Petrography, paleoclimate and tectonic setting during deposition of the fluvial sandstone of Injana Formation in Kand fold, North Iraq

Abstract

The sandstone of Injana Formation (Late Miocene) in Kand anticline consists dominently of carbonate rock fragments, among other types, followed by quartz, feldspars and mica. The ground mass is represented by higher amount of calcite cement in comparison to silica, clay and ferrugineous cements.Classification of the sandstones indicates their calcilithicarenite type, which have been accumulated under semi humid- semi arid climatic conditions. The tectonic setting of the source area is manifested as recycled orogen of the collision zone between passive Arabian plate and active margin of the Iranian- Turkish plate. This tectonic setting is characterized by high relief provenance suite of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks with rapid denudation of the source rocks and their consequent deposition in the evolving meandering river system.