Lateral Structural Segmentation of the Uralian Foreland Thrust Belt

The subsurface data from different parts of the foreland thrust belt reveal significant along-strike structural changes. The four principal structural segments of the Uralian thrust belt are, from north to south: the Novaya Zemlya, Pechora, Volga-Ural and Precaspian segments. They broadly correlate with the heterogeneous basement domains flanking the Uralian suture on the west and corresponding variations in stratigraphic composition of the foreland subbasins. Another important factor controlling the changes is the regional geodynamic setting, particularly the one taking place in the late Permian times during the main phase of the Uralian orogeny (Sobornov and Yakubchuk, 2006). The observed structural changes reflect geometries of collision boundaries and orientations of compressional and strike-slip movements.