Principal geological features of Karakoram

The Karakorum meganticlinorium extends from Nepal to Chitral and sinks on its approaches to Afghanistan. Geologically, the Karakorum is a heterochronous intricate complex of sedimentary, magmatic, and metamorphic formations. Precambrian schists, gneisses, marbles and amphibolites are found mainly in the axis of the anticlinorium. No lower Paleozoic has been found, so far. Mesozoic rocks are well represented, as a rule. The long interpretative review deals mainly with the region's tectonic disturbances and structures, their analogs elsewhere, and conjectural relationships of the Karakorum to adjacent regions. --V.P. Sokoloff.