Formation of the Zagunao River Terraces in Western Sichuan Plateau, China
川西高原杂谷脑河阶地的形成

Our field investigation identified eight river terraces at Zagunao, Lixian county of Western Sichuan Plateau along the Zagunao River, a main tributary of the Minjiang River. Applying ESR dating method, we successively determined ages of T2, T3, T4 and T6, which are 54, 125, 248 and 481 ka BP respectively. The development of the terrace sequences here was prominently under the control of regional tectonic uplift, and they should record phased uplift events of the Western Sichuan Plateau since the middle Pleistocene. The average incision rate of Zagunao River is calculated to be around 0.39 m/ka, which is coincident with the geodesic uplift rate of the Longmen Mountain (0.3-0.4 m/ka).