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Zhada Formation

Zhada Fm

Period: 
Neogene

Age Interval: 
Pliocene (Zanclean, Piacenzian) to middle Pleistocene, N2-Q2 (9c)


Province: 
Xizang (Tibet)

Type Locality and Naming

The type section is located at the Gongba Gully (E79°47′, N31°29′), Zhada County, western Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region (BGMRXTAR, 1997). Zhang et al. (1981) firstly named the Zhada Fm.


Lithology and Thickness

It is a series of thick lacustrine and fluvial sediments. It is divided into two parts: Lower part is mainly formed by grey, greyish-green, greyish-yellow siltstones, coarse to fine sandstones containing gravels; Upper part is characterized by grey, brownish-yellow thick bedded sandstones and conglomerates containing laminar clays and sands. It contains abundant fossil mammals, fishes, plants, ostracods, gastropods, and sporopollens. Its thickness is more than 800 m.


Lithology Pattern: 
Fine-grained sandstone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

In the type section, the Zhada Fm unconformably contacts with the underlying Jurassic basement (limestone and sandstone). General usage of facies overlaps with upper Woma Fm, so Lexicon columns (and T. Deng et al., 2019) put on same stratigraphic column.

Upper contact

In the type section, the Zhada Fm disconformably contacts with the overlying middle or late Pleistocene tillites, glaciofluvial deposits or terrace.

Regional extent

The formation is restricted in the Zhada Basin.


GeoJSON

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Fossils

Mammals: Aepyocricetus liuae, Nannocricetus qiui, Prosiphneus eriksoni, Mimomys (Aratomys) bilikeensis, Trischziolagus mirificus, Coelodonta thibetana, Panthera blytheae, Sinicuon cf. S. dubius, Vulpes qiuzhudingi, Chasmaporthetes gansriensis, Hipparion zandaense, Paleotragus microdon, Protovis himalayensis. (Deng et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2013) Plants: Cotoneaster, Spiraea, Caragana, Hippophae, Rhododendron, Potentilla fruticosa, etc. (Huang et al., 2020) Ostrocods: Qinghaicypris suboentanoda, Qinghaicypris medialis, Leucocythere mirabilis, Leucocytherella sinensis, Ilyocypris sp. Gastropods: Velatinopsis, Radix.


Age 

Qian (1990, 1999) considered the paleomagnetic dating of the Zhada Fm is in range of 6.15-3.4 Ma. Saylor (2009) and Wang (2008) had similar paleomagnetic dating that are 9.2-<1 Ma and 9.5-2.6 Ma, respectively. Based on the mammalian fossils, Wang et al. (2013) re-interpreted their paleomagnetic dating as in range of ~6.4-0.4 Ma.

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Zanclean

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.0

    Beginning date (Ma): 
5.34

    Ending stage: 
Piacenzian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
1.0

    Ending date (Ma):  
2.58

Depositional setting

It is interpreted as an intermontane basin environment.


Depositional pattern:  

Additional Information


Compiler:  

Tao Deng, Sukuan Hou, J.Z. Qigao, Q. Li, Q.Q. Shi, B.Y. Sun, S.Q. Wang, F.X. Wu