| Abstract: | A set of ENE\|trending fault which locates in the rigid Tarim massif and flexible Qilian massif in the same dynamic system of the uplift of the Qinghai—Tibetan plateau is referred to as the Altun Fault (ALF). ALF displays a linear geometry or a geometry of overlapping of linear and arcuate segments and a growth and development process of the breakdown segment\|by\|segment, connection segment\|by\|segment and propagation gradually (northeastward migration of the northeast tip, southwestward growth of the southwest tip). The formation of the Altun fault began in the middle or upper Carboniferous. It was characteristic of the sinistral strike\|slip\|thrust before Eocene, of the thrust\|sinistral strike\|slip during Oligocene—Miocene, and of the normal slip, and thrust\|sinistral strike\|slip simultaneously since Miocene. |
