Abstract: Developed along the southern margin of the Lhasa terrane, the Cretaceous Xigaze forearc basin in southern Tibet records the northward subduction of the Neo-Tethys to the Lhasa terrane. The Xigaze forearc basin consists of mainly siliciclastic rocks interbedded with minor marls and limestone, dividable into Chongdui, Sangzugang, Ngamring, Padana, Qubeiya, Quxia and Jialazi formations, the latter two of which were deposited later during an initial India-Asia collision. While the forearc basin has been well-studied over the decades for its intact preservation and good exposure, petrological data are far from accessible which resulted in repetitive petrological studies. This dataset includes polarized microphotograph of a total of 191 Cretaceous clastic rock sections from the Chongdui, Ngamring and Padana formations, covering 5 shale sections, 2 siltstone sections, 158 sandstone sections, 11 conglomerate sections, 7 gravel sections, 7 siliceous rock sections and 1 pyroclastic rock section. For more effective petrological data sharing, the dataset also comprises detailed information of the 10 stratigraphic sections where these sections were sampled. It provides petrological data for basic geological research, as well as other interdisciplinary research, such as artificial intelligence recognition.
Keywords: Southern Tibet; Xigaze forearc basin; Cretaceous; siliciclastic rocks; thin section; polarized photomicrograph