Plateau Limestone Gr

Shan North Plateau, Shan mid-Plateau (Pyin Oo Lwin), Shan South Plateau, Karen/Mon states outlier, Paunglaung–Mawchi Belt. On the other hand, the substitution of the original name ‘Plateau Limestone’ with the term ‘Shan Dolomite Group’, because of the lack of a type geographical location in the original definition, should be reconsidered on the grounds of preserving traditional and well-established names as recommended by Salvador (1994). It is therefore recommended that the three Fm names of Amos (1975) and Garson et al. (1976) should be used under the group-rank name ‘Plateau Limestone Group’ to conserve a well-rooted, traditionally and continually used original stratigraphical name of historical standing. [Original Publication: Barber, A. J., Khin Zaw & Crow, M. J. (eds) 2017. Myanmar: Geology, Resources and Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 48, 317-342]

Limestone. The Plateau Limestone, a thick carbonate rock unit representing Permian–Triassic stratigraphy in Myanmar, is extensively developed on the Shan Plateau of eastern Myanmar. The name was proposed first by La Touche (1913) for thick dolomites and crystalline limestones of Devonian and Permo- Carboniferous age, widespread throughout the Shan Plateau. This limestone unit was subsequently informally designated the Lower Plateau Limestone, referring to the shattered dolomite of Devonian age, and the Upper Plateau Limestone for the Permo-Carboniferous limestones (Brown & Sondhi 1933). The lithostratigraphy and palaeontology of this unit have been investigated to some extent by previous workers, particularly Brown & Sondhi (1933), Pascoe (1959), Brunnschweiler (1970), Gramann et al. (1972), Amos (1975), Garson et al. (1976), Bronnimann et al. (1978), UN Team (1979), Whittaker et al. (1979), Zaw Win (1991, 2004, 2008), Thura Oo et al. (2002), Zaw Win & Kyi Kyi Shwe (2005) and Zaw Win et al. (2011). Amos (1975) gave a comprehensive account of previous work and proposed a formal lithostratigraphic classification scheme for this carbonate unit. His classification was subsequently refined by Garson et al. (1976) and the UN Team (1979). Limestones of Devonian age occur as limited outcrops in the northern part of the Shan Plateau only, and its stratigraphic relationship to the Plateau Limestone has not yet been resolved.

There has been no record of paleontologically well-documented Carboniferous limestone on the Shan Plateau itself or in adjoining areas, but the Carboniferous is now documented by fossil evidence.

Shallow-carbonate shelf. The Permian–Triassic depositional processes and biotic development in the Plateau Limestone in the western part of the Shan Plateau can be understood in the context of Gondwana dispersion and Asia accretion with reference to the scenario reconstructed by Metcalfe (2011).