The Collisional Iranian Plateau: Reassessing Geological History, Structure, and Surface Dynamics

Located within the Arabia–Eurasia collision zone, the Iranian Plateau (IP) constitutes the second largest and elevated collisional plateau on Earth. The IP is predominantly situated on the Eurasian upper plate, has an average elevation of approximately 2 km and is characterized by a crustal thickness of up to 50–60 km, underlain by a thin mantle lithosphere with a lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary at depths of 100–120 km. The surface of the plateau exhibits a contractional basin-and-range morphology, encompassing both internally and externally drained sedimentary basins. Its interior is arid and displays relatively low topographic relief, in contrast to its steep, highly dissected margins, which locally form significant orographic barriers.

Although the uplift of the IP must have occurred after the most recent marine transgression (i.e., post ~17 Ma), several key questions remain unresolved. These include the development of a comprehensive geological model for the plateau, constraints on the timing and mechanisms of surface uplift, and the role of surface processes in shaping, preserving, or locally eroding the characteristic plateau morphology.

This contribution seeks to synthesize existing data and incorporate previously unpublished findings in order to provide an updated overview of the current state of knowledge. It further aims to identify key research challenges that will advance our understanding of collisional plateau evolution.