The Central Guizhou and Yichang Uplifts, upper Yangtze region, between Ordovician and Silurian

The Central Guizhou and Yichang Uplifts are present in central Guizhou to w estern Hubei. Biostratigraphic evidences from more than 20 sections in 14 c ounties of this region provide the data about the duration of these uplifts . Although this duration differs from locality to locality, it is mainly fr om Ashgillian to Rhuddanian. The uplifts result from a horizontally driven movement to the South China Paleoplate from an uncertain block in southeast . Global sea-level drop during the end of the Ordovician made the uplifts o bvious, particularly the Central Guizhou Uplift. It might have emerged abov e sea level in the short interval between the Ordovician and Silurian.