The neotectonics of the Tibetan Plateau

Part of the continuing northward convergence between India and Eurasia is probably taken up by strike slip displacement, with Tibet as a whole moving eastward away from the collision zone and undergoing east–west extension (Molnar and Tapponnier, 1975; Ni and York, 1978). On the basis of our interpretation of Landsat images we propose that strike slip faulting occurs throughout the Tibetan plateau such that its north–south cross section is being shortened, with little contemporary folding or thrusting.