Discovery and Geological Significance of the Silurian Xintan Formation Seismite Along the North Margin of Yangtze Plate

Two seismite strata are developed in the upper part of the lower Silurian Xintan Formation around Huangjiaba village, Ningqiang county, which contains many micro cracks, micro folds (coiled structure of liquefied sandstone), semiplastic breccia and fragment liquefied homogeneous layers and represents two seismic events during a single seismic active period. This is the very first discovery that fills the gap of seismite in the region. The seismic event is directly related to the splitting of plates, and the discovery of seismite offers a powerful evidence for the late Caledonian movement at the end of the early Paleozoic, namely the Rodinia's massive splitting in Early Paleozoic caused seismic activities.