*3.4.1.2. Loop bedding*

Loop beddings are ductile deformation structures, which consist of lacustrine finely laminated sediments and are induced by extension stress, presented as loops or chains (**Figure 13d**), and the adjacent layers are undeformed. In the Wumishan Formation of the Mesoproterozoic near Yongding River Valley, they are formed in a deep-water carbonate platform setting and suffered the horizontal shear stress. Loop beddings can be also formed in epicontinental seas and a low energy environment below the wave base of marine settings [66, 72, 76]. It is a result of stretching from unlithified to progressively lithified laminated sediments in response to successive minor seismic shocks, ultimately related to the slow movement of extensional faults [74, 75].
