GIS-BASED HIGH-RESOLUTION GEOLOGICAL MAP (SCALE 1:50,000): A NEW WINDOW INTO STRUCTURAL DOMAINS OF THE QUETTA AND SURROUNDING AREAS

Abstract

The Quetta and surrounding areas are part of the collision zone between the Indian and Eurasian plates, named as Kirthar and Sulaiman Fold-Thrust belts. The collision is accommodated by folding, thrusting and the Nushki-Chaman Transform Fault System. Detailed high-resolution (scale 1:50,000) mapping and structural analyses were carried out using modern remote-sensing techniques of the ArcGIS to understand mutual relationships of the structural patterns and geometries, and the regional and local stress patterns in the study area. Fieldwork was carried out to acquire the stratigraphic, structural and geomorphological data, using topographic maps and satellite images as base maps in order to plot additional information and further incorporate them in the GIS-based map. Balanced structural cross-sections were also prepared along the selected lines using ArcGIS techniques. Based on new mapping, the understudy area has been subdivided into five distinct structural domains. These domains are classified as; Domain I: broad syncline intervened by a narrow anticline; Domain II: upright folds and thrusts; Domain III: tight, over-turned thrust zone; Domain IV: flysch and molasse successions of Paleocene-Holocene age; and Domain V: suture belt (ophiolites) and associated mélanges and sediments.