Introduction
This summary is based on the country entries for Austria (P. Faupl), France (J. Debelmas), Germany (W. Franke), Italy (C. Doglioni) and Switzerland (R. Trümpy). For more detailed reviews on the structure and evolution of the several parts of the Alps we refer the reader to these articles, which also contain geological sketch-maps and sections. Here we only attempt to provide a general overview of the entire chain.
The Alpine chains of S Europe originated by the Mesozoic opening of small oceans between Europe (with related Iberia) and Africa (with related Apulia). Subduction of these oceans and collisions began in Late Jurassic, more often in mid-Cretaceous time and went on all through the Cenozoic. A N branch, with thrusts facing Europe (or Iberia), runs from the Betic Cordilleras of Spain through NE Corsica to the main body of the Alps; it continues into the Carpathians and the Balkans. The S branch, with thrusts facing Africa, Apulia or the Eastern Mediterranean,...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Blundell, D., Freeman. R. and Müller St. (eds) 1992) A Continent Revealed: The European Geotraverse. European Science Foundation. Cambridge UK. Cambridge University Press.
Doglioni, C. 1984) Tettonica transpressiva nelle Dolomiti. Giornale di Geologia (Bologna), Ser. 3, 46(2), 47–60.
Fischer, A.G. 1975) Tidal deposits, Dachstein Limestone of the North-Alpine Triassic. in Tidal Deposits (ed. R.N. Ginsburg). New York; Springer. New York pp. 235–42.
Gebauer, D., Grünenfelder, M., Trommsdorff V. and Schmid St. 1992) The geodynamic evolution of garnet-peridotites, garnet-pyroxenities and eclogites of Alpe Arami and Cima di Gagnone (Central Alps) from Early Proterozoic to Oligocene. Schweiz, Mineral, Petrogr. Mitt. 72, 107–11.
Laubscher, H. 1991) The arc of the Western Alps today. Eclogue Geol. Helv., 84(3), 631–59.
Lemoine, M., Tricart, P. and Boillot, G. 1987) Ultramafic and gabbroic ocean floor of the Ligurian Tethys (Alps, Corsica, Apennines): in search of a genetic model. Geology, 15, 622–6.
Roure, F., Heitzmann, P. and Polino, R., (eds) 1990) Deep structure of the Alps. Mém, Soc. Geol. France, 156.
Selverstone, J. 1988) Evidence for east-west crustal extension in the Eastern Alps: implications for the unroofing history of the Tauern window. Tectonics, 7(1), 87–106.
Trumpy, R. 1992) Ostalpen und Westalpen-Verbindendes und Trennendes. Vienna: J. Geol, Bundestalt, 135(4), 675–82.
von Raumer, J.F. and Neubauer, F. 1993) Late Precambrian and Palaeozoic Evolution of the Alpine basement — an overview. In Pre-Mesozoic Geology in the Alps (eds J.F. von Raumer, and F. Neubauer), Berlin: Springer, pp. 625–39.
Weissert, H.J. and Bernoulli, D. 1985) A transform margin in the Mesozoic Tethys: evidence from the Swiss Alps. Geol. Rundschan, 74, 665–79.
Cross references
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1997 Chapman & Hall
About this entry
Cite this entry
Trümpy, R. (1997). Alpine orogeny . In: Encyclopedia of European and Asian Regional Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4495-X_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4495-X_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-74040-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4495-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive