Structural Analysis of Remnants of Neotethyan Marginal Basin Along the North Tabriz Fault

In the east of Tabriz city, south of Eskandar village, Upper Cretaceous rock units are exposed. The structures in these rock units include meso-scale folds inclined towards NNE, and a thrust system which has transported Upper Cretaceous units in three thrust sheets towards NW. This thrust system has cut the NNE-verging folds in Upper Cretaceous units. These deformed rock units are unconformably overlain by the Miocene beds. The vergence of folds in the Miocene units is toward SSW. There are SW-verging thrust faults and right-lateral strike-slip faults parallel to the North Tabriz fault in the study area. We conclude that the N-verging structures in Upper Cretaceous rock units has been formed in the time interval between Upper Cretaceous and Miocene and were cut by the North Tabriz fault. The structural characteristics of the Upper Cretaceous rocks as the remnants of the Upper Cretaceous oceanic crust in the Neotethyan marginal basin indicate that the probable subduction direction of this basin was towards south.