Uplift and Erosion in the Western Himalaya: Insight From U–Pb Ages of Detrital Zircon Recovered From the Miocene Foreland Basin Deposits, Pakistan

Sandstone petrography and detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology of the Miocene Murree Formation, exposed in Muzaffarabad and Murree areas, provide insights into sediment provenance and Himalayan foreland basin evolution following the India–Eurasia collision. Detrital zircon ages cluster at ~1300–400 Ma, ~1900–1400 Ma, and ~2600–2300 Ma, indicating erosion from the Tethyan and Higher Himalaya, with minor contributions from the Lesser Himalaya (LH). Younger ages (> 100 Ma) suggest the recycling of foreland sediments from Eurasian sources during fold–thrust belt propagation. Notably, ~1600–1700 Ma and ~550–450 Ma (Cambro‐Ordovician granites) detritus indicate erosion from inner LH rocks exposed in the hanging wall of the Panjal Thrust (PT). These provenance signatures suggest PT was active during deposition of the Murree Formation, driving inner LH erosion and sediment influx into the foreland basin.