Geological Society, London, Special Publications

Peninsular Thailand
Cedric Keith Burton Geological Society, London, Special Publications 1974; v. 4; p. 301-315 doi: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.004.01.17

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The Geological Society, London 1974

A. G E N E R A L

DATA

ON THE

SEGMENT

1. T H E S E G M E N T S T U D I E D

PENINSULAR THAILAND
CEDRIC KEITH BURTON
Cities Service International, Inc., 60 Wall Tower, New York, N.Y. 10005, U.S.A.

CONTENTS
A. General data on the segment B. Subdivision of the segment C. Data on individual structural zones 1. Internal Positive zone 2. Eugeosynclinal zone 3. Miogeanticlinal zone 4. Miogeosynclinal zone 4A. Shelf zone D. References 301 309 310 310 310 312 313 314 314

Thailand presents the special case of a section ofa geosynclinal complex, lying between well marked conventional orogenic belts, in which a somewhat atypical orogen has developed, in which rather moderately folded sediments have been heavily invaded by granites. The orogen described here is a section of the Triassic-Jurassic Yunnan-Malayan orogen and is the only one of the early Mesozoic orogens of eastern Asia dealt with in this volume. The description which follows is based on Peninsular Thailand only, but data from hydrocarbon exploration (not yet available for publication) indicate that the conclusions apply equally to the Gulf of Thailand to the east. Segment: this has a length, measured N - S along strike, of 1080 km. Both the western and eastern parts of the orogen are largely beneath the sea. On the east, the Yunnan-Malayan orogen must abut against the Cambodian Shield ('Indosinia'). East of the latter lies the Annamitic cordillera, another former geosynclinal tract which probably connected with the Yunnan-Malayan geosyncline in the IndochinaChina border area. On the west, the Yunnan-Malayan orogen is overlain by the younger strata of the Andaman Sea, in turn bordered by the 'stretched' orogen of the Andaman-Nicobar Islands. The west margin of the orogenic belt desclibed here is unknown and the width of the orogenic belt cannot be measured: it may be c. 700 km, of which only 150 km lies above sea level. Zones: the segment is described in terms of four zones, listed from east to west as (1) Internal Positive zone of Palaeozoic rocks intruded by granites; (2) a Eugeosynclinal zone in which a Palaeozoic/Mesozoic series with volcanics has been strongly folded and overlain by later Mesozoic rocks; (3) a Miogeanticlinal zone of mildly metamorphosed Palaeozoic geosynclinal rocks only; and (4) a Miogeosynclinal zone, fronting the Indian Ocean, with deformed Palaeozoic overlain by thin Mesozoic rocks: shelf-like conditions within part of this zone have been distinguished as sub-zone 4A.

History: recorded geological history in the segment commences with a

Cambrian to Silurian quartzite-carbonate, stable shelf sequence in sub-zone 4A. Miogeosynclinal conditions in zone 4 were evidently initiated in late Ordovician times and apparently slightly pre-dated the inception of the eugeosyncline (zone 2). Granite intrusion and orogenic movements appear to have occurred locally in the latter half of the Carboniferous period. It seems that zone 1 was upraised at this time, possibly never again to be submerged. Shallow water limestone accumulated widely in Permian times (zones 2 to 4), with some vulcanism in zone 2. Geosynclinal conditions returned to much of the belt in the Triassic and vulcanism occurred in zone 2. Towards the end of the Triassic, orogenic movements, including

302

P E N I N S U L A R THAILAND length of at least 3300 kin, from the Indonesian Tin Islands to Yunnan. Its northern end is not clearly defined, for in China it splits into two or three branches, comprising part of the anastomosing system of orogenic belts which constitutes the east end of Tethys. To the south-east the belt passes below the J a v a Sea and the younger rocks of Borneo.
24 General trend: from the Indonesian Tin Islands to northern Thailand the belt forms an asymmetric, reversed sigmoid, curving through some 90 with a radius of curvature of c. 600 kin.

deformation and major granite emplacement, took place. Sedimentation was renewed in latest Triassic to late Jurassic times with the deposition of red molasse, and was terminated by gentle folding and uplift, probably accompanied by minor granitic intrusion, towards the end of the Jurassic. Wrench faulting also occurred about then. Shallow water sedimentation together with vulcanism was resumed in zone 2 in late Jurassic to early Cretaceous times. Subsequently the belt has been quiescent, with only Cenozoic sedimentary basins of generally limited extent and sporadic vulcanism developed. 2. SHAPE OF T H E O R O G E N IN PLAN
in The Yunnan-lVfalaya orogen is continuous along strike over a

3. S U R F A C E SHAPE OF T H E S E G M E N T IN E L E V A T I O N 30 Highest 5% of ground: 1500 to 2000 m. Average height of: ~1 west

TI-IAILAND f /
NORTH ANDAHAN ANDAMAN IDDLE ANDAMAN ISLANDS I~JSOUTH ANDAHAN

I 10S"

BURM.A CAMBODIA

~
~) LITTLE ANDAHAN

ULF OF THAILAND

p . --" i

:HUMPHON

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ANDAMAN SEA

VIETNAM
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~t~

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~)GREAT

NICOBAR tlWAT

SOUTHCHINA SEA

--5"

SUMATRA
MENTAWAI IS. I 2SOkm

%,.k

L
MALAYA

\~:~::~

_s~ IGAPORE

Figure 1. Map of the segment described here showing structural zones and major faults in Thailand and

adjacent areas. Faults are identified by letter: L = Lebir, B = Bok Bak, K = Khlong Marui, R = Ranong.

PENINSULAR THAILAND margin of belt, 2670 m below sea level (the 'deep terrace' bounding the Central Andaman trough, Rodolfo 1969); 33 east margin of the belt, 60 m below sea level (beneath the Gulf of Thailand).
33 Geomorphological surfaces: a tilted gradation plane seems to be present

303

Table 1 PHASES OF MOBILITY

Age 91 Phase 93 Nature 93 Maximum 94 Minimum 9s Evidence for age

in the Malay peninsula, rising from 190 m beside the Straits of Singapore to 1380 m. A feature of similar morphology and constitution attains 1318 m in north-east Thailand, but has not been identified over most of the segment. The feature is largely formed by U. Jurassic to L. Cretaceous strata and stands well above the Cenozoic basin deposits (of ?Miocene to Pleistocene date) and so is thought to be of U. Cretaceous to early Tertiary date. Another depositional or erosional surface may exist at 70-90 m; palaeogeographic reconstructions suggest it is approximately early Pleistocene in age (Burton 1964, 1969). Submarine surfaces have been recognized in the Andaman Sea at < 100 m (Inner shelf) and from 150 m (13 N.) to 539 m (8 N.) (Mergui terrace, Rodolfo 1969). Both surfaces, which may represent a single feature disrupted by faulting, are covered by some 200 m or more of unconsolidated sediments, resting on a basement which is related to the Sunda Shelf and probably formed in late Miocene times to judge from sedimentation rates (Rodolfo 1 9 6 9 , p. 1213). Another, higher (buried) erosion surface (Rodolfo 1969, fig. 8), thought to be of late Pliocene age, may possibly correlate with a surface recognized around the periphery of the segment on the basis of high level laterites (Brown et al. 1951, pp. 42-3) and from borehole data (Alekseev & Takaya 1967).

