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The Nanga Parbat massif is made up of ancient continental crust, caught up within the young Himalayan mountain belt. In common with old basement terranes, it records a long history of metamorphic, igneous and tectonic events. Because of the intensity of Himalayan processes, it is difficult to see through to the early, pre-Himalayan events. Much of the present outcrop is dominated by migmatites. And it is difficult to separate these magmatic events out.
The youngest parts of the history are readily identified fortunately because they include important magmatic and melting phenomena.
After the high-temperature metamorphism and melting, rocks exposed within the massif have cooled quickly to reach the surface.
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