A REVIEW OF POP-UP STRUCTURES IN ZAGROS FOLD THRUST BELT

Abstract

Many orogenic belts (Zagros, Alps, Pan-African, Pyrenees) are characterized by divergent thrusts and folds, so that the structures face in opposite directions on opposite sides of the orogenic belt, often with upright structures in-between called Pop-up structures. Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt therefore shows a good example of divergent tectonics, and this structural pattern has sometimes been interpreted as due to intraplate, dominantly autochthonous tectonics. Pop-up structures developed in compression zones along large shifts, where compression and extension structures alternate.