3 Late Jurassic phase; Pahang (Malaya) and north Peninsular Thailand

Stronguplift (in part) and gentle foldingof late geosynclinal red molasse; possible emplacement of late granitic stocks

Late Jurassic

Fossil evidence indicates that the deformed red molasse is late Triassic to late Jurassic and the overlying undeformed sandstone is late Jurassic to early Cretaceous Flysch facies strata are of Carnian to ?Norian date; 4 Rb/Sr dates are
available on late

2 Late Triassic phase; northwest Malaya, Songkhla (Thailand)

Stronguplift, 200 m.y. graniteemplace- (Norian) ment,widespread uplift (change from marine to nonmarine sedimentation)

?180 m.y. (?Hettangian)

kinematic granites which have intruded Carnian to ?Norian, plus K/Ar dates (Shelling et al. 1968); late orogenic strata are probably of U. Triassic to U. Jurassic age

5. PRESENT-DAY A C T I V I T Y
1

68 Seismic activity: the region is virtually quiescent, although there are

verbal reports of an earthquake in north-west Malaya (Burton 1965).

Early Triassic phase; Kelantan (north-east Malaya), ?Narathiwat (Thailand)

Widespread uplift,generation of granite gneiss, gneiss and schist

Probably Olenekian

6. T I M E R E L A T I O N S 85 The oldest undeformed rocks in the segment belong to the Saphang conglomerate (Upper Khorat Gp) and are probably Cretaceous in age, to judge from their close correlation with strata detailed in Ward & Bunnag (1964). S3The youngest deformed strata in the segment belong to the Fang Daeng Fm (Lower Khorat G p ) o f Jurassic age (Hayami 1960; Ward & Bunnag 1964). sx The oldest rocks deformed for the first time during the TriassicJurassic orogeny belong either to the Rat Buri gp of early (Sakmarian) to late Permian date (Sakagami 1963, 1966, 1968A, B, C) or to the late Cambrian Tarutao quartzite (Kobayashi 1957), which in places may have escaped the effects of the late Carboniferous orogeny.

K/Ar dates of 210 to 220 m.y. on schist and granite pod in schist (Snelling 1965); schists appear to be formed from Permian strata; Olenekian strata appear to be missing everywhere

76-80 B a s e m e n t rocks: no true basement (pre-U. Cambrian) for the whole orogenic cycle has been found. The 'basement' for the TriassicJurassic orogeny is only locally of the U. Cambrian to L. Carboniferous succession which, although partially invaded by late Carboniferous granite, was frequently but slightly tectonized and metamorphosed in the late Carboniferous orogeny.

304 7. S E D I M E N T A R Y R E L A T I O N S

PENINSULAR THAILAND very wide area, implying erosion: M. Triassic strata usually succeed M. (to ?U.) Permian or older rocks. 8. S T R U C T U R A L R E L A T I O N S 111-16 Major faults: Fault 1--the Bok Bak fault (Burton 1965) is a N W - S E sinistral, transcurrent fault along which movements commenced in the Rhaetic to Cretaceous interval, probably in late Jurassic times, and ceased in the late Jurassic to early Quaternary interval, probably in M. Cretaceous times. Displacement amounted to 52-58 km and mylonite occurs on the fault. The fault is probably a reactivated earlier fracture. Faults 2 and 3--the Khlong Marui and Ranong faults (Garson & Mitchell 1970) are NE-SW, sinistral transcurrent faults along which movements commenced in the Rhaetic to late Tertiary interval, probably in late Jurassic times, and ceased in the early Jurassic to early Quaternary interval, probably in late Cretaceous to early Tertiary times. Displacements amounted to at least 150 km (Khlong Marui) and 20 km (Ranong), as evidenced by the displacement of batholithic granite outcrops and associated belt of tin mineralization. Mylonke occurs on both faults. Fault 4 the Lebir fault (Burton 1967D) is a NNW-SSE, sinistral transcurrent fault which shows later movements of dip-slip nature, downthrowing to the east. The age of the fault movements is not well known: they had commenced at least by Rhaetic times, and ceased no longer ago than the Permian. Displacements are large and mylonite is associated with the fault.

Table 2 SUMMARY OF STRATAL DATA IN THE OROGEN

Pre-orogenic
~7Age span from to 9s Maximum thickness Late (or possibly M.) Cambrian Induan 12,600 m

Syn-orogenic Post-orogenic
Anisian Late Jurassic 4000 m 1250 km3 50% Flysch Late Jurassic Recent 4560 m I000 km8 30% Fluviatileestuarine (Chao Phraya fault trough)

9~Estimated volume per 77,000 km3 100 km length of segment --and probable error in 50% this estimate
lOO

~facies

Flysch-like rocks (associated with Carboniferous orogeny)

Percentageof the total volume occupiedby-and the error a01Dominant facies 36 + 5%

loa Volcanic rocks lo3 Sedimentary rocks with over 90% carbonate x0~Sedimentary rocks with over 95% quartz 4 + 2% 23 _+5% 15+4%

55+20% 7+5% 8+5% Low

70+20% 2+1}% 3+2% Moderate

The figures given in Table 2 are biased (especially those relating to volcanic rocks) by the submergence of much of the eugeosynclinal zone. The total volumes relate only to land outcrops, which form only 150 km of the possible 750 km overall width of the orogen. Also, the maximum thicknesses are cumulative, they are not developed at any one point. 106 Deformation has been taken into account in assessing the stratal thicknesses given above: they mostly come from the miogeosynclinal zone where deformation is not very intense. 108 Pre- and syn-orogenic sedimentation was apparently interrupted over a wide area on a number of occasions. A late Silurian erosion surface has not been found but is suspected, for no Ludlovian fossils are known from a rather prolific fauna in the U. Ordovician to L. Devonian succession of the miogeosynclinal basin of north-west Malaya. The Khlong Kaphon fm (M. Devonian to L. Carboniferous) overlies L. to M. Devonian and earlier rocks with disconformity or paraconformity. Late Carboniferous erosion is evidenced by the unconformity beneath the L. Permian, which tests on L. Carboniferous strata over a wide area. L. Triassic strata are apparently missing over a

117 Type of evidence used to assess the displacements: Fault 1, displacement of stratigraphic marker horizons; 2, displacement of batholithic granite outcrop; 3, abrupt delimitation of physical features (e.g. mountain range) and of numerous rock units. 124Megatectonics: the Khlong Marui fault cuts across the entire peninsula and possibly across the entire belt, effecting a 200-220 km displacement.
9. R E V I E W OF O R O G E N I C D E V E L O P M E N T
126

REGIONAL CHRONOLOGY AND CORRELATION

In recent years considerable advance has been made in geochronological investigations in Thailand and Malaya. This work indicates that the Yunnan-Malaya orogen exhibits only limited polarity and that lithostratigraphic units maintain their character and timerelations over long distances. The Ordovician-Silurian Thung Song Limestone appears to form part of a regional shelf facies on the west margin of the geosyncline; it extends into north-west Malaya and has been reported from north Thailand (Baum & Koch 1968). Westwards, in the Shan States of Burma, synchronous limestone is intercalated with sandstones and sandy shales (La Touche 1913; Brown & Sondhi 1933A, B). Two thin (few metres) horizons of carbonaceous argillite occur high in and

