Some Stratigraphic and Sedimentologic Constraints on the Features of the Changning-Menglian Tethys, Yunnan, China

The interpretation of the (Lower Carboniferous) basalt- (Middle Carboniferous to Middle Permian) carbonate succession in the central zone of the Changning-Menglian Belt in western Yunnan, China as a seamount is one of the major arguments supporting a large ocean model of the Changning-Menglian Tethys. Our field investigations and laboratory work lead to the conclusion that the basalt-carbonate succession of the Changning-Menglian Belt is not genetically related to seamount. It is a normal lithological succession that developed on continental crust, and it is underlain and overlain by marine carbonate and/or clastic deposits.