ABSTRACT The Qingyang‐Etuokeqi Paleo‐Uplift (QEPU) in the Ordos Basin is a significant paleo‐structural feature. However, debates persist regarding both the timing of its initial basement uplift—whether it occurred during the Cambrian or Ordovician—and the dominant geodynamic mechanism—specifically, whether it was driven by crustal extension related to adjacent aulacogens or by compressional stresses associated with the Caledonian Orogeny. This study integrates seismic, drilling and well‐logging data to identify three regional unconformities and syn‐sedimentary normal faults. Seismic facies analysis reveals onlap onto the base of the uplift and truncation at its crest. Middle Cambrian strata maintain a consistent thickness in areas distal from the structure, whereas the Upper Cambrian and Lower Ordovician units progressively thin and pinch out towards the QEPU, and are diachronously overlain by Middle Ordovician deposits. Due to erosional truncation, Middle Cambrian and Middle Ordovician strata are absent in the central part of the uplift. Our results indicate that the QEPU was initiated during the Early Palaeozoic and underwent five distinct evolutionary stages prior to its Carboniferous burial. This evolution was driven by tectonic interplay among the Qinling Ocean to the south, the ancient Qilian–Qinling Ocean to the west, and the Helan Rift Trough to the north. This study clarifies the tectono‐stratigraphic evolution of the QEPU and provides an essential framework for regional tectonic reconstruction and hydrocarbon exploration in the southwestern North China Craton.
Jiang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.