PENINSULAR THAILAND

305

above the Thung Song. The lower carries early Silurian graptolites, whilst the upper bears early to M. Devonian tentaculites, graptolites and trilobites. These marker bands recur in north-west Malaya, in the southern Shan States (Brown & Sondhi 1933A, B) and in the northern Shan States (as the Panghsa-py6 graptolite band and the Zebingyi stage of La Touche 1913). In the Thai-Malay peninsula they form westerly (i.e. shelf-ward) salients of a large body of graptolite- and tentaculite-bearing black shale (the Bannang Sata gp and the Mahang Fm and Baling gp in Malaya, Burton 1967B) believed to have been generated in a miogeosynclinal basin. The facies is represented by the Ban Na shale of Si Sawat at the north of the segment, and by the Fang shale in north Thailand (Burton 1967C; Jaeger et al. 1968). Correlated herewith also are the Jenhochiao series (graptolitic shales) and the Washih fm (yellow shale, shaly and cherty limestone with graptolites, tentaculites and shelly fauna) of West Yunnan (Sun & Szetu 1947). Except apparently in Yunnan (Yin & Lu 1937), fossils of Ludlow age seem to be wanting throughout the region. The Bannang Sata gp of Thailand is overlain by the Phuket gp, which is flysch-like and characterized by Posidonia becheri var. siamensis in the lower part whilst the upper portion is closer to molasse and signalized by fenestrate bryozoa. The same bio-lithofacies can be recognized far to the south, west and north (Table 3).
Table 3 NOMENCLATURE OF CORRELATABLE UNITS OF THE PHUKET GP MALAYA THAILAND BURMA /Kubang / Pathiu fm | Pasu fm l Singa gp ] (Jones, in ms) (Jones in ] Phuket Koopmans~ gp 1965) |Kampong |Khlong [ Sena fm | Kaphon \ (Burton 1967B) \fm { Lower 'Moulmein | beds' (excluding |limestone, Oldham ] 1856)

known in the Lampang district of north Thailand but are there augmented by a strong development of limestone. Malayan radiometric evidence suggests that the main intrusive rock emplaced during the orogenic/plutonic revolution at the end of the Triassic was the coarsely porphyritic adamellite. Some similar adamellite appears, however, to be late Carboniferous (Snelling et al. 1968) whilst at Ranong in south Thailand an indistinguishable rock has been dated (Rb/Sr) as M. Cretaceous. The principal post-orogenic unit is the Khorat Gp, of oxidized molasse facies, resting with angular unconformity on most older rocks and generally occupying elevated situations. These criteria serve to correlate the Khorat with the Tembeling Fm (Koopmans 1968) and the Gagan Gp of Malaya and with the red beds of Mergui, Burma (RaG 1930). The Khorat is further physically continuous with the middle and upper Indosinian of Indochina (Ward & Bunnag 1964). For the most part the Cenozoic rocks of the segment comprise partially marine coal-bearing sediments, deposited in fault-determined basins and known as the Krabi series or, more correctly, Krabi gp. In the northern half of Thailand a number of similar occurrences have been separately distinguished, owing to an evident lack of marine components, as the Mac Sot series (Brown et al. 1951). The Mac Sot basin extends into Burma, where other isolated coal-bearing Cenozoic basins are known and similar basins also occur in Malaya.
127

MIGRATION OF TROUGHS OF SEDIMENTATION

Mergui series (Brown & Heron 1923)|'Mergui series' | (Oldham 1856) k

In the Permian, regional shelf-like or 'quasi-cratonic' conditions prevailed and vast tracts of shallow-water limestone were laid down throughout Thailand (Saraburi limestone of the Rat Buri gp), in north Malaya (Chuping limestone of Jones, in Koopmans 1965; Gua Musang fm of Yin, in Ichikawa & Yin 1966), in Burma (Moulmein limestone of Rao 1930) as well as in south-west China and Indochina (Saurin 1956). The M. to U. Triassic Nathawi fm constitutes a second development of flysch and is distinguished by the occurrence of bedded chert and by various species of Halobia, Daonella, Posidonia plus several ammonites. In north-west Malaya the unit is known as the Semanggol fm (Burton, in Kobayashi et al. 1967) and to the west is replaced by limestone. To the east, clastic rocks of similar facies and fossils reappear in the eugeosyncline but with volcanic rocks in place of bedded chert. Strata similar in fauna and character to the Nathawi fm are also

The miogeosynclinal (zone 4) and eugeosynclinal (zone 2) basins established in Ordovician to Devonian times evidently maintained their geographic positions with remarkable consistency throughout the geosynclinal history of the segment (i.e. until the late Triassic) and were not significantly displaced by the Carboniferous orogeny. Whilst Jones (1968) accepted that during most of Palaeozoic time the geosynclinal zones occupied the situations indicated in the present review, he contended (p. 1276) that in the late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic these isopic zones were located some distance farther east. This view cannot be sustained. Within the sedimentary rocks of the Permian 'quasicraton' the pre-existing eugeosynclinal and miogeosynclinal zones can be distinguished by the respective presence and absence of volcanic rocks and the Triassic (second geosynclinal) zones are almost exactly superimposed on their Palaeozoic counterparts. This permanence is clearly a function of the situational conservatism of the whole geosynclinal tract, whilst the more specific persistence of the eugeosynclinal and miogeosynclinal furrows may be due largely to the longevity of their delimiting geanticlines, which features were probably reinforced by the emplacement in them of Carboniferous granite. Within this enduring tectonic framework expansion and contraction of the depositional regime have taken place from time to time. The U. Ordovician to L. Devonian euxinic facies was largely confined to the miogeosynelinal furrow but on two occasions, in the

306

PENINSULAR THAILAND sense and along fault planes aligned N N W - N W whilst subsidiary dextral shifts have occurred on N N E - N E fractures. It was therefore proposed that these displacements represent late (Jurassic-Cretaceous) movements on pre-existing fault planes initiated by different forces. Later it was suggested (Burton 1967A, 1970B) that the younger displacements might be a consequence of extension rather than compression, produced as Gondwanaland disintegrated and the Malaya-Thai peninsula drifted away from the Indian Shield in the wake of Australia. It would seem, however, that the postulated extensional tendency has not been operative in the northern part of the peninsula. Two large, N E - S W directed transcurrent faults (Fig. 1) have recently been described from south Thailand (Garson & Mitchell 1970; Garson et al. 1971). Both exhibit 'normal' (sinistral) translation with, respectively, a m i n i m u m of 150 km (Khlong Marui fault) and 20 km (Ranong fault) of strike slip displacement. These features have been explained in terms of plate tectonics as transform faults due to differential movement within the Sunda Shelf continental plate in response to north-eastward spreading of the Indian Ocean. The wrench faulting seems to be close in time to emplacement of latestage stanniferous granites and in some cases, at least, the fault planes appear to have constituted conduits for the uprise of granitic magma.
134 T H E OVERALL EVOLUTION OF THE BELT

early Silurian and early/middle Devonian respectively, it extended westward onto the shelf to generate two well-marked black argillite horizons within the limestone succession. Similarly, sedimentation in the eugeosyncline seems to have commenced (in the early Devonian or before) in a narrow belt, regarded as a geotectocline, on the inner (east) side of the miogeanticline. Subsequently, the basin of sedimentation spread to embrace, by the early Carboniferous, the whole of the eugeosynclinal tract. The flysch facies of the M. Devonian to early Carboniferous transgressed from the miogeosynclinal trough far westwards onto the shelf, but the ensuing orogeny evidently restricted deposition of the M. Carboniferous (?) to L. Permian Pathiu fm to the northern half of peninsular Thailand and to the Thailand-Malaya border area (Fig. 3). In the Permian, however, the depositional basins apparently expanded again to unite the eu- and miogeosynclines. Early Triassic tectonic movements evidently resuscitated the miogeanticline, re-separating the miogeosyncline and eugeosynclines, which furrows now occupied substantially the same positions as prior to the Carboniferous orogeny.
133 TRANSCURRENT OR STRIKE-SLIP FAULTING

