Mesozoic basins in different regions of Central Asia provide important records for investigating relationships between intraplate deformation in Central Asia and tectonic processes at Asian boundaries. The present study gives a review of the stratigraphic and structural evolution of basins in different regions of Central Asia during the Middle-Late Jurassic. It is shown that basins and mountain belts in northwest China experienced compressional deformation and were wholly or partially uplifted during the late Middle -Late Jurassic. Compared to extensively distributed Middle Jurassic coal-bearing strata in northwest China, Upper Jurassic strata characterized by red mudstones and conglomerates have a much smaller distribution. In the mean time, the Tibet-Pamir plateau also underwent a folding and uplift event, and Upper Jurassic sedimentary rocks are generally missing in the Pamir and western Tibet. The intense compressional deformation and uplift event of the late Middle -Late Jurassic from the Tibet-Pamir plateau to northwest China requires a new tectonic model, as proposed here. We suggest that the Karakoram and Lhasa blocks were a single giant block, which was accreted to Asia in the late Middle Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous and cross-cut by the Karakoram Fault in the Cenozoic. During the Callovian, the western part of the Karakoram-Lhasa Block initially collided with the southern Asian margin. Collision and continued convergence during the late Middle -Late Jurassic caused sinistral strike-slip faulting along the Central Badakhshan Fault and South Tian Shan Suture, accommodating crustal shortening in areas to the southeast of the faults: the Pamir, western Tibet, Tarim Block, Qilian-Qaidam Block, and Bei Shan. Meanwhile, the northeast-ward transpressional motion of the Tarim Block produced strong compressional stresses to areas north of the Tarim Block: the Kyrgyz Tian Shan, Central Tian Shan, Junggar Basin, and Turfan Basin. With the northward movement of the Karakoram-Lhasa Block, the eastern part of the Karakoram-Lhasa Block began to collide with the southern Asian margin during the latest Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous, resulting in strong crustal deformation and thickening in East Asia and Central Asia. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
