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The timing of shearing along the Vaikrita Thrust, the upper structural boundary of the Main Central Thrust Zone in the Garhwal Himalaya, was constrained by combined microstructural, microchemical and geochronological investigations. Three different biotite–muscovite growth and recrystallization episodes were observed: a relict mica-1; mica-2 along the main mylonitic foliation; and mica-3 in coronitic structures around garnet during its breakdown. Electron microprobe analyses of biotite showed chloritization and a bimodal composition of biotite-2 in one sample. Muscovite-2 and muscovite-3 differed in composition from each other. Biotite and muscovite 39Ar–40Ar age spectra from all samples showed both inter- and intra-sample discrepancies. Biotite step-ages ranged between 8.6 and 16 Ma and muscovite step-ages between 3.6 and 7.8 Ma. These ages cannot be interpreted as ‘cooling ages’ because samples from the same outcrop cooled simultaneously. Instead, the Ar systematics reflect sample-specific recrystallization markers. Intergrown impurities were diagnosed by the Ca/K ratios. The age data of biotite were interpreted as a mixture of true biotite-2 (9.00 ± 0.10 Ma) and two alteration products. The negative Cl/K–age correlation identified a Cl-poor muscovite-2 (>7 Ma) and a Cl-rich, post-deformational, coronitic muscovite-3 grown at ≤5.88 ± 0.03 Ma. The Vaikrita Thrust was active at least from 9 to 6 Ma at c.600°C; its movement had ended by 6 Ma.Supplementary material:Thermometric and 39Ar–40Ar data are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4069076

The structural analysis of large intracontinental wrench faults is fundamental for deciphering the long‐term evolution of continental crust in complex areas in terms of their geodynamic evolution and large‐scale crustal block displacements. In this contribution, we demonstrate a pre‐Miocene dextral activity of the present‐day left‐lateral Great Kavir ‐ Doruneh Fault System (GKDFS, Central Iran), one of the major intracontinental active strike‐slip faults extending from the Afghan border to the Nain region between Central Iran and the Sanandaj‐Sirjan Zone. We document important dextral shearing recorded along a segment of the GKDFS, the Arusan Fault System (AFS), located east of Jandaq, close to the present‐day active trace of the GKDFS. The AFS include several ENE‐WSW striking strands exposed for a length of more than 50 km, which couple pre‐Cretaceous ophiolites and metamorphic basement units with the Cretaceous succession of the Khur basin. The fault shows transpressional structures consistent with a dextral shear including thrusts and en échelonfolds affecting the Cretaceous carbonate units. Paleostress reconstruction based on mesoscopic fault analysis and related folds geometry allowed to establish vorticity parameters indicating that deformation occurred close to a total simple shear regime with a calculated Wk between 0.9 and 1. The enormous Meso‐Cenozoic dextral displacements occurred along the AFS and along the entire GKDFS are attested by the up to several hundreds of kilometers offset of the Paleotethys suture zone, from NE Iran to the western border of Central Iran. The Great Kavir‐Doruneh Fault System (GKDFS) is an active intracontinental left‐lateral shear zone extending several hundreds of kmThe Arusan Fault System (AFS) is part of the GKDFS. Dextral kinematic of the AFS indicate that also GKDFS was dextral before Late MioceneThe Cretaceous to Miocene dextral GKDFS accounts for the more than 500 km displacement of the Paleotethetys suture from NE to Central Iran The Great Kavir‐Doruneh Fault System (GKDFS) is an active intracontinental left‐lateral shear zone extending several hundreds of km The Arusan Fault System (AFS) is part of the GKDFS. Dextral kinematic of the AFS indicate that also GKDFS was dextral before Late Miocene The Cretaceous to Miocene dextral GKDFS accounts for the more than 500 km displacement of the Paleotethetys suture from NE to Central Iran