The Alps form a part of a Tertiary orogenic belt of mountain chains along the southern margin of the continents Asia and Europe, called the Alpide belt.

This belt of mountain chains was formed during the Alpine orogeny.

The chains of mountains seem discontinuous, there is, for example, a gap between the Alps and the Carpathians.

Orogeny took place continuously and tectonic subsidence is to blame for the gaps in between.

The Alps arose as a result of the collision of the African and European tectonic plates, in which the western part of the Tethys Ocean, that was formerly in between these continents, disappeared.

Enormous stress was exerted on sediments of the Tethys Ocean basin and its Mesozoic and early Cenozoic strata were pushed against the stable Eurasian landmass by the northward-moving African landmass.

Most of this occurred during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs..

For more information about the topic Geology of the Alps, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Mountain building — Orogeny is the process of mountain building, and may be studied as a tectonic structural event, as a geographical event and a chronological event, in ...  > read more

Alpine Fault — The Alpine Fault is a geological fault, known as a right-lateral strike-slip fault, that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand's South Island. ...  > read more

Geology of the Himalaya — The Geology of the Himalaya is a record of the most dramatic and visible creations of modern plate tectonic forces. The Himalayas, which stretch over ...  > read more

Mid-ocean ridge — A mid-ocean ridge or mid-oceanic ridge is an underwater mountain range, formed by plate tectonics. This uplifting of the ocean floor occurs when ...  > read more

Related Stories

Climate Change Was Major Factor In Erosion Of Alps 6 Million Years Ago (August 15, 2006) — The Alps might have reached their zenith 6 million years ago and have been declining since. New research suggests the culprit was likely massive erosion, triggered by a sudden drop in the level of ...  > read more

Impact Of Rainfall Reaches To Roots Of Mountains (April 20, 2006) — The erosion caused by rainfall directly affects the movement of continental plates beneath mountain ranges, says a University of Toronto geophysicist -- the first time science has raised the ...  > read more

Scientists Find Half-Billion-Year-Old Ancestral Mountains In The Himalaya (October 6, 2003) — The world's highest and most spectacular mountains, the Himalaya of Nepal, India, and Bhutan, are built on the foundations of a much older mountain system, University of Arizona geoscientists ...  > read more

Alpine Glaciers Could All But Disappear Within This Century (July 10, 2006) — The Alps could lose 80 percent of their glacier cover by the end of this century, if summer temperatures rise by three degrees Celsius. And if temperatures increase by five degrees Celsius, the Alps ...  > read more

Plate Tectonics May Grind To A Halt, Then Start Again (January 7, 2008) — Plate tectonics, the geologic process responsible for creating the Earth's continents, mountain ranges, and ocean basins, may be an on-again, off-again affair. Scientists have assumed that the ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

World On Water