Tectonics of Northeast Asia: An overview

The tectonic units of the Verkhoyansk-Chukotka Mesozoides and the Koryak-Kamchatka Fold Region substantially differ from each other in the structure and composition of terranes. The geodynamic settings of terrane formation are defined and the main stages of their tectonic history are reconstructed. The formation of Mesozoides was mainly controlled by collision, largely between the continent and the Kolyma-Omolon and Chukchi microcontinents. The accretionary structure of the Koryak Highland comprises various terranes transported by Pacific plates and docked to the Asian continent, periodically accreting its margin. The following evolutionary stages are established: destruction of the North Asian continent (Ordovician, Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous, Permian-Triassic); amalgamation (Middle Jurassic for Kolyma and Mid-Cretaceous for Koryak terranes); collision (terminal Early Cretaceous); and continental growth (terminal Early Cretaceous, terminal Late Cretaceous, middle Eocene).