Paleogeomorphology of Southeast Shirvan and adjacent territory in the Balakhani century (the age of productive strata)

Abstract

At the beginning of the Balakhani century, the territory under study experienced continental development, and only the South Caspian basin was covered by the sea. At that time, the relief of the territory was in the form of structural-denudation ridges, hills and erosion-accumulative plains. In the middle of the Balakhani century, due to marine transgression the sea in the west came close to the low hills and plains of the territory. The rudiments of the territory's modern morphostructural plan were mainly observed by the end of the century. Structural ridges were clearly seen on the places of modern Alat, Harami, Mishovdagh, Bandovan, Kurovdagh, Babazanan, Khilli, Neftchala anticlinal ridges, and instead of Navahi and Kargali anticlinal ridges there were negative morphostructural basins. Thus, at the end of the Balakhani century the relief was represented by underwater accumulative ridgelike, gently sloping plains with alternating zones of anticlinal ridges with flat negative (synclinal) plains.