Abstract: Through the analysis of seven apatite samples collected from the Dongshangen mining area of east Kunlun Mountain, Qinghai Province, we showed that the apatite fission track ages vary from 136 to 67 Ma. The ages can be divided into three groups of 136112, 10195 and 7467 Ma to better reflect the uplifting and exhumation events occurred in this region. The thermal history of the Dongshangen mining area are delineated into four stages by fission track modeling. The first stage (160120 Ma) corresponds to the compressive movement of both the Qiangtang and Lhasa blocks towards the Eurasian Plate. The second stage (12015 Ma) coincides with the Aerjin fault strike-slip, the northern Tibetan Plateau uplifting and the northward subduction movement of the Gangdese block in the Late Yanshan period. This stage experienced rapid cooling and uplifting until the end of the Early Cretaceous. In the third stage (8023 Ma) the region was relatively stable, cooling down slowly, while the fourth stage (23 Ma to present) undergoes rapid cooling and uplifting, corresponding to the collision of the Indian Plate towards the Eurasian Plate.

Key words: tectonic activity, thermal history, fission track, apatite, East Kunlun