Morphotectonics of western Sichuan-Yunnan since Pliocene: The development of basins along fault zones and constraints on far-field intracontinental tectonic process
川滇西部上新世以来构造地貌：断裂控制的盆地发育及对于远程陆内构造过程的约束

The uplift of Tibetan Plateau and the development of geomorphology in adjacent areas are the important response to the Cenozoic collision between Indian and Eurasian plates. There is a series of Late Cenozoic (since Pliocene) fault-bounded basins in northwestern Sichuan and Yunnan, e.g. Binchuan, Erhai, Heqing, Midu basins etc. Binchuan basin is of pull-apart origin bounded by normal faults in NW direction and strike-slip faults in NE direction in the N-S sinistral Chenghai strike-slip fault system. Erhai basin is an extensional rift basin delimited by two conjugate transtensional faults, suggesting an E-W extension. The other basins in northwestern Yunnan, such as Midu, Heqing, Jianchuan basins, were controlled by transtensional normal faults. Two branches of these faults in NE-SW and NW-SE direction form conjugate pairs, implying their origin by E-W extension. The active faults in the area are divided into three groups: (1) NW-SE trending faults, e.g. the Red River fault, Wuliangshan-Yingpanshan fault etc.; (2) N-S trending faults, e.g. Chenghai fault, Xiaojiang fault etc.; and (3) NE-SW trending faults, e.g. Lijiang-Jianchuan fault, Heqing-Eryuan fault, Nanting fault etc. From the focal mechanism solutions, these active faults possess strike-slipping or transextensional characteristics. Their association patterns reflect a regional extensional stress field in E-W direction in southeastern Tibet and Three River region since Pliocene. Regionally, the structural associations of active faults, in the northern part of the eastern Tibet, indicate the dominant role of an E-W compressional stress field. The overall stress field in eastern Tibet is possibly attributed to the clockwise rotation of the Tibetan crustal blocks around the eastern Himalayan syntaxis. The clockwise rotation of the Indian plate during its convergence with the Eurasian plate provide the plate scale driving force for the rotation of the Tibetan block.