Himalayan foreland basin

rdf:langString Himalayan foreland basin

rdf:langString The Himalayan foreland basin is an active collisional foreland basin system in South Asia. Uplift and loading of the Eurasian Plate on to the Indian Plate resulted in the flexure (bending) of the Indian Plate, and the creation of a depression adjacent to the Himalayan mountain belt. This depression was filled with sediment eroded from the Himalaya, that lithified and produced a sedimentary basin ~3 to >7 km deep. The foreland basin spans approximately 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in length and 450 kilometres (280 mi) in width. From west to east the foreland basin stretches across five countries: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. The Himalayan foreland basin has been studied within the Himalaya (where the foreland basin succession has been uplifted and exposed in the Sub-Himalaya and Lesser Himalaya), and in the subsurface (where petroleum exploration wells and seismic data are used). The foreland basin fill traces back to the onset development of the foreland basin which started during the Paleogene period around 45 to 50 Ma. Deposition in the foreland basin appears to be diachronous; a lag in time exists between parts of the basin. The western extreme of the basin started developing during the Paleocene around 57-54 Ma, the central portion began developing <2 Ma later, and the basin gets younger as it progresses towards the east. The stratigraphic succession of the basin is important as it preserves the sedimentary record of India-Eurasia collision.