Alpine orogeny

The Alpine orogeny, sometimes called the Alpide orogeny, is a big event in Earth's history that shaped many of the world's mountain ranges. It began in the Late Mesozoic and continues into the current Cenozoic era. During this time, huge pieces of Earth's crust, called tectonic plates, moved and collided, pushing up tall mountains.

This process created the mountain ranges of the Alpide belt, which includes famous mountains like the Alps in Europe and the Himalayas in Asia. These mountains are still growing today because the plates keep moving very slowly. The Alpine orogeny helps scientists understand how Earth's surface changes over millions of years and why we have such beautiful and tall mountains in many parts of the world.

Cause

The Alpine orogeny happened because several landmasses bumped into each other. The African continent, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent, and the Cimmerian plate moved toward and pushed against Eurasia in the north.

This event is one of the big geological changes that shaped Europe. It is similar to two other big events: the Caledonian orogeny, which made mountains when Baltica and Laurentia came together, and the Hercynian or Variscan orogeny, which helped form the supercontinent Pangaea.

Mountain ranges

The Alpine orogeny created many mountain ranges stretching from west to east. These include the Atlas, the Rif, the Baetic Cordillera, the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinaric Alps, the Albanides, the Pindus, the Carpathians, the Balkanides (which include the Balkan Mountains and Rila-Rhodope massifs), the Pontic Mountains, the Taurus, the Antitaurus, the Armenian Highlands, the Caucasus Mountains, the Alborz, the Zagros Mountains, the Hajar, the Hindu Kush, the Pamir, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas.

Sometimes different names are used for specific parts, like the "Carpathian orogeny" for the Carpathians, the "Hellenic orogeny" for the Pindus, the "Altai orogeny" for the Altai Mountains, and the "Himalayan orogeny" for the Himalayas.

Formation of geological features

The Alpine orogeny created many interesting landforms far from the main mountain ranges. One example is the Weald–Artois Anticline, which can be seen in the chalk ridges of the North and South Downs in Southern England. The effects of this process are also clear on the Isle of Wight, where rock layers are folded almost straight up, visible at places like Alum Bay and Whitecliff Bay. The same forces may have also lifted and shifted rocks as far away as Öland in southern Sweden.