Strike-slip faulting was shown to be widespread in Malaya (Burton 1965) and has subsequently been recognized in Thailand (Burton 1967A; Garson et al. 1971). In Malaya these faults constitute two complementary sets arranged in a typical Anderson-type wrench fault pattern but the offsets are in the opposite sense to that implied by the disposition of the faults. Thus the main displacements are sinistral in W
MIOGEOSYNCLINE MIOGEANTICLINE

Peninsular Thailand forms part of the Yunnan-Malaya orogen which extends from the Tin Islands of Indonesia through Malaya, south and west Thailand and east Burma into Yunnan. Pre-Cambrian rocks
EUGEOSYNCLINE

Psb

i.

..

Mainly arenaceous I 50krn I Mainly argillaceous

Mainly calcareous

Volcanic rocks

Tkr Krabi frn Klk Khorat Gp TRn Nathawi fm Psb Saraburi Ist.lRat Pm Matsi Fm. JBuri Gp.
!

PCp Pathiu fm -~ Phuket Gp. CDkk Khlong Kaphon fm J DSbs BannangSara fm. Dstrn Tan Yong-Mar fm. SOts Thung Song Lst. ] Ont Nai Tak F r n . . j ~ Satun Gp. -(:t Tarutaoqtz,

Figure 2. Diagrammatic cross-section of Peninsular Thailand/North Malaya showing original thickness variation of the

sedimentary rocks. Note that the Miogeosyncline is depicted accurately, but the Eugeosyncline is largely diagrammatic.

PENINSULAR THAILAND have been postulated in the northern part of the belt. Within and adjacent to the selected segment, however, recorded geological history commences with a Cambrian to Silurian orthoquartzite-carbonate facies, apparently representing rather stable, shelf-like conditions largely precedent to the geosynclinal stage. The geosyncline was evidently initiated in the latter part of the Ordovician and throughout its existence comprised a miogeosynclinal zone in the west and a eugeosynclinal zone to the east. The earliest known component of the geosynclinal succession is an Ordovician to early Devonian euxinic facies, best developed in the miogeosyncline of north-west Malaya and recurring at various points in peninsular and west Thailand (Burton 1967C). To the south this black shale is replaced by limestone and to the east it becomes intercalated with limestones and arenites, thought to be indicative of shallower and better aerated conditions about a (mio) geanficline whose uprise may have been the direct cause of restricted circulation in the euxinic basin. The oldest dated rocks of the eugeosyncline are L. Devonian shales, cherts and ophiolites, possibly generated in a tectocline whose development may have coincided with disintegration of the miogeanticline into a chain of islands. Thereafter a flysch-like succession of M. Devonian to early Carboniferous date is a widespread facies in the miogeosyncline from north-west Malaya to north-west Thailand, detritus evidently being furnished both from a foreland to the west and from tectonic lands to the east. To the south, in Malaya, and to the west, limestone continued to form, possibly implying greater stability, whilst to the east limestones with shales were deposited in the eugeosynclinal trough of axial Malaya. Near to the east coast of that country argillite is dominant over carbonate in the L. Carboniferous strata (Fitch 1959). Arenite also occurs here, becoming abundant northwards. Fossil benthos, plant remains, and ripple marks point to contemporary shoaling of the sea and seemingly to the occurrence here either of another geanticlinal welt (eugeanticline) or of an extension from south Indochina of the shield-like feature known as'Indosinia' (Fromaget 1941). An intrageosynclinal orogeny of Taconic or Antler type eventuated in the latter half of the Carboniferous, as exemplified by the widespread occurrence of L. Carboniferous flysch, by the frequent proximity of this lithofacies to Permian carbonates, by the absence of Middle and late Carboniferous biota from the fossil record and by the recognition, through Rb/Sr determinations, of late Carboniferous granite in both Malaya (Shelling et al. 1968) and Thailand (Burton & Bignell 1969). In some locations, however, as in Chumphon (Thailand), Mergui (Burma) and Perlis (Malaya) evidence of Carboniferous orogenesis is wanting and the U. Palaeozoic succession appears to be unbroken. The late Carboniferous movements had palaeogeographic effects of regional importance. A direct route through the Himalayan region was now established as the principal connection between the YunnanMalaya geosyncline and the European Tethys rather than, as heretofore, via central China. Furthermore, much of the south-east Asian area appears to have now been consolidated, for in Permian times

307

shallow water limestone was generated over most of Thailand and the adjacent parts of Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Malaya. This limestone extended, apparently without interruption, across the locus of the miogeanticline although the eugeosynclinal zone can still be discerned by the presence of volcanic material intercalated with the carbonates, an indicator, perhaps, that geosynclinality was subdued, rather than eliminated, at this time. In eastern and southern Malaya the Permian limestone is largely replaced by black shale--a circumstance which may imply barring of the depositional basin by the positive tectonic element inferred here in the early Carboniferous~ which was a site of late Carboniferous granite emplacement and whose persistence is indicated by Permian plant remains. Permian flora and shallow water strata in the Petchabun and Loei areas of north-central Thailand demonstrate the proximity of land there also. Geosynclinal conditions were restored over much of the belt in the early part of the Trias, this reversion being accompanied by renewed tectonic and plutonic activity in the eugeosynclinal tract. The strict confinement of Triassic volcanic rocks to the eugeosyncline and bedded chert to the miogeosyncline suggests that the miogeanticline was now resuscitated as a physical barrier between these two zones. In both furrows much of the Triassic sedimentation was of flysch character and near to the end of the period geosynclinal evolution culminated in an orogenic/plutonic revolution wherein vast amounts of granite were emplaced near to the eugeosynclinal-miogeosynclinal border and also within the miogeosyncline. The late orogenic succession began in the latest Triassic with a limited development of marine beds, soon replaced by more widespread 'continental' (non-marine) rocks, many of red molasse facies. These strata are well displayed in the former eugeosyncline and extend onto the Indosinian Shield (east Thailand) and are also to be found in the old miogeosynclinal tract. In east Malaya there is some evidence that part of this clastic material is of eastern provenance, again pointing to an emergent zone in the region of the South China Sea. Deposition was terminated by long wavelength folding and uplift of approximately late Jurassic date which may have coincided with the introduction of late granitic stocks, including those responsible for tin mineralization. At about this time too, extensive wrench faulting took place, conceivably related to the anticlockwise drift of the Malay-Thai peninsula away from the Indian Shield as Gondwanaland disintegrated (see below). Shallow water sedimentation was later renewed in the old eugeosynclinal zone where post-orogenic vulcanism, including effusion of basalts, occurred. Near the end of the Mesozoic, epeirogenic warping and uplift took place. Subsequently the belt has been rather quiescent, although the attitude of the circumscribed Cenozoic basin deposits (fluviatile-lacustrine with, in part, marine intercalations) and the incidence of late volcanic rocks demonstrate that block faulting and igneous activity have sporadically recurred.

