Synorogenic extension and exhumation of the Taiwan hinterland

Structural data from two transects across the active Taiwan arc-continent collision indicate that normal faulting is an important mechanism in the exhumation of the hinterland. The normal faulting extends to at least the brittle-ductile transition, records extension at a high angle to the topographic grain of the orogenic belt, and is responsible for the regional-scale rotation of ductile fabrics. These results are supported by a recent GPS survey of southern Taiwan that reveals extension in the hinterland contemporaneous with shortening in the foreland and collided arc.