ABSTRACT
Phanerozoic fold belts are an important element of continental plate structure. Their study enabled the construction of a geological paradigm based on the geosynclinal hypothesis. Many researchers identify fold belts as structural regions of the Earth, with the transformation of oceanic crust into the continental crust during their formation. According to these viewpoints, a number of stages can be recognized during the formation of the continental crust underlying fold belts, each differing in their type of crustal structure and inherent in a particular past geological or tectonic environment. The Central Asian Fold Belt is a mosaic-like system of fold structures separated by stable massifs located between the Siberian and Chinese platform. Three major stages: the early Caledonian, Hercynian and late Hercynian, can be recognized in the development of the fold structures within the belt.
