-level context.
SourcedColor Mechanism and Spectroscopic Thermal Variation of Pink Spinel Reportedly from Kuh-i-Lal, TajikistanKuh-i-Lal district, Ishkoshim · Forsterite is documented in sapphirine-bearing assemblages of an ultra-magnesian metamorphic lens at Kuh-i-Lal, together with spinel and humite-group minerals. This is not collecting guidance.
SourcedSapphirine + Forsterite and Sapphirine + Humite-Group Minerals in an Ultra-Magnesian Lens from Kuhi-lal, SW Pamirs, TajikistanSokhcharv valley, Rushan district, Western Pamir · Pinkish almandine forms well-shaped single and clustered crystals, mostly 1 mm to 1 cm and up to about 7 cm, in garnet-bearing schist horizons. The record stays at regional precision.
SourcedMineralogy of garnet-containing horizons, Sokhcharv valley, Western Pamir (Vatanbekov, Zhou, Yogibekov, Gurminjova, 2020)Lyadzhuar-Dara area near Ishkoshim, South-West Pamir · The Handbook of Mineralogy lists lazurite from Lyadzhuar-Darinsk near Ishkashim in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. This record gives district context only, not collecting coordinates.
SourcedHandbook of Mineralogy — LazuriteShakhdara–Alichur gneiss dome, South-West Pamir · Zircon from the dome is dated by U/Th–Pb, fission-track and (U–Th)/He methods, which together with other minerals show that doming began about 21–20 million years ago. Region-level context only.
SourcedThe giant Shakhdara migmatitic gneiss dome, Pamir, India–Asia collision zone: 2. Timing of dome formationShakhdara–Alichur gneiss dome, South-West Pamir · Titanite from the dome is dated by U/Th–Pb methods, together with monazite and zircon, to show that doming began about 21–20 million years ago. Region-level context only.
SourcedThe giant Shakhdara migmatitic gneiss dome, Pamir, India–Asia collision zone: 2. Timing of dome formationEVIDENCE BASE
Sources for this region
The giant Shakhdara migmatitic gneiss dome: timing of dome formationStübner et al. · 2013Constrains Miocene dome formation and rapid cooling using multiple geochronometers.
Sapphirine + Forsterite and Sapphirine + Humite-Group Minerals in an Ultra-Magnesian Lens from Kuhi-lal, SW Pamirs, TajikistanGrew et al. · 1994Documents forsterite-, clinohumite- and sapphirine-bearing metamorphic assemblages at Kuh-i-Lal.