308
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....

< ,to !

Figure 3. Simplified geological map of Peninsular Thailand and the adjacent part of Malaya showing structural elements. For nomenclature of rock units see Fig. 2.
135 GEOSYNCLINAL A N D GEOTECTONIC EVOLUTION OF T H E YUNNAN-MALAYA OROGEN

The Yunnan-Malaya orogen fomerly constituted a simple eugeosynclinal-miogeosynclinal couple in the sense of Aubouin (I965) in so far as it comprised two parallel zones of sedimentation. One of these zones, the eugeosyncline, includes ophiolites, contains numerous volcanic rocks, shows stronger folding and metamorphism and is preferentially covered by post-orogenic sediments or by the sea. The other zone, the miogeosyncline, lacks ophiolites, contains very few volcanic rocks, shows weaker folding and metamorphism and is filled with late flysch. The Yunnan-lV[alaya geosyncline differs from the Aubouin model,

however, in that one geosynclinal cycle (late Ordovician-Permian) is directly succeeded, on the same site, by another (Permian-late Trias). In addition, it shows a poor development of polarity, exemplified by the following factors. Initiation of the miogeosyncline appears to pre-date that of the eugeosyncline. No significant development of precocious flysch has been detected in the internal zones in either geosynclinal cycle. Orogenesis and flysch are not better developed in the internal zones. Granite plutonism is not restricted to the internal zones but is well developed upon the site of the miogeanticlinal ridge and the miogeosynclinal furrow. Further, although metamorphic polarity has been seen, the metamorphic grade in the Yunnan-lV[alaya orogen is generally low and there is, in contradistinction to the 'typical' orogenic belt, an apparent total absence of nappes.

PENINSULAR THAILAND

309

Suggested explanation of divergences: from east to west, the following tectonic units can be recognized in the Malay-Thai peninsula with varying degrees of certainty, (2), (3) and (4) being well-established: (1) eugeanticlinal ridge, (2) eugeosynclinal furrow, (3) miogeanticlinal ridge, (4) miogeosynclinal furrow, (5) shelf. This arrangement strongly suggests to the present author that a continent or craton lay to the west, in which direction the nearest stable block is that of peninsular India, some 2000 km distant. The triangular shape and considerable depth of the intervening body of water, together with the approximate match in shape of the eastern shoreline of India and the western shore of Thailand-Malaya, engender the suggestion that the Bay of Bengal may be a sphenochasm, formed by rotational drift of the YunnanMalaya orogen away from the Indian craton. In accordance with this hypothesis is the sinistral offset, evidently Jurassic-Cretaceous in date, of the dominantly NW-trending wrench faults in the Thai-Malay peninsula (Burton 1965, 1967A) and the fact that most of the land area between Thailand and India is of Cretaceous or younger origin. Moreover, diamonds have been found, quite out of geological context, at Phuket and Phangnga on the west coast of Thailand (Aranyakanond 1955; Stephens et al. 1966), which localities fall adjacent to the Indian 'Golconda' diamond field when the two coast-lines are fitted together. Similarly, whilst there is no obvious source in southeast Asia for the granite detritus in the Middle Devonian to early Carboniferous flysch (the Khlong Kaphon fm and its correlatives), there exist in peninsular India large volumes of Pre-Cambrian granitic rocks. The Yunnan-Malaya orogen may formerly have constituted part ofa geosynclinal system peripheral to the old Gondwana continent (Burton 1970A). This condition would account for some of the differences between the Yunnan-Malaya geosyncline and Aubouin's ideal. If, as seems likely, Gondwanaland had begun to disintegrate as the geosyncline attained the orogenic stage, the high plutonism and low tectonism manifest by Yunnan-Malaya may also be explicable. Fissiparous forces would then be tending to detach the orogen from the foreland and hence would be acting in opposition to the 'geosynclinal forces' tending to thrust the foreland beneath the geosyncline. This counteraction would diminish crustal shortening and reduce the intensity of the tectogenesis. At the same time, geofractures related to continental disruption may have furnished conduits for the emplacement of granitic material which was available at this culminating stage of the geosynclinal cycle. Later Stages of Tectonic Evolution in the Region: The writer's concept that the formative stages of the Yunnan-Malaya orogen transpired in a situation marginal to Gondwanaland is in opposition to the opinion of prev.ious workers who have regarded the orogenic evolution of the Malay-Thai peninsula as part of a regular process of south-westward outgrowth of the Asian ('Cathaysia', 'Laurasia') landmass. It appears, however, that subsequent to the detachment of the orogen from the Indian Shield, tectonic evolution in Sumatra has proceeded by geosynclinal/orogenic migration towards the Bay of Bengal, i.e. in the

direction postulated by Bemmelen (1949, 1954). Further evidence of such a process occurs in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which occupy the same regional strike position as the west Sumatran Mentawai Islands. The thick pre-late Miocene Tertiary succession in the Andaman area is of north-easterly provenance and Rodolfo (1969, p. 1224) believed that ' . . . the area of the Malay continental margin was a high standing source' for these sedimentary rocks. Presently the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are separated from the continental slope of the Malay-Thai-Burmese peninsula by the Andaman Basin, which feature Rodolfo ascribed to late Miocene to Recent rifting-evidently a continuation of the taphrogenesis postulated for the generation of the Bay of Bengal.

B. S U B D I V I S I O N

OF T H E

SEGMENT

Table 4 3ol ZONES AND ELEMENTS WITHIN THE SEGMENT

Zones

Internal Eugeo- Mioge- Miogeo- 4A positive synclinal anticlinal sytwlinal Shelf Elements
a Older alluvium (?early Pleistocene) b Cenozoic basin deposits (?Miocene to ?early Pleistocene) c Upper Khorat Gp (late Jurassic to Cretaceous) d Lower Khorat Gp (red molasse, late Triassic to late Jurassic) e Second geosynclinal sequence (Olenekian to Norian or Rhaetian) f Permian shelf or quasi-craton sequence; Sakmarian to late Permian or early Triassic (Induan) g Main geosynclinal (and pregeosynclinal) sequence (late or mid Cambrian to Sakmarian)
zong z.one zon~ ZO?~ zone

x x
X

? ?
"~

x
X X

202 Basis for the correlation of elements between zones: c, rocks of similar lithology and morphology to the type development in zone 2 are found to a limited extent in zone 4; d, rocks of similar facies and stratigraphic position to those in zone 2 also occur in zone 4; e, palaeontology, lithofacies and similar tectonic positions; f, similar litho- and bio-facies, possibly originally continuous from zone 2, across zone 3, and into zones 4 and 4A; g, continuous from zones 4 and 4A to the flanks of zone 3, recognized in zone 2 by fossils and by its position beneath the Permian quasi-cratonic sequence, and in zone 1 on fossil evidence.

