Comment on “Geomorphology in relation to tectonics: A case study from the eastern Himalayan foothills of West Bengal, India” by Chandreyee Chakrabarti Goswami, Dhruba Mukhopadhyay, B. C. Poddar [Quaternary International, 298, 80-92]

In a recent paper Chakrabarti Goswami et al., 2013 discussed the geomorphology of Matiali fan and the terraces formed along the rivers traversing this fan, in the Jalpaiguri District of West Bengal, eastern Himalaya. The area of their study is tectonically active with a couple of blind thrust traversing the Quaternary fan deposits. The authors have proposed that the tectonic movements along blind thrust faults of the area, were the main control of formation and present disposition of the terraces. In proposing this, the authors have completely ignored the question of aggradation of the terraces, sediment:water ratio in the alluvial system and role of well-known climatic fluctuations during the time span over which these geomorphic features formed in eastern Himalaya. They have reported fault propagation folds deforming the fan sediments, but did not document any deformation or any other features within the younger terraces that could substantiate their claim of tectonics as the main agent for the development of the terraces. In this comment we point out the inconsistencies in the tectonogeomorphic model proposed by them and suggest that the climate induced aggradation played a major role in the formation of the terraces in the river valleys in this area.