FORMATION MECHANISM OF THE SOUTHWESTERN FLANK OF THE BAIKAL RIFT ZONE BASED ON RESULTS OF PHYSICAL MODELING

Abstract

The southwestern flank of the Baikal Rift Zone (BRZ) extends in the submeridional direction from the southern end of Lake Baikal in the east to the northern end of Lake Khubsugul in the west. It is a central depression that consists of several basins and interbasinal bridges and is framed by mountain ranges in the north and south. The southwestern BRZ flank is controlled by an ancient structural plan and confined to the junction of two lithostructural complexes represented by the Tuva-Mongolia and Dzhida-Khamardaban terranes. The author of thepresent communication used physical modeling to check different geodynamic models of the southwestern BRZ flank and obtain additional evidence for the typification of the BRZ as a whole on the basis of the formation mechanism.