310

PENINSULAR

THAILAND

C. D A T A O N I N D I V I D U A L STRUCTURAL ZONES
1. I N T E R N A L P O S I T I V E Z O N E In the extreme east of the southern part of the segment there is a limited tract, occupying only a few hundreds of square kilometres in Thailand but better developed to the south in Malaya, which has exhibited a tectonically positive tendency over a long period. With some reservations, since so little is known about it, this tract is distinguished here as a zone. It is composed of granitic rocks intrusive into a sedimentary sequence, which latter is very poorly exposed within the segment. To the south this sequence is seen to be comprised of argillites and arenites (which are sometimes predominant) with carbonate lenses. Fossils demonstrate a Visdan age (Fitch 1952). The benthonic character of the fauna, the incidence of plant remains, the rather coarsely elastic nature of the strata and the contained ripple marks all point to shoaling on the eastern side of the eugeosyncline. In Malaya too, three Rb/Sr whole-rock age determinations on the granite all indicate a late Carboniferous date. Since this granite is of batholithic dimensions and late orogenic aspect it is concluded that the zone suffered late Carboniferous orogeny. No subsequent orogenic/tectonic/metamorphic activity has been established (although minor igneous activity of Jurassic/Cretaceous

date may have affected this area). Neither have any younger sedimentary rocks (apart from Quaternary alluvium) been proven here and it seems that subsequent to the Carboniferous orogeny the zone has constituted a stable and largely subaerial feature. Towards it the Permian limestone of the eugeosyncline is replaced by black shale, which possibly owes its euxinic character to restriction of circulation in the basin by the elevated tract postulated in the east. Plant remains are found in this shale. Palaeocurrent criteria from the equivalents of the late Triassic to late Jurassic Lower Khorat in south Malaya (Koopmans, 1968) and Singapore (F. E. S. Alexander 1950) both point to derivation from a former landmass situated to the east of the peninsula. The nature of the Internal Positive zone has not been fully elucidated. The vast volume of granite here, plus its acid nature as compared with the granite of the eugeosynclinal furrow, implies a thick sialic substrate. It may be that this positive feature was a eugeanticlinal ridge in the sense of Aubouin (1965). Its geographic situation also allows of the possibility that this zone constituted a southward extension of the ancient Indosinian massif, acting as a hinterland to the YunnanMalaya orogen or conceivably as a zwischengebirge between the Thai-Malayan and Annamitic mobile belts. 2. E U G E O S Y N C L I N A L Z O N E

~o~-s Zone margins: the eastern margin is indefinite, it lies mainly

I

MIOGEOSYNCLINE WEST

0 [

_1_

MIO-

I
~.0 ~ " ANDAMAN SEA
Q ~ SOts c~'~ T K r T ~ _ ~

j ~e'~'%
x" ..~

~
~

.....
PSb PCp L CDkk DSbs

.,.,- ...........

.=--/,

GEANTICLINE

~ ~J-

sots ~:t

EUGEOSYNCLINE

- ~ ' ~ ~

.~
~ 4 , ~ l .... ~ ~
"

e~'~.- ~'~'~
rso i%.~ "-./ . r s o'~ ~ ~/ ", .

~"

I I

~!

Psb
rso

~ ~ ~ Q Q \ o ~ 0

~=1/~ I IOkm

-i

Granitic rocks, mainly biotite or two mica granite

Melanocratic [r~ni~ic -

rocks

Hornblende

bearing granite

Figure 4. Geological profile from the A n d a m a n Sea to the South China Sea. For legend to rock units see Fig. 2.

PENINSULAR THAILAND beneath the Gulf of Thailand and elsewhere seems to be broadly gradational to zone 1. The western margin is broadly gradational ( > 3 km). 30s-n Approximate areas of the zone occupied by the outcrop of rock types: volcanic 5-10%; plutonic 25%; sedimentary 62% (includes 26% of Quaternary alluvial cover); metamorphic 6% (excludes both 13% of granite which is gneissose, and slightly metamorphosed older sediments). 312-14 Elements: the undeformed rocks of the Upper Khorat Gp (element c) rest unconformably on Lower Khorat strata (element d). The latter have been uplifted, broadly folded and therefore slightly foreshortened; they overlie the strata of element e with unconformity, disconformity or lateral/vertical gradation. Rocks of the second geosynclinal sequence Table 5 STRATIGRAPHY IN ZONE 2
833 Element

311

3~oAge and
319 Unit evidencefor age 821Lithology

822 Thickness m Average

in which these rocks occur

Upper Khorat Gp (Thailand)Gagau Gp (Malaya) Lower Khorat Gp (Thailand)Tembeling Fm (Malaya)

LateJut to early Cret; plant fossils

Coarsely crossbedded,rather mature sandstone and conglomerate (non-marine) Red sandstone, siltstone, conglomerate,shale, plus minor volcanic intercalations (mainly nonmarine)

300600

Late Trias to late Jur (to ?earlyCret); plant fossils and sporadic shelly fauna

3000

Gunong Rabong fm (Malaya) Saraburi limestone (Thailand)Gua Musang fm (Malaya) Tan Yong Mat fin (Thailand)'Foothills Fm' (Malaya)

Ladin-Cam; Shale,immature fossil mollusca sandstone, conglomerate, volcanic rock Sakm-Olenek; Pale limestone marine fossils with volcanics

10005000

2500

?Ordovic to Gedinn; fossils near top of sequence Base not seen

Argillite, quartzite, conglomerate, chert, ophiolite

3650

(element e) have been folded and rather strongly foreshortened and overlie element f unconformably. The strata of element f are moderately folded and have been appreciably foreshortened; they overlie element g probably at an unconformity. Element g has been affected by strong folding, including overfolding and is strongly foreshortened and thickened. 315--16 Outcrop areas o f the elements: c, > 1.5x0.3 km (very extensive beyond the segment); d, extends from the southern margin of the segment far southwards into Malaya (Koopmans 1965) ; e, <10 x 28 km;f, >95x<66km;g, <180x45km. 326-32 Igneous activity: Episode 1--intrageosynclinal vulcanism, the repeated generation of tufts and lavas of varying composition, occurred during the accumulation of elements g, f, and e in ?Ordovician to late Triassic time. Episode 2--small, mainly serpentinized, dykes and sills of ultrabasic rock (ophiolites) intrude element g and probably formed in Silurian to Gedinnian times. They occur mainly on the west margin of the zone. Episode 3--mesozonal, granitic batholiths were intruded into element g during the mid to late Carboniferous orogeny (Rb/Sr whole rock radiometric dates of 280-300 m.y.; Snelling et al. 1968) and have an estimated volume, within the subaerial part of the segment, of c. 10,000 km 3 (assuming a depth of 10 km). Episode 4---granitic rocks intruded elements f and g possibly during ?early Triassic times (K/Ar mineral radiometric dates of 200-220 m.y.; Snelling 1965, 1966). They have an estimated volume within the segment, of c. 20,000 km 3 (assuming a depth of 10 km) and are mainly mesozonal and also meso-katazonal. Episode 5--small, epizonal granitic bodies intruded element g in ?early Triassic to late Jurassic/early Cretaceous times (Rb/Sr whole rock confirmation of the earlier date and younger K/Ar mineral dates of 130-140 m.y.). Episode 6--post-orogenic lavas, tufts and dykes of acid to basic composition occur sparsely in elements c and d and are of late Triassic to ?early Cretaceous date. 335-42 Metamorphism: Phase 1--metamorphism in the M. Devonian to Sakmarian interval, probably of Namurian date (by comparison with episode 3 above), is strongly suspected to have produced the muscovite schists in element g. Phase 2--1ate geosynclinal metamorphism affected elements f and g in the Guadalupian to Anisian interval, probably in Olenekian times: Permian strata are metamorphosed and radiometric K/Ar mineral dates of 210 and 220 m.y. on schist and associated granites give a minimum date. Pelitic rocks contain kyanite, sillimanite, staurolite, amphibole and garnet indicating amphibolite facies metamorphism in the Malay-Thai border region. Phase 3--postgeosynclinal, low grade regional metamorphism affected the rocks of elements e, f and g in the Carnian to late Jurassic interval, probably during Norian to Rhaetic times. 344-SDeformation: Phase 1--deformation of element g in the M. Devonian to Sakmarian interval, probably during Namurian times, is strongly suspected but is not wholly proven. Phase 2--1ate geosynclinal deformation of elements f and g occurred in the Guadalupian

