Processes of

Allochthonous
Terrane Evolution,
Mindoro Island,
Philippines

1986 Sarewitz and Karig

(Presented by: Marquez,
Roni C.)

 The Philippine archipelago lies

along the extraordinarily complex
western boundary between the
Philippine Sea plate and the
Eurasian plate
Convergence between these two
plates occurs in a NW-SE direction,
oblique to the trend of the
Philippines, at rates of 8 to 10
cm/yr [Ranken et al., 1984].

Tectonic Setting

East side of the archipelago, south of

17N, is bounded by the Philippine
Trench
The Philippine Fault (PF) is a major
left-lateral transcurrent fault that extends
from Lingayen Gulf (Hayes and Lewis,
1984), south along the entire length of
the Philippines to the Molucca Sea
(Moore and Silver, 1983)
The Manila Trench runs from Taiwan to
Mindoro, and accommodates active
convergence between the South China
Sea and the west side of the northern

Geology of Mindoro
On Mindoro, two lithospheric fragments,
the North Palawan block and the Mindoro
block, are separated from each other by
the complex Mindoro Suture Zone. The
two terranes are distinguishable on the
basis of stratigraphic and structural
criteria.

Geology of Mindoro

Generalized pre-Neogene stratigraphic columns of the North Palawan block and the
Mindoro block as mapped on Mindoro Island. No scale is implied.

Generalized cross section from Mindoro Straits to

Central Mindoro. Structural geometries between the
Manila Trench and the Mindoro Suture are speculative
and
highly
schematic.
There
is
no
vertical
exaggeration.

Distribution
of
major
offshore
and
subsurface structures in Mindoro Straits
area and southwest Mindoro coastal plain.

Seismic reflection profile M-27 and

M-27 extension (migrated) across
tilted basement block on southwest
Mindoro
coastal
plain,
and
interpretive line drawing.

Seismic reflection profile MS-22 (unmigrated)

across an asymmetric half- graben and bounding
basement
high
in
Mindoro
Straits,
and
interpretive line drawing of the graben fill
sequence. The pre-Oligocene relief on Mesozoic
seismic basement is probably due to Eocene
normal faulting.

Regional Synthesis and

Paleogeographic Models
The North Palawan block was displaced southward in front of the opening South China Basin during middle Tertiary
time [Taylor and Hayes, 1983] , whereas we interpret the Mindoro block as having shared a Tertiary history of
generally northward motion with the Philippine archipelago and the Philippine Sea plate. The Mindoro Suture Zone
represents part of a transcurrent plate boundary along which the North Palawan block and Mindoro blocks were
initially juxtaposed, in middle to late Miocene time.

Present Tectonic Regime

The present pole of rotation describing
motion between the Philippine Sea plate
and Eurasia is located near the east coast
of central Honshu [Ranken et al., 1984].
Rotation is clockwise
A change in motion of the Pacific plate
relative to hot spots at 5 m.y. has been
suggested by Cox and Engebretson
[1985] , which may have been coupled to
the change in motion of the Philippine
Sea plate.
Predicted latitudinal motion of

Previous Models
Rangin et al. [1985] have argued that the
Mindoro Suture represents dismembered
ophiolitic material that was "obducted"
westward onto the North Palawan block
and interpret the Mindoro Suture as a lowangle, west verging thrust zone.
Rangin et al. [1985] also invoke a static
paleogeographic model that ignores a
substantial body of evidence indicating
northward motion of the Philippines and
Philippine Sea plate throughout the
Tertiary

McCabe et al. [1982, 1985] interpret the

southern termination of the Manila
Trench as a result of late Oligocene to
mid-Miocene collision of the North
Palawan block with the trench.

Evolution of the East Side of North

Palawan Block

Schematic paleogeographic model for

the northwest corner of the Philippine
Sea at 30 m.y., and hypothetical model
for transtensile margin at eastern edge
of the North Palawan block.
The shaded zone at the east edge of the North
Palawan block is an area created due to
transtension. Divergence may be accommodated
by oblique-normal faulting, or by decoupled
extension and strike slip.

Paleogeographic map
region at 18 m.y.

of

the

northern

Philippine

The shaded region on the eastern edge of the North

Palawan block is an area created due to transtension

Implications
The geology of western Mindoro Island reflects the independent evolution of two
tectonostratigraphic terranes and their subsequent amalgamation.
Many workers have recognized that strike-slip tectonics may play a role in terrane
transport.
Structural and stratigraphic associations commonly deemed "diagnostic"
convergence or collision may occur widely in zones of strike-slip faulting

of

The Mindoro block has most probably been part of the Philippine archipelago at least
since the Oligocene, so it should have been separated from the North Palawan block by
15 to 20 of latitude prior to the opening of the South China Sea.
Extensional and transtensional tectonics associated with the opening of the South China
Sea also contributed to terrane displacement.