Geometry and development of the Jhajara thrust: an example of neotectonic activity in the Pinjaur Dun, NW Himalaya

Abstract

Mountain fronts of orogenic belts are marked by dynamic landscape changes under the influence of contemporary tectonic activity. Longitudinal valleys (locally called as Duns) constitute important landforms associated with some segments of the Himalayan mountain front. A neotectonic feature - the Jhajara thrust, has been identified in the Pinjaur Dun of NW Himalaya on the basis of structural mapping and tectonic geomorphological analysis. Optically stimulated luminescence dating on quartz sand samples from the geomorphic surface constrains the last displacement associated with the Jhajara thrust to before ~55.7 ± 6 ka BP.