312

PENINSULAR

THAILAND Table 6 STRATIGRAPHY IN ZONE 3

s2s Element

to Anisian interval, probably during Olenekian times. The orogen was strongly upwarped to produce the widespread U. Permian/L. Triassic hiatus, and downwarped to generate katazonal schist and gneissic granite and to restore geosynclinal conditions. Phase 3--the culminating geosynclinal deformation involved tight folding of the rocks of elements e, f and g in the Carnian to L. Jurassic interval, probably in Norian to Rhaetic times; the rocks of element d are much less deformed than the underlying strata. Phase 4--post-geosynclinal deformation, involving uplift and gentle folding, affected element d during the M. Jurassic to L. Cretaceous interval, probably in U. Jurassic times. Phase 5 - - a second post-geosynclinal episode, involving uplift and tilting, affected element c and older elements during the L. Cretaceous to Pleistocene interval. 35o-5 Fold structures: folds related to deformation phases 1 and 2 are not known. Phase 3 folds have wavelengths of 100 m to 1 cm and trend both east and west of the N-S regional strike. Phase 4 folds have wavelengths > 1 km. 3 5 9 - 6 2 Planar and linear structures: deformation phase 2 produced foliation in the rocks of elements f and g (Hutchinson 1961; Alexander, MacDonald & Slater 1961; MacDonald 1967). Phase 3 produced foliation structures in elements e, f and g (Kobayashi et al. 1967). Phase 4 produced jointing in element d (Koopmans 1968). 366-73 Faulting: steep, strike-slip faults cut elements g and trend 065 , 090 and c. 110 . Displacements possibly do not exceed a few hundred metres. The 065 and 090 groups also cut Permian sedimentary rocks and in Trengganu (east Malaya) have served as conduits for intermediate to basic dykes, which may be syngenetic with basalt in the U. Jurassic to L. Cretaceous Gagau Gp (equivalent to igneous episode 6 above). The c. 110 group cut strata thought to be of Permian date. 1VIap of some faults: MacDonald (1967).

319 Unit

a2o Age and evidence for age

in which 322 Thickness these rocks

s~z Lithology
1?Z occur

"Kroh fm

?Late Ordovician to Emsian, fossils

Bannang Sata gp Grik (Thaitufts land)Baling gp (MalPapalut aya) quartzite

Black shale with intercalated dark limestone and arenite, plus some ophiolite Rhy.olitic and rhyo-dacitic crystal tufts Submature quartzites plus argillites

2700

?Ordovician, stratigraphical position ?Cambrian to ?Ordovician, stratigraphical position Base not seen

?1000

?1000

3. M I O G E A N T I C L I N A L Z O N E
804 Zone margins are broadly gradational ( > 3 km). 308-10 Approximate areas of the zone occupied by the outcrop of rock types: volcanic 5%; plutonic 25%; sedimentary 70% (including 20% Quaternary alluvium) ; metamorphic rocks are absent, although the older sedimentary rocks show slight regional metamorphism and c. 10% of the granite is gneissose.

312--16Elements: the main geosynclinal (and pre-geosynclinal) rocks of element g are strongly folded and cleaved--and probably have been strongly foreshortened and thickened. Rocks belonging to other elements also probably occur in this zone but have not been positively identified. Element g occurs over the whole zone (length 880 km, 625 km of which lies beneath the Gulf of Thailand; width, < 62 kin).

32e-32 Igneous activity: Episode 1--rhyolitic vulcanism is evidenced by the Grik tufts of ?mid to late Ordovician date. Episode 2--small, serpentinized intrusions of ultrabasic rocks (ophiolites) formed, probably in Silurian to Gedinnian times, mostly near the east margin of the zone. Episode 3--mesozonal granitic batholiths were intruded in mid to late Carboniferous times (Rb/Sr, whole rock radiometric dates of 270-300 m.y.; Snelling et al. 1968; Burton & Bignell 1969). They cannot be distinguished by field or petrological data from the late Triassic granitics, so their volume is not known, but is possibly small. Episode 4 mesozonal granitic batholiths formed in late Triassic times (Rb/Sr whole rock and K/Ar mineral radiometric dates of c. 200 m.y. ;Snelling et al. 1968) and occupy a volume of 20,000 km 3 (assuming a depth of 10 km). 335--48 Metamorphism and deformation: two phases of metamorphism and deformation, corresponding to the mid to late Carboniferous and late Triassic orogenic/plutonic episodes, have probably occurred but have not yet been separately distinguished. 350-5 Fold structures typically have average wavelengths in the range 100 m to 10 m m and apical angles of c. 40 . Axial surfaces dip southeast. 366-73 Faulting: strike-slip faults, probably of late Jurassic date, trend at 324 (sinistral) and 030 (dextral) and show displacements of up to a few kilometres. These faults are an extension of the wrench fault system present in zone 4. They cut late Triassic granites but are covered by Tertiary (?Plio-Pleistocene) and Quaternary strata in zone 4.

