Tikrit Journal of Pure Science Vol. 25 (2) 2020 64 Tikrit Journal of Pure Science ISSN: 1813 – 1662 (Print) --- E-ISSN: 2415 – 1726 (Online) Journal Homepage: http://tjps.tu.edu.iq/index.php/j Variation of the Anticlines Vergency in the Iraqi Zagros Folds Belt and Its Tectonic Indications Ayyed Hussein Ward 1 , Thair Mudhir Fahmi 2 , Hasnaa Saleh Khalaf 3 1 Department of Geology, College of Science, University of Tikrit, Tikrit, Iraq. 2 Department of Geography, Education College for Women, Un. of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq. 3 Technical Institute, Northern Technical University, Hawija, Kirkuk, Iraq. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25130/tjps.25.2020.031 A r t i c l e i n f o. Article history: -Received: 6 / 11 / 2019 -Accepted: 18 / 12 / 2019 -Available online: / / 2020 Keywords: folds, faults, listric, synthetic, antithetic, dip, foreland, suture, vergency. Corresponding Author: Name: Ayyed Hussein Ward E-mail: ayyedward@gmail.com Tel: ABSTRACT Folds of northern Iraq are considered integral part for the Western Zagros Fold – Thrust Belt. The growth of these folds was due to inversion displacement on inherited listric faults. This research deal with the relationship between the folds vergency and the faults that propagated folds, where that the dip of the back limb (gentle limb) for the fold is parallel to the thrust fault surface that propagated the fold, and the vergency of the fold determined by the forelimb (steep limb) situation. As a results, the folds of the high folded zone and of the western part of the low folded zone showed suture ( N and NE) vergency and foreland (S and SW) vergency, while the eastern part of the low fold zone showed foreland (S and SW) vergency only. The appearance of the suture and foreland vergency within the high folds considered as indication to the high tectonic development conformable with the location of these folds in the Iraqi Zagros Fold Belt, while the appearance of the suture and foreland vergency in the western part of the low folded zone attributed to the more tectonic development of this part in comparison with the eastern part of the zone that there folds appeared foreland vergencies only, or to the influence of the evaporite beds for Fatha formation in this part. Introduction Most of folds that located within the fold – thrust belts and that they resulted from the collision between the tectonic plates represent distinctive deformation for the sedimentary cover. This deformation involves faults (fractures) that effect on the folds shape and the fold vergency, therefore these folds called folds related faults [1]. Generally, folds related faults are formed by bending and buckling mechanism and classified in three types [2]; detachment folds, faults propagation folds and fault bend folds (Fig. 1).