Findings of Cambrian, Lower and Middle Ordovician fossils which have been collected and described for the first time, disproved the very fixed ideas of the Riphean age and simple monoclinic occurrence of the rocks of the Baidula and Kapka-Tash Ridges. It is shown that the regional architecture corresponds to the structural paragenesis of secondary tectonic collage. The main tectonic units in the region are sublatitudinally striking blocks no wider than 20 km. In the south and in the north they are bordered by Late Paleozoic strike-slip faults no less than 100 km in length. Within the blocks, Early (€-O1t) and Late (O1a-O2) Caledonian structural stages exist, separated by a regional unconformity. They consist of different geodynamic complexes (island arcs, ophiolites, and back-arc basin shelf). A wide variety of fossils have been found in Early Caledonian formations. Here ophiolites contain conodonts, Radiolaria, and sponge spiculasj the island-arc complex is characterized by trilobites, brachiopods, hyolithes, hyolithelminths, and conodontsj shelf deposits contain bryozoans, sponges, inarticulate brachiopods, and acritarchs. Support for the Arenig-Llandeilo age comes from graptolites.

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First page of LOWER PALEOZOIC DEPOSITS IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE KAPKA-TASH RIDGE (<italic>Northern Tien Shan</italic>)
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