Reply to the comment on “Mudflat/distal fan and shallow lake sedimentation (upper Vallesian–Turolian) in the Tianshui Basin, Central China: Evidence against the late Miocene eolian loess” by A.M. Alonso-Zarza, Z. Zhao, C.H. Song, J.J. Li, J. Zhang, A. Mar

Guo's et al. comments on our paper (Z.T. Guo, J.Y, Ge, G.Q. Xiao, Q.Z. Hao, H.B. Wu, T. Zhan, L. Liu, L. Qin, F.M. Zeng, B.Y. Yuan, Comment on “Mudflat/distal fan and shallow lake sedimentation (upper Vallesian–Turolian) in the Tianshui Basin, Central China: Evidence against the late Miocene eolian loess” by A.M. Alonso-Zarza, Z. Zhao, C.H. Song, J.J. Li, J. Zhang, A. Martín-Pérez, R. Martín-García, X.X. Wang, Y. Zhang and M.H. Zhang [Sedimentary Geology 222 (2009) 42–51], Sedimentary Geology, 2010-this issue) mostly stress their previous data and their model of configuration and evolution of the study area; it is not a real discussion of the sedimentological features we describe. In this reply we will discuss some of the key features of the basin configuration, correlations and sedimentology of the Tinshui basin. Our work has followed the common procedures used in stratigraphy and sedimentology and so we can confirm our interpretation on basin configuration and correlations. In all cases we have taken into account previous papers, including those of Guo's group. In addition the sedimentological model we proposed is new due to the lack of previous sedimentological studies, including facies analysis and petrography, in the studied area. Our model of a continental alluvial-lacustrine basin fits well with other well-known examples over the world and explains clearly the lateral facies transitions across the basin. It is not the aim of this reply to discuss all the previous papers by Guo's group, but to reply to their main comments on our paper.