P E N I N S U L A R THAILAND 4. M I O G E O S Y N C L I N A L ZONE Table 7 S T R A T I G R A P H Y IN ZONE 4

322 T h i c k n e s s m
320

313

304. 306 gone margins: the east margin is broadly gradational ( > 3 km) and the west margin lies below sea level and so is indefinite. 308-10 Approximate areas of the zone occupied by the outcrop of rock types: volcanic < 1 % ; plutonic 15%; sedimentary 85% (includes 32% Q u a t e r n a r y alluvial cover); metamorphic rocks are absent, although 5 to 10% of the granite is gneissose. 312-14 Elements: the 'Older alluvium' (element a) has been uplifted and gently folded and is either conformable or disconformable on element b. The Cenozoic basin deposits (element b) occur in downfaulted grabens. The Upper Khorat (c) has been uplifted and tilted and rests unconformably on older elements. The Lower Khorat (d) has been uplifted and affected by broad folds and is slightly foreshortened; it is unconformable on older rocks. Element e (second geosynclinal sequence) is folded and has been appreciably foreshortened; it is ?unconformable or faulted against the older elements. Element f (Permian shelf or quasi-craton sequence) has been moderately folded and somewhat foreshortened; it is unconformable, disconformable or rests with bedding plane slip on element g. The latter has been strongly folded and is foreshortened and thickened. 315-1e Outcrop areas of the elements: a, > 1 5 x 4 km; b, < 3 3 x 3 3 km; c, 1 . 3 x 0 . 5 k m ; d , < 3 4 x 5 k m ; e , <132x62km;f, < 9 6 0 x 1 2 3 km; g, < 1080 x 74 km. 32e-32 Igneous activity: Episode 1--mesozonal granitic batholiths were intruded into element g in mid to late Carboniferous times (Rb/Sr whole rock radiometric dates of 280-307 m.y.; Snelling et al. 1968; Burton & Bignell 1969). The volume of such granitics is probably not great, but they are not specifically identifiable by field or petrological characters. Episode 2--mesozonal granite batholiths intruded elements e, f and g in late Triassic times (Rb/Sr whole rock and several K / A r mineral dates near 200 m.y.). T h e y have an estimated volume of 100,000 km 3 (assuming a depth of 10 km) and cover c. 13% of the zone, but they cannot be distinguished from the rocks of episode 4. Episode 3--small epizonal granitic stocks intruded elements d to g probably in the late Jurassic to early Cretaceous interval (K/Ar mineral radiometric dates of c. 135 m.y.) and have a volume of 1500 km 3. Episode 4 --mesozonal granitic batholiths intruded elements d to g in 1V[. Cretaceous times (Rb/Sr whole rock dates of 111 and 113 m.y. ; Burton & Bignell 1969). T h e y are indistinguishable on field or petrographic evidence from the granites of episode 2. 335-42 Metamorphism: the rocks of element g were affected by low grade regional metamorphism during the Ludlovian to U. Carboniferous interval, probably in N a m u r i a n times, although the stratigraphic evidence for those dates is disputed. Greenschist facies metamorphism affected the rocks of elements e, f and g during the Norian to 'Tithonian' interval, probably in Rhaetic times. Strata up to Norian are affected and the other dates are those indicated by radiometric determinations on associated granites (igneous episode 2 above).

823

8x9 Unit

Age and evidencefor age

821Lithology

Maxi- Mini- Avermum mum age

Element in which theserocks occur

'Older alluvium' Krabi fm

?L. Pleistoc, morphology & present attitude Mioc-Pleistoc, fossil plants & gastropods

Sand, gravel 90 + (fluvial-estuarine) Sand, clay, marl, 175 + limestone,lignite (lacustrine and part marine) Red sandstone, siltstoneand shale, some sandstone, limestone and conglomerate (mainly non-marine) Black shale, greywacke,submature arenites, bedded chert Pale limestone

0 0

a b

Khorat Gp Jurassic-Gretaceous, sporadic molluscs

?400

c, d

Nathawi fm
Rat Buri gp

Ladin-Nor, marine fossils

?1000

Saraburi limestone Matsi fm

Sakm-?Guad, marine fossils Sakm-Leonard, interdigitates with Saraburi limestone

1200 600 0

850

f f

Orthoquartzite, 2600 protoquartzite, subarkose, conglomerate, limestone Mudstone, protoquartzite Mudstone, greywacke Dark grey limestone

Phuket gp

?Namur-Sakm, bryozoa and brachiopods near top Khlong Gedin-Vis6an, Kaphon fm marine fossils
Satun gp

Pathiu fm

1640

2500 1600

g g

Thung Song Limestone Nai Tak fm Tarutao quartzite

L./M. Ordovician-U. Silurian, marine fossils Probably lowermost Ordovician, stratigraphic position ?--Cambrian, trilobites Base not seen

Calcareous 570 + 0 argillite and sandstone,impure limestone Mature arenite, 1980 465 argillite +

c. 1500

344-8 Deformation: Phase 1--Deformation of element g in the Vis~an to Sakmarian interval, probably in N a m u r i a n times, is indicated by a

314

P E N I N S U L A R THAILAND younger rocks. The latter include the U. Devonian to L. Carboniferous Khlong K a p h o n fro, showing that at that period shelf sedimentation was overwhelmed by flysch. The effect of the postulated positive tract seems to find further expression, however, in that the terrigenous facies of the succeeding Permian strata (the Matsi Formation) is restricted to the western side of the outcrop of the L. Palaeozoic shelf facies. In the T h a i l a n d / M a l a y a border area the same tract saw generation of M. to U. Triassic intrasparite limestone (Ishii & Nogami 1966) in contradistinction to the contemporary flysch to the east, possibly again implying shelf conditions. There is also some evidence that part of the Triassic flysch is of westerly provenance.

local hiatus in the sedimentary record. Koopmans (1965) reported recumbent folds, cleavage folds, flexure folds, accordion folds and boudinage of granitic sills. A late Silurian to Devonian deformation was suggested by Koopmans but was considered part of the Carboniferous phase by Burton (1966). Phase 2--folding of elements e, f and g occurred during the Norian to 'Tithonian' interval, probably in Rhaetic times: strata as young as upper Carnian or lower Norian are affected and are intruded by granitic rocks dated at around 200 m.y. and unconformably overlain by Jurassic strata. Thrusting in the Langkawi Islands m a y pertain to this phase. Phase 3--elements e, f and g were affected by uplift, gentle folding and ?strike-slip faulting in the Hettangian to Palaeocene interval, probably in mid Jurassic to early Cretaceous times. The evidence for these ages comes from a K / A r mineral radiometric date of 150 m.y. on the affected granite (Snelling 1966) and the stratigraphy in other zones.
3~o-5 Fold structures: deformation phase 1 folds have wavelengths in the

D.

REFERENCES

range 100 m - - 1 0 ram, apical angles of c. 40 and axial surfaces inclined south-east. Phase 2 folds have wavelengths of 1000 m - - 1 0 0 m, apical angles ore. 70 and axial surfaces inclined south-east. Phase 3 folds have wavelengths of 1000 m, apical angles of c. 140 and vertical(?) axial surfaces.
359-62 Planar and linear structures: deformation phase 1 produced slaty

and fracture cleavage, associated with recumbent folds but pre-dating other folds, and crenulation cleavage associated with a second subphase of folding (Koopmans 1965). Deformation phase 2 produced fracture cleavage, jointing and parallel mineral lineation, shearing and knick zones (Koopmans 1965).
8sn-72Faulting: Phase 1 - - a single, low-angle thrust ('Kisap thrust') brings Silurian onto Permo-Carboniferous strata and probably formed during the late Triassic orogenic phase. See Koopmans (1965). Phase 2 - - w r e n c h faults, the principal members of which are referred to in 111, displace late Triassic granite and, in north-west Malaya, Carnian (to Norian?) strata. T h e y also cut some late granitic stocks which are thought to be late Jurassic/early Cretaceous (episode 3 in 326-32 but other stocks of the same suite evidently cross the faults without displacement. See 111-16. Phase 3--N[iocene to Pliocene horst and graben faulting allowed accumulation of strata in the fault troughs.

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