Devonian to Triassic Successions of the Changning‐Menglian Belt, Western Yunnan, China

Abstract  Phanerozoic strata are distributed in several north‐south trending zones in the central part of the Changning‐Menglian Belt. Four types of Devonian to Triassic stratigraphic successions can be identified: (1) clastics with limestone lenses in the mid‐section, changing up‐section into alternations of fine clastics and cherts; (2) clastics with chert intercalations and limestone lenses, and topped by Permian basic volcanics; (3) clastics‐basic volcanics—carbonates—clastics; and (4) limestones, dolomitic limestones—dark gray thin‐bedded limestones, argillaceous limestones, mudstones and siliceous mudstones. Devonian to Triassic cherts occur in different horizons and different zones from east to west. These cherts are usually transitional to their neighboring clastics. There is no continuous Devonian to Middle Triassic chert sequence in the central zone of the Changning‐Menglian Belt as Liu et al. (1991, 1993) reported. Volcanics and the overlying carbonates described by some workers as “seamount” sequences are more likely to have formed in a marine environment on continental crust. Succession (4) is newly recognized in the area from Menglai to Yong'an in Cangyuan County and further north to Padi of Gengma County. Basalts, cherts and clastics also appear in this area. Mid‐Triassic (very probably Ladinian) radiolarians extracted from bedded cherts in the Ganzhejidi section indicate that they are in higher stratigraphic positions. The change from bedded cherts via siltstones to thick‐bedded sandstones with thin‐bedded fine intercalations in the Ganzhejidi section and (some other outcrops along the road from Cangyuan to Gengma) suggests a fundamental change of sedimentary environment caused by a rapid increase of a large quantity of detritus supply. These siliciclastic sediments are possibly syn‐orogenic deposits.