TECTONIC EVOLUTION OF THE CAUCASUS AND FORE-CAUCASUS IN THE LATE PALEOZOIC

Abstract

There are many unresolved problems in the reconstruction of the Late Paleozoic evolution of the Caucasus and Fore-Caucasus, including the following: (1) the position of the suture of the old pre-Visean ocean (Prototethys?); (2) the formation conditions and tectonic setting of the Dizi Series of Svanetia; and (3) causes of the deformation of the sedimentary cover and of granitoid magmatism on the Scythian Platform.